JPH0997915A - Manufacturing apparatus of thin film photoelectric conversion module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing apparatus of a thin film photoelectric conversion module capable of laminating a thin film photoelectric conversion cell of an optical length and continuously manufacturing the thin film photoelectric conversion module with high production efficiency. SOLUTION: This embodiment comprises feed-out rolls 21, 23 for continuously and separately supplying two sealing sheets 24a, 24d; and a take-up roll 27 for taking up a manufactured thin film photoelectric conversion module, and further comprises a lower vacuum container 1 having a heat mechanism 5; and an upper vacuum container 2 of which one face opposing the heat mechanism is an elastic sheet 7, and in which a marginal vacuum seal part is aligned with a corresponding part of the lower vacuum container. In a vacuum chamber in the lower vacuum container structured by aligning the upper vacuum container with the lower vacuum container, a stacked body in which a thin film photoelectric conversion cell is interposed between two sealing sheets is degassed, pressurized and heated on the heat mechanism, and laminated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a thin film photoelectric conversion module in which a plurality of thin film photoelectric conversion cells each having a flexible substrate are sandwiched between flexible weather resistant films to protect both surfaces thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a flexible thin film photoelectric conversion module. The thin film photoelectric conversion cell 24b in which the first electrode film 24g, the thin film photoelectric conversion part 24p including the thin film a-Sipn junction, and the second electrode film 24h are formed on the resin film 24f such as a polyimide film is at least sunlight. On the incident side, two translucent resin sealing sheets 24 are used.
A and 24d are laminated and sealed. The sealing sheet is made of a material having excellent weather resistance so as not to be damaged by a long-term natural environment. Such a laminating process of the thin film photoelectric conversion substrate and the encapsulating sheet consists of deaeration between the encapsulating sheets, thermal adhesion and cross-linking between the sheets, and the following manufacturing apparatus has been used.

FIG. 4 is an open state view of a conventional belt transport type thin film photoelectric conversion module manufacturing apparatus, in which (a) is a front view and (b) is a right side view. A hot-cooling plate 5 having a heater 5a and a water-cooling pipe 5b is attached to the lower vacuum container 1 via a heat insulating member 6, and an O-ring 3 is attached around the lower vacuum container 1. A stretchable sheet 7 is fixed to the upper vacuum chamber 2 around the periphery to form an upper vacuum chamber 9, and an O-ring 4 is attached to the periphery of the upper vacuum chamber 2. A conveyor belt 11 stretched between rotating rolls 12a and 12b arranged so as to sandwich the lower vacuum container 1.
Is mounted with a thin film photoelectric conversion substrate (hereinafter referred to as a substrate) 13 in which a thin film photoelectric conversion cell is sandwiched between two sealing sheets at a mounting position 17, and is conveyed to a take-out position through a hot plate 5. The upper vacuum container 2 is lowered by the opening / closing mechanism 10 and the conveying belt 11 is sandwiched between the O-ring 3 and the O-ring 4 to seal the periphery of the lower vacuum container 1 to form the lower vacuum chamber 8.
The lower vacuum chamber 8 and the upper vacuum chamber 9 are connected to a vacuum pump 16 via a control valve 14 and a control valve 15, respectively, and exhaust and leak can be controlled independently.

First, the base 13 is mounted at the mounting position 17,
The substrate 13 is conveyed onto the hot plate 5, the upper vacuum container 2 is lowered, and at the same time when the heating of the hot cold plate 5 is started, the insides of the lower vacuum chamber 8 and the upper vacuum chamber 9 are brought into a vacuum state, and the sealing sheets are sealed. Degas. After the base body 13 reaches a predetermined temperature, the inside of the upper vacuum chamber 9 is brought to atmospheric pressure, and the elastic sheet 7 is pressed against the base body 13 due to the pressure difference between the lower vacuum chamber 8 and the upper vacuum chamber 9. In this state, thermal bonding and cross-linking are performed for a predetermined time, then the hot cold plate 5 is cooled by the cooling pipe 5b, and the base 13 is cooled for a predetermined time. Next, the lower vacuum chamber 8 is set to atmospheric pressure, the upper vacuum container 2 is raised by the opening / closing mechanism 10, and then the conveyor belt 11 is sent to the base body (which is a module) 1
3 is conveyed to the take-out position 18. At the same time, the next substrate 13 mounted during heating is transported onto the hot cold plate 5. Thus, the single-wafer operation is repeated.

[0005]

Since the above-described apparatus for manufacturing a belt-conveying type thin film photoelectric conversion module processes a substrate in a single-wafer type, a substrate in which a thin film photoelectric conversion cell and a sealing sheet are superposed on each other is used. It is necessary to perform a manufacturing process separately.
Further, it is not possible to laminate a substrate that is continuous in the length of the hot plate in the transport direction. Since the hot plate also has the function of cooling, heating and cooling will be repeated for each process.
Since heating and cooling are performed via the conveyor belt, it takes time to change the temperature, resulting in poor production efficiency. Therefore,
There is also a problem that the running cost of the device increases.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the need for a substrate manufacturing step, laminate thin film photoelectric conversion cells of arbitrary length,
An object of the present invention is to provide a thin-film photoelectric conversion module manufacturing apparatus capable of continuously manufacturing a high-quality thin-film photoelectric conversion module without bubbles and having high production efficiency.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a lower vacuum container having a heating mechanism provided therein and an elastic sheet on one surface facing the heating mechanism are provided. A thin film photoelectric conversion cell is provided between two encapsulating sheets in a vacuum chamber in a lower vacuum container that is equipped with an upper vacuum container that matches that of the lower vacuum container and is configured by matching the upper vacuum container and the lower vacuum container. The thin film photoelectric conversion module is manufactured by placing the laminated body sandwiching between the heating mechanism and the elastic sheet, degassing, pressurizing and heating to laminate, and sealing the outer peripheral portion of the laminated body to manufacture a thin film photoelectric conversion module. The apparatus is provided with a delivery roll that continuously supplies the two sealing sheets separately and a winding roll that winds the laminated thin film photoelectric conversion module, and a thin film photoelectric conversion layer is provided between these sealing sheets. Sandwich the cell, passed between stretchable sheet and the heating mechanism, and to perform a predetermined conveying and laminate pitch not involved in the length of the conveying direction of the laminated thin film photoelectric conversion cells alternately.

Further, it is preferable that the manufacturing apparatus has a continuous thin film photoelectric conversion cell feed roll, and the manufacturing apparatus preferably has a continuous conductive tape feed roll. Further, in the manufacturing apparatus, the heating mechanism and the cooling mechanism are separately provided in the same vacuum chamber, and the heating mechanism is a hot plate with a built-in heater.

Further, in the manufacturing apparatus, the cooling mechanism is a cooling roll or a cooling plate. Also,
In the manufacturing apparatus, the pitch may be shorter than the length of a uniform heating portion of the heating mechanism in the transport direction.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an open state of a thin-film photoelectric conversion module manufacturing apparatus of an embodiment according to the present invention,
(A) is a front view and (b) is a right side view. The encapsulating sheet 24a, which is a translucent, weather-resistant film, wound around the delivery roll 21 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow 29, and the mounting position 28
Then, the thin film photoelectric conversion cell 24b is mounted on the sealing sheet 24a manually or by a supply device (not shown).
Here, since the thin film photoelectric conversion cell 24b is fixed and sealed on the sealing sheet 24a, the weather-resistant heat-adhesive resin film 24 is used.
Then, d is sent out from the sending roll 23, and the stacked body 24 which is stuck and stacked by the press rolls 25a and 25b is transported. In addition, the mounted thin film photoelectric conversion cell 24b and the sealing sheet 24a supply the conductive tape 24c from the delivery roll 22 to the power supply terminal of the thin film photoelectric conversion cell 24b in front of the press rolls 25a and 25b, and connect the thin film photoelectric conversion cell 24b. The current collection wiring of the conversion cell 24b can also be provided.

A peripheral portion of the upper vacuum chamber 2 is fixed around a stretchable sheet 7 of silicone rubber or the like, and an upper vacuum chamber 9 is provided.
Is composed. An O-ring 4 around the upper vacuum container 2
Is attached, and in the closed state, matches the O-ring 3 around the lower vacuum container 1. A hot plate 5 having a heater 5 a is attached to the lower vacuum container 1 via a heat insulating member 6. The heating plate 5 is always heated to a constant temperature.

After the laminated body 24 is conveyed to the hot plate 5, the upper vacuum vessel 2 is lowered by the opening / closing mechanism 10, the O-ring 3 and the O-ring 4 sandwich the laminated body 24 and seal the periphery of the lower vacuum vessel 1, The lower vacuum chamber 8 is configured. The lower vacuum chamber 8 and the upper vacuum chamber 9 are connected to the vacuum pump 16 via the control valve 14 and the control valve 15, respectively, and heat the module 24 by the heating plate 5 and simultaneously, the lower vacuum chamber 8 and the upper vacuum chamber 9 are connected. The inside of the sealing sheet is evacuated, and the space between the sealing sheets is degassed. After deaeration is sufficiently performed, the control valve 15 is switched to bring the inside of the upper vacuum chamber 9 into the atmospheric state, and the elastic sheet 7 is pressed against the module 24 by the pressure difference between the upper vacuum chamber 8 and the lower vacuum chamber 9 to pressurize the module 24. In this state, heat bonding and cross-linking are performed for a predetermined time to perform lamination, and then the control valve 14 is switched to bring the inside of the lower vacuum chamber 8 into the atmospheric state, and the opening / closing mechanism 10 raises the upper vacuum container 2 to Pitch only module 2
Carry 4m. The following thin film photoelectric conversion cell 24b is mounted in the laminate.

The module 24 which is being conveyed carries out step conveyance at a conveying pitch 33 shorter than the effective heating length 32 so that the previous laminating range 30 and the current laminating range 31 overlap with each other. Stop at a position where the laminating area 30 does not come off. Module 24
The m passes through the cooling rolls 26a and 26b during transportation and is cooled. Since the module 24m is at room temperature and hardened near the O-ring 3 on the outlet side of the lower vacuum chamber 1, no imprint remains even after the module 24 is sandwiched by the O-ring 3 and the O-ring 4 in the next step. Laminated module 2
4 m is taken up by the take-up roll 27 together with the sealing sheet. After that, the process of laminating and mounting the thin film photoelectric conversion cell 24b is repeated, and the module 24 is wound on the winding roll 27.

As described above, since the hot plate 5 and the cooling mechanism are separated, the time required for cooling is no longer necessary, and the time for one step is greatly reduced as compared with the conventional device. Moreover, since the transport pitch is set as described above, the lamination is continuously performed without interruption regardless of the size of the thin film photoelectric conversion cell 24b to be mounted. Therefore, the thin-film photoelectric conversion module having an arbitrary length can be manufactured without changing the heating or the pitch. Thin film photoelectric conversion cell 24b
Even if it is a continuous body, a continuous module can be manufactured by mounting a roll that is wound before the press roll and sandwiching the tip of the thin film photoelectric conversion cell 24b between the sealing sheets.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a thin-film photoelectric conversion module manufacturing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. The cooling after lamination is changed to the water cooling cooling plate 26c. The thin film photoelectric conversion module manufactured by the above manufacturing apparatus is separately cut into individual thin film photoelectric conversion modules according to the size of the laminated thin film photoelectric conversion cells. Example A thin film photoelectric conversion cell in which a-Si pn junction was formed on a polyimide film was used, and ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer was used as a sealing sheet, and lamination was performed by the above apparatus. The temperature of the hot plate was about 140 ° C., and the stop time on the hot plate was 12 minutes. Cooling was performed by water cooling at room temperature.

The produced module was good, and the temperature and humidity cycle (-40 to 90 ° C, 90% RH, 50 cycles), humidity resistance test (85 ° C, 95% RH, 1000h) and heat resistance test (80 ° C, 1000h) were used. ), No abnormal appearance or deterioration of characteristics occurred.

[0017]

According to the present invention, at least before and after the apparatus for manufacturing a thin film photoelectric conversion module, there are provided a feed roll for feeding at least two sealing sheets and a take-up roll for winding the laminated module. Only the thin film photoelectric conversion cells need to be placed on the encapsulation sheet, and a separate step of superimposing the thin film photoelectric conversion cells on the two encapsulation sheets is not required, thus simplifying the process. In addition, it is possible to stack continuous conductive tapes and modularize continuous thin film photoelectric conversion cells.

Further, by carrying out laminating by carrying out stepwise lamination of a continuous module at a pitch shorter than the effective laminating length so that the laminating range of the previous step and the laminating range of the next step overlap, the continuous or arbitrary length can be obtained. It is possible to perform high-quality laminating on the module No. 1 without wrinkles and bubbles, and to form a stable module.

According to the present invention, a heating mechanism and a cooling mechanism are separately provided in the thin-film photoelectric conversion module manufacturing apparatus, and the module is cooled during transportation, so that the module can be transported without cooling after lamination, Since there is no need to repeat heating and cooling of the hot plate, the production efficiency can be improved and the running cost of the device can be kept low.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an open state view of a thin-film photoelectric conversion module manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a front view, and (b) is a right side view.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a thin film photoelectric conversion module manufacturing apparatus of another embodiment according to the present invention in an open state.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a flexible thin film photoelectric conversion module.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an open state of a conventional belt transport type thin film photoelectric conversion module manufacturing apparatus, (a) is a front view, and (b) is a right side view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Lower Vacuum Container 2 Upper Vacuum Container 24a Encapsulating Sheet 24d Encapsulating Sheet 24b Thin Film Photoelectric Conversion Cell 24c Conductive Tape 24m Thin Film Photoelectric Conversion Module 24f Resin Film 24g First Electrode Film 24h Second Electrode Film 24p Thin Film Photoelectric Conversion Part 24 Laminated body 3 O-ring 4 O-ring 5 Heat-cooled plate 5a Heater 5b Water-cooled pipe 6 Insulation member 8 Lower vacuum chamber 9 Upper vacuum chamber 10 Opening / closing mechanism 14 Control valve 15 Control valve 16 Vacuum pump 21 Sending roll 22 Sending roll 23 Sending roll 23 25a Press roll 25b Press roll 27 Winding roll 26a Cooling roll 26b Cooling roll 26c Cooling plate 29 Conveying direction 28 Mounting position 30 Previous laminating range 31 Current laminating range 32 Effective heating length 33 Conveying pitch

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A lower vacuum container in which a heating mechanism is provided, and an upper vacuum container in which one surface facing the heating mechanism is a stretchable sheet, and a peripheral vacuum sealing portion matches that of the lower vacuum container. Between the heating mechanism and the stretchable sheet, a laminated body in which a thin film photoelectric conversion cell is sandwiched between two sealing sheets is placed in a vacuum chamber in a lower vacuum vessel configured by matching the upper vacuum vessel and the lower vacuum vessel. In the thin film photoelectric conversion module manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a thin film photoelectric conversion module by laminating by degassing, heating under pressure, and sealing the outer peripheral portion of the laminate, the two sealing sheets are separately provided. A continuous supply feed roll and a winding roll that winds the laminated thin film photoelectric conversion module are provided, and a thin film photoelectric conversion cell is sandwiched between these sealing sheets, and between the heating mechanism and the stretchable sheet. And apparatus for manufacturing a thin film photoelectric conversion module and performing alternating conveying and laminate in the conveying direction of the constant pitch without regard to the length of the laminated thin film photoelectric conversion cells. 2. The thin-film photoelectric conversion module manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a delivery roll of continuous thin-film photoelectric conversion cells. 3. The thin-film photoelectric conversion module manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a continuous conductive tape feeding roll. 4. The thin-film photoelectric conversion module manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a heating mechanism and a cooling mechanism are separately provided in the same vacuum chamber, and the heating mechanism is a hot plate with a built-in heater. An apparatus for manufacturing a thin film photoelectric conversion module, which is characterized by: 5. The thin-film photoelectric conversion module manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the cooling mechanism is a cooling roll or a cooling plate. 6. The manufacturing apparatus for a thin film photoelectric conversion module according to claim 1, wherein the pitch is shorter than a length of a soaking portion in the transport direction of the heating mechanism. apparatus.