WO2014132166A1

WO2014132166A1 - Connection box and solar photovoltaic apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2014132166A1
Application number: PCT/IB2014/059040
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shuzhi WANG
Original assignee: Tyco Electronics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.; Tyco Electronics Uk Ltd
Priority date: 2013-02-28
Filing date: 2014-02-17
Publication date: 2014-09-04
Also published as: CN203134834U

Abstract

A connection box to be connected to a solar photovoltaic assembly, the solar photovoltaic assembly comprising a pair of glass plates and a conductive sheet extending out from between the pair of glass plates, wherein the connection box comprising: a box body including a bottom wall provided with an opening for introducing the conductive sheet into the box body; a conductive terminal mounted in the box body and electrically connected with the introduced conductive sheet; and an extension wall extending downward from an outside edge of the bottom wall and abutting against end surfaces of the pair of glass plates. The connecting box can be stably and mechanically fixed to the glass plates of the solar photovoltaic assembly, the conductive sheet is led out the end surface of the glass plate meanwhile a sufficient bonding strength is held between the connecting box and the glass plates.

Description

CONNECTION BOX AND SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC APPARATUS

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 201320092492.2 filed on Febmary 28, 2013 in the State Intellectual Property Office of China, the whole disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a connection box to be connected to a conductive sheet, more particularly, relates to a connection box to be connected to a conductive sheet (bus bar) of a solar photovoltaic assembly and a solar photovoltaic apparatus having the connection box.

Description of the Related Art

In an electronic system, for example, solar photovoltaic assembly, communication assembly, etc., for transmitting a micro electric signal, it is necessary to transmit the micro electric signal to an electrical device disposed inside a connection box through a conductive sheet (bus bar) so as to collect or retransmit the micro electric signal. Inside the connection box, a terminal for electrically connecting the conductive sheet and a connection piece connected between the terminal and the electrical device are disposed.

Fig.1 is an illustrative view of showing a conductive sheet extending out of a solar photovoltaic assembly. Generally, a body of the solar photovoltaic assembly is mounted on a reinforced glass plate, and the conductive sheet 20 of the solar photovoltaic assembly is sandwiched between two glass plates 10 and exposed from end surfaces of the glass plates 10 by a predetermined length, the exposed conductive sheet being connected to the conductive terminal of the connection box.

In prior arts, there are two solutions to mount the connection box to the solar photovoltaic assembly. In one of the solutions, as shown in Fig.1, the connection box is mounted on a back side of the glass plate 10 of the solar photovoltaic assembly, and a hole 30 (indicated by broken line in Fig.1) is formed in the glass plate 10 so that the conductive sheet 20 can extend out of the glass plate 10 through the hole 30 and be connected to the conductive terminal of the connection box. In this solution, when the glass plate 10 has a thin thickness, it is difficult to form the hole 30 in the glass plate 10, because the glass plate 10 may be easily broken during making the hole 30.

In the other of the solutions, as shown in Fig.1, the connection box is mounted on end surfaces of the glass plates 10, and the conductive sheet 20 extends out between the glass plates 10 and is connected to the conductive terminal of the connection box. In this solution, it is hard to reliably attach the connection box to the end surfaces of the glass plates 10, because the area of the end surfaces of the glass plates 10 is very small and it cannot provide an enough bonding strength between the connection box and the glass plates 10. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made to overcome or alleviate at least one aspect of the above mentioned disadvantages.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a connection box capable of being stably and mechanically fixed to glass plates of a solar photovoltaic assembly with a conductive sheet led out from end surfaces of the glass plates.

Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a connection box capable of providing a sufficient bonding strength between the connecting box and the glass plates and capable of being simply and removably mounted on the glass plates by engagement members.

Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a connection box and a solar photovoltaic assembly having increased the creepage distance of the connection box.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connection box to be connected to a solar photovoltaic assembly, the solar photovoltaic assembly comprising a pair of glass plates and a conductive sheet extending out from between the pair of glass plates, wherein the connection box comprising: a box body including a bottom wall provided with an opening for introducing the conductive sheet into the box body; a conductive terminal mounted in the box body and electrically connected with the introduced conductive sheet; and an extension wall extending downward from an outside edge of the bottom wall and abutting against end surfaces of the pair of glass plates.

The above connection box further comprises an auxiliary device mounted on the extension wall, the auxiliary device comprises a first auxiliary wall extending parallel to the bottom wall from a lower end of the extension wall and configured to sandwich the pair of glass plates between the first auxiliary wall and the bottom wall. In the above connection box, at least one first engagement member is formed on the extension wall; and at least one second engagement member is formed on the auxiliary device and removably mounted on the first engagement member to removably mount the auxiliary device on the connection box.

In the above connection box, the auxiliary device further comprises a second auxiliary wall perpendicularly extending from the first auxiliary wall and attached onto the extension wall.

In the above connection box, a pair of first engagement members are formed at both ends of the extension wall, respectively, and a pair of second engagement members are formed on the first auxiliary wall and removably engaged with the pair of first engagement members, respectively.

In the above connection box, the first and second engagement members are engaged with each other in a snapping manner.

In the above connection box, the first and second engagement members comprise hooks capable of being engaged with each other.

In the above connection box, a movable cover is provided on the box body.

In the above connection box, the conductive terminal extends from a front wall toward a back wall of the box body.

In the above connection box, a coupling device for connecting the conductive terminal and an external cable is mounted on an outer surface of the front wall.

In the above connection box, the extension wall extends downward from one of opposite side walls of the box body at the outside edge of the bottom wall.

In the above connection box, the auxiliary device and the extension wall are formed into one piece.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a solar photovoltaic apparatus, comprising:

a solar photovoltaic assembly comprising:

a pair of glass plates stacked with each other; and

at least two conductive sheets sandwiched between the pair of glass plates and extending out of the pair of glass plates; and

at least two connection boxes according to any one of -embodiments as mentioned above, wherein each of the at least two connection boxes is electrically connected to the respective conductive sheet.

In the above solar photovoltaic apparatus, the stacked glass plates are attached to the bottom wall and the first auxiliary wall at both sides thereof.

In the above solar photovoltaic apparatus, the extension wall is attached to the end surfaces of the stacked glass plates.

In the above solar photovoltaic apparatus, the conductive sheet is configured to be a bus bar extending from a solar panel.

In the above solar photovoltaic apparatus, at least one diode is electrically connected between two conductive sheets of the at least two conductive sheets, and the diode is disposed between the pair of glass plates.

In the above various embodiments of the present invention, the connection box is capable of being stably and mechanically fixed to glass plates of the solar photovoltaic assembly with the conductive sheet led out from the end surfaces of the glass plates.

Furthermore, the connection box is capable of being simply and removably mounted on the glass plates by the auxiliary device. In the present invention, the auxiliary device can ensure there is a sufficient bonding strength between the connecting box and the glass plates, so that the connection box can be reliably mounted on the glass plates.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is an illustrative view showing a conductive sheet extending out of glass plates of a solar photovoltaic assembly in prior arts;

Fig.2 is an illustrative front perspective view of a connection box according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

Fig.3 is an illustrative back perspective view of the connection box of Fig.2;

Fig.4 is an illustrative perspective view of an auxiliary device of the connection box according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

Fig.5 is an illustrative local cross section view of a solar photovoltaic apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig.6 is an illustrative plan view of a solar photovoltaic assembly of a solar photovoltaic apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, in which one of glass plates is removed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE IVENTION Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the attached drawings, wherein the like reference numerals refer to the like elements. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiment set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

Fig.2 is an illustrative front perspective view of a connection box according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; Fig.3 is an illustrative back perspective view of the connection box of Fig.2.

As shown in Figs.2-3, the connection box 100 is used to electrically connect a conductive sheet of an electronic system, for example, a solar photovoltaic assembly, a communication assembly, etc., for generating or transmitting a micro electric signal. An electrical device is provided inside the connection box to process and further transmit the micro electric signal transmitted through the conductive sheet.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a connection box 100 to be connected to a solar photovoltaic assembly. Please refer to Fig.1, the solar photovoltaic assembly comprises a pair of glass plates 10 and a conductive sheet 20 extending out from between the pair of glass plates 10. As shown in Figs.2-3, the connection box 100 comprises a box body 1 having a substantial cuboid shape, a conductive terminal 2 and an extension wall 3. The box body 1 includes a bottom wall 11 provided with an opening 111 for introducing the conductive sheet 20 into the box body 1. The conductive terminal 2 is mounted in the box body 1 to be electrically connected with the introduced conductive sheet 20. The extension wall 3 extends downward (that is, in a direction perpendicular to the bottom wall 11) from an outside edge of the bottom wall 11, and an inner surface of the extension wall 3 abuts against end surfaces of the pair of glass plates 10. In this way, when the connection box 100 is mounted on the glass plates 10 (see Fig.1), the bottom wall 11 and the extension wall 3 are attached to a side surface and end surfaces of the glass plates 10, respectively, so as to reliably mount the connection box 100 on the glass plates 10.

In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in Figs.4-5, the connection box 100 further comprises an auxiliary device 4 mounted on the extension wall 3. The auxiliary device 4 comprises a first auxiliary wall 41 extending parallel to the bottom wall 11 from a lower end of the extension wall 3 and configured to sandwich the pair of glass plates 10 between the first auxiliary wall 41 and the bottom wall 3, as shown in Fig.5. In another exemplary embodiment, as shown in Figs.2-5, at least one first engagement member 31 is formed on the extension wall 3; and at least one second engagement member 42 is formed on the auxiliary device 4. The second engagement member 42 is configured to be removably mounted on the first engagement member 31 to removably mount the auxiliary device 4 on the connection box 100. Also, as shown in Fig.5, the auxiliary device 4 further comprises a second auxiliary wall 43 perpendicularly extending from the first auxiliary wall 41 and attached onto the extension wall 3.

In an exemplary embodiment, a pair of first engagement members 31 are formed at both sides of the extension wall 3, respectively, and a pair of second engagement members 31 are formed on the first auxiliary wall 41 and removably engaged with the pair of first engagement members 31, respectively.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first and second engagement members 31, 42 are engaged with each other in a snapping manner. The first and second engagement members 31, 42 comprise hooks capable of being engaged with each other, for example, the hook 421 shown in Fig.4. In this way, when the auxiliary device 4 is mounted on the extension wall 3, the first auxiliary wall 41 together with the bottom wall 11 sandwich the glass plates 10, and the second auxiliary wall 43 extending perpendicularly from the first auxiliary wall 41 abuts against an outside of the extension wall 3, increasing the stability of mounting the connection box 100 on the glass plates 10. Also, the first and second auxiliary walls 41, 43 increase the creepage distance (the shortest distance from electrical components located inside the connection box to a portion accessible by hands outside the connection box along an insulation surface) of the connection box.

In an alternative embodiment, the auxiliary device may be integrally formed with the extension wall, or the auxiliary device may comprise only the engagement member capable of being attached to the extension wall and the first auxiliary wall as long as the glass plates can be sandwiched between the first auxiliary wall and the bottom wall 11 of the box body 1.

In an exemplary embodiment, the box body 1 may be defined by a front wall 12, a back wall 14 and two side walls 13. The extension wall 3 extends downward from one of opposite side walls 13 of the box body 1 at the outside edge of the bottom wall 11. An opening 111 for introducing the conductive sheet 20 into the box body 1 is formed in the bottom wall 11 of the box body 1. A movable cover 5 is provided on the box body 1. An operator can operate the electrical components inside the box body 1 after the cover 5 is opened. When the operator finished the operation, the cover 5 is closed. The cover 5 may be removably mounted on the upper portion of the box body 1 in a snapping manner or by a hinge.

In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in Fig.3, the conductive terminal 2 extends from the front wall 12 toward the back wall 14 so that the conductive terminal 2 can be connected to the conductive sheet 20 introduced through the opening 111 by, for example, soldering. A coupling device 6 for connecting the conductive terminal 2 and an external cable (not shown) may be mounted on an outer surface of the front wall 12. The electrical components for collecting, processing or amplifying the micro electric signal input from the conductive sheet 20 may be mounted in the coupling device. The external cable may further transmit the processed or amplified electric signal to the other electrical components.

In a further exemplary embodiment, as shown in Fig.5, there is provided a solar photovoltaic apparatus comprising a solar photovoltaic assembly for converting a solar energy to an electric energy and a plurality of above-mentioned connection boxes 100. The solar photovoltaic assembly comprises a pair of glass plates 10 stacked with each other and at least two conductive sheets 20 sandwiched between the pair of glass plates 10 and extending out of the pair of glass plates 10. The pair of stacked glass plates are sandwiched between the first auxiliary wall 41 and the outer surface of the bottom wall 11 of the box body 1, and each of the plurality of connection boxes 100 is electrically connected to a respective conductive sheet 20.

In an exemplary embodiment, the stacked glass plates 10 are attached to the bottom wall 11 and the first auxiliary wall 41 at both sides thereof. Also, the extension wall 3 is attached to the end surfaces of the stacked glass plates 10. As a result, the outer surface of the bottom wall 11 of the connection box 100, the inner surface of the first auxiliary wall 41 and the inner surface of the extension wall 3 are attached to two sides and one end surface of the glass plates 10 respectively, increasing the bonding strength between the glass plates 10 and the connection box 100, and flexibility for selecting the bonding position therebetween. In this way, the connection box can be stably fixed to the glass plates 10.

In an exemplary embodiment of the solar photovoltaic apparatus, the conductive sheet 20 may comprise a flexible bus bar led out of a solar panel (not shown) and made of, for example, a metal foil.

Fig.6 is an illustrative plan view of a solar photovoltaic assembly of a solar

photovoltaic apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, in which one of glass plates is removed.

As shown in Fig.6, a plurality of solar wafers 50 are arranged on the glass plate 10 in an array. Each of a plurality of bus bars used as branched conductive sheets connects a row of wafers 50 in series. One row of wafers 50 and another row of wafers 50 or two rows wafers 50 are connected in parallel by a diode 40 therebetween. Thereby, the diode 40 functions as a bypass diode for each row of wafers. All diodes 40 are connected in series and connected to two conductive sheets 20, and the two conductive sheets 20 are led out of the glass plates 10. As a result, at least one diode 40 is connected between the two conductive sheets extending out of the glass plates 10, and the at least one diode 40 is disposed between the glass plates 10. In an exemplary embodiment, the diode 40 may be a diode chip or an ultrathin diode and directly laminated on the glass plates 10. In this exemplary embodiment, since the diodes are disposed between the glass plates 10 of the solar photovoltaic assembly, there may be no any further bypass diode to be positioned inside the connection box, simplifying the structure of the connection box. In an alternative embodiment, the diodes may be disposed inside the connection box, instead of being disposed between the glass plates.

Hereafter, it will describe the assembling process of the solar photovoltaic apparatus of the present invention with reference to Figs.2-5.

Firstly, extending the bus bar as the conductive sheet 20 out between the stacked glass plates 10 by a predetermined distance, folding the bus bar 20 from the end of the inner glass plate 10 to the inner side of an inner glass plate 10 of the two glass plates 10, coating an adhesive on the outer surface of the bottom wall 11 of the box body 1 and/or coating an adhesive on the end surfaces of the glass plates 10;

Thereafter, attaching the bottom 11 of the box body 1 to the inner glass plate 10, introducing the bus bar inside the box body 1 through the opening 111 of the bottom wall 11 of the box body 1, coating an adhesive on an inner side of the first auxiliary wall 41 of the auxiliary device 4, and mounting the auxiliary device 4 on the extension wall 3 so that the first auxiliary wall 41 is attached to the outer glass plate 10, in this way, the box body 1 is mounted to the glass plates 10;

Then, soldering the bus bar 20 to the conductive terminal 2 to electrically connect the solar photovoltaic assembly to the connection box 100, coating an adhesive on the soldered bus bar and conductive terminal 2, and closing the upper opening of the box body 1 with the cover 5.

In the exemplary embodiment of the solar photovoltaic apparatus, by means of the first and second auxiliary walls 41, 43 perpendicular to each other of the auxiliary device 4, the connection box can be stably and mechanically fixed to the solar photovoltaic assembly in a case where the conductive sheet is led out from the end surfaces of the glass plates. In addition, the connection box is capable of being simply and removably mounted on the glass plates by the auxiliary device. In the present invention, the auxiliary device can ensure there is a sufficient bonding strength between the connecting box and the glass plates, so that the connection box can be reliably mounted on the glass plates. Also, the auxiliary device increases the creepage distance of the connection box, improving the electrical safety of the electrical components inside the connection box.

It should be appreciated for those skilled in this art that the above embodiments are intended to be illustrated, and not restrictive. For example, many modifications may be made to the above embodiments by those skilled in this art, and various features described in different embodiments may be freely combined with each other without conflicting in configuration or principle, so that more kinds of connection box can be achieved with overcoming the technical problem of the present invention.

Although several exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.

As used herein, an element recited in the singular and proceeded with the word "a" or "an" should be understood as not excluding plural of said elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly stated. Furthermore, references to "one embodiment" of the present invention are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. Moreover, unless explicitly stated to the contrary, embodiments "comprising" or "having" an element or a plurality of elements having a particular property may include additional such elements not having that property.

Claims

What is claimed is,

1. A connection box (100) to be connected to a solar photovoltaic assembly, the solar photovoltaic assembly comprising a pair of glass plates (10) and a conductive sheet (20) extending out from between the pair of glass plates (10),

the connection box (100) comprising:

a box body (1) including a bottom wall (11) provided with an opening (111) for introducing the conductive sheet (20) into the box body (1);

a conductive terminal (2) mounted in the box body (1) and electrically connected with the introduced conductive sheet (20); and

an extension wall (3) extending downward from an outside edge of the bottom wall (11) and abutting against end surfaces of the pair of glass plates (10).

2. The connection box according to claim 1, further comprising:

an auxiliary device (4) mounted on the extension wall (3),

wherein the auxiliary device (4) comprising:

a first auxiliary wall (41) extending parallel to the bottom wall (11) from a lower end of the extension wall (3) and configured to sandwich the pair of glass plates (10) between the first auxiliary wall (41) and the bottom wall (3).

3. The connection box according to claim 2,

wherein at least one first engagement member (31) is formed on the extension wall (3); and

wherein at least one second engagement member (42) is formed on the auxiliary device (4) and removably mounted on the first engagement member (31) to removably mount the auxiliary device (4) on the connection box (100).

4. The connection box according to claim 3,

wherein the auxiliary device (4) further comprising:

a second auxiliary wall (43) perpendicularly extending from the first auxiliary wall (41) and attached onto the extension wall (3).

5. The connection box according to claim 4,

wherein a pair of first engagement members (31) are formed at both ends of the extension wall (3), respectively, and

wherein a pair of second engagement members (42) are formed on the first auxiliary wall (41) and removably engaged with the pair of first engagement members (31), respectively.

6. The connection box according to claim 3,

wherein the first and second engagement members (31, 42) are engaged with each other in a snapping manner.

7. The connection box according to claim 6,

wherein the first and second engagement members (31, 42) comprise hooks capable of being engaged with each other.

8. The connection box according to claim 1,

wherein a movable cover (5) is provided on the box body (1).

9. The connection box according to claim 1,

wherein the conductive terminal (2) extends from a front wall (12) toward a back wall (14) of the box body (1).

10. The connection box according to claim 9,

wherein a coupling device (6) for connecting the conductive terminal (2) and an external cable is mounted on an outer surface of the front wall (12).

11. The connection box according to claim 9,

wherein the extension wall (3) extends downward from one of opposite side walls (13) of the box body (1) at the outside edge of the bottom wall (1 1).

12. The connection box according to claim 2,

wherein the auxiliary device (4) and the extension wall (3) are formed into one piece.

13. A solar photovoltaic apparatus, comprising:

a solar photovoltaic assembly comprising:

a pair of glass plates (10) stacked with each other; and - 12 - at least two conductive sheets (20) sandwiched between the pair of glass plates (10) and led out of the pair of glass plates (10); and

at least two connection boxes (100) according claim 1, wherein each of the at least two connection boxes (100) is electrically connected to the respective conductive sheet (20).

14. The solar photovoltaic apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein the stacked glass plates (20) are attached to the bottom wall (11) and the first auxiliary wall (41) at both sides thereof.

15. The solar photovoltaic apparatus according to claim 14,

wherein the extension wall (3) is attached to the end surfaces of the stacked glass plates

(10).

16. The solar photovoltaic apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein the conductive sheet (20) is configured to be a bus bar extending from a solar panel.

17. The solar photovoltaic apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein at least one diode is electrically connected between two conductive sheets of the at least two conductive sheets (20), and the diode is disposed between the pair of glass plates (10).