INTEGRATED DIODE ASSEMBLIES FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES
First Claim
1. An integrated diode assembly for providing electrical protection to one or more photovoltaic cells in a photovoltaic module, the integrated diode assembly comprising:
- an insulating strip comprising a first surface, a second surface, and a first cutout;
a first combined diode-lead assembly disposed adjacent to the second surface and comprising a first diode, a first diode conductor electrically connected to one electrical lead of the first diode, and a second diode conductor electrically connected another electrical lead of the first diode; and
a first interconnecting conductor disposed adjacent to the second surface, the first interconnecting conductor at least partially overlapping and being electrically connected to the first diode conductor,wherein one or more of the first interconnecting conductor and the first diode conductor at least partially overlap the first cutout to provide an electrical connection to a first photovoltaic cell disposed adjacent to the first surface.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Provided are bypass diode assemblies for use in photovoltaic modules. Also provided are methods of fabricating such assemblies and a method of fabricating photovoltaic modules using such assemblies. A diode assembly may include an insulating strip, at least one lead-diode assembly having a diode and two leads, and at least two interconnecting conductors overlapping with and electrically contacting the leads of the lead-diode assembly. The insulating strip supports the lead-diode assembly and conductors and at least partially insulates these components from photovoltaic cells. Specifically, during module fabrication, the interconnecting conductors make electrical connections to the back sides of the cells through cutouts in the insulating strip. The electrical connections may be made to every cell in a row or a subset of selected cells in that row. In certain embodiments, the same interconnecting conductor is connected to two or more cells positioned in adjacent rows.
17 Citations
44 Claims
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1. An integrated diode assembly for providing electrical protection to one or more photovoltaic cells in a photovoltaic module, the integrated diode assembly comprising:
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an insulating strip comprising a first surface, a second surface, and a first cutout; a first combined diode-lead assembly disposed adjacent to the second surface and comprising a first diode, a first diode conductor electrically connected to one electrical lead of the first diode, and a second diode conductor electrically connected another electrical lead of the first diode; and a first interconnecting conductor disposed adjacent to the second surface, the first interconnecting conductor at least partially overlapping and being electrically connected to the first diode conductor, wherein one or more of the first interconnecting conductor and the first diode conductor at least partially overlap the first cutout to provide an electrical connection to a first photovoltaic cell disposed adjacent to the first surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A photovoltaic module comprising:
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a first row of photovoltaic cells interconnected in series, the first row comprising a first photovoltaic cell and a second photovoltaic cell; and an integrated diode assembly provided adjacent to and overlapping with the first row of photovoltaic cells, the integrated diode assembly comprising; an insulating strip comprising a first cutout aligned with the first photovoltaic cell and a second cutout aligned with the second photovoltaic cell; and a first combined diode-lead assembly provided adjacent to an opposite side of the insulating strip with respect to the first row of photovoltaic cells, the first diode-lead assembly comprising a first diode, a first diode conductor electrically connected to one electrical lead of the first diode and to a back side of the first photovoltaic cell, and a second diode conductor electrically connected to another electrical lead of the first diode and to a back side of the second photovoltaic cell. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A photovoltaic module comprising:
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one or more rows of photovoltaic cells, the photovoltaic cells interconnected in series in each row; and an integrated diode assembly provided adjacent to and overlapping with the one or more rows of photovoltaic cells, the integrated diode assembly comprising; a diode, a first diode conductor electrically connected to one electrical lead of the diode and to a back side of a first photovoltaic cell in the one or more rows, and a second diode conductor electrically connected to another electrical lead of the diode and to a back side of a second photovoltaic cell, wherein electrical connections between the first photovoltaic cell and the second photovoltaic cell connect a set of multiple photovoltaic cells in parallel with the first diode.
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29. A method of fabricating an integrated diode assembly for electrical coupling to multiple photovoltaic cells, the method comprising:
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providing an insulating strip having a surface; attaching a first combined diode-lead assembly to the surface, the first diode-lead assembly comprising a first diode, a first diode conductor electrically connected to one electrical lead of the first diode, and a second diode conductor electrically connected another electrical lead of the first diode; and attaching a first interconnecting conductor to the surface of the insulating strip such that the first interconnecting conductor at least partially overlaps the first diode conductor and electrically connects to the first diode conductor. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A method of fabricating a photovoltaic module, the method comprising:
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providing an aligned row of photovoltaic cells interconnected in series, the aligned row comprising a first photovoltaic cell and a second photovoltaic cell; and positioning an integrated diode assembly over the aligned row of photovoltaic cells, the integrated diode assembly comprising a combined diode-lead assembly and an insulating strip positioned in between the combined diode-lead assembly and the aligned row of photovoltaic cells, the diode-lead assembly comprising a first diode, a first diode conductor electrically connected to one electrical lead of the first diode and to a back side of the first photovoltaic cell, and a second diode conductor electrically connected to another electrical lead of the first diode and to a back side of the second photovoltaic cell. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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Specification