FOLDABLE PHOTOVOLTAIC ASSEMBLY WITH NON-PERPENDICULAR INTERCONNECTION

• US 20180097472A1
• Filed: 10/04/2016
• Published: 04/05/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sun Harmonics, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Global Solar Energy Incorporated (Wei Jun Li)
• Inventors: ANDERSON, Dale Huber, ALBRIGHT, Scot P., VENEGAS, Juan Gabriel
• Granted Patent: US 10,461,685 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H02S 30/20 Collapsible or foldable PV modules
• CPC Class Codes: H02S 40/36 characterised by special electrical interconnection means between two or more PV modules, e.g. electrical module-to-module connection
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/50 Photovoltaic [PV] energy

Abstract

Foldable photovoltaic assemblies and methods of manufacturing such assemblies, including a transparent top sheet having a fold line and a conductive interconnection pattern spanning the fold line. The conductive interconnection pattern includes inter-cell connections configured to interconnect individual photovoltaic cells to form photovoltaic submodules, and also inter-submodule connections configured to interconnect photovoltaic submodules to form an assembly of submodules, which in some cases may be a fully assembled photovoltaic module. The inter-submodule connections span the fold line and are oriented at non-perpendicular angles relative to the fold line.

Claims

1. An assembly of electrically interconnected photovoltaic submodules, comprising:

a first photovoltaic submodule including a first plurality of electrically interconnected photovoltaic cells;

a second photovoltaic submodule including a second plurality of electrically interconnected photovoltaic cells, wherein the second submodule is separated from the first submodule by a fold zone characterized by a fold line; and

a plurality of conductors each extending through the fold zone at a non-perpendicular angle relative to the fold line, to electrically interconnect the first and second submodules.

2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein each non-perpendicular angle is between 15 and 45 degrees.

3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the conductors are parallel in the fold zone so that each conductor extends through the fold zone at the same non-perpendicular angle.

4. The assembly of claim 3, wherein the non-perpendicular angle is between 10 and 30 degrees.

5. The assembly of claim 3, wherein the conductors each have a width, and the conductors are separated from each other by a separation distance measured orthogonally to the width.

6. The assembly of claim 5, wherein the separation distance is approximately twice the width.

7. The assembly of claim 3, wherein the non-perpendicular angle is approximately 30 degrees.

8. A foldable photovoltaic charger, comprising:

a flexible substrate;

first and second photovoltaic submodules disposed on the substrate and separated from each other by a first fold zone, each submodule including a plurality of electrically interconnected photovoltaic cells; and

a first plurality of linear conductors, each extending through the first fold zone to electrically interconnect parallel edge portions of the first and second submodules;

wherein the first plurality of conductors each extend through the first fold zone at an angle between 15 and 45 degrees relative to the edge portions of the first and second submodules.

9. The photovoltaic charger of claim 8, wherein the conductors are parallel to each other in the first fold zone.

10. The photovoltaic charger of claim 9, wherein each conductor has a width, wherein adjacent conductors are separated from each other by a separation distance orthogonal to the width, and wherein the separation distance is at least twice the width.

11. The photovoltaic charger of claim 8, further comprising:

third and fourth photovoltaic submodules disposed on the substrate, separated from each other by the first fold zone and separated from the first and second photovoltaic submodules by a second fold zone;

a second plurality of linear conductors, each extending through the first fold zone to electrically interconnect parallel edge portions of the third and fourth submodules;

a third plurality of linear conductors, each extending through the second fold zone to electrically interconnect parallel edge portions of the first and third submodules; and

a fourth plurality of linear conductors, each extending through the second fold zone to electrically interconnect parallel edge portions of the second and fourth submodules;

wherein all of the conductors extend through a respective one of the fold zones at an angle between 15 and 45 degrees relative to edge portions of the submodules connected by the conductors.

12. The photovoltaic charger of claim 11, wherein the charger is configured to fold along the first fold zone and the second fold zone, into a folded configuration wherein a majority of the bending within each fold zone occurs in sections of the charger where the conductors are absent.

13. The photovoltaic charger of claim 12, wherein each conductor has a width, wherein adjacent conductors are separated from each other by a separation distance orthogonal to the width, and wherein the separation distance is at least twice the width.

14. A foldable photovoltaic assembly, comprising:

a flexible substrate defining a rectangular grid including a plurality of submodule areas separated by fold zones;

a plurality of photovoltaic submodules each disposed on the substrate in one of the submodule areas; and

a plurality of conductors, each extending through one of the fold zones to electrically interconnect parallel edge portions of a pair of adjacent submodules;

wherein each conductor is oriented at an angle between 15 and 45 degrees relative to the edge portions of the pair of submodules interconnected by the conductor; and

wherein the photovoltaic assembly is configured to be transformed between an unfolded state in which all of the photovoltaic submodules are exposed, to a folded state in which one or fewer of the photovoltaic submodules are exposed, by folding the assembly along lines defined by the fold zones.

15. The assembly of claim 14, wherein a majority of bending in each fold zone occurs in sections of the substrate in which the conductors are absent, when the assembly is in the folded state.

16. The assembly of claim 14, wherein each pair of adjacent submodules is interconnected by a plurality of the conductors.

17. The assembly of claim 16, wherein the conductors interconnecting each particular pair of adjacent submodules are oriented parallel to each other.

18. The assembly of claim 17, wherein the conductors interconnecting each particular pair of adjacent submodules are arranged into two laterally spaced groups.

19. The assembly of claim 17, wherein the conductors interconnecting each particular pair of adjacent submodules have a common width and are separated from each other by a separation distance at least twice the width.

20. The assembly of claim 17, further comprising conductive bus bars disposed along the edge portions of each submodule and electrically connected to respective pluralities of the parallel conductors.