Serviceable Electrical Box Thermal Management
Granted: November 26, 2015
Application Number:
20150342084
An electrical assembly may include an enclosure having a base portion to attach the enclosure to a panel and a heat dissipating portion opposite the base portion, a circuit board having a first thermal interface on a first side of the board, a second thermal interface on a second side of the board, and a thermally conductive portion to provide enhanced thermal conduction between the first thermal interface and the second thermal interface, a power electronic device having a thermal…
METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING OPERATION OF PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER PLANTS
Granted: November 12, 2015
Application Number:
20150326168
A photovoltaic power plant includes a photovoltaic inverter that converts direct current generated by solar cells to alternating current. The output of the photovoltaic inverter is provided to a point of interconnection to a power grid. A meter at the point of interconnection may be read to detect the output of the photovoltaic inverter at the power grid. The photovoltaic power plant includes a plant controller with a state machine. The plant controller is configured to adjust setpoints…
SOLAR CELL CONTACT FORMATION USING LASER ABLATION
Granted: October 29, 2015
Application Number:
20150311357
The formation of solar cell contacts using a laser is described. A method of fabricating a back-contact solar cell includes forming a poly-crystalline material layer above a single-crystalline substrate. The method also includes forming a dielectric material stack above the poly-crystalline material layer. The method also includes forming, by laser ablation, a plurality of contacts holes in the dielectric material stack, each of the contact holes exposing a portion of the…
PREVENTING HARMFUL POLARIZATION OF SOLAR CELLS
Granted: October 8, 2015
Application Number:
20150288328
In one embodiment, harmful solar cell polarization is prevented or minimized by providing a conductive path that bleeds charge from a front side of a solar cell to the bulk of a wafer. The conductive path may include patterned holes in a dielectric passivation layer, a conductive anti-reflective coating, or layers of conductive material formed on the top or bottom surface of an anti-reflective coating, for example. Harmful solar cell polarization may also be prevented by biasing a region…
INTERCONNECT PROCESSING ASSEMBLY FOR CONNECTING SOLAR CELLS
Granted: October 8, 2015
Application Number:
20150287875
A solar cell interconnect processing assembly includes a stack of interconnects, a positioning head, and a control system. The positioning head picks up an interconnect from the stack of interconnects at a first location, moves the interconnect from the first location to a second location, heats the interconnect while moving the interconnect from the first location to the second location, and places the interconnect over two adjacent solar cells at the second location. The control system…
REGULATION OF POWERTRAIN CONVERTER CIRCUIT
Granted: August 13, 2015
Application Number:
20150229221
Regulation of powertrain converter circuits is provided. The power conversion may include converting between direct current and alternating current and the regulation may include reduction of distortion on switching start up and zero-crossings. Solid-state implementations, code implementations, and mixed implementations are provided.
CRACK RESISTANT SOLAR CELL MODULES
Granted: August 6, 2015
Application Number:
20150221813
A crack resistant solar cell module includes a protective package mounted on a frame. The protective package includes a polyolefin encapsulant that protectively encapsulates solar cells. The polyolefin has less than five weight percent of oxygen and nitrogen in the backbone or side chain. In other words, the combined weight percent of oxygen and nitrogen in any location in the molecular structure of the polyolefin is less than five. The polyolefin also has a complex viscosity less than…
FLASH TESTING OF PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES WITH INTEGRATED ELECTRONICS
Granted: July 9, 2015
Application Number:
20150194927
A method for testing a photovoltaic (PV) module having an integrated power converter includes: obtaining a reference output signature of a PV module design in response to a flash pattern; applying the flash pattern to a PV module under test; acquiring an observed output signature of the PV module under test in response to the flash pattern; and comparing the observed output signature of the PV module under test to the reference output signature. Second reference output and observed…
SUN TRACKING SOLAR POWER SYSTEM HARDWARE AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLY
Granted: July 2, 2015
Application Number:
20150187975
A solar energy collection system can include improved mounting hardware for reducing hardware costs and labor required for assembly. For example, mounting hardware can include surfaces for supporting part or all of the weight of a solar module as it is brought into contact with mounting hardware and then moved into a final engaged position. In some systems, a torque tube can include saddle mount assemblies that allow a solar module to be partially engaged and a registered with the saddle…
CLAMPS FOR SOLAR SYSTEMS
Granted: June 25, 2015
Application Number:
20150180404
A solar power system can include a rail and a solar module disposed on the rail. A clamp assembly can couple the solar module to the rail. The clamp assembly can have a clamped configuration in which the solar module is secured to the rail and an unclamped configuration. The clamp assembly can comprise an upper clamp member, a lower clamp member coupled to the rail, and a stabilization member mechanically engaging the upper clamp member and the lower clamp member. The stabilization…
SOLAR CELL EMITTER REGION FABRICATION WITH DIFFERENTIATED P-TYPE AND N-TYPE REGION ARCHITECTURES
Granted: June 25, 2015
Application Number:
20150179838
Methods of fabricating solar cell emitter regions with differentiated P-type and N-type regions architectures, and resulting solar cells, are described. In an example, a back contact solar cell includes a substrate having a light-receiving surface and a back surface. A first polycrystalline silicon emitter region of a first conductivity type is disposed on a first thin dielectric layer disposed on the back surface of the substrate. A second polycrystalline silicon emitter region of a…
METALLIZATION OF SOLAR CELLS USING METAL FOILS
Granted: April 2, 2015
Application Number:
20150090329
A solar cell structure includes P-type and N-type doped regions. A dielectric spacer is formed on a surface of the solar cell structure. A metal layer is formed on the dielectric spacer and on the surface of the solar cell structure that is exposed by the dielectric spacer. A metal foil is placed on the metal layer. A laser beam is used to weld the metal foil to the metal layer. A laser beam is also used to pattern the metal foil. The laser beam ablates portions of the metal foil and the…
EPITAXIAL SILICON SOLAR CELLS WITH MOISTURE BARRIER
Granted: April 2, 2015
Application Number:
20150090328
A thin epitaxial silicon solar cell includes one or more layers of doped oxides on the backside. A silicon nitride layer that serves as a moisture barrier is formed on the one or more layers of doped oxides. The doped oxides provide dopants for forming doped regions in an epitaxial silicon layer. Metal contacts are electrically coupled to the doped regions through the silicon nitride layer and the one or more layers of doped oxides.
INTERCONNECTION OF SOLAR CELLS IN A SOLAR CELL MODULE
Granted: February 26, 2015
Application Number:
20150053248
A solar cell module includes serially connected solar cells. A solar cell includes a carrier that is attached to the backside of the solar cell. Solar cells are attached to a top cover, and vias are formed through the carriers of the solar cells. A solar cell is electrically connected to an adjacent solar cell in the solar cell module with metal connections in the vias.
SOLAR CELL MODULE WITH HIGH ELECTRIC SUSCEPTIBILITY LAYER
Granted: February 19, 2015
Application Number:
20150047690
A solar cell module includes solar cells that are encased in a protective package and a high electric susceptibility layer that is placed on the solar cells. The high electric susceptibility layer is polarized such that a sheet charge is developed at the interface of the high electric susceptibility layer and the solar cells. The protective package includes an encapsulant that encapsulates the solar cells. The encapsulant may be a multilayer encapsulant, with the high electric…
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL AND LAMINATE METALLIZATION
Granted: January 1, 2015
Application Number:
20150004737
A photovoltaic laminate is disclosed. Embodiments include placing a first encapsulant on a substantially transparent layer that includes a front side of a photovoltaic laminate. Embodiments also include placing a first solar cell on the first encapsulant. Embodiments include placing a metal foil on the first solar cell, where the metal foil uniformly contacts a back side of the first solar cell. Embodiments include forming a metal bond that couples the metal foil to the first solar cell.…
ANTI-REFLECTIVE COATING WITH HIGH OPTICAL ABSORPTION LAYER FOR BACKSIDE CONTACT SOLAR CELLS
Granted: December 25, 2014
Application Number:
20140373910
A multilayer anti-reflection structure for a backside contact solar cell. The anti-reflection structure may be formed on a front side of the backside contact solar cell. The anti-reflection structure may include a passivation level, a high optical absorption layer over the passivation level, and a low optical absorption layer over the high optical absorption layer. The passivation level may include silicon dioxide thermally grown on a textured surface of the solar cell substrate, which…
COMPACT FLEXURE BEARING SPRING FOR SPRINGING MULTIPLE BODIES
Granted: December 4, 2014
Application Number:
20140353891
A flexure bearing “planar” spring that can spring multiple, independently reciprocating bodies, such as springing each body to a third body or springing a first body to a second body and springing the second body to a third body. A primary arm set of primary spring arms are separated from each other by openings and extend inwardly from a peripheral frame along a non-radial primary path progressing inwardly toward a central axis and angularly about the central axis. A secondary arm…
System and Method for Producing and Reading DNA Barcodes
Granted: November 27, 2014
Application Number:
20140349303
The present disclosure relates to biological material identification systems and methods. DNA oligomers may be used to encode for specific characteristics of biological materials. Encoding may be done by depositing suitable amounts of DNA oligomers onto a portion of a biological material. To identify the biological materials, the encoded portions of the biological materials may be extracted and immersed in buffer solutions. Then, lateral flow tests may be used to decode the DNA for…
System and Method for Dispensing Barcoded Solutions
Granted: November 27, 2014
Application Number:
20140349281
The present disclosure provides a system capable of dispensing DNA encoding solutions at controllable flow rates and in uniform patterns, allowing sufficient DNA to be deposited onto a substrate for subsequent detection and identification of the substrate. The disclosed dispensing system may also include a feedback mechanism capable of validating that sufficient DNA has been applied to a substrate so that a barcode may be generated, detected, and identified at a later time.
