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Patent US10560049
Issued 2020-02-11
System And Method For Packaging Photovoltaic Roof Tiles
One embodiment can provide a photovoltaic roof module. The photovoltaic roof module can include a plurality photovoltaic roof tiles. A respective photovoltaic roof tile can include a glass front cover, a back cover that includes glass of photovoltaic backsheet, and a plurality of photovoltaic structures encapsulated between the glass front cover and the back cover by an encapsulant. The photovoltaic roof tile can be configured to function as a roof tile when placed on a rooftop of a building, thereby protecting the building from weather elements.
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- 1. A photovoltaic roof module, comprising:
a plurality of photovoltaic roof tiles, wherein a respective photovoltaic roof tile comprises:
a glass front cover;
a back cover; and
a plurality of photovoltaic structures arranged into a cascaded string which is encapsulated between the glass front cover and the back cover by an encapsulant;
a plurality of tile spacers, wherein a respective tile spacer is electrically insulating and is positioned between a first photovoltaic roof tile and a second adjacent photovoltaic roof tile, and wherein the tile spacer is configured to substantially fill a space between the first and second photovoltaic roof tiles to prevent water leakage through the space; wherein the cascaded string within the first photovoltaic roof tile and the cascaded string within the second photovoltaic roof tile are electrically coupled to each other in parallel via a metallic tab extending from the first photovoltaic roof tile across the tile spacer to the second photovoltaic roof tile; wherein the metallic tab is coupled to a corresponding cascaded string via a strain-relief connector, which comprises an elongated member and a plurality of laterally extended wires; and wherein the photovoltaic roof tile is configured to function as a roof tile when placed on a rooftop of a building, thereby protecting the building from weather elements.
- 8. A method for fabricating a photovoltaic roof module, the method comprising:
obtaining a plurality of cascaded strings of photovoltaic structures; and encapsulating the cascaded strings of photovoltaic structures between front and back covers of a plurality of photovoltaic roof tiles, wherein a respective cascaded string is encapsulated between front and back covers of a respective photovoltaic roof tile, wherein the cascaded string within a first photovoltaic roof tile and the cascaded string within a second adjacent photovoltaic roof tile are electrically coupled to each other in parallel via a metallic tab, wherein the metallic tab is coupled to a corresponding cascaded string via a strain-relief connector, which comprises an elongated member and a plurality of laterally extended wires; and inserting an electrically insulating tile spacer to substantially fill a space between the first and second photovoltaic roof tiles to prevent water leakage through the space; wherein the metallic tab extends from the first photovoltaic roof tile across the tile spacer to the second photovoltaic roof tile, and wherein each photovoltaic roof tile is configured to function as a roof tile when placed on a rooftop of a building, thereby protecting the building from weather elements.
