The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 24, 2012
Filed:
Oct. 19, 2009
Eric Benson, San Francisco, CA (US);
Danny Cam LU, San Francisco, CA (US);
Jeffrey S. Sullivan, Castro Valley, CA (US);
Eric Benson, San Francisco, CA (US);
Danny Cam Lu, San Francisco, CA (US);
Jeffrey S. Sullivan, Castro Valley, CA (US);
Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
The present invention generally relates to a module and process for automatically attaching a junction box to a composite solar cell structure during the fabrication of a completed solar cell device. The electrical connection module further provides a thermode assembly including heating elements for forming a soldered connection between the junction box and the composite solar cell structure and a temperature sensing device in thermal communication with the heating elements for detecting a temperature profile during the connection process. The heating elements and temperature sensing device are linked to a controller configured to monitor and compare the energy input into the heating elements with the temperature near the tip of the heating elements throughout the connection process. The controller is further configured to compare the actual energy versus temperature profile to an expected profile throughout the connection process and verify whether a quality bond is achieved.