SunPower shingled component patent technology analysis

Abstract: The article mainly starts from the end of 2018, a popular lawsuit in the field of photovoltaics-SunPower shingle module patent rights protection case, analyzes the protection strategy of shingle module patent technology owner SunPower on its core technology, and applies for it in China The patent content and protection methods are analyzed to provide reference for R & D, innovation protection and risk formulation of related companies.

1 Overview of the development of shingled components

Since the launch of the photovoltaic leader program in 2015, high-efficiency components have become more and more popular in the market. Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell (PERC) technology, black silicon, N-type, lamination, multi-gate Efficient products like this one after another. The scale of the front-runner base has driven the market's increased demand for efficient components. Among the many technological breakthroughs, the shingled component packaging technology has broken through the gate line connection of traditional crystalline silicon components, which has brought a revolutionary impact on crystalline silicon assembly technology.

Among them, the shingle technology developed by SunPower is one of the most representative advanced new technologies on the market and has been protected by patents. Due to its advanced nature and uniqueness, at present, some domestic manufacturers in China are imitating SunPower to develop the technology and use their related patents without SunPower's permission. SunPower has taken legal measures to protect its intellectual property rights. Relevant warning letter [1] was received at the end of the year.

According to incomplete statistics, there are more than 10 domestic companies involved in shingle technology. According to the statistics of SNEC PV POWER EXPO (SNEC) in 2018, the exhibitors include Dongfang Huansheng and Sella Eph, Jingao, Artus, Guodian Xian Solar, Dongfang Risheng, Tianhe, Zhonglai, Tongwei, Junshi Energy, etc. [2].

According to the statistics of the World Intellectual Property Organization, 90% to 95% of the inventions and creations in the world can be searched in patent documents, and 70% of the technical content has not been published in other non-patent documents. By analyzing the patent literature of shingled components, you can not only understand the core technology and development status of shingled components, but also get the protection content of related technologies, which is convenient for timely design of evasion design and risk early warning measures.

2 Overview of shingled components

Shingled tile technology is a unique cell connection technology. After the photovoltaic cells are cut into pieces, they are welded into a string with a special special conductive adhesive material. Each cut battery will partially overlap when assembled. Make full use of the gap in the component. This technology replaces the welding tape in the traditional technology. The battery pieces are connected by the front and back lamination. On the basis of the traditional technology, the connection force between the battery pieces is improved to ensure the reliability of the battery connection. [3] There are no metal grid lines on the surface, and there are no gaps between the cells. The available area on the surface of the component is fully utilized to reduce the line loss of the traditional metal grid line. Therefore, the conversion efficiency of the component is greatly improved, as shown in Figure 1 As shown. In the same area, the shingled component can be placed more than 13% more cells than the conventional PERC single crystal component.

3 SunPower shingled component patent analysis

Founded in 1985, SunPower has over 2,000 photovoltaic technology patents. Its shingled tile technology is one of the most representative advanced new technologies on the market. It is understood that at present, the conversion efficiency of SunPower shingled modules exceeds 19%, which is more than 7% higher than conventional PERC single crystal modules. The power generation can be 17% higher in 25 years, and it can also save 10% of the DC system cost. SunPower, together with China's Dongfang Electric Group Co., Ltd. and Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor Co., Ltd., jointly invested in the establishment of Dongfang Electric Donghuan Sheng, which mainly uses shingle module technology to engage in solar cell R & D, manufacturing, sales and related services. SunPower shingle The specific distribution area of ​​component patents is shown in Figure 2.

For the shingle module technology, SunPower has applied for a total of 70 patents (currently, 85 texts, 38 simple families), mainly distributed in the country of the United States and China, the largest market for photovoltaic shingles. SunPower has filed as many as 130 related patent application claims in the World Intellectual Property Organization, China, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia (publication numbers are WO2015183827A2, CN106489211A, TW201611317A, JP2017517145A, AU2015267239A1).

Taking CN1064-89211A applied in China as an example, its solar modules are protected by 7 sets of 59 claims, and the method of manufacturing solar modules involves 2 sets of claims, 37 items, using solar modules to make solar cell strings. The method involves 20 claims in 2 groups, and the solar system involves 14 claims in 2 groups. It can be seen that SunPower fully protects the shape, structure and manufacturing system and method of shingled components from both aspects of design and invention patents (see Figure 3).

A device comprising: a series of rectangular silicon solar cells with a number N greater than or equal to 25 connected in series with each other, these solar cells are arranged linearly and have an average breakdown voltage greater than about 10 V, wherein the length of adjacent solar cells The edges overlap each other and are conductively joined to each other by an electrically and thermally conductive adhesive to form a super cell and a first bypass diode, which is electrically connected between two opposite ends of the solar cell string in parallel with the solar cell string.

Among them, there is no single solar cell or a total number of solar cells in the solar cell string less than N and the bypass diode are individually electrically connected in parallel in parallel.

It can be seen that the content protected by the independent claim includes a series of not less than 25 rectangular silicon solar cells connected in series and a bypass diode, wherein the bypass diode is an important component part of the photovoltaic cell module, its function and arrangement The method is the basic knowledge in the field of photovoltaics. Therefore, the protection content of this claim is essentially concentrated on solar cells, and its limited content is almost the same as the definition of shingled components. Once the above patent is authorized, related products developed by domestic enterprises may be There is a risk of infringement, therefore, the relevant companies of shingle components should focus on monitoring them. (Isn't it saying that there is no patent dispute for "tile"?)

Considering that the patent was only published on May 29, 2018, there is still little cited information. From the analysis of the citation information of its simple sibling WO2015183827A2, it can be seen that after the patent was published on December 3, 2015, within 3 years It has been cited 24 times. Among them, the largest solar power company in the United States, SOLARCITY, cited the patent as frequently as 14 times. On this basis, it produced 1 patent worth over $ 5,000.

This shows that SunPower attaches great importance to its core technology. Therefore, when doing research and development of shingled modules, Chinese photovoltaic module companies need to pay attention to monitoring the legal status of series of patents, and make circumvention designs to reduce the risk of infringement, and do a corresponding free implementation before the product is released (Freedom to Operate, FTO), or may consider obtaining a license from SunPower. For example, the joint venture between Dongfang Huansheng and SunPower avoids patent risks.

4 Conclusion

The shingle module is expected to achieve large-scale development due to its large advantages. It is predicted that the shingle module's production capacity will reach 10 GW in 2021, and China is currently the largest market, with the Chinese market accounting for about 50% in 2018. In the face of better market demand, domestic enterprises involved in the development, production and sales of shingle components will gradually increase. During the research and development process, in order to ensure safe operation, a real-time monitoring platform for patent information needs to be established (for example, wisdom can be used The work space of the Bud Global Patent Database is implemented), so as to monitor the patents applied by SunPower, and at the same time, draw on SunPower's protection strategy for core technologies to timely and reasonably protect its own research and development results.

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