JP5250334B2 - Thin film solar cell scribing method and apparatus used in the method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a scribing method for a thin film solar cell panel and an apparatus used for the method, and more specifically, cutting a predetermined width on a moving thin film solar cell panel with the moving direction of the thin film solar cell panel as the length direction. In scribing using fine powder abrasives, a thin film solar panel scribing method that can prevent adhesion of fine abrasive powders to the thin film solar cell panel and does not require cleaning after masking and processing, and a scribing method for the thin film solar cell panel The present invention relates to an apparatus used for the above.

  The finely divided abrasive in the present invention refers to an abrasive having # 400 or more or an average particle size of 30 μm or less.

  As an example of a device that can be used for the scribing method of a thin-film solar battery panel, a blasting device is given as an example. A gravity blasting device 60 will be described with reference to FIG. A work chamber (not shown) that is carried into the cabinet 61 through the carry-in port 63 by disposing the injection nozzle 62 in the cabinet. Configured to be able to.

  Further, the lower portion of the cabinet 61 is formed in an inverted pyramid shape, and a hopper 68 is formed in this portion. The lowermost end of the hopper 68 is used for collecting abrasives installed on the upper portion of the cabinet 61 via a conduit 65. The upper part of the recovery tank 70 is communicated with.

  The aforementioned recovery tank 70 is a so-called cyclone that separates the cutting waste from the workpiece to be processed from the abrasive, and connects the tip of the conduit 65 to the inlet 73 of the recovery tank 70 via the communication pipe 75. When the inside of the collection tank 70 is sucked by a dust collector (not shown) equipped with a wind exhauster via the connecting pipe 74 and the discharge pipe 67, the abrasive and the cutting waste in the cabinet flow into the collection tank 70 via the communication pipe 75. In addition, the cutting waste is collected in the dust collector when it descends while rotating along the inner wall of the collection tank 70, while the reusable abrasive collects at the bottom of the collection tank 70 and passes through the abrasive supply pipe 64. Then, it is possible to inject from the injection nozzle 62 again.

  As described above, in the conventional blast processing apparatus, the abrasive material sprayed in the processing chamber is transported and recovered into the recovery tank 70 by the negative pressure generated by the dust collector, but uses fine powder with a small particle size. In this case, this fine powder abrasive has the property that individual particles have a large surface area relative to the weight compared to a general abrasive, and thus tend to adhere and agglomerate firmly to the workpiece. Once the fine abrasive material adheres to the inner wall of the processing chamber, it becomes difficult to remove it even if the processing chamber is sucked by negative pressure or air blow or the like is performed on the workpiece.

  For this reason, a work that has been blasted with such a fine abrasive must be cleaned with washing water after blasting to remove the fine abrasive attached to the surface.

  In this way, in blasting using a fine abrasive, it is difficult to remove the fine abrasive once attached to the workpiece, and the fine abrasive adheres to the workpiece and other places. It has also been proposed to collect before.

  As an example of such a configuration, in the blast processing apparatus 80 shown in FIG. 8, an injection nozzle 91 for injecting abrasive is provided at one end of the duct 81, and a suction duct for sucking the abrasive by negative pressure at the other end of the duct 81. 83, a blasting chamber 82 is provided in the duct 81 in front of the abrasive jet, and an insertion port 84 through which the workpiece W is inserted in the side wall of the blasting chamber 82 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the abrasive jet. And an air gap is formed between the inner periphery of the insertion port 84 and the outer periphery of the workpiece W, and serves as an intake port 85 for sucking outside air, and the fine powder abrasive material injected into the work in the blasting chamber is drawn from the suction duct. It has been proposed to prevent the abrasive from popping out of the processing chamber by air blow by the outside air sucked in immediately from the suction gap (see Patent Document 1).

  Blasting using fine abrasive is expected to be used in various fields because high-precision processing is possible. For example, scribing performed in the manufacturing process of thin film solar cells as such a field. In (groove processing), it can be used as an alternative to the currently used laser processing.

  Here, as a scene where scribing with a laser is performed in the manufacturing process of a thin film solar cell, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, a back electrode, a light absorption layer, an emitter, and a transparent electrode are formed on a glass substrate. After forming the thin film layer required for thin film solar cells, etc., before attaching the glass cover, there is an operation to remove the thin film layer from the glass substrate in the range of several mm to several tens of mm at the peripheral edge. By removing the thin film layer at the periphery, it is possible to prevent a short circuit from occurring even when a metal frame such as aluminum is attached to the periphery after the glass cover is attached. It has become.

  In addition, the scribing by the laser performed in the manufacturing process of the thin film solar cell is also performed in the case of dividing the thin film solar cell into each cell in addition to the above example. Therefore, scribing in the present invention includes the case where the thin-film solar cell is divided into cells.

Prior art document information of the present invention includes the following.
JP 09-300220 A

  The scribing performed in the thin film solar cell manufacturing process is generally performed by a laser at present. However, the laser processing apparatus is expensive and requires a large initial investment. A nitrogen gas laser generally used for work consumes a relatively high running cost because the nitrogen gas is consumed.

  For this reason, if such scribing can be performed with an inexpensive device compared to a laser device and a blasting method that can keep running costs relatively low, it will be advantageous in terms of price competitiveness in the market. be able to.

  However, when scribing such a thin-film solar cell panel is performed by the above-described blasting process using a fine powder abrasive, the sprayed abrasive adheres to the thin-film solar cell panel. Although it is necessary to remove the fine abrasive material as mentioned above, it is difficult to remove it once it adheres to the thin film solar cell panel, and it can be easily removed by suction in the processing chamber by a dust collector or air blow to the thin film solar cell panel. It cannot be removed.

  Therefore, if it is attempted to remove the fine abrasive material adhering to the thin film solar cell panel in this way, the thin film solar cell panel will be washed with washing water after blasting. It cannot be washed with water and there is no effective means to remove the adhering fine abrasive.

  Further, when cutting is performed by a blast processing apparatus, the abrasive material injected from the injection hole of the blast gun collides with the workpiece as shown in FIG. ° Because of diffusion in all directions, the workpiece is cut not only at the collision with the abrasive but also around it.

  Therefore, if scribing as described above is performed by blasting, the surface of the non-cut portion is attached to the mask material in advance so that the glass substrate and thin film layer portion of the thin film solar cell panel to be left unremoved are not cut. It is necessary to protect by such as.

  However, when scribing a thin film solar cell panel, each layer formed on the glass substrate is relatively fragile, and if the mask material is stuck or peeled off, the thin film layer becomes a glass substrate due to an impact during sticking or peeling. There is a risk of peeling from above.

  In the blast processing apparatus introduced as the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the fine powder abrasive is to be collected before adhering to the work. However, the work that can be handled here is a stick because of the configuration shown in FIG. Or it is limited to a linear thing, For example, it cannot apply to the plate-shaped workpiece | work which bisects a process chamber up and down.

  Further, in the configuration described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, if a groove having a certain width is to be formed on a workpiece, it is essential to attach a mask material. From this point as well, it should be used for scribing thin film solar cells. I can't.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and even when a fine powder abrasive is used, the fine powder abrasive is recovered without adhering to the thin-film solar cell panel. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform operations such as cleaning to remove the fine abrasive after blasting, and without attaching a mask material to the relatively moving thin film solar panel. It aims at providing the scribing method of the thin film solar cell panel which can perform groove processing etc. with a fixed cutting width, and the apparatus used for this method.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the scribing method for a thin-film solar cell panel according to the present invention is performed in the same direction as the moving direction of the thin-film solar cell panel through the allowable movement gap of the thin-film solar cell panel W to be processed. The main cover 20 having the openings 22 and 42 facing at least one side edge thereof, and the opposing cover 40 are arranged to face each other in the vertical direction, and
The main cover 20 communicates with the space in the main cover via main cover suction pipes 21a and 21b opened to both sides of the injection hole 31 in the moving direction of the thin film solar cell panel W ,
The thin film solar cell panel W arranged to face the main cover 20 is formed with an injection hole 31 in a slit shape, and the injection hole 31 is located in the vicinity of the thin film solar cell panel W and the thin film solar cell. The thin film solar cell is disposed so as to be in an injection direction substantially perpendicular to the panel W, moved relative to the injection hole 31 of the blast gun 30 (in the movement direction T), and in the main cover. Fine powder abrasive is sprayed through the injection hole 31 of the blast gun 30 disposed on the work surface of the battery panel W via a predetermined gap, and the negative pressure is reduced through the main cover suction pipes 21a and 21b. The thin film layer and the abrasive material cut and removed from the glass substrate from the space in the main cover 20 are sucked and collected, and through a counter cover suction pipe 41 communicating with the space in the counter cover 40, The thin film layer and the abrasive material cut and removed from the glass substrate from the space in the counter cover 40 under negative pressure from the opposite direction to the surface to be processed of the thin film solar cell panel W are sucked and collected (characterized in claim). Item 1).

Furthermore, in the above-described configuration in which the injection hole 31 of the blast gun 30 is formed in a slit shape, the relative movement of the thin-film solar cell panel W with respect to the injection hole 31 is determined by the opening width W _{O of the} injection hole 31. It can be a direction (Claim 2 ).

Furthermore, in the scribing method of the thin film solar cell panel in which the injection hole 31 of the blast gun 30 is slit, the opening width W _O of the injection hole 31 of the blast gun 30 is 0.1 to 100 mm. (Claim 3 ).

Further, the main cover suction pipe 21a with respect to the processing surface of the thin film solar cell panel W, it is preferable that an axial 21b and θ the angle of inclination of 10 to 80 ° (claim 4).

Further, in the scribing method of the thin film solar cell panel, the width direction is separated from the thin film solar cell panel W in the openings 22 of the main cover 20 on both sides of the injection hole 31 as the distance from the injection hole 31 increases. the baffle plate 24 is tilted is provided, the flow of abrasive along the surface of the thin film solar cell panel W, can be deflected in a direction away from the surface of the thin film solar cell panel (claim 5).

The apparatus used for the scribing method of the thin film solar cell panel according to the present invention is arranged so as to face each other in the vertical direction via a relative allowable gap of the thin film solar cell panel W to be processed, and the thin film solar cell. A main cover 20 and an opposite cover 40 having openings 22 and 42 facing at least one side edge in the same direction as the relative movement direction of the panel;
The thin film layer and the abrasive that are communicated with the main cover 20 and cut and removed from the glass substrate from the space in the main cover 20 are sucked and collected toward both sides of the injection holes in the moving direction of the thin film solar cell panel. Main cover suction pipes 21a and 21b opened respectively ,
Are placed with a predetermined gap to be processed surface of the thin film solar cell panel in the main within the cover, the injection holes formed in a slit shape at positions close to the thin film solar cell panel, and the A blast gun 30 that is disposed so as to be in a substantially vertical spraying direction with respect to the thin-film solar cell panel, and sprays a fine powder abrasive through the spray hole 31;
A counter cover suction tube that communicates with the space in the counter cover 40 and sucks the thin film layer and abrasives cut and removed from the glass substrate in the counter cover 40 from the direction opposite to the processing surface of the thin film solar cell panel W. 41 is provided (claim 6 ).

Further, in the configuration in which the injection hole 31 of the injection nozzle 30 is formed in a slit shape, the direction of the opening width W _O of the injection hole 31 is made to coincide with the relative moving direction of the thin film solar cell panel W. (Claim 7 ).

Further, in the structure of the abrasive jet recovery part 10 in which the injection hole 31 of the blast gun 30 is slit, the opening width W _O of the injection hole 31 of the blast gun 30 is 0.1 to 100 mm. (Claim 8 ).

Further, the main cover suction pipe 21a with respect to the processing surface of the thin film solar cell panel W, it is preferable that an axial 21b and θ the angle of inclination of 10 to 80 ° (claim 9).

In addition, baffle plates 24 that are inclined so as to move away from the thin-film solar cell panel W as the width direction is further away from the injection holes 31 are provided in the openings 22 of the main cover 20 on both sides of the injection holes 31. (Claim 10 ).

  According to the configuration of the present invention described above, the following remarkable effects can be obtained according to the scribing method of the thin film solar cell panel and the apparatus used in the method of the present invention.

  By recovering the sprayed abrasive from both the main cover 20 and the counter cover 40 under negative pressure, the fine abrasive is in a floating state before adhering to the thin-film solar panel W. As a result, it was not necessary to remove the fine abrasive from the surface of the thin-film solar cell panel W after blasting.

  As a result, it is not necessary to remove the fine abrasive that has been removed by washing with conventional washing water, and the thin film solar cell panel to be processed cannot be washed like a thin film solar cell. However, this could be the target of blasting with fine abrasive.

  Further, by performing suction through the opposed cover 40, when the thin film solar battery panel W is not disposed between the covers 20, 40, the fine abrasive material sprayed from the blast gun 30 is preferably collected. I was able to.

  Further, by performing both the suction in the main cover 20 and the suction in the counter cover 40, the suction force acting on the thin film solar cell panel W by the suction in the main cover 20 is reduced to the thin film by the suction in the counter cover 40. The relative movement of the thin-film solar cell panel W could be facilitated by canceling with the attractive force acting on the solar cell panel W.

The injection hole 31 of the blast gun 30 has a slit shape and is disposed in the main cover 20 so as to be in the vertical injection direction at a position close to the thin-film solar panel W, and the main cover intake pipes 21a and 21b are formed in the injection holes. 31 has an opening width W _{O in the} direction toward both sides, the diffusion direction of the abrasive material injected from the blast gun 30 and colliding with the thin film solar cell panel W is defined as the opening width W of the injection hole 31. _The thin film solar cell panel W can be processed with a cutting width corresponding to the opening length L _O of the injection hole 31 without applying a mask material, and can be generated in the _O direction, It was possible to prevent the fine abrasive powder from adhering to the surface of the thin film solar cell panel W.

  As a result, it is possible to perform blasting using fine abrasives even for thin-film solar cell panels that cannot be masked, and this is spent on masking and cleaning. It was possible to reduce labor and materials.

Further, in the above configuration in which the injection hole 31 of the blast gun 30 is formed in a slit shape, the relative movement direction T of the thin-film solar cell panel W and the opening width W _O direction of the injection hole 31 are made to coincide with each other. It was possible to process the thin-film solar panel W with a high-precision processing width without using the.

By setting the opening width W _O of the injection hole 31 of the blast gun 30 to a range of 0.1 to 100 mm, the opening length of the injection hole 31 after the injected abrasive material collides with the thin film solar cell panel W. It was possible to reliably prevent diffusion in the L 2 _O direction, whereby the cutting width of the thin film solar cell panel W could be controlled with high accuracy.

  By setting the axial direction of the main cover suction pipes 21a and 21b to an inclination angle θ of 10 to 80 ° with respect to the processing surface of the thin film solar cell panel W, the fine powder abrasives collected by the suction in the main cover 20 are collected. Could be done more efficiently.

  By providing baffle plates 24 in the openings 22 of the main cover 20 on both sides of the injection port 31 of the blast gun 30, the flow of the abrasive flowing along the surface of the thin film solar cell panel W by the baffle plates 24 is reduced. It can be deflected in a direction away from the surface of the battery panel W, thereby improving the recovery efficiency by the main cover suction tubes 21a and 21b and further reliably preventing the adhesion of the fine abrasive to the thin film solar cell panel W. I was able to.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Abrasive Material Injection / Recovery Part Structure One embodiment of the structure of the abrasive material injection / recovery part of the present invention used for blasting is shown in FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 6, the abrasive jet recovery unit 10 of the present invention includes a main cover 20 disposed to face a work surface of a thin-film solar cell panel W with a predetermined gap, and the main cover 20. A blast gun 30 in which an injection hole 31 is disposed, and main cover suction pipes 21a and 21b for sucking the inside of the main cover 20, and a surface in a direction opposite to the processing surface of the thin-film solar battery panel W (hereinafter, simply referred to as a simple surface). A counter cover 40 disposed opposite to the “back surface of the thin-film solar cell panel” via a predetermined gap is disposed to face the main cover 20, and a counter cover suction pipe 41 that sucks the inside of the counter cover 40. It has.

Main cover The above-mentioned main cover 20 disposed to face the work surface of the thin-film solar cell panel W with a predetermined gap is arranged in the illustrated embodiment in the horizontally disposed thin-film solar cell panel W. The rectangular opening 22 is provided on the surface facing the thin-film solar cell panel W.

In the illustrated embodiment, the main cover 20 has a moving direction T of the thin-film solar cell panel W to be processed in plan view as a length _Lmc direction as shown in FIG. An opening 22 is formed on the bottom surface, which is formed in a rectangular shape having a width W _mc direction, and has a size obtained by reducing the wall thickness with respect to the length L _mc and the width W _mc . It is formed in a trapezoidal shape when viewed.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the shape of the main cover 20 is formed in a trapezoidal shape when viewed from the front as described above, but instead of this shape, for example, a semicircular shape in which the front shape of the main cover bulges upward. The shape may be formed, and the shape is not limited to the illustrated embodiment.

  The opening 22 provided at the bottom of the main cover 20 has a flange-shaped pressing plate (upper pressing plate) that protrudes in the outer peripheral direction from the opening edge (three sides excluding one side in the length direction in the example shown in FIG. 1). 23 may be provided, and an arrangement space for a baffle plate 24 to be described later is secured within the thickness of the upper pressing plate 23.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the pressing plate (upper pressing plate) 23 is formed by attaching a plate material having a rectangular opening having the same size as the bottom surface of the trapezoidal main body portion. In this configuration, the opening formed in the pressing plate 23 becomes the opening 22 of the main cover 20.

  The size of the main cover 20 is the size of the thin film solar cell panel W to be processed, the cutting width with respect to the thin film solar cell panel W, the processing position of the thin film solar cell panel W (for example, the thin film solar cell panel W which is a rectangular plate) It is possible to change the size to various sizes depending on whether the cutting is performed along one side of the end of the head or whether the cutting is performed on the central portion. In order to collect the fine abrasive powder that floats, the suction speed in the main cover 20 needs to be increased, and a large suction means is required, which is not economical.

As an example, the size of the main cover 20 in the illustrated embodiment is such that the rectangular width W _mc in plan view is 80 mm and the length L _{mc is} 200 mm, and the trapezoidal height H _mc in front view is the pressure plate (upper presser). 109 mm including the thickness of the plate.

In the opening 22 of the main cover 20, baffle plates 24 are preferably provided on both sides of the injection hole 31 of the blast gun 30 as shown in FIG. The baffle plate 24 has an injection hole 31 of the blast gun 30 formed in a slit shape as will be described later, and the injection hole 31 in the opening width W _O direction of the injection hole 31 , that is, the moving direction of the thin film solar cell panel. Provided on both sides of the injection hole 31 on both sides (see FIGS. 1 and 2), the injection hole 31 has a length direction in the opening length L _O direction, and a thin film as the width direction moves away from the injection hole 31. It is inclined so as to be separated from the solar cell panel W.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, six baffle plates 24 are provided on one side of the injection hole 31 and a total of 12 baffle plates on both sides so that the inclination angle in each width direction is constant. They are arranged in parallel.

  The baffle plate 24 provided in this way is injected from the injection hole 31 of the blast gun 30 and is made of an abrasive that tries to move along the surface of the thin film solar cell panel W after colliding with the surface of the thin film solar cell panel W. It has the action of deflecting the flow upward and separating it from the surface of the thin film solar cell panel W [see FIG. 2 (B)]. By attaching the main cover 20 through the suction tubes 21a and 21b, the fine powder abrasive can be more reliably prevented from adhering to the surface of the thin-film solar battery panel W.

  Further, in the configuration of the main cover 20 shown in FIG. 1, a peep window 25 is formed by fitting a transparent glass plate or the like on the front of the main cover 20, and the state inside the main cover 20 is confirmed through this peep window 25. It is configured to be able to.

  By providing such a viewing window 25, abnormalities in the main cover 20, for example, clogging due to agglomeration of fine abrasives, poor recovery of abrasives, changes in the processing state of the thin film solar panel W, etc. However, the viewing window 25 is not necessarily required.

  The main cover 20 configured as described above is disposed in a state where the opening 22 formed at the bottom thereof is opposed to the surface to be processed of the thin-film solar cell panel W with a predetermined gap therebetween. In the main cover 20, a space surrounded by the inner wall of the main cover 20 and the thin film solar cell panel W to be processed is formed.

Blast Gun In the main cover 20 configured as described above, a tip portion of a blast gun 30 for injecting an abrasive to the thin film solar cell panel W is disposed.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the blast gun 30 penetrates through the top plate portion of the main cover 20 as shown in FIG. 1, and its injection direction is perpendicular to the thin film solar panel W, and The injection holes 31 are attached so as to be arranged close to the surface of the thin film solar cell panel W.

Injection hole 31 provided at the end of the blast gun 30 is formed in a slit shape that the opening width W _O is formed narrow, the opening width W _O direction of the injection hole 31 of the slit-shaped, the thin film solar It is attached to the main cover 20 so as to face the moving direction T of the battery panel W (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

In general, abrasives sprayed from a blast gun, especially fine abrasives that are light in weight and easy to ride on the carrier gas flow, will collide with the carrier gas flow along the surface of the thin film solar panel when they collide with the surface of the thin film solar cell panel. When the abrasive is sprayed by the blast gun 30 having the slit-shaped injection holes 31 as described above, the diffusion direction of the abrasive stream after colliding with the surface of the thin film solar cell panel W is shown in FIG. can be controlled in opening width W _O direction of the injection hole 31 (a), a can be prevented spreading cutting width of the thin-film solar cell panel W. In order to cause such an action more reliably, the opening width W _O of the injection hole 31 is preferably formed in the range of 0.1 to 100 mm. In this embodiment, a rectangular opening of 0.5 mm × 15 mm is formed.

Moreover, the opening length L _O of the slit-shaped injection hole 31 can be formed to a length corresponding to the processing width for the thin film solar cell panel W as an example.

However, when cutting a predetermined width along one edge of the thin-film solar battery panel W, the opening length L _O may be formed longer than the cutting width. In this case, for example, FIG. As shown to (A), the position of the thin film solar cell panel W or the injection hole 31 with respect to the injection hole 31 may be adjusted so that a desired cutting width can be obtained.

Main cover suction pipe The main cover 20 is further provided with main cover suction pipes 21a and 21b for sucking the inside of the main cover 20, and the main cover 20 is passed through the main cover suction pipes 21a and 21b. By sucking, the fine powder abrasive floating in the main cover 20 and the thin film layer cut and removed from the glass substrate can be collected.

The main cover suction pipes 21a and 21b are provided so as to open toward both sides in the opening width W _O direction of the injection hole 31 of the blast gun 30 (see FIG. 1). In the illustrated embodiment, Main cover suction pipes 21 a and 21 b that pass through the respective inclined surfaces formed on the oblique sides of the trapezoid when viewed from the front and communicate with the main cover 20 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the main cover suction pipes 21a and 21b have an angle θ formed by a line obtained by extending the axis of the main cover suction pipes 21a and 21b and the surface to be processed of the thin-film solar battery panel W being 10 to 10. In the illustrated embodiment, it is preferably installed so as to be in the range of 80 °. In the illustrated embodiment, the θ passes through the inclined surface of the main cover 20 so as to be 45 °, and communicates with the space in the main cover 20. doing.

  The size of the main cover suction pipes 21a and 21b can be changed to various sizes depending on the size of the main cover 20, the performance of the suction means used (dust collector 3 to be described later), and the like. The diameter (inner diameter) is 47.6 mm.

Opposing Cover The opposing cover 40 is disposed opposite to the main cover 20 including the blast gun 30 and the main cover suction pipes 21a and 21b described above.

  In the illustrated example, the opposed cover 40 has an opening 42 formed on the upper surface thereof, and an opening 22 formed on the bottom surface of the main cover 20 and an opening 42 formed on the upper surface of the opposed cover 40. At least one side edge of the thin film solar cell panel W to be processed is faced to face each other with a movement allowable interval.

  The opening 22 of the main cover 20 and the opening 42 of the opposing cover 40 do not necessarily have to be formed in the same opening shape, but in the illustrated embodiment, both are formed in the same shape, and both openings are viewed in plan view. The opening edges of (22, 42) are overlapped.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the facing cover 40 has a portion formed in a substantially rectangular tube shape, and a substantially inverted pyramid shape formed continuously below the portion formed in the rectangular tube shape. The hopper-like shape is formed as a whole, and the opposite cover suction pipe 41 is communicated with the lowermost end of the inverted pyramid-like portion so that the inside of the opposite cover 40 can be sucked. Yes.

  Further, similarly to the main cover 20 described above, a lower pressing plate 43 protrudes in the outer peripheral direction in a flange shape at the upper opening edge of the facing cover 40.

  In this way, the counter cover 40 disposed to face the main cover 20 is provided, and when the space in the main cover 20 and the counter cover 40 are in communication with each other by sucking the counter cover 40, the counter cover 40 is provided. The fine abrasive powder sprayed in the main cover 20 can be collected through the main cover 20, and the upward suction force acting on the thin film solar panel W by the suction in the main cover 20 is applied in the counter cover 40. The thin film solar cell panel W can be easily moved by canceling out by the downward suction force generated by the suction.

  Accordingly, the shape of the facing cover 40, the position where the facing cover suction pipe 41 is formed, the size, and the like are not particularly limited as long as such an action can be obtained.

  However, in the configuration in which the counter cover suction pipe 41 is formed at the center of the bottom of the counter cover 40 as in the illustrated embodiment, the counter cover suction pipe 41 is disposed in front of the blast gun 30 in the spraying direction. When the abrasive is sprayed with the thin-film solar panel W removed from the front surface of the gun 30, the sprayed abrasive can be efficiently sucked and collected through the opposing cover suction pipe 41. There is an advantage that the fine abrasive can be quickly removed and recovered from any internal space of the main cover 20 and the counter cover 40.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 44 denotes a rectifying plate provided in the opening 42 of the opposing cover 40, the width direction of which is arranged in the vertical direction, and when the abrasive is collected in the lower opposing cover 40. A downward flow toward the inside of the facing cover 40 is formed.

Others Since the illustrated abrasive jet recovery unit 10 is configured so that one side of the thin-film solar panel W can be cut with a predetermined width, as shown in FIG. An insertion restricting body 51 is provided in a gap formed between 20 and the facing cover 40, and the insertion position of the thin-film solar cell panel W is restricted by the insertion restricting body 51.

  Accordingly, the thin-film solar battery panel W is inserted between the main cover 20 and the counter cover 40 until one side of the thin-film solar battery panel W collides with the insertion restricting body 51, and one side is brought into sliding contact with the insertion restricting body 51. When the thin film solar cell panel W is moved in the state, the portion to be processed of the thin film solar cell panel W can pass through the front surface of the injection hole 31 of the blast gun 30.

  Since the vicinity of one side of the thin film solar cell panel W is processed in this way, the main cover 20 and the counter cover 40 on the side opposite to the insertion side of the thin film solar cell panel W are shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, they are connected by a connecting plate 52. For example, when cutting a predetermined width at the center of a relatively large thin-film solar cell panel W with the moving direction as the length direction, it is inserted. The restriction body 51 and the connecting plate 52 may be removed, and the main cover 20 and the counter cover 40 may be arranged in a state where they are completely separated from each other in the vertical direction.

Method of Use The abrasive jet recovery unit 10 of the present invention configured as described above is a mixture of compressed gas and fine abrasive at the rear end of the blast gun 30 that extends outward from the top plate of the main cover 20. A mixed fluid supply source for supplying fluid is connected.

  Further, both of the two main cover suction pipes 21a and 21b provided on the main cover 20 and the counter cover suction pipe 41 provided on the counter cover 40 are communicated with a suction means such as a dust collector, and the main cover 20 and the counter cover are connected. The inside of 40 is constituted so that suction is possible.

  As an example, FIG. 4 shows one configuration example of the blasting apparatus 1 provided with the above-described abrasive jet recovery unit 10 of the present invention, and the blast provided in the abrasive jet recovery unit 10 of the present invention. The rear end portion of the gun 30 is communicated with a pressurized tank 2 for quantitatively supplying the blast gun as a mixed fluid with a compressed gas while measuring a fine amount of fine abrasive.

  The two main cover suction pipes 21a and 21b provided on the main cover 20 and the counter cover suction pipe 41 provided on the counter cover 40 are both communicated with a common dust collector 3 as a suction means. Suction is possible so that the atmosphere in each of the covers 20 and 40 is under negative pressure.

  Fine powder abrasives in the main cover 20 and the counter cover 40 collected by the dust collector 3 are separated into a reusable abrasive by a cyclone 3a provided in the dust collector 3 and a thin film layer cut and removed from the glass substrate. The recovered and reusable abrasive can be reused by, for example, throwing it into the pressurized tank 2 again.

  In the illustrated embodiment, reference numeral 4 in FIGS. 4 and 5 denotes a conveyor table, and the rotation of the driving motor M causes the conveyance roller 5 provided on the conveyor table 4 to rotate, and the upper part thereof. It is comprised so that the mounted thin film solar cell panel W can be conveyed in a predetermined direction.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the main cover 20 and the counter cover 40 constituting the abrasive jet recovery part 10 of the present invention are attached to one side 4a of the conveyor table whose length is the transport direction of the thin-film solar battery panel W, When the thin film solar cell panel W placed on the transport roller 5 of the conveyor table 4 is moved, the vicinity of one end of the thin film solar cell panel W passes between the main cover 20 and the counter cover 40. However, on the contrary, the thin film solar panel W is fixed, and the main cover 20 and the opposing cover 40 that constitute the abrasive jet recovery part 10 of the present invention are moved, so that the thin film solar panel W It is also possible to enable relative movement between the two.

  Furthermore, in the illustrated embodiment in which a predetermined width at one end of the thin-film solar battery panel W can be processed, the abrasive jet recovery unit 10 of the present invention is provided only on the side 4a side of the conveyor table 4. However, for example, when processing each of the two parallel sides of the thin film solar panel W at the same time, the abrasive jet recovery part 10 is provided on the other side 4b of the roller conveyor, The two sides of the thin film solar cell panel may be processed at the same time by conveyance. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. You may comprise so that it can process with respect to 4 sides of a panel, and also as shown to FIG. 6 (B), as shown in FIG.6 (B), abrasives injection | spray is carried out to the position which the center part of the thin film solar cell panel W passes. Place the collection unit 10 Can not only end side portion of the thin-film solar cell panel W, the central portion may be configured to be able to perform blasting to any other position.

  In use, the distance between the main cover 20 and the opposing cover 40, the gap between the thin film solar panel W and the covers 20, 40, and the blast gun 30 are set according to the thickness of the thin film solar panel to be processed. The height is adjusted, and a predetermined gap is provided between the processing surface of the thin film solar cell panel W and the opposing surface of the main cover 20, and the back surface of the thin film solar cell panel and the opposing surface of the opposing cover 40.

  By providing the gap in this way, when the gas in the main cover 20 and the counter cover 40 is sucked, the outside air is introduced into both covers through this portion, and the fine abrasive material is scattered outside the covers. In addition to being prevented, as the outside air is introduced along the surface of the thin-film solar cell panel W, the fine air-polishing material that tends to adhere to the surface of the thin-film solar cell panel W can be suspended by this external airflow.

  As an example, when the thin film solar cell panel W to be processed has a thickness of 3 mm made of plate glass, the interval between each part is the interval between the main cover 20 and the counter cover 40 in the illustrated example (in the illustrated example, the upper pressing member). 7 mm at the gap between the plate 23 and the lower pressing plate 43), 2 mm at the gap between the thin film solar panel W and the main cover 20 (upper pressing plate 23), the thin film solar panel W and the opposite cover 40 (lower pressing plate) 43), the gap between the baffle plate 24 and the thin-film solar panel W is 0.9 mm in the illustrated example in which the baffle plate 24 is provided in the opening 22 of the main cover 20. Further, the distance between the blast gun 30 and the thin-film solar battery panel W can be 3 mm.

As described above, in the state where the pipe connection to each part and the interval adjustment of each part are completed, the abrasive is sprayed from the blast gun 30, and the main cover 20 and the counter cover 40 are also drawn from the three suction pipes 21a, 21b, 41. When the thin-film solar panel W is inserted and passed between the main cover 20 and the opposing cover 40 while suctioning inside, the thin-film solar panel W opens the slit-shaped injection holes 31 formed in the blast gun 30. It is continuously cut in the movement direction T with a width corresponding to the hole length L _O.

When a blast gun having a circular injection hole that is generally used is used, the sprayed abrasive material collides with the thin film solar cell panel, and then, as shown in FIG. Although a flow that moves along the surface is generated, as described above, injection is performed from the blast gun 30 provided with the injection holes 31 formed in a slit shape, in particular, a relatively narrow slit shape having an opening width W _O of 0.5 to 15 mm. The resulting abrasive material causes a flow along the surface of the thin-film solar cell panel W in the direction of the opening width W _O of the injection hole 31, and no diffusion of the abrasive material occurs in the direction of the opening length L _O.

Therefore, by using the blast gun 30 provided with such slit-shaped injection holes 31, the thin-film solar battery panel W can be cut with a width corresponding to the opening length L _O of the injection holes 31.

Further, the abrasive material flow that has moved on the surface of the thin-film solar cell panel W in the direction of the opening width W _O of the injection hole 31 in this way is then thinned by the baffle plate 24 provided in the opening 22 of the main cover 20. It is deflected in an obliquely upward flow so as to be separated from the surface of the solar cell panel W (see FIG. 2B), and accordingly, the abrasive floats in the space in the main cover 20.

  Abrasive grains having a fine particle size of # 400 or more, or an average particle size of 30 μm or less, which are used in the present invention, have a long dwell time when floating, and are easy to ride a gas flow. Since the abrasive that has floated in this way is recovered together with the gas in the main cover 20 by suction from the main cover suction pipes 21a and 21b, the thin film solar cell panel W can be easily recovered. This can be easily recovered before the abrasive adheres to the work surface.

  As a result of the recovery of the abrasive material thus performed, the space in the main cover 20 becomes negative pressure, and the thin film solar cell panel W is sucked upward by this negative pressure. Due to the suction in the counter cover 40, a downward suction force acts on the thin film solar panel W at the same time. As a result, the thin film solar panel easily balances between the main cover and the counter cover due to the balance between the two. pass.

  Preferably, the downward suction force generated by the facing cover 40 is reduced by forming the spacing between the thin film solar cell panel W and the opposing cover 40 narrower than the spacing between the thin film solar cell panel W and the main cover 20. It is assumed that a suction force equal to or higher than the upward suction force generated by the cover 20 is generated, and by pressing the thin film solar cell panel W against the transport roller 5 of the conveyor table 4, the thin film solar cell panel W is moved upward. Occurrence of a problem that each thin film layer formed on the glass substrate is damaged by contact with the glass substrate 23 can be avoided.

  In the case of processing one side edge of the thin film solar cell panel W as in the illustrated embodiment, the end position of the thin film solar cell panel W is determined by the insertion restricting body 51 when the thin film solar cell panel W is cut. As a result, the space between the opening 22 of the main cover 20 and the opening 42 of the opposing cover 40 is formed by a portion that is not covered by the thin film solar cell panel W as shown in FIGS. The recovery openings 22 'and 42' communicate with each other.

  As a result, the fine abrasive material sprayed from the blast gun 30 and the thin film layer cut and removed from the glass substrate generated by the injection of the fine abrasive material are provided with the main cover suction pipes 21a and 21b for sucking the inside of the main cover 20. In addition to being sucked and collected by the dust collector, the fine powder abrasive in the main cover 20 through the space in the counter cover 40 and the recovery openings 42 'and 22' by the counter cover suction pipe 41 that sucks in the counter cover 40. The thin film layer cut and removed from the glass substrate is sucked and collected, and the fine abrasive material in both covers and the thin film layer cut and removed from the glass substrate are attached to the surface of the thin film solar panel W. It is efficiently recovered in a floating state.

  As a result, the opposing cover 40 and the opposing cover suction pipe 41 share the recovery of the fine powder abrasives floating in the main cover 20 and the thin film layer cut and removed from the glass substrate together with the main cover suction pipes 21a and 21b. Efficiently recovers the fine powder abrasive that has wrapped around the back surface of the thin film solar panel W of the thin film solar panel W, effectively preventing adhesion of the fine abrasive material to the back surface of the thin film solar panel W of the thin film solar panel W To do.

  Further, when the thin film solar cell panel W is removed from the distance between the two covers due to the movement of the thin film solar cell panel W, the two covers communicate with each other through the opening 22 of the main cover 20 and the entire opening 42 of the opposing cover 40. The fine abrasive material sprayed from the blast gun 30 is directly introduced into the opposed cover 40 and immediately recovered, and even when the thin-film solar panel W does not exist between the covers, the covers 20 and 40 There is no accumulation of fine abrasive material inside.

  On the other hand, when the main cover 20 and the opposed cover 40 are completely separated vertically by the thin film solar cell panel W, for example, when processing is performed on the central portion of the relatively large thin film solar cell panel W. When the thin-film solar panel W is interposed, the abrasive sprayed in the main cover 20 is collected only through the main cover suction pipes 21a and 21b communicated with the main cover 20 and sucked in the counter cover 40. Works only to suck the thin film solar panel W downward, but when the space in the main cover 20 and the counter cover 40 communicates with the movement of the thin film solar panel W, the blast gun 30 injects into the main cover 20. The polished abrasive is sucked and collected through the counter cover 40 and the counter cover suction pipe 41.

  As described above, the abrasive jet recovery unit 10 of the present invention having the above-described configuration can prevent the fine abrasive from adhering to the surface of the thin film solar panel W at the time of cutting, and the thin film solar panel W. For example, when scribing a thin film formed on a glass substrate of a thin film solar cell, it is possible to perform cleaning with cleaning water or mask material. Even thin-film solar cell panels that cannot be attached can be blasted with a fine abrasive.

  In addition, even when processing workpieces that can be cleaned after blasting and attaching mask material, the labor required for cleaning and mask material application, the mask material used in this operation, The use of materials such as cleaning fluid can be omitted, and cutting costs can be greatly reduced.

  Further, before the thin film solar panel W is disposed between the covers 20 and 40, or after the thin film solar panel W passes between the covers 20 and 40, the thin film solar panel W is disposed between the covers 20 and 40. In the case where no dust exists, the fine abrasive material sprayed from the blast gun 30 is quickly removed from the spaces in both covers by suction by the opposing cover 40, and the fine abrasive material may stay in the space in the cover. Absent.

  Due to the configuration of the present invention described above, the scribing method of the thin film solar cell panel and the apparatus used in the method of the present invention can be used effectively when performing cutting of a predetermined width, and in particular, the cutting range is limited. It has been used for scribing thin film solar cells that have been performed by conventional lasers, because it does not require masking materials for cleaning or cleaning with a cleaning liquid to remove the adhering fine abrasive. It can be used as an alternative to a laser.

The schematic perspective view of the abrasive | polishing material injection collection | recovery part of the state which isolate | separated the main cover and the opposing cover up and down in the abrasive | polishing material injection collection part of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the relationship between the slit-shaped injection hole provided in a blast gun, and the flow of an abrasives in the abrasives injection collection part of this invention, (A) is a planar view, (B) is the observation by a perspective view. It is explanatory drawing explaining the positional relationship of each part in the abrasive | polishing material injection | emission collection | recovery part of this invention, (A) is explanatory drawing explaining the example of arrangement | positioning with the slit-shaped injection hole provided in a blast gun, and a thin film solar cell panel, B) is an explanatory view of the arrangement of the opening of the main cover and the thin film solar cell panel in the bottom view and the positional relationship of the recovery opening formed thereby, and (C) is the opening of the opposing cover and the thin film solar cell panel in the plan view. (D) is an explanatory view of the positional relationship between the main cover and the suction pipe in a front view. The top view which shows the whole structure of the blast processing apparatus provided with the abrasive material injection collection part of this invention. The front view which shows the whole structure of the blast processing apparatus provided with the abrasive material injection collection part of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of the blast processing apparatus provided with the abrasive | polishing material injection | emission collection | recovery part of this invention, (A) is an example which made it possible to process four sides of a thin film solar cell panel, (B) is a thin film solar cell An example in which two sides and the center of the panel can be processed. Explanatory drawing of the conventional blast processing apparatus (gravity type). Explanatory drawing of the conventional blast processing apparatus (patent document 1). It is explanatory drawing of scribing with respect to a thin film solar cell, (A) is explanatory drawing of the part which performs scribing, (B) is explanatory drawing of the layer removed by scribing. Explanatory drawing which shows the diffusion state of the abrasives by a blast gun (round injection hole).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Blast processing apparatus 2 Pressurized tank 3 Dust collector 3a Cyclone 4 Conveyor table 4a One side (conveyor table)
4b Other side (conveyor table)
5 Conveying roller 10 Abrasive injection recovery part 20 Main cover 21a, 21b Main cover suction pipe 22 Opening 22 'Recovery opening 23 Presser plate (upper presser plate)
24 baffle plate 25 viewing window 30 blast gun 31 injection hole 40 counter cover 41 counter cover suction pipe 42 opening 42 'recovery opening 43 lower pressing plate 44 rectifying plate 51 insertion restricting body 52 connecting plate 60 blast processing device 61 cabinet 62 injection nozzle 63 Inlet 64 Abrasive material supply pipe 65 Conduit 67 Discharge pipe 68 Hopper 70 Recovery tank 73 Inlet 74 Connection pipe 75 Communication pipe 80 Blasting machine 81 Duct 82 Blasting chamber 83 Suction duct 84 Insertion port 85 Inlet 91 Injecting nozzle W Thin film solar panel (work)
T direction of relative movement of thin-film solar cell panel M motor W _O opening width of injection hole L _O opening length of injection hole

Claims (10)

A scribing method for a thin film solar cell panel having a thin film layer necessary as a thin film solar cell such as a back electrode, a light absorption layer, an emitter, and a transparent electrode on a glass substrate to be processed,
A main cover having an opening that faces at least one side edge in the same direction as the moving direction of the thin film solar cell panel and an opposing cover through the permissible gap of the thin film solar cell panel, respectively, in the vertical direction In addition,
The main cover communicates with the space in the main cover through main cover suction pipes opened toward both sides of the injection holes in the moving direction of the thin-film solar cell panel ,
The thin-film solar cell panel opposed to the main cover has an injection hole formed in a slit shape, and the injection hole is located at a position close to the thin-film solar cell panel and to the thin-film solar cell panel together arranged such that the direction of injection substantially perpendicular, with is relatively moved with respect to the injection hole of the blast gun,
In the main cover, fine abrasive powder is sprayed from the blast gun spray holes arranged on the work surface of the thin-film solar cell panel with a predetermined gap in the main cover, and the main cover is infused through the main cover suction pipe. As well as sucking and collecting the thin film layer and abrasive material cut and removed from the glass substrate from the space of
The thin film layer and the abrasive material cut and removed from the glass substrate from the space in the counter cover from the direction opposite to the processing surface of the thin film solar cell panel through the counter cover suction pipe communicating with the space in the counter cover A method for scribing a thin-film solar cell panel, characterized by sucking and recovering water. The relative movement direction, scribing method of the thin-film solar cell panel according to claim 1, characterized in that a hole width direction of the injection hole of the thin-film solar cell panel with respect to the injection hole. The scribing method for a thin-film solar cell panel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an opening width of the injection hole of the blast gun is 0.1 to 100 mm. The scribing of a thin-film solar cell panel according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an axial direction of the main cover suction pipe with respect to a processing surface of the thin-film solar cell panel is set to an inclination angle of 10 to 80 °. Method. In the opening of the main cover on both sides of the injection hole, a baffle plate inclined so as to be separated from the thin film solar cell panel as the width direction is further away from the injection hole is provided along the surface of the thin film solar cell panel The scribing method for a thin film solar cell panel according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the flow of the abrasive is deflected in a direction away from the surface of the thin film solar cell panel. An apparatus used for a scribing method of a thin film solar cell panel having a thin film layer necessary as a thin film solar cell such as a back electrode, a light absorption layer, an emitter, a transparent electrode on a glass substrate to be processed, the thin film solar cell panel A main cover and an opposing cover, each having an opening formed so as to face each other in the vertical direction through the movement allowance gap, and having an opening facing at least one side edge in the same direction as the relative movement direction of the thin-film solar cell panel; ,
The thin film layer communicated with the main cover, and the thin film layer and the abrasive material cut and removed from the glass substrate from the space in the main cover are sucked and collected , respectively, toward both sides of the injection hole in the moving direction of the thin film solar cell panel. An open main cover suction tube;
The thin film solar cell panel is disposed in the main cover with a predetermined gap on the surface to be processed , and the injection hole formed in a slit shape is positioned close to the thin film solar cell panel and the thin film A blast gun that is arranged so as to be in a substantially vertical injection direction with respect to the solar cell panel and that injects fine abrasive powder through the injection holes;
A counter cover suction pipe that communicates with the space in the counter cover and sucks the thin film layer and the abrasive material cut and removed from the glass substrate from the space in the counter cover from the direction opposite to the processing surface of the thin film solar cell panel. An apparatus used for a scribing method for a thin-film solar battery panel. The apparatus used for the scribing method of a thin film solar cell panel according to claim 6 , wherein an opening width direction of the injection hole is matched with a relative moving direction of the thin film solar cell panel. The apparatus used for the scribing method for a thin-film solar cell panel according to claim 6 or 7, wherein an opening width of the injection hole of the blast gun is 0.1 to 100 mm. The scribing of the thin-film solar cell panel according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein an axial direction of the main cover suction pipe with respect to a processing surface of the thin-film solar cell panel is set to an inclination angle of 10 to 80 °. Equipment used in the method. In the main cover in the opening on both sides of the injection hole, claim, characterized in that the thin film solar provided baffle plates inclined to away from the cell panel according to the width direction away from the injection holes 6-9 The apparatus used for the scribing method of the thin film solar cell panel of any one of Claims 1.

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