US-12627254-B2 - Vehicle mounted or mountable solar panel assembly and solar panel assembly with a sealed electrical junction for a solar panel

US12627254B2US 12627254 B2US12627254 B2US 12627254B2US-12627254-B2

Abstract

A solar panel assembly includes a flexible solar panel having a front side and a rear side, with electrical leads protruding from the rear side; a mounting stud that extends from the flexible solar panel such that a portion of the mounting stud projects beyond the rear side of the flexible solar panel; a housing having a first side adjacent the rear side of the flexible solar panel, an opening at the first side through which the portion of the mounting stud projects so as to be positioned within an interior of the housing, a tab within the interior the housing, the tab receiving the portion of the mounting stud so as to form a mating connection with the portion of the mounting stud, the housing positioned such that the electrical leads protruding from the rear side of the flexible solar panel are positioned within the interior of the housing.

Inventors

Dan BIGGS
Andrew Hussey
Andy VANELZEN
MARIO PISANO

Assignees

CANADUS POWER SYSTEMS, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230503

Claims (11)

1 . A vehicle and solar panel assembly, comprising: an outer vehicle body component having an exterior surface, an interior surface and a hole therethrough; a flexible solar panel having a front side via which light reaches photovoltaic cells of the flexible solar panel, and a rear side, with electrical leads protruding from the rear side, wherein the flexible solar panel is sufficiently flexible to naturally conform to an arcuate surface defined by a radius of curvature of six feet; a mounting stud that extends from the flexible solar panel such that an attachment portion of the mounting stud projects beyond the rear side of the flexible solar panel and is spaced away from the electrical leads; a housing having a first side adjacent the rear side of the flexible solar panel, the housing further including: an opening at the first side through which the attachment portion of the mounting stud projects so as to be positioned within an interior of the housing, a tab within the interior the housing, the tab receiving the attachment portion of the mounting stud therethrough so as to form a mating connection with the attachment portion of the mounting stud, the housing positioned such that the electrical leads protruding from the rear side of the flexible solar panel pass through the opening at the first side of the housing so as to be received within the interior of the housing, the housing having a second side with a second opening; a cable extending into the interior of the housing via the second opening, the cable carrying electrical conductors that are electrically connected with the electrical leads via connecting junctions; and a potting compound located within the interior of the housing and forming adhesive bonds with each of: (i) an interior surface of the housing, (ii) the connecting junctions between the electrical leads and the electrical conductors and (iii) the rear side of the flexible solar panel; wherein the flexible solar panel is mounted to the outer vehicle body component with the rear side of the flexible solar panel at the exterior surface of the outer vehicle body component and with the housing aligned with the hole such that the housing projects through the hole and the cable extends from the housing at a location behind the outer vehicle body component.
2 . The vehicle and solar panel assembly of claim 1 , wherein the potting compound further forms adhesive bonds with (i) the mating connection between the attachment portion of the mounting stud and the tab and (ii) an end portion of the cable.
3 . The vehicle and solar panel assembly of claim 2 , wherein the potting compound is in a cured state that substantially fills the interior space of the housing.
4 . The vehicle and solar panel assembly of claim 1 , wherein the housing has a housing body, and the housing body has a profile that defines a profile area of no more than 0.9 square inches.
5 . The vehicle and solar panel assembly of claim 4 , wherein the profile area is no more than 0.8 square inches.
6 . The vehicle and solar panel assembly of claim 1 , wherein the housing is defined, at least in part, by a cylindrical wall that is open at both ends to define the first opening and the second opening.
7 . The vehicle and solar panel assembly of claim 6 , wherein the cylindrical wall is of right circular cylinder configuration.
8 . The vehicle and solar panel assembly of claim 1 , wherein the mounting stud includes a head portion seated against the front side of the flexible solar panel and at least the attachment portion of the mounting stud includes ribbed projections for engaging with an opening of the tab.
9 . The vehicle and solar panel assembly of claim 1 , wherein the rear side of the flexible solar panel is adhered to the exterior surface of the outer vehicle body component.
10 . The vehicle and solar panel assembly of claim 1 , wherein the potting compound further forms adhesive bonds with (iv) the mating connection between the attachment portion of the mounting stud and the tab and (v) an end portion of the cable; wherein the housing has a housing body, defined by a housing wall, and the housing body has a profile that defines a profile area of no more than 0.9 square inches; wherein the adhesive bonds between the potting compound and each of: (i) the interior surface of the housing, (ii) the connecting junctions between the electrical leads and the electrical conductors and (iii) the rear side of the flexible solar panel are sufficient to resist pulling forces of 40 N applied to the cable.
11 . The vehicle and solar panel assembly of claim 1 , wherein the housing is spaced from a perimeter of the flexible solar panel and lacks any connection to the perimeter edge of the flexible solar panel.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to sealed junctions for enclosing electrical connections and more particularly to sealed junctions on solar panels supporting photovoltaic cells, such as vehicle mounted flexible solar panels. BACKGROUND Electrical junctions, and in particular electrical junction boxes, are commonly used to connect the leads of an electrical device to a cord or cable that supplies electrical power in the form of electrical current to the device. The junction boxes typically are adapted to be mounted on support structure and have ports or other openings through which electrical cables extend and are secured to relieve stress on the electrical connections between the electrical cables themselves within the junction boxes. Some junction boxes include removable covers that provide access to the interiors of the boxes to facilitate making the electrical connections to the enclosed electrical leads. In some embodiments, the openings to the boxes that receive the electrical cables to be connected include clamps that secure the cables to the box housings. Junction boxes that are used outdoors also must be made weatherproof and resistant to environmental contaminants. This is frequently achieved by providing the junction box cover and openings with flexible, moisture-resistant gaskets that keep out rain and other precipitation, dust and other particulate contaminants, and insects. In particularly corrosive settings, such gasketing material preferably is made of ultraviolet-resistant material that also is capable of withstanding temperature extremes. In a particular application, junction boxes are used to connect the output of an array of photovoltaic cells of a solar panel. A photovoltaic junction box is attached to the back of the solar panel and acts as an output interface. The individual photovoltaic cells typically are wired in series to achieve a desired voltage output. Strings of photovoltaic cells can be wired in parallel to achieve a desired amperage output. Multiple solar panels are frequently erected in “farms” that are away from interference with irradiation that might arise from buildings or other structures, and therefore it is desirable to make the electrical connections sufficiently robust to need only occasional maintenance. It is also desirable to provide robust electrical connections between the solar panel output and electrical cable in other applications, such as mounted on vehicles, building roofs, pole mounts, and ships. Accordingly, there is a need for an electrical junction for solar panels, particularly of the flexible type, that is weather, insect, and corrosion resistant, while at the same time providing a small footprint and effective connection to the solar panel. Since such electrical junction boxes are to be mass produced to accommodate a rapidly growing solar panel industry, the junction boxes may also preferably be comparatively inexpensive and simple to fabricate. SUMMARY In one aspect, a solar panel assembly includes a flexible solar panel having a front side via which light reaches photovoltaic cells of the flexible solar panel, and a rear side, with electrical leads protruding from the rear side; a mounting stud that extends from the flexible solar panel such that a portion of the mounting stud projects beyond the rear side of the flexible solar panel; a housing having a first side adjacent the rear side of the flexible solar panel, an opening at the first side through which the portion of the mounting stud projects so as to be positioned within an interior of the housing, a tab within the interior the housing, the tab receiving the portion of the mounting stud therethrough so as to form a mating connection with the portion of the mounting stud, the housing positioned to receive the electrical leads protruding from the rear side of the flexible solar panel within the interior of the housing, the housing having a second side with a second opening; a cable extending into the interior of the housing via the second opening, the cable carrying electrical conductors that are electrically connected with the electrical leads via connecting junctions; and a potting compound located within the interior of the housing and forming adhesive bonds with each of: (i) an interior surface of the housing, (ii) the connecting junctions between the electrical leads and the electrical conductors and (iii) the rear side of the flexible solar panel. In another aspect, a solar panel assembly includes a flexible solar panel having a front side via which light reaches photovoltaic cells of the flexible solar panel, and a rear side, with electrical leads protruding from the rear side; a mounting stud that extends from the flexible solar panel such that a portion of the mounting stud projects beyond the rear side of the flexible solar panel; a housing having a first side adjacent the rear side of the flexible solar panel, an opening at the first side through which the portion of