Method and apparatus for clamping frameless thin-film solar module

A method for clamping frameless solar modules laminated with planar glass panels, the method comprises,

• providing a plurality of frameless solar modules, each frameless solar module being laminated with a planar substrate glass panel of a rectangle form factor bonded with a planar cover glass panel having the same form factor to hold a plurality of thin-film solar cells in between;
• laying a pair of mounting rail structures;
• providing a plurality of mounting clip assemblies, each mounting clip assembly comprising,
• a top member made by a single piece of solid material of a first length including a flat base portion with a first central hole and two wing-span portions out-extending from two opposite sides of the flat base portion respectively with two tilted arms connected to two contact sections, the single piece of solid material having a uniform cross-sectional shape throughout the first length such that the two contact sections are positioned from each other by a first width and in a same height above the flat base portion;
• and
• a bottom member made by a single piece of rubber material of a second length including a shaped middle section with a second central hole and two planar sections respectively out-extending with a common planar bottom from two opposite sides of the shaped middle section and ending with two upward rounded bumps, the shaped middle section being configured to seamlessly match a shape with the flat base portion and part of the tilted arms of the top member, the single piece of rubber material having a uniform cross-sectional shape throughout a second width;
• placing the common planar bottom of one bottom member along the second length on a predetermined location on each of the pair of mounting rail structures;
• disposing a first frameless solar module belonging to the plurality of frameless solar modules such that two first positions of the planar substrate glass panel off a first longitudinal edge of the first frameless solar module are supported by the two upward rounded bumps of first two bottom members respectively on the pair of mounting rail structures and two other first positions of the planar substrate glass panel off a second longitudinal edge of the first frameless solar module opposite to the first longitudinal edge are supported by two other upward rounded bumps of second two bottom members respectively on the pair of mounting rail structures;
• placing one top member on top of each said bottom member with the corresponding first central hole being aligned with the corresponding second central hole to allow the flat base portion and part of tilted arms of the top member to fit in the shaped middle section of the bottom member;
• coupling the first central hole and the second central hole such that two second positions of the planar cover glass panel next to the first longitudinal edge are contacted by two contact sections of first two top members associated with the first two bottom members and two other second positions of the planar cover glass panel next to the second longitudinal edge are contacted by two other contact sections of second two top members associated with the second two bottom members;
• wherein each first position is vertically offset from the corresponding second position by a first distance based on a thickness from the planar cover glass panel to the planar substrate glass panel and horizontally offset from the same second position by a second distance predetermined for adequately supporting the first frameless solar module.