Solar panel array

A solar panel assembly comprising:

• a first and a second elongate printed circuit board, each elongate printed circuit board supporting a plurality of individual solar cells mounted thereon and electrically connected in series by conductive traces to form a first and second solar panel;
• and
• a hinge assembly comprising a first and a second non-conductive hinge body joined by a hinge pin providing an axis of rotation between the hinge bodies, and a single, electrically-conductive coil spring having a wound length around the hinge axis, a first tang extending from one end in a direction at a right angle to the hinge axis, and a second tang extending from an opposite end extending at a right angle from the hinge axis and opposite in direction to the direction of the first tang;
• wherein the first non-conductive hinge body is mounted over a first conductive pad located along a first edge of the first solar panel, the first conductive pad connected to conductive traces of the first solar panel, the second non-conductive hinge body is mounted over a second conductive pad located along a second edge of the second solar panel, the second conductive pad connected to conductive traces of the second solar panel, the first and second edges adjacent, the hinge pin is joined pivotally to the first and the second non-conductive hinge bodies with the axis of rotation in the direction of the first and second edges, spacing the first and second non-conductive hinge bodies apart by a distance equal to or greater than the wound length of the electrically-conductive coil spring, and the electrically-conductive coil spring surrounds the hinge pin with the first tang captured between the first non-conductive hinge body and the first conductive pad, and the second tang captured between the second conductive pad and the second non-conductive hinge body, electrically connecting the conductive traces of the first and the second solar panels.