Amazing stuff, Drugmanrx! I've never read a full patent before, but once I got into it I couldn't stop. Not only does it cover the solar panels, but also the automated factory process of fabricating them.
And I found this part particularly fascinating:
....whereupon a polycarbonate sheet is applied and bonded to the optically transparent layer encapsulating the array of photo cell modules on the phenolic resin sheet, and an optically transparent epoxy resin coating is applied over the polycarbonate sheet to provide a thin clear coating that is hydro-phobic and oleo-phobic to provide self-cleaning action when wet during rain showers.
So these solar panels have rabies and are afraid of margarine? Just kidding! They repel water and oil, so they are self-cleaning when rained upon or hosed off.