Fuel cell inverter
First Claim
1. A method for converting direct current (DC) electrical voltage from a DC power source to an alternating current (AC) voltage, comprising:
- controlling DC power from the DC power source, wherein the DC power source provides varying DC voltage;
drawing DC power from a battery based on DC power available from the DC power source;
maintaining a substantially constant DC voltage on a DC bus; and
inverting the DC voltage from the DC bus to the AC voltage.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention is directed to a method, system and device for converting direct current (DC) electrical voltage from a fuel cell to an alternating current (AC) voltage. The inventive method regulates power drawn from the fuel cell and from a battery to maintain a substantially constant DC voltage across a DC bus, and inverts the DC voltage from the DC bus to the AC voltage. The method may further electrically isolate the fuel cell from the load. Also, the inventive method may prevent current from flowing to the fuel cell. The inventive method may also provide a charging current to the battery.
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Citations
48 Claims
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1. A method for converting direct current (DC) electrical voltage from a DC power source to an alternating current (AC) voltage, comprising:
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controlling DC power from the DC power source, wherein the DC power source provides varying DC voltage;
drawing DC power from a battery based on DC power available from the DC power source;
maintaining a substantially constant DC voltage on a DC bus; and
inverting the DC voltage from the DC bus to the AC voltage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for converting direct current (DC) electrical voltage from a DC power source to an alternating current (AC) voltage, comprising:
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controlling DC power from the DC power source, wherein the DC power source provides varying DC voltage;
providing DC power to a battery based on DC power available from the DC power source;
maintaining a substantially constant DC voltage on a DC bus; and
inverting the DC voltage from the DC bus to the AC voltage. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for converting DC electrical voltage from a DC power source to an AC voltage, wherein the DC power source provides varying DC voltage, the system comprising:
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a DC-to-AC inverter;
a DC bus coupled to the DC-to-AC inverter;
a converter coupled to the DC bus and to the DC power source that maintains a substantially constant voltage on the DC bus by regulating power from the DC power source;
a battery; and
a device coupled to the battery and to the converter, wherein the device controls the flow of current to and from the battery. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A device for converting electrical voltage from a fuel cell to an AC voltage, comprising:
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a DC bus;
an inverter coupled to the DC bus, wherein the inverter converts DC voltage from the DC bus to an AC voltage;
a battery;
a device coupled to the battery and to the DC bus, wherein the device controls the flow of current to and from the battery; and
a boost converter coupled to the fuel cell, wherein the boost converter maintains a substantially constant DC voltage on the DC bus by regulating power from the fuel cell, and wherein the boost converter provides a charging current to the battery, and wherein the boost converter protects current from flowing to the fuel cell. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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Specification