REDUNDANT ELECTRICAL ARCHITECTURE FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES
First Claim
1. A photovoltaic module, comprising:
- a conductive backsheet;
a substantially transparent front plate;
a plurality of photovoltaic cells disposed between the conductive backsheet and the front plate, the photovoltaic cells arranged in a plurality of rows, the photovoltaic cells in each row being connected in parallel and the rows being connected in series;
a plurality of conductive spacers that the plurality of rows are interconnected between; and
a power conversion device redundantly connected to the plurality of photovoltaic cells via a last conductive spacer connected to a last row, the power conversion device substantially maintaining a maximum peak power of the photovoltaic module and converting a lower voltage collectively generated by the plurality of photovoltaic cells to a predetermined stepped up voltage greater than or equal to 12 volts.
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Accused Products
Abstract
One example embodiment includes a PV module comprising a conductive backsheet, a substantially transparent front plate, a plurality of PV cells, a plurality of conductive spacers, and a power conversion device. The PV cells can be disposed between the conductive backsheet and the front plate and can be arranged in a plurality of rows. The PV cells within each row can be connected to each other in parallel and the rows can be connected in series. The PV cells can be interconnected between the conductive spacers. The power conversion device can be redundantly connected to the PV cells via a last conductive spacer connected to a last row. The power conversion device can substantially maintain a maximum peak power of the PV module and can convert a lower voltage collectively generated by the PV cells to a predetermined stepped up voltage greater than or equal to 12 volts.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A photovoltaic module, comprising:
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a conductive backsheet; a substantially transparent front plate; a plurality of photovoltaic cells disposed between the conductive backsheet and the front plate, the photovoltaic cells arranged in a plurality of rows, the photovoltaic cells in each row being connected in parallel and the rows being connected in series; a plurality of conductive spacers that the plurality of rows are interconnected between; and a power conversion device redundantly connected to the plurality of photovoltaic cells via a last conductive spacer connected to a last row, the power conversion device substantially maintaining a maximum peak power of the photovoltaic module and converting a lower voltage collectively generated by the plurality of photovoltaic cells to a predetermined stepped up voltage greater than or equal to 12 volts. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of calibrating a photovoltaic module, comprising:
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downloading a first set of computer executable instructions onto a photovoltaic module comprising a power conversion device including a plurality of power conversion circuits, the first set of computer executable instructions configured to control operation of the photovoltaic module during calibration; exposing the photovoltaic module to multiple illumination intensities; exposing the photovoltaic module to multiple ambient temperatures; generating measurement data for each illumination intensity and ambient temperature, the measurement data representative of one or more of; an electrical resistance of each power conversion circuit; a power output of each power conversion circuit; a peak power current of each power conversion circuit; a peak power voltage of each power conversion circuit; and a local circuit phase of each power conversion circuit; generating a plurality of calibration curves from the measurement data; storing the plurality of calibration curves in a memory of the photovoltaic module, the plurality of calibration curves allowing a control module of the photovoltaic module to transform measurements in the field into physical data; and replacing the first set of computer executable instructions with a second set of computer executable instructions configured to control operation of the photovoltaic module in the field. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification