DC PLANT CONTROLLER AND METHOD FOR SELECTING AMONG MULTIPLE POWER SOURCES AND DC PLANT EMPLOYING THE SAME
First Claim
1. A DC plant controller, comprising:
- a source identifier configured to identify power sources couplable to a common DC bus;
a source prioritizer coupled to said source identifier and configured to prioritize said power sources based on at least one criterion; and
an output characteristic assigner coupled to said source prioritizer and configured to assign output characteristics to said power sources that differ from one another as a function of said priority.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Various embodiments of a DC plant controller, methods of selecting among multiple power sources and DC plants incorporating the DC plant controller or the method. In one embodiment, the DC plant controller includes: (1) a source identifier configured to identify power sources couplable to a common DC bus, (2) a source prioritizer coupled to the source identifier and configured to prioritize the power sources based on at least one criterion and (3) an output characteristic assigner coupled to the source prioritizer and configured to assign output characteristics to the power sources that differ from one another as a function of the priority.
29 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A DC plant controller, comprising:
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a source identifier configured to identify power sources couplable to a common DC bus; a source prioritizer coupled to said source identifier and configured to prioritize said power sources based on at least one criterion; and an output characteristic assigner coupled to said source prioritizer and configured to assign output characteristics to said power sources that differ from one another as a function of said priority. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of selecting among multiple power sources couplable to a common DC bus, comprising:
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identifying said power sources; prioritizing said power sources based on at least one criterion; and assigning output characteristics to said power sources that differ from one another as a function of said priority. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A DC plant, comprising:
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power sources couplable to a common DC bus and selected from the group consisting of; an engine-driven generator, a windmill-driven generator, a solar array, and AC mains; rectifiers and DC-DC converters associated with said power sources; and a DC plant controller, including; a source identifier configured to identify said power sources, a source prioritizer coupled to said source identifier and configured to prioritize said power sources based on at least one criterion, and an output characteristic assigner coupled to said source prioritizer and configured to assign output characteristics to said power sources that differ from one another as a function of said priority and assign power limits to ones of said rectifiers and said DC-DC converters. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification