Inverters
First Claim
1. A photovoltaic power conditioning unit for delivering power from one or more photovoltaic panels to an ac mains power supply output, the power conditioning unit comprising:
- a dc input for receiving power from said one or more photovoltaic panels;
an ac output for delivering ac power to said ac mains power supply;
a bank of electrolytic energy storage capacitors for storing energy from said dc power source for delivering to said ac mains power supply;
a dc-to-ac converter coupled to said ac output and having an input coupled to said bank of electrolytic energy storage capacitors for converting energy stored in said bank of electrolytic energy storage capacitors to ac power for said ac mains power supply; and
further comprising;
a plurality of sense and control circuits, one for each of said electrolytic energy storage capacitors of said bank of electrolytic energy storage capacitors, wherein each said sense and control circuit is coupled in series with a respective said energy storage capacitor, and wherein each said sense and control circuit is configured to disconnect the associated electrolytic energy storage capacitor from said bank of capacitors upon detection of a current flow through the associated electrolytic energy storage capacitor of greater than a threshold current value.
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Accused Products
Abstract
We describe a photovoltaic power conditioning unit for delivering power from multiple photovoltaic panels to an ac mains power supply output, comprising: a dc input for receiving power from multiple photovoltaic panels; an ac output for delivering ac power to the ac supply; a bank of electrolytic energy storage capacitors for storing energy from the dc source for delivery to the ac supply; a dc-to-ac converter coupled to the ac output and having an input coupled to the bank for converting energy stored in the bank to ac power for the ac supply; and further comprising: a plurality of sense and control circuits, one for each capacitor in the bank, wherein each circuit is coupled in series with a capacitor, and is configured to disconnect the associated capacitor from the bank upon detection of a current flow through the associated capacitor of greater than a threshold current value.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A photovoltaic power conditioning unit for delivering power from one or more photovoltaic panels to an ac mains power supply output, the power conditioning unit comprising:
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a dc input for receiving power from said one or more photovoltaic panels; an ac output for delivering ac power to said ac mains power supply; a bank of electrolytic energy storage capacitors for storing energy from said dc power source for delivering to said ac mains power supply; a dc-to-ac converter coupled to said ac output and having an input coupled to said bank of electrolytic energy storage capacitors for converting energy stored in said bank of electrolytic energy storage capacitors to ac power for said ac mains power supply; and
further comprising;a plurality of sense and control circuits, one for each of said electrolytic energy storage capacitors of said bank of electrolytic energy storage capacitors, wherein each said sense and control circuit is coupled in series with a respective said energy storage capacitor, and wherein each said sense and control circuit is configured to disconnect the associated electrolytic energy storage capacitor from said bank of capacitors upon detection of a current flow through the associated electrolytic energy storage capacitor of greater than a threshold current value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of enhancing the reliability of a photovoltaic power conditioning unit for delivering power from one or more photovoltaic panel to an ac mains power supply output, the power conditioning unit comprising:
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a dc input for receiving power from said one or more photovoltaic panels; an ac output for delivering ac power to said ac mains power supply; and
further comprising;a bank of electrolytic energy storage capacitors for storing energy from said dc power source for delivering to said ac mains power supply output; a dc-to-ac converter coupled to said ac output and having an input coupled to said bank of electrolytic energy storage capacitors for converting energy stored in said bank of electrolytic energy storage capacitors to ac power for said ac mains power supply;
the method comprising;disconnecting an electrolytic energy storage capacitor from said bank of capacitors upon detection of a current flow though the associated electrolytic energy storage capacitor of greater than a threshold current value;
wherein said threshold current value, is determined by
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Specification