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Advanced renewable energy harvesting

  • US 8,138,631 B2
  • Filed: 12/18/2008
  • Issued: 03/20/2012
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2007
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A system for harvesting maximum power from a plurality of energy sources comprising:

  • an inverter for inverting electrical energy from direct current (DC) to an alternating current (AC);

    a DC buss for transmitting DC to said inverter, wherein said DC buss operates at a DC buss voltage set by said inverter;

    a plurality of energy receiving components each configured for outputting direct current (DC) from energy received from at least one energy source independently from each other, wherein each energy receiving component from among said plurality of energy receiving components further comprises a converter component comprising;

    a boost converter for upconverting said DC from said energy receiving component to said DC buss voltage; and

    a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) component for real time determination of an output impedance of said energy receiving component, said MPPT component varying an operating point of said boost converter to match said impedance of said DC from said energy receiving component to maximize transfer of power;

    wherein each of said at least one converter component is connected to said DC buss in parallel with others of said at least one converter component; and

    wherein said boost converter in each respective converter component operates said converter component as an independent power producer by converting a variable DC voltage and current received from energy receiving component to an output power at a voltage determined by the DC buss as set by the inverter; and

    a power capturing source for receiving said AC from said inverter.

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