Safety mechanisms, wake up and shutdown methods in distributed power installations
First Claim
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1. An apparatus comprising:
- a DC-DC converter, wherein said DC-DC converter includes an input configured to couple to a DC power source, and wherein said DC-DC converter includes an output;
an inverter coupled to said output of said DC-DC converter, said inverter configured to convert power received from said output of said DC-DC converter; and
a signaling mechanism circuit between said inverter and said DC-DC converter, wherein said signaling mechanism circuit is adapted for controlling operation of said DC-DC converter, and wherein during operation of the apparatus, said signaling mechanism circuit superimposes a signal on said output of said DC-DC converter.
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Abstract
A distributed power system including multiple DC power sources and multiple power modules. The power modules include inputs coupled respectively to the DC power sources and outputs coupled in series to form a serial string. An inverter is coupled to the serial string. The inverter converts power input from the serial string to output power. A signaling mechanism between the inverter and the power module is adapted for controlling operation of the power modules.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a DC-DC converter, wherein said DC-DC converter includes an input configured to couple to a DC power source, and wherein said DC-DC converter includes an output; an inverter coupled to said output of said DC-DC converter, said inverter configured to convert power received from said output of said DC-DC converter; and a signaling mechanism circuit between said inverter and said DC-DC converter, wherein said signaling mechanism circuit is adapted for controlling operation of said DC-DC converter, and wherein during operation of the apparatus, said signaling mechanism circuit superimposes a signal on said output of said DC-DC converter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus comprising:
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a DC-DC converter, wherein said DC-DC converter includes an input configured to couple to a DC power source, and wherein said DC-DC converter includes an output; an inverter coupled to said output of said DC-DC converter, said inverter configured to convert power received from said output of said DC-DC converter; and a signaling mechanism circuit between said inverter and said DC-DC converter, wherein said signaling mechanism circuit is adapted for controlling operation of said DC-DC converter, and wherein said signaling mechanism circuit includes a switch integrated with said inverter, said switch modulating a signal onto said output of said DC-DC converter.
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9. An apparatus comprising:
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a DC-DC converter, wherein said DC-DC converter includes an input configured to couple to a DC power source, and wherein said DC-DC converter includes an output; an inverter coupled to said output of said DC-DC converter, said inverter configured to convert power received from said output of said DC-DC converter and provide said converted power to an electrical grid; a signaling mechanism circuit between said inverter and said DC-DC converter, wherein said signaling mechanism circuit is adapted for controlling operation of said DC-DC converter; and a detector in said DC-DC converter adapted for detecting a signal at a frequency of said electrical grid. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. An apparatus comprising:
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a DC-DC converter, wherein said DC-DC converter includes an input configured to couple to a DC power source, and wherein said DC-DC converter includes an output; an inverter coupled to said output of said DC-DC converter, said inverter configured to convert power received from said output of said DC-DC converter and provide said converted power to an electric grid; a signaling mechanism circuit between said inverter and said DC-DC converter, wherein said signaling mechanism circuit is adapted for controlling operation of said DC-DC converter; and a detector in said DC-DC converter adapted for detecting on said output of said DC-DC converter a signal from said electrical grid and wherein said signal is detected at a higher frequency up converted from the frequency of said electrical grid.
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12. An apparatus comprising:
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a DC-DC converter, wherein said DC-DC converter includes an input configured to couple to a DC power source, and wherein said DC-DC converter includes an output; an inverter coupled to said output of said DC-DC converter, said inverter configured to convert power received from said output of said DC-DC converter and provide said converted power to an electric grid; a signaling mechanism circuit between said inverter and said DC-DC converter, wherein said signaling mechanism circuit is adapted for controlling operation of said DC-DC converter; and a detector in said DC-DC converter adapted for detecting a signal at a switching frequency of said inverter.
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13. A method comprising:
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monitoring a signal superimposed on an output of a DC-DC converter, wherein the signal is superimposed by an inverter coupled to the output of the DC-DC converter; and varying operation of the DC-DC converter between a safety mode of operation and a normal mode of operation based on a change in the monitored signal, wherein the DC-DC converter in the safety mode limits DC converted power provided from said output of said DC-DC converter to the inverter. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification