Inverters
First Claim
1. A photovoltaic power conditioning unit for delivering power from one or more photovoltaic panels to an ac mains power supply, 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 input 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
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 of said sense and control circuits is coupled in series with an associated energy storage capacitor of said bank, and wherein each of said sense and control circuits 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 that is set according to a number of electrolytic energy storage capacitors in the bank.
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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 thorough the associated capacitor of greater than a threshold current value.
107 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, 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 input 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 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 of said sense and control circuits is coupled in series with an associated energy storage capacitor of said bank, and wherein each of said sense and control circuits 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 that is set according to a number of electrolytic energy storage capacitors in the bank. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A photovoltaic power conditioning unit for delivering power from one or more photovoltaic panels to an ac mains power supply, 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; at least two banks of electrolytic energy storage capacitors for storing energy from said dc input 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 banks of electrolytic energy storage capacitors for converting energy stored in said banks of electrolytic energy storage capacitors to ac power for said ac mains power supply; a plurality of sense and control circuits, one for each of said electrolytic energy storage capacitors of said banks of electrolytic energy storage capacitors, wherein each of said sense and control circuits is coupled in series with an associated energy storage capacitor of said banks, and wherein each of said sense and control circuits is configured to disconnect the associated electrolytic energy storage capacitor from said banks of capacitors upon detection of a current flow through the associated electrolytic energy storage capacitor of greater than a threshold current value; and a capacitor bank control circuit to selectively connect one or other of said banks to said dc-to-ac converter. - View Dependent Claims (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 panels to an ac mains power supply, 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 input for delivering to said ac mains power supply; and 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 through the electrolytic energy storage capacitor of greater than a threshold current value;
wherein said threshold current value is determined by
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Specification