System and method for establishing communication with an array of inverters
First Claim
1. A method for establishing communication with a plurality of inverters, each of the inverters being configured to convert direct current (DC) power generated from an alternative source to alternating current (AC) power, the method comprising:
- determining an initial length of a response time window;
broadcasting the initial length of the response time window to each inverter of the plurality of inverters to prompt each inverter to respond with corresponding identification data;
in response to receiving a response from at least one inverter during the response time window, (i) recording the identification data of the at least one inverter and (ii) transmitting an acknowledgement to the at least one inverter using the identification data; and
in response to the response time window expiring, (i) adjusting the length of the response time window and (ii) broadcasting the adjusted length of the response time window to each inverter of the plurality of inverters.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for establishing communication between a controller and a plurality of inverters comprises determining a response time window length and broadcasting a response request to the array of inverters that includes the response time window length. Each inverter, in response to receiving the response requests, transmits a response to the controller at a randomly determined response time within the response time window. In response to receiving an acknowledgement from the controller, the responding inverter may ignore subsequent response requests. The controller may adjust the response time window and broadcasts the new response time window until no inverter response is received for a pre-determined number of response time windows.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method for establishing communication with a plurality of inverters, each of the inverters being configured to convert direct current (DC) power generated from an alternative source to alternating current (AC) power, the method comprising:
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determining an initial length of a response time window; broadcasting the initial length of the response time window to each inverter of the plurality of inverters to prompt each inverter to respond with corresponding identification data; in response to receiving a response from at least one inverter during the response time window, (i) recording the identification data of the at least one inverter and (ii) transmitting an acknowledgement to the at least one inverter using the identification data; and in response to the response time window expiring, (i) adjusting the length of the response time window and (ii) broadcasting the adjusted length of the response time window to each inverter of the plurality of inverters. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A controller for communicating with a plurality of inverters over an alternating current (AC) power line, the inverters configured to convert direct current (DC) power from an alternative energy source to AC power, the controller comprising:
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a communication circuit to communicate with the plurality of inverters over the AC power line using a power line communication protocol; a processor communicatively coupled to the communication circuit; and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, the memory having stored therein a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the processor, result in the processor; determining an initial length of a response time window, broadcasting, using the communication circuit, the initial length of the response time window to each inverter of the plurality of inverters to prompt each inverter to respond with corresponding identification data, in response to receiving a response from at least one inverter during the response time window, (i) storing the identification data of the at least one inverter in the memory and (ii) transmitting an acknowledgement, using the communication circuit, to the at least one inverter using the identification data, and in response to the response time window expiring, (i) adjusting the length of the response time window and (ii) broadcasting, using the communication circuit, the adjusted length of the response time window to each inverter of the plurality of inverters. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. One or more non-transitory, machine-readable media comprising a plurality of instructions, which in response to execution by a controller communicatively coupled to a plurality of AC-to-DC inverters over an AC power line, cause the controller to:
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determine an initial length of a response time window; broadcast the initial length of the response time window to each inverter of the plurality of inverters to prompt each inverter to respond with corresponding identification data; in response to receipt a response from at least one inverter during the response time window, (i) record the identification data of the at least one inverter and (ii) transmit an acknowledgement to the at least one inverter using the identification data; and in response to expiration of the response time window, (i) adjust the length of the response time window and (ii) broadcast the adjusted length of the response time window to each inverter of the plurality of inverters. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification