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 the one or more photovoltaic panels;
an ac output for delivering ac power to the ac mains power supply;
a first bank of energy storage capacitors for storing energy from the dc input for delivery to the ac mains power supply, wherein the first bank of energy storage capacitors comprises a mixture of electrolytic and non-electrolytic energy storage capacitors;
a dc-to-ac converter coupled to the ac output and having an input coupled to the first bank of energy storage capacitors, the dc-to-ac converter for converting energy stored in the first bank of energy storage capacitors to ac power, and providing the ac power to the ac mains power supply;
a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature of the photovoltaic power conditioning unit; and
a sense and control circuit for disconnecting one or more of the electrolytic energy storage capacitors in the first bank of energy storage capacitors.
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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.
38 Citations
20 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 the one or more photovoltaic panels; an ac output for delivering ac power to the ac mains power supply; a first bank of energy storage capacitors for storing energy from the dc input for delivery to the ac mains power supply, wherein the first bank of energy storage capacitors comprises a mixture of electrolytic and non-electrolytic energy storage capacitors; a dc-to-ac converter coupled to the ac output and having an input coupled to the first bank of energy storage capacitors, the dc-to-ac converter for converting energy stored in the first bank of energy storage capacitors to ac power, and providing the ac power to the ac mains power supply; a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature of the photovoltaic power conditioning unit; and a sense and control circuit for disconnecting one or more of the electrolytic energy storage capacitors in the first bank of energy storage capacitors. - 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 panels to an ac mains power supply, the power conditioning unit comprising:
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a dc input for receiving power from the one or more photovoltaic panels; an ac output for delivering ac power to the ac mains power supply; a bank of energy storage capacitors for storing energy from the dc input for delivery to the ac mains power supply, wherein the bank of energy storage capacitors comprises a mixture of electrolytic and non-electrolytic energy storage capacitors; a dc-to-ac converter coupled to the ac output and having an input coupled to the bank of energy storage capacitors, the dc-to-ac converter for converting energy stored in the bank of energy storage capacitors to ac power and providing the ac power to the ac mains power supply;
the method comprising;sensing a temperature of the photovoltaic power conditioning unit; and disconnecting one or more energy storage capacitors from the bank of energy storage capacitors based on the sensed temperature. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification