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DC plant for selecting among multiple power sources

  • US 9,722,422 B2
  • Filed: 05/01/2012
  • Issued: 08/01/2017
  • Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2009
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A DC plant, comprising:

  • power sources couplable to a common DC bus and selected from the group consisting of;

    an engine-driven generator,a windmill-driven generator,a solar array, andAC mains;

    rectifiers associated with AC power sources of said power sources and DC-DC converters associated with DC power sources of said power sources; and

    a DC plant controller, including;

    a non-transitory memory configured to store power source data indicative of respective types of said power sources,a source identifier configured to gain access to the power source data in said non-transitory memory to identify said power sources,a source prioritizer coupled to said source identifier and configured to prioritize said power sources based on the power source data received from said source identifier, said power sources including a high priority power source and a low priority power source, andan output characteristic assigner coupled to said source prioritizer and configured to;

    assign respective output voltages to said rectifiers and said DC-DC converters based on respective priorities of their associated power sources, wherein said high priority power source is assigned a higher output voltage than said low priority power source,assign respective current limits to said rectifiers and said DC-DC converters based on respective priorities of their associated power sources, wherein said high priority power source is assigned a larger percentage current limit than said low priority power source, wherein the respective current limits are defined relative to respective current capacities of said power sources,assign respective current share values to said rectifiers and said DC-DC converters based on respective priorities of their associated power sources and a total voltage and current output to said common DC bus, wherein said high priority power source is assigned a larger percentage current share value than said low priority power source, wherein percentage current share values are defined relative to respective lead capacities, andadjust respective output voltages and the respective current limits of said rectifiers and said DC-DC converters based on the respective current share values.

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