SMART AND SCALABLE POWER INVERTERS
First Claim
1. A system for providing AC power to a power grid from a plurality of individual DC power sources each having a DC power output port, comprising:
- a) a plurality of power inverters, each of said power inverters having one DC power input port, an AC power input port, and an AC power output port, said DC power input port having one DC power source connected thereto;
b) said AC power output port of each inverter being connected in a daisy chain to the AC power input port of the next inverter, except for the AC power input port of the first inverter being left open, and the AC power output port of the last inverter being connected to a power service panel of the power grid;
c) each of said power inverters including;
i) a DC-DC boost converter connected to said DC power source and arranged to convert the power source voltage to a higher DC voltage suitable for inversion;
ii) a DC-AC inverter connected to said DC-DC boost converter and arranged to invert the DC power to AC power with voltage higher than the incoming AC power voltage;
iii) an internal AC powerline that combines the generated AC power with the external AC power from the power grid;
iv) a load interface circuit connected to said DC-AC inverter and to said internal AC powerline, said load interface circuit being arranged to filter high-frequency components out of the said DC-AC inverter'"'"'s AC output;
v) an MFA microcontroller connected to said DC-DC boost converter, DC-AC inverter, and load interface circuit, said microcontroller arranged to monitor the DC boost voltage, control the DC-DC boost converter, perform maximum power point tracking (MPPT), perform DC-AC inversion and AC power synchronization, monitor AC current and voltage for generated power amount and status, perform powerline communications, and perform logic controls such as AC powerline switching and isolation;
vi) a powerline modem connected to said microcontroller and said internal AC powerline through an interface circuitry for transmitting and receiving performance data between said microcontroller and said power grid;
vii) a line sensing circuit connected to said internal AC powerline and said microcontroller for detecting the phase and zero-crossing point of the incoming AC power from the power grid; and
viii) a solid state switch connected to said internal AC powerline and external AC powerline, and arranged to disconnect said internal AC powerline from the AC grid during the non-generation time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus is disclosed for intelligently inverting DC power from DC sources such as photovoltaic (PV) solar modules to single-phase or three-phase AC power to feed the power grid for electricity generation. A number of smart single-input, dual-input, triple-input, quad-input, and multiple-input power inverters in a mixed variety can easily connect to single, dual, triple, quad, and multiple DC power sources, invert the DC power to AC power, and daisy chain together to generate a total power, which is equal to the summation of the AC power supplied by each smart and scalable power inverter of this invention.
224 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A system for providing AC power to a power grid from a plurality of individual DC power sources each having a DC power output port, comprising:
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a) a plurality of power inverters, each of said power inverters having one DC power input port, an AC power input port, and an AC power output port, said DC power input port having one DC power source connected thereto; b) said AC power output port of each inverter being connected in a daisy chain to the AC power input port of the next inverter, except for the AC power input port of the first inverter being left open, and the AC power output port of the last inverter being connected to a power service panel of the power grid; c) each of said power inverters including; i) a DC-DC boost converter connected to said DC power source and arranged to convert the power source voltage to a higher DC voltage suitable for inversion; ii) a DC-AC inverter connected to said DC-DC boost converter and arranged to invert the DC power to AC power with voltage higher than the incoming AC power voltage; iii) an internal AC powerline that combines the generated AC power with the external AC power from the power grid; iv) a load interface circuit connected to said DC-AC inverter and to said internal AC powerline, said load interface circuit being arranged to filter high-frequency components out of the said DC-AC inverter'"'"'s AC output; v) an MFA microcontroller connected to said DC-DC boost converter, DC-AC inverter, and load interface circuit, said microcontroller arranged to monitor the DC boost voltage, control the DC-DC boost converter, perform maximum power point tracking (MPPT), perform DC-AC inversion and AC power synchronization, monitor AC current and voltage for generated power amount and status, perform powerline communications, and perform logic controls such as AC powerline switching and isolation; vi) a powerline modem connected to said microcontroller and said internal AC powerline through an interface circuitry for transmitting and receiving performance data between said microcontroller and said power grid; vii) a line sensing circuit connected to said internal AC powerline and said microcontroller for detecting the phase and zero-crossing point of the incoming AC power from the power grid; and viii) a solid state switch connected to said internal AC powerline and external AC powerline, and arranged to disconnect said internal AC powerline from the AC grid during the non-generation time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A system for providing AC power to a power grid from a plurality of individual DC power sources each having a DC power output port, comprising:
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a) a plurality of power inverters, each of said power inverters having two DC power input ports, an AC power input port, and an AC power output port, each of said DC power input ports having one DC power source connected thereto; b) said AC power output port of each inverter being connected in a daisy chain to the AC power input port of the next inverter, except for the AC power input port of the first inverter being left open, and the AC power output port of the last inverter being connected to a power service panel of the power grid; c) each of said power inverters including; i) a pair of DC-DC boost converters, one connected to each of said DC power sources, respectively, and arranged to convert the power source voltage to a higher DC voltage suitable for inversion; ii) a DC power combiner connected to said DC-DC boost converters for combining the DC output from both DC-DC boost converters and allowing said DC-DC boost converters to connect in parallel so that all DC currents are added together; iii) a DC-AC inverter connected to said DC power combiner and arranged to invert the DC power to AC power with voltage higher than the incoming AC power voltage; iv) an internal AC powerline that combines the generated AC power with the external AC power from the power grid; v) a load interface circuit connected to said DC-AC inverter and to said internal AC powerline, said load interface circuit being arranged to filter high-frequency components out of the said DC-AC inverter'"'"'s AC output; vi) an MFA microcontroller connected to said DC-DC boost converters, DC-AC inverter, and load interface circuit, said microcontroller arranged to monitor the DC boost voltage, control the DC-DC boost converter, perform maximum power point tracking (MPPT), perform DC-AC inversion and AC power synchronization, monitor AC current and voltage for generated power amount and status, perform powerline communications, and perform logic controls such as AC powerline switching and isolation; vii) a powerline modem connected to said microcontroller and said internal AC powerline through an interface circuitry for transmitting and receiving performance data between said microcontroller and said power grid; viii) a line sensing circuit connected to said internal AC powerline and said microcontroller for detecting the phase and zero-crossing point of the incoming AC power from the power grid; and ix) a solid state switch connected to said internal AC powerline and external AC powerline, and arranged to disconnect said internal AC powerline from the AC grid during the non-generation time. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. A system for providing AC power to a power grid from a plurality of individual DC power sources each having a DC power output port, comprising:
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a) a plurality of power inverters, each of said power inverters having m DC power input ports, where m is an integer greater than or equal to one, an AC power input port, and an AC power output port, each of said DC power input ports having one DC power source connected thereto; b) said AC power output port of each inverter being connected in a daisy chain to the AC power input port of the next inverter, except for the AC power input port of the first inverter being left open, and the AC power output port of the last inverter being connected to a power service panel of the power grid; c) each of said power inverters including; i) m number of DC-DC boost converters, one connected to each of said DC power sources, respectively, and arranged to convert the power source voltage to a higher DC voltage suitable for inversion; ii) a DC power combiner connected to said m number of DC-DC boost converters for combining the DC output from all DC-DC boost converters and allowing said DC-DC boost converters to connect in parallel so that all DC currents are added together; iii) a DC-AC inverter connected to said DC power combiner and arranged to invert the DC power to AC power with voltage higher than the incoming AC power voltage; iv) an internal AC powerline that combines the generated AC power with the external AC power from the power grid; v) a load interface circuit connected to said DC-AC inverter and to said internal AC powerline, said load interface circuit being arranged to filter high-frequency components out of the said DC-AC inverter'"'"'s AC output; vi) an MFA microcontroller connected to said DC-DC boost converters, DC-AC inverter, and load interface circuit, said microcontroller arranged to monitor the DC boost voltage, control the DC-DC boost converter, perform maximum power point tracking (MPPT), perform DC-AC inversion and AC power synchronization, monitor AC current and voltage for generated power amount and status, perform powerline communications, and perform logic controls such as AC powerline switching and isolation; vii) a powerline modem connected to said microcontroller and said internal AC powerline through an interface circuitry for transmitting and receiving performance data between said microcontroller and said power grid; viii) a line sensing circuit connected to said internal AC powerline and said microcontroller for detecting the phase and zero-crossing point of the incoming AC power from the power grid; and ix) a solid state switch connected to said internal AC powerline and external AC powerline, and arranged to disconnect said internal AC powerline from the AC grid during the non-generation time. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. A DC- to-AC power inverter, comprising:
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a) one DC power input port having one DC power source connected thereto; b) one AC power output port arranged to supply AC power to the AC power grid; c) a DC-DC boost converter connected to said DC power source and arranged to convert the power source voltage to a higher DC voltage suitable for inversion; d) a DC-AC inverter connected to said DC-DC boost converter and arranged to invert the DC power to AC power with voltage higher than the incoming AC power voltage; e) an internal AC powerline that combines the generated AC power with the external AC power from the AC power grid; f) a load interface circuit connected to said DC-AC inverter and to said internal AC powerline, said load interface circuit being arranged to filter high-frequency components out of the said DC-AC inverter'"'"'s AC output; g) an MFA microcontroller connected to said DC-DC boost converter, DC-AC inverter, and load interface circuit, said microcontroller arranged to monitor the DC boost voltage, control the DC-DC boost converter, perform maximum power point tracking (MPPT), perform DC-AC inversion and AC power synchronization, monitor AC current and voltage for generated power amount and status, perform powerline communications, and perform logic controls such as AC powerline switching and isolation; h) a powerline modem connected to said microcontroller and said internal AC powerline through an interface circuitry for transmitting and receiving performance data between said microcontroller and said power grid; i) a line sensing circuit connected to said internal AC powerline and said microcontroller for detecting the phase and zero-crossing point of the incoming AC power from the power grid; and j) a solid state switch connected to said internal AC powerline and external AC powerline, and arranged to disconnect said internal AC powerline from the AC grid during the non-generation time. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A DC- to-AC power inverter, comprising:
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a) at least two DC power input ports, each of said DC power input ports having one DC power source connected thereto; b) one AC power output port arranged to supply AC power to the AC power grid; c) for each DC power source, a DC-DC boost converter connected to said DC power sources and arranged to convert the power source voltage to a higher DC voltage suitable for inversion; d) a DC power combiner connected to said DC-DC boost converters for combining the DC output from all DC-DC boost converters and allowing the said DC-DC boost converters to connect in parallel so that all DC currents are added together; e) a DC-AC inverter connected to said DC power combiner and arranged to invert the DC power to AC power with voltage higher than the incoming AC power voltage; f) an internal AC powerline that combines the generated AC power with the external AC power from the power grid; g) a load interface circuit connected to said DC-AC inverter and to said internal AC powerline, said load interface circuit being arranged to filter high-frequency components out of the said DC-AC inverter'"'"'s AC output; h) an MFA microcontroller connected to said DC-DC boost converters, DC-AC inverter, and load interface circuit, said microcontroller arranged to monitor the DC boost voltage, control the DC-DC boost converter, perform maximum power point tracking (MPPT), perform DC-AC inversion and AC power synchronization, monitor AC current and voltage for generated power amount and status, perform powerline communications, and perform logic controls such as AC powerline switching and isolation; i) a powerline modem connected to said microcontroller and said internal AC powerline through an interface circuitry for transmitting and receiving performance data between said microcontroller and said power grid; j) a line sensing circuit connected to said internal AC powerline and said microcontroller for detecting the phase and zero-crossing point of the incoming AC power from the power grid; and k) a solid state switch connected to said internal AC powerline and external AC powerline, and arranged to disconnect said internal AC powerline from the AC grid during the non-generation time. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 24, 25)
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21. A scalable DC to AC power inversion system for providing AC power to a power grid from a plurality of individual DC power sources each having a DC power output port, comprising:
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a) a plurality of power inverters, each of said power inverters having at least one DC power input port, an AC power input port, and an AC power output port, each of said DC power input ports having one DC power source connected thereto; b) said AC power output port of each inverter being connected in a daisy chain to the AC power input port of the next inverter, except for the AC power input port of the first inverter being left open, and the AC power output port of the last inverter being connected to a power service panel of the power grid; c) whereby said system is incrementally scalable by adding or subtracting DC power sources and daisy-chained inverters; and d) whereby an optimal amount of AC power is generated and supplied to said power grid regardless of the performance of any individual power source. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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26. A method of making a DC to AC power conversion system incrementally scalable, comprising:
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a) providing a plurality of DC power sources and a plurality of DC to AC power inverters, said inverters each having an AC input port, an AC output port, and at least one DC input port; b) connecting at least one of said DC power sources, respectively, to at least one of said DC input ports; c) daisy-chaining at least two of said inverters, said AC power output port of each inverter being connected in a daisy chain to the AC power input port of the next inverter, except for the AC power input port of the first inverter being left open, and the AC power output port of the last inverter being connected to a power service panel of the power grid; and d) producing a total AC power that is the summation of the AC power supplied by each said inverter. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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Specification