Information display apparatus, information relay apparatus used in power generation system, information display method and information relay method, and information transmission method

• US 6,311,137 B1
• Filed: 01/27/2000
• Issued: 10/30/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Kurokami, Seiji, Takehara, Nobuyoshi, Manabe, Naoki
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoff, Marc S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bui, Bryan
• Application Number:
  US09/492,339
• Time in Patent Office: 642 Days
• Field of Search: 702/57, 702/60, 702/64, 702/65, 702/74, 363/78, 363/79, 363/80, 323/906, 323/299, 341/110, 341/126, 341/144
• US Class Current: 702/60
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2300/24 of photovoltaic origin
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2300/28 The renewable source being wind energy wind motors F03D
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/381 Dispersed generators
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/46 Controlling of the sharing of output between the generators, converters, or transformers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/56 Power conversion systems, e.g. maximum power point trackers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/76 Power conversion electric or electronic aspects

Abstract

To display the sum of power generation in a photovoltaic power generation system having a plurality of independently-operating inverters in real time, an information display device receives information indicative of amounts of power generation respectively outputted from the plurality of inverters, calculates the sum of power generation in the plural inverters based on the received information, and displays the result of calculation.

Claims

1. An information-display apparatus used with a solar power-generation system having plural power-control units, each of which independently operates and converts direct-current power generated by a solar battery to alternating-current power to be provided to a load, said apparatus comprising:

receiving means for receiving information from said plural power-control units, wherein the received information includes at least generated power data which represents output power from each of said plural power-control units;

calculating means for calculating a sum of the output power from all of said plural power-control units; and

displaying means for displaying the received information and/or the calculated sum.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising plural connectors to receive the information from said plural power-control units.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising optical communication means or radio communication means to receive the information from said plural power-control units.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said calculating means integrates the output power from each of said plural power-control units and the calculated sum so that said displaying means displays integrated power.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said displaying means displays operative status of each of said plural power-control units based on the received information.

6. A solar power-generation apparatus comprising:

plural solar batteries;

plural power-control units, each of which independently operates and converts direct-current power generated by each of said plural solar batteries to alternating-current power to be provided to a load, and outputs information including at least generated power data which represents output power from each of said plural power-control units; and

a display unit which displays at least a sum of the output power from all of said plural power-control units based on the information outputted by said plural power-control units.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein each of said plural power-control units has a power supply for supplying direct-current power to said display unit, and wherein said display unit receives the direct-current power from said plural power-control units in parallel.

8. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said display unit has plural connectors to receive the information from said plural power-control units.

9. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said display unit has optical communication means or radio communication means to receive the information from said plural power-control units.

10. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said display unit can display integrated power which is obtained by integrating the output power from each of said plural power-control units or the sum.

11. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said display unit can display operative status of each of said plural power-control units based on the information outputted by said plural power-control units.

12. An information-relay apparatus for relaying information between a solar power-generation unit and plural information-display units, wherein said solar power-generation unit has plural inverters, each of which independently operates and converts direct-current power generated by a solar battery to alternating-current power to be provided to a load, said apparatus comprising:

receiving means for receiving information from said plural inverters, wherein the received information includes at least generated power data which represents output power from each of said plural inverters;

calculating means for calculating a sum of the output power from all of said plural inverters; and

outputting means for outputting information, which includes at least data which represents the sum, to said plural information-display units.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the information outputted by said outputting means further includes data representing integrated power which is obtained by integrating the output power of each of said plural power-control units or the sum.

14. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the information received from said plural inverters further includes status information representing operative status of each of said plural inverters, and said outputting means outputs the received status information as said plural information-display units can distinguish an issuer of the status information.

15. The apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising plural connectors to receive the information from said plural inverters.

16. The apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising plural connectors to output the information to said plural information-display units.

17. The apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising optical communication means or radio communication means to receive the information from said plural inverters.

18. The apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising straighten means for straightening a waveform of a signal which carries the information and is received from said plural inverters, and the straightened signal is outputted to said plural information-display units.

19. A solar power-generation apparatus comprising:

plural solar batteries;

plural inverters, each of which independently operates and converts direct-current power generated by each of said plural solar batteries to alternating-current power to be provided to a load, and outputs information including at least generated power data which represents power outputted from each of said plural inverters;

a relay unit which relays the information outputted from said plural inverters, and calculates and outputs a sum of the output power of all of said plural inverters; and

plural display units which respectively display any one of the relayed information and the sum outputted by said relay unit.

20. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said relay unit and plural display units respectively have at least one connector to receive the information, and wherein the connectors have the same form.

21. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said plural inverters and relay unit respectively have at least one connector to send the information, and wherein the connectors have the same form.

22. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein each of said plural inverters has a power supply for supplying direct-current power to said relay unit, and said relay unit receives the direct-current power from said plural power-control units in parallel and supplies the received power to said plural display units.

23. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said plural display units respectively display integrated power which is obtained by integrating the output power from each of said plural power-control units or the sum.

24. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein each of said plural inverters further outputs status information representing operative status of itself, and said relay unit relays the received status information such that said plural display units can distinguish an issuer of the status information.

25. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said plural inverters and relay unit respectively have optical communication means or radio communication means to communicate the information.

26. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said relay unit has straighten means for straightening a waveform of a signal which carries the information and is received from said plural inverters, and the straightened signal is outputted to said plural display units.

27. An information-display method of a solar power-generation system having plural power-control units, each of which independently operates and converts direct-current power generated by a solar battery to alternating-current power to be provided to a load, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving information from the plural power-control units, wherein the received information includes at least generated power data which represents output power from each of the plural power-control units;

calculating a sum of the output power from all of the plural power-control units; and

displaying the received information and/or the calculated sum.

28. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer program code, for an information-display method of a solar power-generation system having plural power-control units, each of which independently operates and converts direct-current power generated by a solar battery to alternating-current power to be provided to a load, said product comprising the process procedure code for:

receiving information from the plural power-control units, wherein the received information includes at least generated power data which represents output power from each of the plural power-control units;

calculating a sum of the output power from all of the plural power-control units; and

displaying the received information and/or the calculated sum.

29. An information-relay method of relaying information between a solar power-generation unit and plural information-display units, wherein the solar power-generation unit has plural inverters, each of which independently operates and converts direct-current power generated by a solar battery to alternating-current power to be provided to a load, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving information from the plural inverters, wherein the received information includes at least generated power data which represents output power from each of the plural inverters;

calculating a sum of the output power from all of the plural inverters; and

outputting information, which includes at least data representing the sum, to the plural information-display units.

30. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer program code, for an information-relay method of relaying information between a solar power-generation unit and plural information-display units, wherein the solar power-generation unit has plural inverters, each of which independently operates and converts direct-current power generated by a solar battery to alternating-current power to be provided to a load, said product comprising the process procedure code for:

receiving information from the plural inverters, wherein the received information includes at least generated power data which represents output power from each of the plural inverters;

calculating a sum of the output power from all of the plural inverters; and

outputting information, which includes at least data which represents the sum, to the plural information-display units.

31. A transmission method of transmitting information indicating generated power which is outputted from each or all of plural inverters of a solar power-generation apparatus, wherein each of the plural inverters independently operates and converts direct-current power generated by a solar battery to alternating-current power to be provided to a load, said method comprising the steps of:

setting or updating a full-scale value based on a value of the generated power;

modulating a signal as indicating the information, which indicates the generated power, to be transmitted in accordance with the full-scale value; and

transmitting the modulated signal.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein the signal is subjected to pulse width modulation.

33. The method according to claim 31, wherein the signal is transmitted to an information-relay apparatus from the solar power-generation apparatus.

34. The method according to claim 31, wherein the signal is transmitted to an information-display apparatus from an information-relay apparatus.