Texas Instruments Corporation

Nat Maruthachalam Natarajan

Timothy Patrick Pauletti

Suheng Chen

Amneh Mohammed Akour

Richard K Hester

Jayanth Rangaraju

A controller circuit for a PV sub-module includes a power harvest controller circuit, a voltage limit controller circuit, a power mode control circuit, a multiplexer circuit, and a switching converter circuit. The power harvest controller circuit, including a first PV voltage input, a ceiling reference input, a floor reference input, and a first gate control output. The voltage limit controller circuit, including a first output voltage feedback input, a pulse width reference input, and a second gate control output. The power mode control circuit, including a second output voltage feedback input, a mode reference input, and a mode selection output. The multiplexer circuit, including a first gate control input, a second gate control input, a mode selection input, and a third gate control output. The switching converter circuit, including a second PV voltage input, a third gate control input, and a DC voltage output.

Controller circuit for photovoltaic sub-module

A controller circuit for a PV module includes a receiver circuit and a mode control and power conversion circuit. The receiver circuit receives a first signal from a transmitter circuit and changes a second signal from a first state to a second state responsive to the first signal. The mode control and power conversion circuit receives a DC voltage from a string of PV cells, receives the second signal from the receiver circuit, switches from a first mode to a second mode in response to the second signal being in the second state, converts the DC string voltage to a standby voltage in the second mode, and provides the standby voltage to DC power lines. The standby voltage is less than an operating voltage provided by the mode control and power conversion circuit in the first mode.

Controller circuit for photovoltaic module

A controller circuit for a PV module includes a receiver circuit and a mode control and power conversion circuit. The receiver circuit receives a first signal from a transmitter circuit associated with the PV module. The receiver circuit changes a second signal from a first state to a second state based the first signal. The mode control and power conversion circuit receives a DC string voltage from a string of PV cells associated with the PV module, receives the second signal from the receiver circuit, switches from a first mode to a second mode in response to the second signal being changed to the second state, converts the DC string voltage to a standby voltage in the second mode, and provides the standby voltage to DC power lines between the PV module and a DC-to-AC inverter in the second mode.

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Plano, TX, United States of America

Nat Maruthachalam Natarajan