The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 04, 2014
Filed:
Oct. 14, 2010
Klaas DE Waal, Waalre, NL;
Hendrik Johannes Bergveld, Eindhoven, NL;
Henricus Cornelis Johannes Buthker, Mierlo, NL;
Franciscus A. C. M. Schoofs, Valkenswaard, NL;
Klaas de Waal, Waalre, NL;
Hendrik Johannes Bergveld, Eindhoven, NL;
Henricus Cornelis Johannes Buthker, Mierlo, NL;
Franciscus A. C. M. Schoofs, Valkenswaard, NL;
NXP B.V., Eindhoven, NL;
Abstract
A photovoltaic assembly is disclosed which comprises a string formed from a plurality of series-connected photovoltaic generators, and a hierarchical structure of power-exchange units, which each exchange power between neighboring photovoltaic generators or groups of photovoltaic generators. The photovoltaic generators may be individual solar cells or a plurality of series-connected solar cells arranged as a segment. To compensate for differences in output between segments for instance due to partial shading, power-exchange units, such as DC-DC converters, are arranged across neighboring segments, such that each power-exchange unit effectively sources or sinks current between neighboring segments to current-match the string. To avoid unnecessary 'rippling' of power matching along many power-exchange units and the associated power loss due to many power-exchange units operating at less than 100% efficiency, the power-exchange units are arranged in a hierarchical structure. A method of operating such a photovoltaic assembly is also disclosed.