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:
Nov. 15, 2016
Filed:
Mar. 10, 2014
Solarcity Corporation, San Mateo, CA (US);
Lesley Chisenga, Redwood Shores, CA (US);
Andrew John Matthews, Pelham, GB;
Paul Randal Engle, Jr., Colorado Springs, CO (US);
SolarCity Corporation, San Mateo, CA (US);
Abstract
We describe a photovoltaic (PV) power generation system comprising at least two PV panels and a power conditioning unit. The dc power outputs of the PV panels are connected in parallel to a dc power input of the power conditioning unit. The power conditioning unit comprises a dc-to-dc converter having an input coupled to the dc power input and an output coupled to a dc link of the unit, a dc-to-ac converter having an input coupled to the dc link and an ac mains power supply output, and an energy storage capacitor coupled to the dc link. The power conditioning unit is configured to perform maximum power point tracking (MPPT) responsive to a level of power flowing into the dc power input, and the level of power flowing into said dc power input is sensed at the dc link. In preferred implementations the energy storage capacitor is a non-electrolytic capacitor.