US 2012/0072041 A1 · INTEGRATED ELECTRONICS HOUSING FOR A SOLAR ARRAY

Abstract

An integrated electronics housing contains both system electronics and power generation circuits for a two-axis tracker assembly having a CPV solar array. The housing contains at least a communication bus, motion control circuits, and inverter circuits, and acts as the local system control point for that tracker mechanism. The inverter circuits generate three-phase AC voltage that is supplied to a grid interface transformer. Each inverter receives a bipolar DC voltage supplied from its own set of CPV cells. The motion control circuits move the CPV cells of the tracker mechanism to angular coordinates resulting from a solar tracking algorithm. The communication bus connects to the motion control circuits and the inverter circuits to facilitate communications of information, including parameters of power being generated by the inverter circuits, between the motion control circuits and the AC inverter circuits to fine tune the AC power generated out of the tracker mechanism.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An integrated electronics housing containing both system electronics and power generation circuits for a two-axis tracker assembly having a Concentrated PhotoVoltaic (CPV) solar array;

comprising:
one or more Alternating Current (AC) inverter circuits with switching devices that generate three-phase AC voltage supplied to a utility power grid interface transformer, where each inverter receives a bipolar DC voltage supplied from its own set of CPV cells;
one or more motion control circuits configured to move the CPV cells of the two-axis solar tracker mechanism to angular coordinates resulting from a solar tracking algorithm;
and
a backplane communication bus connecting to the motion control circuits and the inverter circuits to facilitate communications of information including parameters of power being generated by the inverter circuits between the motion control circuits and the AC inverter circuits to fine tune an AC power generated out of the two axis tracker mechanism, and where the integrated electronics housing contains at least the communication bus, the motion control circuits, and the inverter circuits, and acts as the local system control point for the two-axis solar tracker mechanism.

2 more elements

A method for a two-axis tracker assembly having a CPV solar array;

comprising:
operating an integrated electronics housing that contains both system electronics and power generation circuits for the two-axis tracker assembly having the CPV solar array, where the integrated electronics housing contains at least a communication bus, motion control circuits, and inverter circuits, and then acts as the local system control point for that two-axis solar tracker mechanism;
supplying three-phase AC voltage to a utility power grid interface transformer from the inverter circuits, where each inverter receives a bipolar DC voltage supplied from its own set of CPV cells;
moving the CPV cells of the two-axis solar tracker mechanism to angular coordinates resulting from a solar tracking algorithm with the motion control circuits;
and
facilitating communications of information, including parameters of power being generated by the inverter circuits, between the motion control circuits and the AC inverter circuits via the communication bus in order to fine tune an AC power generated out of the two axis tracker mechanism.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Integrated electronics housing for a solar array

Life of this patent

Integrated electronics housing for a solar array

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20