Patent US6259017B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6259017B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Solar power generation apparatus and control method therefor
Assignee: Canon Inc
•
Filing: 1999-10-14
•
Granted: 2001-07-10
•
Expires: 2019-10-14
Abstract
Abstract A solar power generation apparatus includes solar battery arrays, each of which has solar battery modules, non-isolated inverters, each of which converts direct-current power generated by one of the solar battery arrays to alternating-current power and provides the alternating-current power to a commercial power system, an earth leakage circuit breaker arranged between the non-isolated inverters and the commercial power system and connected to outputs of the non-isolated inverters in parallel, and a controller for controlling operation of the non-isolated inverters. The controller controls start-timing of the operation of at least one inverter to be different from that of another inverter. This arrangement can prevent any undesirable operation of the earth leakage circuit breaker.
Inventors
- 👤 Nobuyoshi Takehara
- 👤 Naoki Manabe
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 11:11
CPC Classifications
G; G05; G05F; G05F1/00; G05F1/66; G05F1/67; H; H10; H10F; H10F19/00; H10F19/80; H10F77/00; H10F77/95; H10F77/953; H10F77/955; Y; Y02; Y02E; Y02E10/00; Y02E10/50; Y02E10/56; Y10; Y10S; Y10S136/00; Y10S136/291; Y10S323/00; Y10S323/906
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
101 words
A solar power generation apparatus comprising: solar battery arrays, each of which has solar battery modules; non-isolated inverters, each of which converts direct-current power generated by one of said solar battery arrays to alternating-current power and provides the alternating-current power to a commercial power system; an earth leakage circuit breaker arranged between said non-isolated inverters and the commercial power system and connected to outputs of said non-isolated inverters in parallel; and a controller which controls operation of said non-isolated inverters, wherein said controller controls start-timing of the operation of at least one inverter to be different from that of another inverter.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
101 words
A solar power generation apparatus comprising: solar battery arrays, each of which has solar battery modules; non-isolated inverters, each of which converts direct-current power generated by one of said solar battery arrays to alternating-current power and provides the alternating-current power to a commercial power system; an earth leakage circuit breaker arranged between said non-isolated inverters and the commercial power system and connected to outputs of said non-isolated inverters in parallel; and a controller which controls operation of said non-isolated inverters, wherein said controller controls start-timing of the operation of at least one inverter to be different from that of another inverter.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein start-timings of operation of all the non-isolated inverters are different.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
31 words
The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each solar battery array is formed by series connecting solar battery modules to form a string and parallely connecting a plurality of strings.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
20 words
The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of the solar battery modules has a conductive lower-surface reinforcing member.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein said conductive lower-surface reinforcing member is formed from a metal.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
15 words
The apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the conductive lower-surface reinforcing member is grounded.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
51 words
The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a time after a start condition is satisfied until the at least one inverter starts is set to be different from that after the start condition is satisfied until the another inverter starts so that the start-timings of the non-isolated inverters are different.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
38 words
The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a start condition of the at least one inverter is set to be different from that of the another inverter so that the start-timings of the non-isolated inverters are different.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
40 words
The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising transmission means for transferring a start-enabling signal or start-inhibiting signal to the at least one inverter from the another inverter, wherein the start-timing of said operation is controlled by the signal.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the signal is transferred after the operation of the another inverter has been started.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
37 words
The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein an operation-start-timing of the at least one inverter is different from that of the another inverter by not less than an operation time of said earth leakage circuit breaker.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
36 words
The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller controls a period between the start-timing of the operation of the at least one inverter and that of the another inverter to 1 to 10 seconds.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
98 words
A control method for a solar power generation apparatus having solar battery arrays each of which has solar battery modules, non-isolated inverters, each of which converts direct-current power generated by one of the solar battery arrays to alternating-current power and provides the alternating-current power to a commercial power system, and an earth leakage circuit breaker arranged between said non-isolated inverters and the commercial power system and connected to outputs of the non-isolated inverters in parallel, said method comprising the step of controlling start-timing of operation of at least one inverter to be different from that of another inverter.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
98 words
A control method for a solar power generation apparatus having solar battery arrays each of which has solar battery modules, non-isolated inverters, each of which converts direct-current power generated by one of the solar battery arrays to alternating-current power and provides the alternating-current power to a commercial power system, and an earth leakage circuit breaker arranged between said non-isolated inverters and the commercial power system and connected to outputs of the non-isolated inverters in parallel, said method comprising the step of controlling start-timing of operation of at least one inverter to be different from that of another inverter.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method according to claim 13 , further comprising the step of controlling all start-timings of operation of the non-isolated inverters to be different from each other.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
54 words
The method according to claim 13 , further comprising the step of setting a time after a start condition is satisfied until the at least one inverter starts to be different from that after the start condition is satisfied until the another inverter starts so that the start-timings of the non-isolated inverters are different.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method according to claim 13 , further comprising the step of setting a start condition of the at least one inverter to be different from that of the another inverter so that the start-timings of the non-isolated inverters are different.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method according to claim 13 , further comprising the step of transferring a start-enabling signal or start-inhibiting signal to the at least one inverter from the another inverter, wherein the start-timing of said operation is controlled by the signal.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method according to claim 17 , wherein the signal is transferred after the operation of the another inverter has been started.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method according to claim 13 , wherein the control step controls an operation-start-timing of the at least one inverter to be different from that of the another inverter by not less than an operation time of said earth leakage circuit breaker.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method according to claim 13 , wherein in the controlling step, a period between the start-timing of the operation of the at least one inverter and that of the another inverter is controlled to 1 to 10 seconds.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4636931A
Cited
JPH0767346A
Cited
JPH08179841A
Cited
US5677833A
Cited
US6031736A
Cited
JPH1061898A
Cited
JPH10271688A
Cited
EP0878850A2
Cited
JPH11252803A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2004-07-09 | 2005-01-08 | 2005-07-10 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2008-07-09 | 2009-01-08 | 2009-07-10 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2012-07-09 | 2013-01-08 | 2013-07-10 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |