US-12627140-B2 - Chain of power devices

US12627140B2US 12627140 B2US12627140 B2US 12627140B2US-12627140-B2

Abstract

Various implementations described herein are directed to methods for connecting power devices prior to deployment in a photovoltaic installation, for cost savings and easy deployment. Some embodiments disclosed herein include manufacturing a chain of power devices already coupled by conductors, and providing a mechanical assembly for convenient storage and deployment.

Inventors

Ilan Yoscovich
Tzachi Glovinsky
Ofir Bieber

Assignees

SOLAREDGE TECHNOLOGIES LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20231116

Claims (16)

1 . An apparatus comprising: a chain of power devices, each power device of the chain of power devices comprising: a casing, circuitry disposed inside the casing, the circuitry comprising a power converter, two inputs configured to couple to a respective power source, a first output coupled to a first conductor, and a second output coupled to a second conductor, wherein outputs of adjacent power devices, of the chain of power devices, are preconnected to each other via direct connections to respective conductors therebetween, and the respective conductors are internally connected, without use of any external connectors, to the circuitry inside the casing, and wherein, for each power device of the chain of power devices: at least one of the first conductor or the second conductor is coupled to an adjacent power device in the chain of power devices, and lengths of the first conductor and the second conductor are determined during manufacturing of the apparatus to be of an appropriate length to enable coupling of each power device, of the chain of power devices, to the respective power source.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each power device of the chain of power devices has a total of two external connection points.
3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein, for each power device of the chain of power devices, at least one of the first conductor and the second conductor is soldered or connected via a screw to a respective power device.
4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the power converter, of each power device of the chain of power devices, comprises at least one of a direct current to direct current (DC/DC) converter or a direct current to alternating current (DC/AC) converter.
5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein one or more power devices of the chain of power devices are configured to output a time-varying direct current (DC) signal that emulates a rectified sine wave.
6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the respective power source comprises a power generator, and wherein each power device of the chain of power devices is configured to regulate an output of the power generator.
7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein one or more power devices of the chain of power devices further comprise at least one of: a communication device, a residual current device, a fuse, a measuring device, or a monitoring device.
8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising: a packaging assembly configured to store the chain of power devices.
9 . A method comprising: connecting, during manufacturing of a plurality of power devices, outputs of adjacent power devices, of the plurality of power devices, to each other by directly connecting conductors therebetween to form a chain of power devices, wherein the conductors are internally connected, without use of any external connectors, to circuitry, comprising a power converter, inside a plurality of casings of the plurality of power devices; and connecting two inputs, of each power device of the plurality of power devices, to a respective power source, wherein each power device of the plurality of power devices comprises: a casing, of the plurality of sasings, containing the circuitry, a first output coupled to a first conductor, and a second output coupled to a second conductor, wherein, for each power device of the plurality of power devices: at least one of the first conductor or the second conductor is coupled to an adjacent power device in the chain of power devices, and lengths of the first conductor and the second conductor are determined during manufacturing of the plurality of power devices to be of an appropriate length to enable coupling of each power device, of the plurality of power devices, to the respective power source.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein, for each power device of the plurality of power devices, the first conductor and the second conductor are directly connected by soldering or screwing the first conductor and the second conductor into place within the casing.
11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the connecting the two inputs comprises: connecting the two inputs, of each power device of the plurality of power devices, to outputs of the respective power source.
12 . The method of claim 9 , wherein each power device of the plurality of power devices comprises at least one of a direct current to direct current (DC/DC) converter or a direct current to alternating current (DC/AC) converter.
13 . The method of claim 9 , wherein one or more power devices of the plurality of power devices are configured to output a time-varying direct current (DC) signal that emulates a rectified sine wave.
14 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the comprises a power generator, and wherein each power device of the plurality of power devices is configured to regulate an output of the power generator.
15 . The method of claim 9 , wherein one or more power devices of the plurality of power devices further comprise at least one of: a communication device, a residual current device, a fuse, a measuring device, or a monitoring device.
16 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising: storing the chain of power devices using a packaging assembly.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/500,102, filed Oct. 13, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/478,526, filed Apr. 4, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,177,663, which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/318,303, filed Apr. 5, 2016, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/341,147, filed May 25, 2016, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/395,461, filed Sep. 16, 2016, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties for all purposes. BACKGROUND Power devices may be electrically coupled to photovoltaic (PV) generators and configured the set the operating point of the generators to generate maximum power. They may also be coupled to power production and/or storage units such as batteries, wind or hydroelectric turbines and the like. Power devices are often manufactured, packaged and sold as single units, leading to deployment which requires that each device be individually coupled to its power unit and the devices themselves coupled by connecting electric cables between them. Accordingly, there is a need for power device systems in which costs, time and complexity in deploying the power devices are reduced. SUMMARY The following summary is a short summary of some of the inventive concepts for illustrative purposes only, and is not intended to limit or constrain the inventions and examples in the detailed description. One skilled in the art will recognize other novel combinations and features from the detailed description. Embodiments herein may employ a string of photovoltaic power devices (e.g. DC/DC converters, DC/AC inverters, measuring and monitoring devices) which may be deployed in photovoltaic installations. In some embodiments discussed herein, conductors may be used to couple power devices to one another during manufacturing to form a chain of power devices, with the chain packaged and sold as a single unit. The chain may be deployed by coupling the power devices in the chain to photovoltaic (PV) generators (e.g. one or more photovoltaic cells, substrings, PV panels, strings of PV panels and/or PV shingles). The coupling of power devices at the time of manufacturing may reduce costs and enable compact storage of the devices, and the easy deployment may reduce installation time. Connecting power devices at the time of manufacturing may include directly connecting conductors (e.g. by soldering or screwing the conductors into place within a power device enclosure) between adjacent power devices. Furthermore, preconnecting power device may reduce the number of connectors (e.g. MC4™ connectors) featured in each power device from four (two connectors for connecting to a PV generator at the power device input and two connectors for connecting between power devices at the power device output). As connectors may be costly components, substantial savings may be realized. Additionally, preconnecting power devices during manufacturing may increase system safety. For example, if improperly connected, connection points between power devices may be susceptible to overheating, arcing and/or other unsafe event which may result in fire. Preconnecting power devices during manufacturing without use of connectors may increase system safety by reducing the number of connection points from four per power device to two per power device. Certain embodiments of illustrative power-circuit chains may be wound around a storage spool similar to spools used for storing electrical cables, and deployed in photovoltaic installations by unrolling the spool and coupling the power devices to photovoltaic generators the power devices unwound from the spool. In some embodiments of illustrative power-circuit chains, a distance between adjacent power devices may correspond to an estimated distance between photovoltaic generator junction boxes in a photovoltaic installation, to enable adjacent power devices to be coupled to adjacent photovoltaic generators. In some embodiments, more than one photovoltaic generator may be coupled to each power device. For example, in some solar installations, two PV generators may be coupled in series and the two generators may then be coupled to one power device, in which case the length between adjacent power devices may be about double the distance between adjacent generators. The photovoltaic power devices may include, but are not limited to, DC/DC converters, DC/AC inverters, devices configured to measure and monitor photovoltaic parameters, communication devices, safety devices (e.g., fuses, circuit breakers and Residual Current Detectors) and/or Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) devices. The power generation units may include, but are not limited to, photovoltaic modules (e.g. photovoltaic cells, photovoltaic generators), batteries, wind turbines, hydroelectric turbines and fuel cells. As noted above, this Summary is merely a summary of some of th