Patents Examined by Dru Parries
  • Patent number: 9941421
    Abstract: A photovoltaic (PV) module safety shutdown system includes a module-on switch coupled with a PV module coupled with an alternating current (AC) mains panel through an inverter. A system monitor couples with the module-on switch and with the AC mains panel and generates a system-on signal. A module discharge switch couples with an inherent capacitance of the inverter and with the system monitor. The module discharge switch discharges the inherent capacitance, by coupling the inherent capacitance with a discharge element, in response to the system monitor not generating the system-on signal. In implementations a module short switch shorts the PV module in response to a passage of a predetermined amount of time after the module discharge switch is switched on. The module-on switch, module discharge switch, and module short switch may be included in a junction box of the PV module and coupled with the system monitor through multiple opto-isolators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: Helios Focus LLC
    Inventors: Randy R. Dunton, Geoffrey Sutton
  • Patent number: 9927837
    Abstract: An electrical power supplying system for use in diverse environments supporting electrical power consuming devices. The portable electrical power supplying system including: a module docking station with a module docking receptacle and base station portion having integrated external power cord storage compartments; and a multi-function module is docked in the module docking receptacle and can be manually removed and used locally as well as at remote locations, in several different subsystem functionalities. The module docking station includes: a base housing portion having an external power cord storage compartment, with an internal spool about which a power cord can be neatly wrapped up and contained within the external power cord storage compartment; and a power receptacle housing portion, connected to the base housing portion and supporting the module docking receptacle, and containing a plurality of AC power receptacles, and one or more USB-type DC power receptacles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: PUCLINE, LLC
    Inventor: Jeffrey Fleisig
  • Patent number: 9923413
    Abstract: A method for controlling an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) having a polyphase power input and an input power circuit coupled to the polyphase power input includes determining to reduce a load on a first phase of the polyphase power input, and in response thereto, controlling the input power circuit to reduce a first input current drawn from the first phase by a first amount and increase a second input current drawn from a second phase of the polyphase power input by a second amount. The UPS may determine to reduce the load on the first phase in response to a request from a smart grid to reduce the load on the first phase or in response to a local determination to reduce the load on the first phase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC IT CORPORATION
    Inventor: Gorm Gamborg
  • Patent number: 9912379
    Abstract: A beam power source transmits a signal indicating power availability, receives a request for power in response, and beams power in response to the request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, LLC
    Inventors: Roderick A. Hyde, Muriel Y. Ishikawa, Jordin T. Kare, Thomas J. Nugent, Jr., Thomas Allan Weaver, Lowell L. Wood, Jr., Victoria Y. H. Wood
  • Patent number: 9906057
    Abstract: A modular multilevel converter for hybrid energy storage includes three phases connectable in series to a battery, and in parallel to one another. Each phase includes at least two arms of sub-modules and buffer inductors, and each of the sub-modules comprises a half-bridge and an ultracapacitor. A two layer controller, including a coordination layer and a converter layer, is configured to independently control battery output power and ultracapacitor output power, and to distribute a power load between the battery and the ultracapacitor to optimize the performance of a hybrid energy storage system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Feng Guo, Yanzhu Ye, Ratnesh Sharma
  • Patent number: 9906034
    Abstract: A power generation and control system is easily installed in a consumer household, a business, or and end-user establishment for generating power and preventing power from flowing to a power grid from a consumer circuit during a power outage. A communications transceiver is adapted to transmit an enabling signal for enabling power generation only after the control system has been installed. The control system can be adapted to replace an existing circuit breaker in a household circuit box and prevents power from traveling from consumer power generators to the grid during a power outage. In the same manner that end-users can add appliances to existing circuits, end-users can easily add additional power generation devices without hiring a professional electrician and without worrying about causing harm to utility workman during power outages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Inventor: Stanton Kee Nethery
  • Patent number: 9902282
    Abstract: A power supply device for a vehicle has connection changeover means for alternatively changing a connection of a capacitor and a battery over to any one of a parallel connection of the capacitor and the battery, a series connection of the capacitor and the battery and an independent connection of the capacitor and the battery. Electrical power is selectively supplied to a electric supercharger by any one of a parallel connection circuit of the capacitor and the battery, a series connection circuit of the capacitor and the battery and an independent connection circuit of the capacitor and the battery whose connection of the capacitor and the battery are alternatively changed over to by the connection changeover means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Yohei Akashi, Hideyuki Tanaka
  • Patent number: 9896916
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an electric generation plant (110) of the type without connection to an distributed electric supply network for generating an alternating electric current destined for a plurality of utilities (105) comprising: a first generator (101) fed with fuel of a fossil origin for generating a first alternating electric current in continuous service, i.e.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: ENI S.P.A.
    Inventors: Marco Ferrari, Nicola Fiore, Valerio Brocco
  • Patent number: 9899170
    Abstract: A protective circuit for an apparatus includes an accelerometer having an output and a microcontroller coupled to the output of the accelerometer. The protective circuit also includes a switch for controlling the apparatus coupled to an output of the microcontroller and a load coupled to the switch. A power source is coupled to the load and the switch. In operation the microcontroller is cable of sending a signal to the switch to turn of power to the load when a dangerous condition as detected from the accelerometer data has occurred.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics, Inc.
    Inventor: Thomas L. Hopkins
  • Patent number: 9887548
    Abstract: A power management apparatus (EMS 200) activates an acquisition function when it is determined at each time point in a predetermined period that an integral power consumption exceeds a predetermined power consumption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: KYOCERA CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Hidaka
  • Patent number: 9873337
    Abstract: In a method for starting a motor vehicle having a first vehicle electrical system, to which a battery of the motor vehicle is assigned, a second vehicle electrical system, to which an electric machine of the motor vehicle is assigned, and a DC/DC converter for connecting the two vehicle electrical systems, for starting, electrical energy from the second vehicle electrical system is converted via the DC/DC converter and transferred into the first vehicle electrical system if an actual value of at least one operating parameter of the battery falls below a setpoint value prior to a starting operation to be carried out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2018
    Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventors: Felix Stoller, Albert Geiger, Oliver Keil, Amalinda Christina Post, Eberhard Schoch, Turgut Karacay, Juergen Motz, Stefan Raeumschuessel, Stefan Harport, Sebastian Walenta
  • Patent number: 9847665
    Abstract: Various receiver electrodes for supplying power to a load connected in a capacitive power transfer system are disclosed. In one embodiment, the receiver electrodes include a first conductive plate (212) connected to a first sphere-shaped hinge (211), wherein the first sphere-shaped hinge is coupled to a first receiver electrode (210); and a second conductive plate (222) connected to a second sphere-shaped hinge (221), wherein the second sphere-shaped hinge is coupled to a second receiver electrode (220), the second receiver electrode being connected to an inductor of the capacitive power transfer system and the first receiver electrode being connected to the load, the inductor being connected to the load to resonate the capacitive power transfer system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2017
    Assignee: PHILIPS LIGHTING HOLDING B.V.
    Inventors: Eberhard Waffenschmidt, Coen Theodorus Hurbertus Fransiscus Liedenbaum, Adrianus Sempel, Oscar Hendrikus Willemsen, Dave Willem Van Goor, Henricus Theodorus Van Der Zanden, Theodorus Johannes Petrus Van Den Biggelaar, Anthonie Hendrik Bergman
  • Patent number: 9831687
    Abstract: A signal analysis circuit for a supplying-end module includes a first voltage divider circuit, for attenuating a coil signal of a supplying-end coil; a first amplifier circuit, for obtaining parts of the attenuated coil signal higher than a reference voltage to output a half-wave signal; a first envelope detector, for performing envelope extraction on the half-wave signal to obtain a DC signal; a second voltage divider circuit, for attenuating the half-wave signal; a second amplifier circuit, for obtaining parts of the attenuated half-wave signal higher than the DC signal to output an amplified half-wave signal; a second envelope detector, for performing envelope extraction on the amplified half-wave signal to generate an envelope signal; a coupling capacitor, for filtering out the DC component of the envelope signal; a third voltage divider circuit, for combining the AC component of the envelope signal with a DC voltage to retrieve a trigger signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2017
    Assignee: Fu Da Tong Technology Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ming-Chiu Tsai, Chi-Che Chan
  • Patent number: 9812900
    Abstract: An uninterruptible power supply for providing an output power signal to a load has a ferroresonant transformer, a resonant capacitor operatively connected to the ferroresonant transformer, and an inverter operatively connected to the ferroresonant transformer. The inverter is configured to generate the output power signal based on at least one inverter control signal such that the output power signal is a quasi square wave having a first change of phase, an upper limit, and a second change of phase. The at least one inverter control signal is pulse-width modulated between the first change of phase and the upper limit, pulse-width modulated between the upper limit and the second change of phase, and held in an ON state when the output power signal is at the upper limit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2017
    Inventors: James Patrick Richardson, Thanh Quoc Le
  • Patent number: 9806665
    Abstract: A photovoltaic power plant includes a photovoltaic inverter that converts direct current generated by solar cells to alternating current. The output of the photovoltaic inverter is provided to a point of interconnection to a power grid. A meter at the point of interconnection may be read to detect the output of the photovoltaic inverter at the power grid. The photovoltaic power plant includes a plant controller with a state machine. The plant controller is configured to adjust setpoints of the photovoltaic inverter to control the output of the photovoltaic power plant. The plant controller is also configured to soft start and soft stop automatic voltage regulation (AVR) of the photovoltaic power plant to prevent perturbing the AVR.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: SunPower Corporation
    Inventor: Lars Johnson
  • Patent number: 9800160
    Abstract: The invention relates to a switched-mode power supply (14) for supplying the components of a photovoltaic system (1) with a constant DC output voltage (Ua), comprising connections (15) for connecting to the photovoltaic modules (2) of the photovoltaic system (1) for providing a DC input voltage (Ue), a DC/DC voltage converter (16) comprising at least one switch (17), a transformer (18), a control device (22) for controlling the at least one switch (17) at a switching frequency (fs) for obtaining the desired DC output voltage (Ua), an output equalizing voltage (23) and connections (24) for providing the DC output voltage, as well as the inverter (4) and a string monitoring assembly (3) of a photovoltaic system (1). In order to obtain a DC output voltage (Ua) with the losses as low as possible for a very wide range of DC input voltages (Ue) between 200 V and 1500 V, the DC/DC voltage converter (16) is formed by a combination of flyback and forward converters having two serially arranged switches (17, 17?).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2017
    Assignee: Fronius International GmbH
    Inventors: Max Stoeger, Hubert Bammer
  • Patent number: 9795014
    Abstract: A remote control for a wireless load control system, the remote control comprising: a housing having a front surface and an outer periphery defined by a length and a width; an actuator provided at the front surface of the housing; a wireless transmitter contained within the housing; and a controller contained within the housing and coupled to the wireless transmitter for causing transmission of a wireless signal in response to an actuation of the actuator, the wireless transmitter and the controller adapted to be powered by a battery contained within the housing; wherein the length and the width of the housing are slightly smaller than a length and a width of a standard opening of a faceplate, respectively, such that the outer periphery of the housing is adapted to be received within the standard opening of the faceplate when the housing and the faceplate are mounted to a vertical surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: LUTRON ELECTRONICS CO., INC.
    Inventors: Gregory Altonen, Edward M. Felegy, Jr., Elliot G. Jacoby, Jr., Gregory M. Snyder
  • Patent number: 9780604
    Abstract: A wireless sensor assembly that includes a battery pack and a wireless sensor. The battery pack is placed in spaced relation to the wireless sensor and inductively powers the wireless sensor utilizing primary and secondary resonant coils presented within the battery pack and wireless sensor. The wireless sensor additionally has super capacitors therein to continue to operate the wireless sensor during the changing of the battery pack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignee: Danfoss Power Solutions Inc.
    Inventors: Jack Zeng, Kevin W. Bloms
  • Patent number: 9774187
    Abstract: A device for load flow control of a direct current in a branch of a direct current voltage network node having a longitudinal voltage source which has a coupling device for connection or disconnection of electrical power. The coupling device for connection and disconnection of electrical power are connected to a coupling device for connection and disconnection of electric power of a further load flow control device which is disposed in another branch of the same direct current voltage network node. Thus the device can be used economically and flexibly for control of a load flow on or in a network node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventor: Hans-Guenter Eckel
  • Patent number: 9768617
    Abstract: The invention relates to a power management system, comprising: a power source; a source of renewable energy; a power converter; a first selection means arranged to connect the input of the power converter either to the power source or to the source of renewable energy; a second selection means arranged to connect the outlet of the power converter either to the power source or to a system for storing power; and a means for synchronizing the first selection means and the second selection means, which operates according to pre-established operation rules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: Schneider Toshiba Inverter Europe SAS
    Inventor: Allan Pierre Barauna