| ENPHASE ENERGY, INC. Patent applications |
| Patent application number | Title | Published |
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| 20130135802 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR POTTING AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE - Method and apparatus for potting an electronic device. In one embodiment, the method comprises providing an enclosure having a first inner volume with the electronic device disposed therein; placing a fill control element within the enclosure such that a second inner volume of the fill control element is fluidly coupled to the first inner volume; and filling a remaining portion of the first inner volume, the remaining portion not occupied by the electronic device or the fill control element, with a sealant such that air is trapped within at least a first portion of the second inner volume. | 05-30-2013 |
| 20130093554 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REDUCING PRESSURE EFFECTS ON AN ENCAPSULATED DEVICE - A method and apparatus for reducing pressure effects on an encapsulated device. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a power module comprising an equipment box assembly containing (i) an equipment module housing, (ii) a potted electronic device disposed within the equipment module housing, and (iii) a resilient expansion absorption layer disposed between at least a portion of the potted electronic device and at least a portion of the equipment module housing. | 04-18-2013 |
| 20130083444 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RELAY CONTROL - A method and apparatus for controlling an electromechanical relay. In one embodiment, the method comprises reducing a relay current of a relay that is activated, determining a first value of the relay current, wherein the first value is either a minimum default current value or a value of the relay current at which the activated relay deactivates, and determining a holding current value for maintaining the relay in an activated state, wherein the holding current value is at least the first value and less than a second value of the relay current at which the relays activates. | 04-04-2013 |
| 20130070496 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR POWER MODULE OUTPUT POWER REGULATION - A method and apparatus for regulating power production. In one embodiment, the method comprises comparing a line voltage level to a first threshold and a second threshold, wherein the line voltage level is a level of a line voltage at an output of a power converter; and modifying power produced by the power converter by (i) a first modification when the line voltage level is between the first and the second thresholds, and (ii) a second modification when the line voltage level exceeds the second threshold. | 03-21-2013 |
| 20130070494 | PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE-MOUNTED AC INVERTER - A photovoltaic module-mounted AC inverter circuit uses one or more integrated circuits, several switches, solid dielectric capacitors for filtering and energy storage, inductors for power conversion and ancillary components to support the above elements in operation. The integrated circuit includes all monitoring, control, and communications circuitry needed to operate the inverter. The integrated circuit controls the switches in both an input boost converter and a single-phase or multi-phase output buck converter. The integrated circuit also monitors all power processing voltages and currents of the inverter and can take appropriate action to limit power dissipation in the inverter, maximize the available power from the associated PV module and shut down the inverter output if the grid conditions so warrant. The integrated circuit implements power line communications by monitoring the AC wiring for signals and generating communications signals via the same pulse-width modulation system used to generate the AC power. | 03-21-2013 |
| 20130027025 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING AC VOLTAGES - A method and apparatus for measuring an AC voltage. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises an AC voltage monitor coupled to a plurality of AC lines for (i) generating a first measurement based on an AC voltage across a first resistor, (ii) generating a second measurement based on an AC line voltage of an AC line of the plurality of AC lines, and (iii) generating a serial data stream frame based on the first and the second measurements. | 01-31-2013 |
| 20130021730 | RESILIENT MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES - An apparatus for mounting a power module. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a plurality of mounting points that (i) are flexibly connected to one another and (ii) flexibly mount the power module proximate a photovoltaic (PV) module. | 01-24-2013 |
| 20130021006 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MULTI-PHASE POWER TRANSFER - A method and apparatus for power conversion. In one embodiment, an apparatus comprises a power conversion module for converting a first current to a second current, wherein the first current or the second current is an AC current having at least two phases; and a waveform modification module, coupled to the power conversion module, for modifying the AC current to generate a modified AC current, wherein each phase of the modified AC current has a value of zero at the beginning of an AC line cycle. | 01-24-2013 |
| 20130015710 | DISTRIBUTED INVERTER AND INTELLIGENT GATEWAY - A system and apparatus for generating power. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a power module for coupling to a DC power source via a DC bus, wherein the power module (i) converts a first power from the DC power source to a second power, and (ii) comprises a maximum power point tracking module unit for dynamically adjusting a load voltage of the DC power source; an AC bus; and a controller, physically separate from the power module and coupled to the power module via the AC bus, for operatively controlling the power module. | 01-17-2013 |
| 20130012061 | PHOTOVOLTAIC AC INVERTER MOUNT AND INTERCONNECT - A replaceable photovoltaic inverter is mounted on each of a plurality of photovoltaic module for the conversion of direct current, produced by the photovoltaic cells, to alternating current. The inverter is coupled to a mounting bracket on the photovoltaic module such that is can be easily replaced. Replacement of an individual photovoltaic module inverter can occur during continuous operation of the photovoltaic module system with minimal impact on overall power production. The inverter is also mounted apart from the photovoltaic module to facilitate heat transfer generated by operation of the inverter. | 01-10-2013 |
| 20130009960 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ELECTRICAL POWER VISUALIZATION - A method and apparatus for providing a visualization of power for display. The method establishes a power visualization scale based on a color saturation and intensity range for a hue and a range of power to be visualized, and generates a display image for at least one measured value of power as a level of color saturation and intensity for the hue based on the power visualization scale. | 01-10-2013 |
| 20120306515 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GRID IMPEDANCE DETECTION - A method and apparatus for monitoring an AC line for impedance change. In one embodiment, the method, comprises superimposing a tone on an AC current coupled to the AC line, wherein the tone is a higher frequency than an AC voltage waveform on the AC line; applying a correlation over a sampled AC voltage waveform, obtained by sampling the AC voltage waveform, to generate a correlated signal; and determining whether at least one change in characteristic of the correlated signal occurs. | 12-06-2012 |
| 20120300524 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING SINGLE-PHASE POWER FROM A THREE-PHASE RESONANT POWER CONVERTER - A method and apparatus for providing AC power. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a cycloconverter controller for determining a DC value based on a reference waveform and a three-phase cycloconverter, coupled to the cycloconverter controller, for selectively coupling, based on the DC value, an alternating current to an AC line to generate a single-phase AC output. | 11-29-2012 |
| 20120294057 | RESONANT POWER CONVERSION CIRCUIT - An apparatus and system for power conversion. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a transformer having a primary winding and a plurality of secondary windings; and a cyclo-converter comprising a plurality of switch pairs for converting an alternating current to an AC current, wherein each switch pair in the plurality of switch pairs (i) is coupled between two lines of an AC output and (ii) has a different secondary winding of the plurality of secondary windings coupled between its switches. | 11-22-2012 |
| 20120294045 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING RESONANT CONVERTER OUTPUT POWER - A method and apparatus for controlling power conversion. In one embodiment, the method comprises computing a voltage ratio based on a voltage conversion in a resonant converter; comparing the voltage ratio to a threshold; and controlling, independent of switching frequency of the resonant converter, power output from the resonant converter based on whether the voltage ratio satisfies the threshold. | 11-22-2012 |
| 20120287688 | FOUR QUADRANT BIDIRECTIONAL SWITCH - A four quadrant bidirectional switch. In one embodiment, the four quadrant bidirectional switch comprises a first switch, a second switch, and a third switch, wherein (i) the first and second switches are normally-off switches, (ii) the third switch is a dual-gate, bidirectional, normally-on switch, and (iii) the first, the second, and the third switches are coupled to one another in a bi-cascode configuration. | 11-15-2012 |
| 20120206843 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTION AND CONTROL OF DC ARC FAULTS - A method and apparatus for managing DC arc faults. At least a portion of the method is performed by a controller comprising at least one processor. In one embodiment, the method comprises identifying, based on a first signature of a power converter, an arc fault; determining, based on the first signature, a type of the arc fault; and performing an action on the power converter based on the type of the arc fault. | 08-16-2012 |
| 20120170341 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RESONANT POWER CONVERSION - A method and apparatus for providing multi-phase power. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a cycloconverter controller for determining a charge ratio based on a reference waveform; and a cycloconverter, coupled to the cycloconverter controller and to a multi-phase AC line, for selectively coupling an alternating current to each line of the multi-phase AC line based on the charge ratio. | 07-05-2012 |
| 20120170324 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RESONANT CONVERTER CONTROL - A method and apparatus for controlling resonant converter power production. In one embodiment, the method comprises determining accumulated charge processed by a resonant converter; dynamically determining a level of the accumulated charge that generates a predetermined output power; and controlling a switching cycle of the resonant converter based on the level of the accumulated charge. | 07-05-2012 |
| 20120139349 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR APPLYING AN ELECTRIC FIELD TO A PHOTOVOLTAIC ELEMENT - A method and apparatus for applying an electric field to a photovoltaic element. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises at least one photovoltaic (PV) cell having a P-N junction; and a voltage supply for (i) converting a first voltage to an e-field voltage, the first voltage generated local to the at least one PV cell, and (ii) coupling the e-field voltage to the at least one PV cell to create an electric field extending across the P-N junction. | 06-07-2012 |
| 20120099661 | POWER LINE COMMUNICATIONS APPARATUS - Apparatus and system for communicating data via a power line. The apparatus comprises a transmitter comprising a modulator for generating a second digital signal based on input data; a digital buffer for amplifying the second digital signal to generate a third digital signal; a filter for filtering the third digital signal to generate an analog output waveform; and a coupler for coupling the analog output waveform to the power line. | 04-26-2012 |
| 20120089660 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DISTRIBUTED ENERGY GENERATOR MESSAGE AGGREGATION - A method and system for aggregating messages. In one embodiment, the system comprises a plurality of distributed generators (DGs) and a controller, communicatively coupled to the plurality of distributed generators, for (i) receiving a plurality of messages from the plurality of DGs, (ii) correlating at least two messages in the plurality of messages based on at least one time parameter, and (iii) generating a summary message based on the at least two messages. | 04-12-2012 |
| 20120020122 | LOSSLESS COMMUTATION DURING OPERATION OF A POWER CONVERTER - A method for operating a DC-DC converter. The method comprises: matching, based on a turns ratio of a transformer of the DC-DC converter, a primary side capacitance of the DC-DC converter and a secondary side capacitance of the DC-DC converter to result in a matched capacitance; and operating the DC-DC converter with at least one operating parameter set to cause a primary current to oscillate between a peak value and zero such that a valley of the primary current coincides with a zero crossing of a secondary switching element voltage. | 01-26-2012 |
| 20110292705 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR POWER CONVERTER INPUT VOLTAGE REGULATION - A method and apparatus for regulating an input voltage to a power conversion module. In one embodiment, the method comprises computing a voltage regulation threshold based on an output voltage for the power conversion module; comparing an input voltage of the power conversion module to the voltage regulation threshold; and generating, when the input voltage satisfies the voltage regulation threshold, an average input voltage less than the voltage regulation threshold, wherein the average input voltage is generated from the input voltage. | 12-01-2011 |
| 20110292701 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVED BURST MODE DURING POWER CONVERSION - A method and apparatus for power conversion. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a DC-AC conversion stage; an intermediate capacitor coupled across the DC-AC conversion stage; and a burst mode controller coupled to the intermediate capacitor and the DC-AC conversion stage, wherein the burst mode controller (i) maintains a voltage of the intermediate capacitor below a preset limit during a storage period and (ii) drives the DC-AC conversion stage to convert DC input to AC output during a burst period, wherein the storage and burst periods occur during a burst mode operation. | 12-01-2011 |
| 20110273302 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INDICATING A DISCONNECTION WITHIN A DISTRIBUTED GENERATOR - A method and apparatus for indicating a disconnection within a Distributed Generator (DG). In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises an alarm module electrically coupled to a conductive portion of a component within the DG, wherein the conductive portion is grounded via a ground rod system, and wherein the alarm module (i) is further coupled to a ground line, (ii) couples a monitoring current to the conductive portion, (iii) monitors flow of the monitoring current to determine a change in the flow, and (iv) generates, as a result of the change in the flow, a notification of the disconnection. | 11-10-2011 |
| 20110260824 | TRANSFORMER - A transformer assembly. In some embodiments, the transformer assembly comprises a transformer, comprising a magnetic core; a primary winding wound around the magnetic core, wherein the primary winding comprises one or two turns of a first conductive material; and a secondary winding wound around the magnetic core, wherein the secondary winding comprises a plurality of turns of a second conductive material, and wherein a diameter of the magnetic core is sized such that the transformer achieves a first inductance with a core loss comparable to a winding loss. | 10-27-2011 |
| 20110202181 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SMART CLIMATE CONTROL - A method and apparatus for controlling climate within a building. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a smart climate unit for (i) obtaining distributed generator (DG) information pertaining to operation of a DG that generates power for the building, and (ii) controlling at least one climate condition within the building based on at least one of the DG information, local input, or remote input. | 08-18-2011 |
| 20100195357 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING A CORRECTED MONITORING VOLTAGE - A method and apparatus for determining a corrected monitoring voltage, at least a portion of the method being performed by a computing system comprising at least one processor. The method comprises generating power at a first location; monitoring the generated power by measuring a first voltage proximate the first location; measuring a second voltage proximate a second location, the first and the second locations electrically coupled; and determining, based on the measured second voltage, a corrected monitoring voltage to compensate the measured first voltage for a distance between the first and the second locations. | 08-05-2010 |
| 20100091532 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVED BURST MODE DURING POWER CONVERSION - A method and apparatus for converting DC input power to AC output power. The apparatus comprises an input capacitor, a DC-AC inverter, a burst mode controller for causing energy to be stored in the input capacitor during at least one storage period and the energy to be drawn from the input capacitor during at least one burst period, wherein the AC output power is greater than the DC input power during the at least one burst period; a first feedback loop for determining a maximum power point (MPP) and operating the DC-AC inverter proximate the MPP; and a second feedback loop for determining a difference in a first power measurement and a second power measurement, producing an error signal indicative of the difference, and coupling the error signal to the first feedback loop to adjust at least one operating parameter of the DC-AC inverter to drive toward the MPP. | 04-15-2010 |
| 20090200994 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTED VAR COMPENSATION - A method and apparatus for generating on-demand power. The method comprises receiving a peak reactive current request, generating a control signal based on the peak reactive current request, and utilizing the control signal to drive a DC/AC inverter to generate reactive power commensurate with the peak reactive current request. | 08-13-2009 |
