Systems and methods to provide enhanced diode bypass paths

摘要

Systems and methods are herein disclosed for efficiently allowing current to bypass a group of solar cells having one or more malfunctioning or shaded solar cells without overwhelming a bypass diode. This can be done using a switch (e.g., a MOSFET) connected in parallel with the bypass diode. By turning the switch on and off, a majority of the bypass current can be routed through the switch, which is configured to handle larger currents than the bypass diode is designed for, leaving only a minority of the current to pass through the bypass diode.

主权项

1. A solar panel, comprising:
a set of solar cells; and a bypass switch circuit connected to the set of solar cells and configured to allow a bypass current to bypass the set of solar cells, the bypass switch circuit comprising:
a bypass transistor connected in parallel with an output of the set of solar cells, wherein when activated the bypass transistor provides a path for the bypass current, the bypass transistor having a parasitic diode;a first diode connected to receive the output and configured to be conductive when the parasitic diode of the bypass transistor is conductive; anda control circuit coupled with the bypass transistor and the first diode to activate the bypass transistor in response to the parasitic diode of the bypass transistor becoming conductive, wherein the control circuit comprises:
a first energy storage device connected to the first diode to be charged when the parasitic diode is conductive, the first energy storage device to provide a first voltage, the first energy storage device connected in series with the first diode, and a path formed by the first diode and the first energy storage device is connected in parallel with the bypass transistor;a voltage converter connected to receive the first voltage from the first energy storage device as an input, the voltage converter to upconvert a voltage drop across the parasitic diode responsive to the input to generate a second voltage; anda controller connected to receive the second voltage as an input, the controller configured to provide a signal to control the bypass transistor responsive to the second voltage.