Patent ID: 8044538

Claim:
A photovoltaic energy conversion system, comprising: a plurality of multi-cellular photovoltaic panels, each panel including: a plurality of groups of photovoltaic cells structured to generate voltages, respectively; a DC bus coupled to the plurality of multi-cellular photovoltaic panels; and a plurality of DC-DC converters formed on each photovoltaic panel, each converter having inputs coupled to a respective group of photovoltaic cells on the photovoltaic panel and outputs coupled to the DC bus, each converter structured to individually regulate the voltage generated by the respective group of photovoltaic cells; each converter including a power switch and a control logic circuit structured to process monitored values of at least one of electrical input and output parameters and execute an algorithm of maximum power point tracking of the corresponding group of photovoltaic cells of the photovoltaic panel to produce a drive control signal to control the power switch of the DC-DC converter, each converter structured to perform individual regulation that includes: comparing an output power of the corresponding group of photovoltaic cells at a current sampling instant with an output power of the corresponding group of photovoltaic cells at a preceding sampling instant; and updating, based on the comparing, a tracked reference value of a working point of maximum electrical power yield of the corresponding group of photovoltaic cells, by incrementing or decrementing by a fixed quantity a reference signal that is applied to a input of a drive comparator of the corresponding DC-DC converter.