Electric power generation operation point control circuit device

1. An electric power generation operation point control circuit device comprising:

a pair of output terminals formed by an anode-side output terminal and a cathode-side output terminal respectively connected to an anode-side end and a cathode-side end of a column of photovoltaic cell units in which N photovoltaic cell units are connected in series, N being an integer of at least three;

an output voltage holding unit for holding a voltage between the pair of output terminals;

a plurality of electrode connection terminals connected to respective electrode terminals of the photovoltaic cell units connected in series between the pair of output terminals;

a first voltage holding unit group including a voltage holding unit for holding a voltage between an anode side of the (2k+1)th photovoltaic cell unit and a cathode side of the (2k+2)th photovoltaic cell unit by being connected in parallel via the electrode connection terminal for the anode side of the (2k+1)th photovoltaic cell unit and the cathode side of the (2k+2)th photovoltaic cell unit to each set of the (2k+1)th and (2k+2)th photovoltaic cell units connected in series to each other in the N photovoltaic cell units counted from the anode-side output terminal between the pair of output terminals, k being an integer ranging from zero to (N−3)/2 when the N is an odd number and an integer ranging from zero to (N−2)/2 when the N is an even number; and

a second voltage holding unit group including a voltage holding unit for holding a voltage between an anode side of the (2k+2)th photovoltaic cell unit and a cathode side of the (2k+3)th photovoltaic cell unit by being connected in parallel via the electrode connection terminal for the anode side of the (2k+2)th photovoltaic cell unit and the cathode side of the (2k+3)th photovoltaic cell unit to each set of the (2k+2)th and (2k+3)th photovoltaic cell units connected in series to each other in the N photovoltaic cell units counted from the anode-side output terminal between the pair of output terminals when the N is the odd number, k being an integer ranging from zero to (N−3)/2, and including a voltage holding unit for holding a voltage between the anode side of the (2k+2)th photovoltaic cell unit and the cathode side of the (2k+3)th photovoltaic cell unit by being connected in parallel via the electrode connection terminal for the anode side of the (2k+2)th photovoltaic cell unit and the cathode side of the (2k+3)th photovoltaic cell unit to each set of the (2k+2)th and (2k+3)th photovoltaic cell units in the N photovoltaic cell units counted from the anode-side output terminal between the pair of output terminals, k being an integer ranging from zero to (N−4)/2, and a voltage holding unit for holding a voltage between the anode side and the cathode side of the N-th or first photovoltaic cell unit by being connected in parallel via the electrode connection terminal for the anode side and the cathode side of the N-th or first photovoltaic cell unit to the N-th or first photovoltaic cell unit when the N is the even number.

2. The electric power generation operation point control circuit device according to claim 1 ,

wherein an output voltage between the pair of output terminals is held to become a total sum of voltages at respective maximum electric power points of the N photovoltaic cell units connected in series,

wherein respective holding voltages of the voltage holding units of the first voltage holding unit group are held to become a total sum of voltages at the respective maximum electric power points of the photovoltaic cell units of the set of the corresponding photovoltaic cell units connected in series to each other and connected in parallel to the respective voltage holding units of the first voltage holding unit group, and

wherein respective holding voltages of the voltage holding units of the second voltage holding unit group are held to become a total sum of voltages at the respective maximum electric power points of the photovoltaic cell units of the set of the corresponding photovoltaic cell units connected in series to each other and connected in parallel to the respective voltage holding units of the second voltage holding unit group or a voltage at the maximum electric power point of the corresponding photovoltaic cell unit.

3. The electric power generation operation point control circuit device according to claim 1 ,

wherein N photovoltaic cell strings connected in series, the photovoltaic cell string being formed by a plurality of photovoltaic cells in which the photovoltaic cell units are placed in a row and connected in series, are aligned along a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the photovoltaic cell string and anodes and cathodes of the adjacent photovoltaic cell strings are opposite in direction to each other.

4. The electric power generation operation point control circuit device according to claim 1 ,

wherein the N is an integer of at least four,

wherein the first voltage holding unit group includes

a first capacitor group having capacitors connected in parallel via the electrode connection terminal for the anode side of the (2k+1)th photovoltaic cell unit and the cathode side of the (2k+2)th photovoltaic cell unit to each set of the (2k+1)th and (2k+2)th photovoltaic cell units in the N photovoltaic cell units connected in series to each other counted from the anode-side output terminal between the pair of output terminals, k being an integer ranging from zero to (N−3)/2 when the N is the odd number and being an integer ranging from zero to (N−2)/2 when the N is the even number, these capacitors being connected in series,

a first switching unit group having switching units connected in parallel via an inductor to each of the capacitors of the first capacitor group and performing selective conduction between a pair of the electrode connection terminals connected to the capacitors, these switching units being connected in series,

a first variable voltage source holding a voltage at both ends of the first switching unit group at an electric power generation voltage of the photovoltaic cell unit connected in series between both ends of the first capacitor group, and

a first switching control unit controlling the conduction of the switching unit such that a plurality of the switching units of the first switching unit group cut off the conduction between the pair of connected electrode connection terminals at different timings of the same predetermined cycle in the first switching means group and one of the switching units of the first switching unit group cuts off the conduction between the pair of corresponding connected electrode connection terminals and the other switching unit of the first switching unit group performs the conduction between the pair of corresponding connected electrode connection terminals at all times, and

wherein the second voltage holding unit group includes

a second capacitor group having capacitors connected in parallel via the electrode connection terminal for the anode side of the (2k+2)th photovoltaic cell unit and the cathode side of the (2k+3)th photovoltaic cell unit to each set of the (2k+2)th and (2k+3)th photovoltaic cell units counted from the anode-side output terminal in the N photovoltaic cell units when the N is the odd number k being an integer ranging from zero to (N−3)/2, these capacitors being connected in series, and having a capacitor connected in parallel via the electrode connection terminal for the anode side of the (2k+2)th photovoltaic cell unit and the cathode side of the (2k+3)th photovoltaic cell unit to each set of the (2k+2)th and (2k+3)th photovoltaic cell units counted from the anode-side output terminal in the N photovoltaic cell units, k being an integer ranging from zero to (N−4)/2, and the capacitor connected in parallel via the electrode connection terminal for the anode side and the cathode side of the N-th or first photovoltaic cell unit to the N-th or first photovoltaic cell unit when the N is the odd number, these capacitors being connected in series,

a second switching unit group having switching units connected in parallel via an inductor to each of the capacitors of the second capacitor group and performing selective conduction between a pair of the electrode connection terminals connected to the capacitors, these switching units being connected in series,

a second variable voltage source holding a voltage at both ends of the second switching unit group at an electric power generation voltage of the photovoltaic cell unit connected in series between both ends of the second capacitor group, and

a second switching control unit controlling the conduction of the switching unit such that a plurality of the switching units of the second switching unit group cut off the conduction between the pair of connected electrode connection terminals at different timings of the same predetermined cycle in the second switching means group and one of the switching units of the second switching unit group cuts off the conduction between the pair of corresponding connected electrode connection terminals and the other switching unit of the second switching unit group performs the conduction between the pair of corresponding connected electrode connection terminals at all times.

5. The electric power generation operation point control circuit device according to claim 4 ,

wherein a ratio of a time width of cut-off of the conduction between the pair of connected electrode connection terminals of each of the switching units of the first switching unit group to the predetermined cycle is controlled to become a ratio of a total sum of the electric power generation voltages of the set of the corresponding photovoltaic cell units of each of the switching units of the first switching unit group to the holding voltage held by the first variable voltage source, and

wherein a ratio of a time width of cut-off of the conduction between the pair of connected electrode connection terminals of each of the switching units of the second switching unit group to the predetermined cycle is controlled to become a ratio of a total sum of the electric power generation voltages of the set of the corresponding photovoltaic cell units of each of the switching units of the second switching unit group to the holding voltage held by the second variable voltage source.

6. The electric power generation operation point control circuit device according to claim 4 ,

wherein, when the N is the odd number, the first variable voltage source is the variable voltage source connected in parallel to both ends of the first switching unit group and applying between both ends of the first switching unit group the voltage equal to the total sum of the electric power generation voltages of the photovoltaic cell units connected in parallel with respect to both ends of the first switching unit group and the second variable voltage source is the variable voltage source connected in parallel to both ends of the second switching unit group and applying between both ends of the second switching unit group the voltage equal to the total sum of the electric power generation voltages of the photovoltaic cell units connected in parallel with respect to both ends of the second switching unit group.

7. The electric power generation operation point control circuit device according to claim 4 ,

wherein, when the N is the even number, the first variable voltage source is the output voltage holding unit and the variable voltage source applying the voltage equal to the total sum of the electric power generation voltages of the N photovoltaic cell units and the second variable voltage source is the variable voltage source connected in parallel to both ends of the second switching unit group and applying between both ends of the second switching unit group the voltage equal to the total sum of the electric power generation voltages of the photovoltaic cell units connected in parallel with respect to both ends of the second switching unit group.

8. The electric power generation operation point control circuit device according to claim 4 ,

wherein, when the N is the odd number, the first variable voltage source is the variable voltage source connected in parallel via the electrode connection terminal for the anode side and the cathode side of the N-th or first photovoltaic cell unit counted from the anode-side output terminal and applying the voltage equal to the electric power generation voltage of the N-th or first photovoltaic cell unit and the second variable voltage source is the variable voltage source connected in parallel via the electrode connection terminal for the anode side and the cathode side of the first photovoltaic cell unit counted from the anode-side output terminal and applying the voltage equal to the electric power generation voltage of the first photovoltaic cell unit.

9. The electric power generation operation point control circuit device according to claim 4 ,

wherein, when the N is the even number, the first variable voltage source is the output voltage holding unit and the variable voltage source applying the voltage equal to the total sum of the electric power generation voltages of the N photovoltaic cell units and the second variable voltage source is the variable voltage source connected in parallel via the electrode connection terminal for the anode side and the cathode side of the first photovoltaic cell unit counted from the anode-side output terminal and applying the voltage equal to the electric power generation voltage of the first photovoltaic cell unit.