IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,719,407
Granted Patent B2
US 12,719,407 · App. 18/941,741 · Granted Aug 25, 2026

Systems and methods for an enhanced watchdog in solar module installations

View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,719,407
App. No.
18/941,741
Filed
Nov 8, 2024
Granted
Aug 25, 2026
Kind
B2
Art Unit
1726
USPC
136/244
Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 2, 2026
From: TIGO ENERGY, INC.
To: TIGO ENERGY INNOVATIONS LLC
Reel/Frame 073351/0442 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 8, 2024
From: HADAR, RON; ARDITI, SHMUEL
To: TIGO ENERGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 069215/0280 →
Continuity (7)
Continuation 17526793 · Nov 15, 2021
Continuation 16389775 · Apr 19, 2019
Division 14572458 · Dec 16, 2014
Continuation 12628977 · Dec 1, 2009
Provisional Application 61276753 · Sep 16, 2009
Provisional Application 61275977 · Sep 3, 2009
Related Publication 20250070713A1 · Feb 27, 2025
References Cited (239)
US 4580090A · Bailey et al. · 1986 [cited by applicant]
US 4604567A · Chetty · 1986 [cited by applicant]
US 4873480A · Lafferty · 1989 [cited by applicant]
US 5027051A · Lafferty · 1991 [cited by applicant]
US 5054023A · Kronberg · 1991 [cited by applicant]
US 5143556A · Matlin · 1992 [cited by applicant]
US 5235266A · Schaffrin · 1993 [cited by applicant]
US 5268832A · Kandatsu · 1993 [cited by applicant]
US 5280133A · Nath · 1994 [cited by applicant]
US 5472614A · Rossi · 1995 [cited by applicant]
US 5504418A · Ashley · 1996 [cited by applicant]
US 5604430A · Decker et al. · 1997 [cited by applicant]
US 5648731A · Decker et al. · 1997 [cited by applicant]
US 5747967A · Muljadi et al. · 1998 [cited by applicant]
US 5801519A · Midya et al. · 1998 [cited by applicant]
US 5923158A · Kurokami et al. · 1999 [cited by applicant]
US 5932994A · Jo et al. · 1999 [cited by applicant]
US 6031736A · Takehara et al. · 2000 [cited by applicant]
US 6093885A · Takehara et al. · 2000 [cited by applicant]
US 6101073A · Takehara · 2000 [cited by applicant]
US 6275016B1 · Ivanov · 2001 [cited by applicant]
US 6350944B1 · Sherif et al. · 2002 [cited by applicant]
US 6396239B1 · Benn et al. · 2002 [cited by applicant]
US 6448489B2 · Kimura et al. · 2002 [cited by applicant]
US 6515215B1 · Mimura · 2003 [cited by applicant]
US 6545211B1 · Mimura · 2003 [cited by applicant]
US 6593520B2 · Kondo et al. · 2003 [cited by applicant]
US 6650031B1 · Goldack · 2003 [cited by applicant]
US 6653549B2 · Matsushita et al. · 2003 [cited by applicant]
US 6713890B2 · Kondo et al. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 6763226B1 · McZeal, Jr. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 6819011B2 · Kernahan et al. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 6837739B2 · Gorringe et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 6844739B2 · Kasai et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 6894911B2 · Telefus et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 6897370B2 · Kondo et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 6946753B2 · Kernahan et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 6984970B2 · Capel · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 7061214B2 · Mayega et al. · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 7150938B2 · Munshi et al. · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 7248946B2 · Bashaw et al. · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 7256566B2 · Bhavaraju et al. · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 7259474B2 · Blanc · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 7276886B2 · Kinder et al. · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 7336004B2 · Lai · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 7394237B2 · Chou et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 7462955B2 · McNamara et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 7516106B2 · Ehlers et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 7518266B2 · Eckroad · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 7518346B2 · Prexl et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 7538451B2 · Nomoto · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 7545053B2 · Yoshikawa et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 7595616B2 · Prexl et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 7602080B1 · Hadar et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 7605498B2 · Ledenev et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 7719140B2 · Ledenev et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 7807919B2 · Powell et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 7884278B2 · Powell et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 8013472B2 · Adest et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 8035249B2 · Shaver, II et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 8212139B2 · Meyer · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 8427009B2 · Shaver, II et al. · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 8531055B2 · Adest et al. · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 8563847B2 · Meyer et al. · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 8587151B2 · Adest et al. · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 8669675B2 · Capp et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 8773236B2 · Makhota et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 8816535B2 · Adest et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 8823218B2 · Hadar et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 8828778B2 · Meyer · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 8830649B2 · Oppermann et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 8854193B2 · Makhota et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 8933320B2 · Meyer · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 8933321B2 · Hadar et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 8947194B2 · Sella et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 9112379B2 · Sella et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 9377765B2 · Makhota et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 9397612B2 · Hadar et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 9401599B2 · Har-Shai et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 9438035B2 · Capp et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 9543890B2 · Meyer et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 9590526B2 · Adest et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 9768725B2 · Meyer · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 9813021B2 · Hadar et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 10063056B2 · Makhota et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 10256770B2 · Hadar et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 10312857B2 · Hadar et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 10523013B2 · Makhota et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 10686403B2 · Hadar et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 11081889B2 · Makhota et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 11228278B2 · Hadar et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11646695B2 · Hadar et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 11728443B2 · Makhota et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 11855578B2 · Hadar et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 11967930B2 · Hadar et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 12088248B2 · Hadar et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 12143065B2 · Hadar et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20010023703A1 · Kondo et al. · 2001 [cited by applicant]
US 20040056768A1 · Matsushita et al. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 20050021189A1 · Timm · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20050057214A1 · Matan · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20050057215A1 · Matan · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20050063422A1 · Lazar et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20050121067A1 · Toyomura et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20050172995A1 · Rohrig et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20060001406A1 · Matan · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20060174939A1 · Matan · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20060185727A1 · Matan · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20060231132A1 · Neussner · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20070019613A1 · Frezzolini · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 20070229237A1 · Kates · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 20070273351A1 · Matan · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 20080036440A1 · Garmer · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080121272A1 · Besser et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080122449A1 · Besser et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080122518A1 · Besser et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080142071A1 · Dorn et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080143188A1 · Adest et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080147335A1 · Adest et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080164766A1 · Adest et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080179949A1 · Besser et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080191560A1 · Besser et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080191675A1 · Besser et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080236648A1 · Klein et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080238195A1 · Shaver et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080265185A1 · Numano · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080303503A1 · Wolfs · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20090066357A1 · Fornage · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20090114263A1 · Powell et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20090133736A1 · Powell et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20090141522A1 · Adest et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20090179662A1 · Moulton et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20090182532A1 · Stoeber · 2009 [cited by examiner]
US 20090183760A1 · Meyer · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20090183763A1 · Meyer · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20090207543A1 · Boniface et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20090242011A1 · Proisy et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20100028362A1 · Nguyen et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20100057267A1 · Liu et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20100071274A1 · Brescia · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20100085670A1 · Palaniswami et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20100131108A1 · Meyer · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20100132758A1 · Gilmore · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20100139734A1 · Hadar et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20100269889A1 · Reinhold et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20100282293A1 · Meyer et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20100283612A1 · Wong et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20100300508A1 · Maier · 2010 [cited by examiner]
US 20100321148A1 · Gevorkian · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20100326809A1 · Lang et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20110061713A1 · Powell et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20110068702A1 · van de Ven et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20110092094A1 · Rueggen et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20110172842A1 · Makhota et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20110218687A1 · Hadar et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20120234374A1 · Meyer · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20140035373A1 · Meyer et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20150028692A1 · Makhota et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 20150047689A1 · Meyer · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 20150053250A1 · Hadar et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 20150101651A1 · Hadar et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 20160301214A1 · Makhota et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20160315585A1 · Hadar et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20170085094A1 · Meyer et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20180019705A1 · Hadar et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20180351365A1 · Makhota et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20190207556A1 · Hadar et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20190253022A1 · Hadar et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20200136391A1 · Makhota et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200304065A1 · Hadar et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20210313807A1 · Makhota et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20220077819A1 · Hadar et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20220140784A1 · Hadar et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20220271711A1 · Hadar et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20220352393A1 · Morad et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20230283232A1 · Hadar et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20230378379A1 · Makhota et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20240204723A1 · Hadar et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240348205A1 · Hadar et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
AU 2005262278 · 2005 [cited by applicant]
DE 3010371 · 1981 [cited by applicant]
DE 4232356 · 1994 [cited by applicant]
DE 19961705 · 2001 [cited by applicant]
DE 102005012213 · 2009 [cited by applicant]
DE 102007050031 · 2009 [cited by applicant]
DE 102005018173 · 2009 [cited by applicant]
EP 0178757 · 1986 [cited by applicant]
EP 1388774 · 2004 [cited by applicant]
EP 2495766 · 2012 [cited by applicant]
ES 2249147 · 2006 [cited by applicant]
FR 2894401 · 2007 [cited by applicant]
FR 2894401A1 · 2007 [cited by examiner]
JP 4219982 · 1992 [cited by applicant]
JP 6125104 · 1994 [cited by applicant]
JP 8097460 · 1996 [cited by applicant]
JP 8116628 · 1996 [cited by applicant]
JP 8316517 · 1996 [cited by applicant]
JP 9148611 · 1997 [cited by applicant]
JP 11103538 · 1999 [cited by applicant]
JP 2000358330 · 2000 [cited by applicant]
JP 2003134661 · 2003 [cited by applicant]
KR 200402282 · 2005 [cited by applicant]
KR 100725755 · 2007 [cited by applicant]
KR 100912892 · 2009 [cited by applicant]
WO 2003012569 · 2003 [cited by applicant]
WO 2005069096 · 2005 [cited by applicant]
WO 2005112551 · 2005 [cited by applicant]
WO 2007048421 · 2007 [cited by applicant]
WO 2008077473 · 2008 [cited by applicant]
WO 2009006879 · 2009 [cited by applicant]
WO 2010037393 · 2010 [cited by applicant]
English machine translation of Moine (FR-2894401-A1) provided by the EPO website, All Pages, 2025. (Year: 2025). [cited by examiner]
Nordmann, T. et al., “Performance of PV Systems Under Real Conditions,” European Workshop on Life Cycle Analysis and Recycling of Solar Modules, The “Waste” Challenge, Brussels, Belgium, Mar. 18-19, 2004. [cited by applicant]
Palma, L. et al., “A Modular Fuel Cell, Modular DC-DC Converter Concept for High Performance and Enhanced Reliability,” 38th IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference (PESC'07), pp. 2633-2638, Jun. 17, 2007. [cited by applicant]
Quaschning, V. et al., “Cost Effectiveness of Shadow Tolerant Photovoltaic Systems,” Euronsun 96, pp. 819-824, Sep. 16, 1996. [cited by applicant]
Uriarte, S. et al., “Energy Integrated Management System for PV Applications,” 20th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, Jun. 6, 2005. [cited by applicant]
Alonso, R. et al., “A New Distributed Converter Interface for PV Panels,” 20th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, Barcelona, Spain, pp. 2288-2291, Jun. 6-10, 2005. [cited by applicant]
Alonso, R. et al., “Experimental Results of Intelligent PV Module for Grid-Connected PV Systems,” 21st European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, Dresden, Germany, pp. 2297-2300, Sep. 4-8, 2006. [cited by applicant]
Advanced Energy Group, “The Basics of Solar Power Systems,” located at http://web.archive.org/web/20010331044156/http://www.solar4power.com/solar-power-basics.html, Mar. 31, 2001. [cited by applicant]
Basso, Tim, “IEEE Standard for Interconnecting Distributed Resources With the Electric Power System,” IEEE PES Meeting, Jun. 9, 2004. [cited by applicant]
Boostbuck.com, “The Four Boostbuck Topologies,” located at http://www.boostbuck.com/TheFourTopologies.html, 2003. [cited by applicant]
Definition of “removable” from Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, 1993. [cited by applicant]
Definition of “remove” from Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, 1993. [cited by applicant]
Enslin, Johan H.R., et al., “Integrated Photovoltaic Maximum Power Point Tracking Converter,” IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 44, No. 6, pp. 769-773, Dec. 1997. [cited by applicant]
European Patent Application No. 08845104.2, Extended Search Report, Jul. 31, 2014. [cited by applicant]
European Patent Application No. 11772811.3, Extended Search Report, Dec. 15, 2014. [cited by applicant]
Extended European Search Report, EP23183948.1, mailed on Aug. 31, 2023. [cited by applicant]
Gautam, Nalin K. et al., “An Efficient Algorithm to Simulate the Electrical Performance of Solar Photovoltaic Arrays,” Energy, vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 347-361, 2002. [cited by applicant]
Hewes, J. “Relays,” located at http://web.archive.org/web/20030816010159/www.kpsec.freeuk.com/components/relay.htm, Aug. 16, 2003. [cited by applicant]
International Patent Application No. PCT/US2008/081827, International Search Report and Written Opinion, Jun. 24, 2009. [cited by applicant]
International Patent Application No. PCT/US2010/046274, International Search Report and Written Opinion, Apr. 22, 2011. [cited by applicant]
International Patent Application No. PCT/US2011/033658, International Search Report and Written Opinion, Janaury 13, 2012. [cited by applicant]
Linares, Leonor et al., “Improved Energy Capture in Series String Photovoltaics via Smart Distributed Power Electronics,” 24th Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition, pp. 904-910, Feb. 15, 2009. [cited by applicant]
Roman, Eduardo, et al., “Intelligent PV Module for Grid-Connected PV Systems,” IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 53, No. 4, pp. 1066-1073, Aug. 2006. [cited by applicant]
Walker, G. R. et al., “Cascaded DC-DC Converter Connection of Photovoltaic Modules,” 33rd IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference (PESC'02), vol. 1, pp. 24-29, 2002. [cited by applicant]
Walker, Geoffrey R. et al., “Cascaded DC-DC Converter Connection of Photovoltaic Modules,” IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 1130-1139, Jul. 2004. [cited by applicant]
Wiles, John, “Photovoltaic Power Systems and the National Electrical Code: Suggested Practices,” Sandia National Laboratories, document No. SAND2001-0674, Mar. 2001. [cited by applicant]
USPTO, Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 19/008,238, filed May 26, 2026, 9 pages. [cited by applicant]
USPTO, Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 19/197,800, filed Apr. 15, 2026, 12 pages. [cited by applicant]