Company Patent Portfolio

WorldWater & Solar Technologies, Inc.

Summary Descriptions of Patents Held

Bias Controlled DC to AC Converter and Systems (08/14/2001) US 6,275,403

The first patent enabled WorldWater to break through the generally accepted 5 horsepower limit on solar pumping systems to operate systems up to 1000 horsepower. Other solar pumping systems were limited to 5 horsepower because they had not successfully developed such a power control system capable of adapting to the wide fluctuations of power above that level generated by the solar array.

The power used by a motor must continually be adjusted to extract the maximum energy from a solar installation because of constantly changing atmospheric conditions. WorldWater’s design uniquely provides this matching by making software and hardware changes to customize standard industrial Variable Frequency Drives. Without these customized changes, solar power, because it is constantly varying – up and down – will not provide stable operation of the motor, possibly damaging and in some cases burning it out.

WorldWater’s design provides on-going maximum power by continually changing motor speed to match the constantly varying solar power so that motor faults will not occur. Our design compensates for the loss (or increase) of solar power, for example, by continuously sampling the solar array voltage and reducing (or increasing) the speed of the motor to match change in solar power.

Switchable Multiple Source Power Supply (06/24/2003) US 6,583,522

The second patent enables automatic switching technology that can sense a loss of grid power and transfer all of the solar power directly over to the pump/motor within a fraction of a second. This allows the system to continue to operate directly with solar power without interruption.

Under normal circumstances, the solar system will be exporting (“selling”) power to the electric utility and the pump operates with grid power. Net metering laws generally require that electric companies give credit for exported power at the current selling price. The interconnection rules require that in the event of grid failure, the solar system should automatically disconnect itself from the grid, so that a line maintenance worker working on the electrical lines is not harmed by power exported to the grid by the solar system.

The WorldWater & Solar Technologies switching technology is unique in that it complies with this requirement closing off all power to the grid while at the same time transferring the solar power directly to the load (motor/pump).

AC-DC Hybrid Power Circuits (12/05/2006) US 7,145,265

The third patent is a hybrid power system which has two voltage sources, a variable DC power source and a second power source connected to a common node. The variable DC power source may be a solar power source and the second source may be an AC grid. The selection components, e.g. blocking diodes, SCRs, or relays, allow one or both of the sources to be connected to the node depending on the voltages produced by the sources. A variable speed drive and load may be connected to the node. Through preselected voltage levels, seamless power sharing of the DC or solar source and the AC grid source is accomplished.

Maximum Power Point Motor Control (12/12/2006)

The fourth patent provides a means of controlling motor speed as a function of available solar array power. The motor drive is controlled by software, implemented either by programmable features as part of a variable speed drive or separate programmable devices connected to the drive, to track power as a function of source power. The software controlled drive samples the array voltage at preset intervals and changes the frequency of the AC motor to track available solar array power.

This design enables solar energy to drive large AC motors by using variable frequency drives capable of operating large pumps and motors, but customizing them with our patented software. The operation of the motor using the variable frequency drive also brings additional benefits by eliminating the surge power needed to start large motors. This reduces the peak electricity demand, thereby reducing the demand side of the bill. The variable frequency drive also improves the motor power factor, increasing the electrical efficiency of the motor.

Solar Direct-Drive for Irrigation (6/4/2013) patent application number US 14/291,715

Solar power is utilized to both pump water to and operate a pivot, drip, sprinkler, or other irrigation system. The direct-drive water pumping and pivot or other irrigation system addresses both the variable speed requirements of the water pump motor and the flow requirements of the pivot or other irrigation system. The solar array also provides the electrical power to drive the wheels of the pivot irrigation apparatus to move the apparatus.

Low Deck Integrated Transport System (LDITS) (1/1/2013) US 8,342,785 B1

A universal trailer designed to accommodate and transport a container of a family of containers having a standardized base footprint. This compact size and low profile of the trailer allows the entire trailer with mounted systems the ability to transport any ISU container with weight of 5,400, adaptable to civilian or military vehicles and when fully loaded can be driven directly into and out of ISO shipping containers.