Abstract: A power management system for a vehicle. The system may be flexibly configured using various arrangements of DC to AC inverters, DC to DC converters AC to DC converters, DC to AC converters and AC to AC converters, one or more batteries, and a control portion to provide an AC bus, a primary DC bus and a secondary DC bus. The control portion monitors the status of the buses, inverters and converters and controls the operation of the inverters and converters to supply and regulate the power supplied by the buses. The inverters and converters may be bidirectional, allowing power to be transferred between buses.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are taught for driving a gate of a power device to turn on the power device utilizing a lossless gate driver circuit. The circuit comprises in parallel a power section, a rectifying section, a switching section, a capacitance, and an anti-spiking section. The circuit further comprises a transformer section coupled to the rectifying section, the switching section, and the anti-spiking section and a power device coupled to a portion of the anti-spiking section. The system is configured to regenerate substantially all energy utilized to power the power device via the coupling of the transformer section to the rectifying section, the switching section, the capacitance, and the anti-spike section.

Abstract: A circuit comprising a primary section and a multiple voltage secondary section. The multiple voltage secondary section includes a multiple voltage resonance section, a filter section, and a load coupling section. The circuit also includes a transformer, which is operatively configured to couple the primary and secondary sections. The multiple voltage resonance section includes a capacitance, i.e., an Alexander Topology. This capacitance, which is preferable based on series capacitors, operatively generates a predetermined voltage, such that a turns ratio of the transformer is lower than a non-multiple voltage resonance section to generate the predetermined voltage. Hence, this configuration decreases energy loss from the transformer, thereby increasing efficiency.

Abstract: A three terminal battery equalizer which includes a DC--DC converter has a first filter inductor in the switched, current conducting path connected to the battery ground and a second filter inductor in the switched, current path connected to the non-grounded, non-interconnected terminal of a second battery, and has a capacitor connected between the filter inductors for maintaining the same magnitude of current in the battery equalizer during the time interval when the switching transistors of the DC--DC converter are turned off, as when the transistor switches are turned on. The circuit further includes an error signal feedback circuit for controlling the transistor switches and protective feedback circuits, all providing signals which are integrated to eliminate the effect of alternating voltages, resulting from isolation of the control circuit from the battery circuit. The protective circuits include output current detection for overload protection, reverse polarity protection and temperature compensation.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for switching an electrical load, such as an incandescent lamp, with a FET and providing protection for the FET. An exponential reference signal is generated which is a function of drain to source voltage and represents the integral of instantaneous power dissipated in the FET. Simultaneously, an exponential FET gate signal is initiated for turning on the lamp or other load at a rate which would maximize the power dissipation in the FET under worst case short circuit conditions. The integrated power signal is compared to a critical threshold level which represents the maximum power dissipation rating of the FET. In the event the integrated instantaneous power signal rises above the critical threshold level, which would occur because of an overload, the FET is turned off to protect it and the load from the overload condition.

Abstract: An equalizer circuit is disclosed for permitting two series 12 volt batteries to supply both 24 volts and 12 volts and which maintains the batteries charged to equal voltages. The equalizer circuit is a regulated DC to DC converter with its output connected across the 12 volt battery which is connected to 12 volt loads and its input connected across either the other battery or the 24 volts of the input series pair of batteries. The reference voltage for the regulator is derived from a voltage dividing circuit which is connected across the 24 volt terminals of the two batteries. The voltage dividing circuit provides a reference voltage which is equal to half the voltage across the sum of the voltages of the two battieries.

Abstract: An inverter circuit is disclosed in which the efficiency of the inverter is improved by interposing a small transformer winding between the transistors in a Darlington pair which are used to switch the primary current of the inverter. The winding couples energy from the transformer into the Darlington pair at a polarity which opposes the characteristic junction potential of the output transistor. This substantially reduces the saturation voltage of this output transistor. The regulation of the output voltage is improved by detecting the RMS value of the output voltage and using the detected RMS value of the output voltage for controlling the width of pulses applied to the primary of the transformer of the inverter.