Patents Examined by Hal Kaplan
  • Patent number: 11444609
    Abstract: A system includes a prime mover configured to rotate a shaft. The system also includes a wound rotor induction generator (WRIG). The WRIG includes a rotor coupled to the shaft of the prime mover and configured to rotate when the shaft rotates, where the rotor includes a rotor winding. The WRIG also includes a stator winding electrically connected to a utility source and a load. When the stator winding receives first power from the utility source, the WRIG is configured to transform at least one of a voltage and a frequency of the first power before outputting at least a portion of the first power to the load. When the stator winding does not receive the first power from the utility source, the WRIG is configured to generate second power due to kinetic energy of the rotor and output at least a portion of the second power to the load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: Raytheon Company
    Inventors: Stephen B. Kuznetsov, Eric J. Stich
  • Patent number: 11431169
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods for managing electrical energy generated by a renewable microgrid. One or more processors of a system may store priorities for one or more consumer loads; forecast an amount of available electrical energy for a time period; allocate a first electrical energy amount to a first consumer load to a first energy limit for the time period; determine more electrical energy is forecast to be available from the RES or the ESS for the time period; identify a second consumer load of the one or more consumer loads; allocate a second electrical energy amount to the second consumer load for the time period; and direct electrical energy from the RES or the ESS to the first and second consumer loads according to the allocations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: 8ME NOVA, LLC
    Inventors: Thomas Buttgenbach, Finbar Sheehy
  • Patent number: 11427091
    Abstract: An example vehicle comprises: (i) at least one electric generator that can be electronically-commutated or passively rectified, (ii) at least one electronically-commutated electric motor configured to drive a wheel of the vehicle, (iii) a voltage bus connecting the electric generator with the electronically-commutated electric motor, and (iv) means of controlling voltage level of the voltage bus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: Parker-Hannifin Corporation
    Inventors: Randall D. Thompson, Steven R. Huard
  • Patent number: 11427092
    Abstract: An electric power supply system includes a battery, an electric power receiving apparatus, and a control apparatus. The electric power receiving apparatus is configured to receive external electric power transmitted from an external electric power source, and supply the external electric power to the battery. The control apparatus is configured to, in a case where the electric power receiving apparatus is able to receive the external electric power, permit a load driving mode of driving a load that is coupled to the battery in parallel with the electric power receiving apparatus. The control apparatus is configured to, in the load driving mode, execute function restriction control of restricting a function of the load to suppress input and output currents of the battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Fumiyuki Moriya, Daisuke Kato
  • Patent number: 11414150
    Abstract: An operating device for a human-powered vehicle comprises a base member, an operating member, an electric switch, and a controller. The operating member is movably coupled to the base member. The electric switch is configured to receive a user input in response to a movement of the operating member to operate an additional device. The controller is configured to change a mode of the controller at least between a first mode in which the controller is configured to be under first power consumption and a second mode in which the controller is configured to be under second power consumption different from the first power consumption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: Shimano Inc.
    Inventors: Tomohiro Takimoto, Hirofumi Fukui, Takaya Masuda
  • Patent number: 11411126
    Abstract: The inventive technology, in certain embodiments, may be generally described as a solar power generation system with a converter, which may potentially include two or more sub-converters, established intermediately of one or more strings of solar panels. Particular embodiments may involve sweet spot operation in order to achieve improvements in efficiency, and bucking of open circuit voltages by the converter in order that more panels may be placed on an individual string or substring, reducing the number of strings required for a given design, and achieving overall system and array manufacture savings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: AMPT, LLC
    Inventors: Anatoli Ledenev, Robert M. Porter
  • Patent number: 11394203
    Abstract: A distribution system may include at least one Power Management System (PMS) that controls electrical power distributed transmitted by the distribution system. The system may include a first power station located at an onshore platform. The first power station may include an onshore terminal that distributes electric power to the first power station and to at least one onshore load. The first power station may include various onshore reactors that monitor inbound reactive power received from the onshore terminal or that monitor outbound reactive power sent to a remote location. The system may include a second power station located at an offshore platform which is located at the remote location. The second power station may include an offshore terminal that receives electric power from the first power station and that delivers electric power to at least one offshore load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY
    Inventor: Wasseem Ali Alkhardawi
  • Patent number: 11390170
    Abstract: A power supply device for the electric power supply of at least one consumer is provided having a primary power grid in which there is present a fuel cell arrangement comprising electric contacts which includes a discharge circuit switched in parallel and connected to the electric contacts comprising a switch element activatable by means of a controller across a switch line as well as a resistance element and having a DC-DC converter which is present in the primary power grid by which the primary power grid is connected to a secondary power grid characterized in that the discharge circuit comprises a safety device or a safety function, which holds the switch element in an opened state and thereby makes the discharge circuit inactive for as long as an actuating possibility exists via the switch line, and which places the switch element in a closed state and thereby makes the discharge circuit active for lowering the voltage of the fuel cell arrangement once the actuating possibility via the switch line is deni
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: Audi AG
    Inventors: Martin Breu, Maximilian Schiedermeier
  • Patent number: 11394236
    Abstract: Modular power systems, smart battery modules, and monitoring and control systems are described herein. The modular power system comprises at least one mains converter connected between a mains supply and a DC bus, a monitoring and control system connected to the DC bus, and a plurality of smart battery modules configured to be removably connected in parallel to the DC bus. Each battery module comprises a decoupling unit configured to electrically disconnect, or connect the battery module to, or from, the DC bus. The monitoring and control system is configured to monitor supply of mains power to the mains converter, the voltage of the DC bus, the terminal voltage of each smart battery module, and the magnitude of the load is that is present on the DC bus. The monitoring and control system is configured to control the DC output voltage of the mains converter; and control the decoupling unit of each smart battery module to be in one of at least: a connected mode, and a disconnected mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: ENATEL
    Inventor: Murray Raymond Wyma
  • Patent number: 11394239
    Abstract: A wireless power transfer system is disclosed. The wireless power transfer system includes a first converting unit configured to convert a first DC voltage of an input power to a first AC voltage. Further, the wireless power transfer system includes a contactless power transfer unit configured to receive the input power having the first AC voltage from the first converting unit and transmit the input power. Also, the wireless power transfer system includes a second converting unit configured to receive the input power from the contactless power transfer unit and convert the first AC voltage of the input power to a second DC voltage. Furthermore, the wireless power transfer system includes a switching unit configured to regulate the second DC voltage across the electric load if the second DC voltage across the electric load is greater than a voltage reference value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Kapil Jha, Pradeep Vijayan, Yash Veer Singh
  • Patent number: 11370308
    Abstract: The present disclosure involves an electrical power management module configured to provide electrical power from a power unit to a parallel power bus, comprising: a switch circuit coupleable to the power unit and to the parallel power bus for delivering power from the power unit to the parallel power bus and for charging the power unit from the parallel power bus, the switch circuit changeable between connecting and disconnecting the power unit with the parallel power bus; and a bypass circuit around the switch circuit, coupleable to the power unit and to the parallel power bus for delivering power from the power unit to the parallel power bus and for charging the power unit from the parallel power bus, the bypass circuit comprising a bidirectional power converter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: IRP Nexus Group, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shmuel Ben-Yaakov, Paul Price, Amit Grauer
  • Patent number: 11358480
    Abstract: A vehicle having a fuel cell includes a cell stack including a plurality of unit cells stacked on one another, a direct current/direct current (DC/DC) converter configured to convert the level of stack voltage output from the cell stack and including a discharger to remove residual energy thereof, a power distributor configured to distribute the level-converted voltage output from the DC/DC converter or to provide voltage remaining in the cell stack to the discharger to discharge the voltage in response to first control signals, and a controller configured to generate the first control signals depending on whether the vehicle is traveling normally.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation
    Inventor: Ju Han Kim
  • Patent number: 11362545
    Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for a hybrid foreign-object detection and position system. In an example aspect, a foreign object detection (FOD) system of the base power-transfer system detects a passive beacon of an electric vehicle power-transfer system based on a beacon loop of the passive beacon overlapping an array of FOD sense loops effective to cause a change in impedance or admittance of one or more of the FOD sense loops. In aspects, the impedance reflects a modulation signal from the passive beacon. A position detection system integrated with the FOD system determines a passive beacon response in the input data based on the modulation frequency from the passive beacon. Then, a position of the beacon loop is determined relative to the array of FOD sense loops using a result of the passive beacon response canceled from input data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: WiTricity Corporation
    Inventors: Lukas Sieber, Hans Peter Widmer, Andreas Daetwyler
  • Patent number: 11344467
    Abstract: Some embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a charging apparatus for charging and/or powering a smart or powered crutch device. The crutch may include electronic circuitry as well as on board rechargeable power or energy source, and it may provide access to charge the power source using a charger system. The charger system may be a floor charger configured to receive a portion of the crutch such as the distal tip so as to facilitate the transfer of power from the charger to the crutch. The charger system may also be in the form of a wall charger and/or a portable system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: ReWalk Robotics LTD.
    Inventor: Roman Rabkin
  • Patent number: 11349341
    Abstract: A wireless power transmission method of control is disclosed where equalization of the reactive voltages of a series resonant circuit, which is part of a transmitter antenna tuning and coupling unit, is obtained by adjusting the switching frequency and thereby used to determine a switching frequency of the driving high frequency inverter. By measuring and largely equalizing the voltage parameters of the series resonant circuit to establish an inverter switching frequency, improved efficiency of the wireless power transmission method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: Vitesco Technologies USA, LLC
    Inventors: Perry Robert Czimmek, Willem Nicolaas Van Vuuren, Douglas Edward Cosby
  • Patent number: 11342755
    Abstract: A physical address determining method, apparatus, and device, and a storage medium, and belongs to the field of solar power generation, includes: controlling at least two slave nodes to sequentially start up, and detecting a change status of an input voltage of the master node; dividing a photovoltaic power generation system into a plurality of photovoltaic strings; and for each candidate photovoltaic string, controlling any slave node located in the candidate photovoltaic string to start up and other slave nodes to shut down, and using the physical address as a physical address of the candidate photovoltaic string. This disclosure provides a manner of automatically determining a physical address of a photovoltaic string, thereby implementing photovoltaic-string locating and expanding a system function range. When an anomaly occurs, the anomaly can be eliminated in a timely manner, thereby improving system stability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: HUAWEI DIGITAL POWER TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Chengfeng Jiang, Chengyong Liu, Qingyuan Wang
  • Patent number: 11342754
    Abstract: The system includes one or more busbars couple to an AC line, branch relays each coupled to a busbar and to a respective circuit breaker, and current sensors each corresponding to at least one respective branch relay of the plurality of branch relays. The system also includes a deadfront arranged in front of the plurality of branch relays, and including openings corresponding to the branch relays allowing an electrical terminal of each branch relay to protrude forward through a respective opening. A circuit breaker is engaged with each respective branch relay, on the deadfront to create an array of branch circuit breakers. The combination of relay and circuit breaker allows each branch circuit to be controllable. The relays may include current sensors, such as a shunt, used to determine a branch circuit current and control the relay. Control circuitry manages the relay on-off operation and monitors branch circuit operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: Span.IO, Inc.
    Inventors: Archan Padmanabhan Rao, Chadwick Conway, Jack Jester Weinstein, Ian Dimen
  • Patent number: 11336113
    Abstract: An electric power system is disclosed herein. The electric power system may manage and store electric power and provide uninterrupted electric power, derived from a plurality of electric power sources, to an electric load. The electric power system may contain an energy storage unit and generator assembly. The electric power system may connect to a power grid and renewable energy sources, and may charge the energy storage unit using the power grid, renewable energy sources, and/or generator assembly. The electric power system may be configured to determine load power usage and environmental factors to automatically and continuously modify a charging protocol to, for example, provide high efficiency and/or self-sufficiency from the power grid. The electric power system may operate entirely off-grid and may provide electricity to the load without interruption to power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: Blue Power Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Ramon A. Caamano, Gregory P. Miller
  • Patent number: 11334104
    Abstract: Controlling a power converter circuit for a direct current (DC) power source is disclosed. The power converter may be operative to convert input power received from the DC power source to an output power and to perform maximum power point tracking of the power source. The power converter is adapted to provide the output power to a load that also performs maximum power point tracking.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: Solaredge Technologies Ltd.
    Inventors: Meir Adest, Ilan Yoscovich, Yoav Galin, Elad Sity
  • Patent number: 11336171
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a converter with cold start-up and a cold start-up method for modular power converters that allows converter operation tests to be carried out without a connection to the AC grid. For that purpose, the control module powers the power converter modules, disconnects the power converter from the AC grid, selects a power converter module as the AC-source module and configures a voltage and a frequency for the AC-source module, selects the power for the other power converter modules and sets starting conditions. Previously, the control module is powered by an AC source that can be internal or external, such as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) or a DC source (photovoltaic field), via a DC-AC transformer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: Power Electronics EspaƱa, S.L.
    Inventors: Antonio Poveda Lerma, Abelardo Salvo Lillo, David Salvo Lillo