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 battery isolator for an electrical system that includes at least a first battery and a second battery, wherein a negative terminal of each of the first and second batteries are connected together at a ground point and a charge source is connected in parallel with one of the first and second batteries. The battery isolator comprises an inductor having a first terminal and a second terminal, a first switch connected between a positive terminal of the first battery and the first terminal of the inductor, and a second switch connected between a second terminal of the inductor and a positive terminal of the second battery. The first and second switches are selectively actuated in a predetermined manner, such that the battery isolator can be used to charge one of the first battery and the second battery. At least one of the first and second switches may be selectively actuated to prevent one of the first and second batteries from substantially discharging the other battery when a charge source is not present.

Abstract: An improved heat sink for surface mounted power devices. According to one embodiment of the invention, the electrical contacts of a surface mounted power device are soldered to printed circuit board solder pads. The opposite, non-component, side of the printed circuit board is provided with thermal transfer pads, which are aligned in a parallel plane with the solder pads on the component side of the printed circuit board. The solder pads and thermal transfer pads are connected together by a number of plated through holes which provide a thermal conduction path. The thermal transfer pads are placed in proximity to a heat sink such that a high thermal conductivity exists between the surface mounted power device and the heat sink, allowing heat generated by the surface mounted power device to be conducted to the heat sink and dissipated. A thermal interface material may be used to improve thermal conductivity between the thermal transfer pads and the heat sink.

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.