Patents Issued in January 6, 2015
  • Patent number: 8928253
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for generating light with a desired light color by using at least one light-emitting diode emitting red r-LED, at least one light-emitting diode emitting green g-LED, at least one light-emitting diode emitting blue b-LED and at least one light-emitting diode emitting white w-LED. In order to improve the CRI value, according to the invention it is proposed that weighting values ascertained according to the RGB algorithm and further weighting values ascertained according to the RGBW algorithm be combined together by using a correction factor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Diehl Aerospace GmbH
    Inventors: Swen Bergeler, Yvonne Bodschwinna-Kangarakis, Frank Schmid
  • Patent number: 8928254
    Abstract: A driver circuit for driving light emitting diodes (LEDs). The driver circuit includes: a string of LEDs divided into n groups, the n groups of LEDs being electrically connected to each other in series, a downstream end of group m?1 being electrically connected to the upstream end of group m, where m is a positive number equal to or less than n. The driver circuit also includes a plurality of current regulating circuits, each of the current regulating circuits being coupled to the downstream end of a corresponding group at one end and coupled to the ground at the other end and including a sensor amplifier and a cascode having first and second transistors, each sensor amplifier being coupled to a different voltage source for providing a different reference voltage thereto.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Altoran Chip and Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Jae Hong Jeong, Minjong Kim
  • Patent number: 8928255
    Abstract: A dynamic step dimming interface is provided that allows a ballast to energize a lamp in a dim mode or a normal mode. The ballast includes a lamp controller that energizes the lamp using an oscillating current. The oscillating current is also provided to a voltage monitor, which indicates the voltage level of the oscillating current, and to a rectifier, which provides an output indicative of the oscillating current. The rectifier is responsive to user input indicating whether the dim mode or the normal mode is to be used. A processing circuit receives the voltage level from the voltage monitor and provides a mode command to the ballast, indicating the lamp mode, based on inputs received, and provides a reference voltage to a comparator. The comparator receives the rectifier output and the reference voltage, and generates a voltage indicative of a power level of the lamp for the processing circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: OSRAM SYLVANIA Inc.
    Inventors: Arturo Hernandez Lopez, Markus Ziegler, Carlos Daniel Ortega Jaramillo
  • Patent number: 8928256
    Abstract: A system and method for operating one or more light emitting devices is disclosed. In one example, the light emitting devices may be deactivated in response to a rate of temperature rise of the light emitting devices. The system and method further include a way of reducing false positive indications of light emitting device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Phoseon Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Jeff Smith
  • Patent number: 8928257
    Abstract: A lighting control device controls a turn-on state and a turn-off state of a lighting apparatus in a room where an air-conditioning apparatus is provided. In the lighting control device, a temperature sensing section is provided in the air-conditioning apparatus and senses temperature of the room to allow the air-conditioning apparatus to perform air-conditioning control such that the sensed temperature of the room lies within a preset temperature range. A temperature acquisition section acquires the sensed temperature. A determination section determines that a switching condition for switching the lighting apparatus has been met, when the acquired sensed temperature coincides, within a preset tolerance range, with a criterion temperature which is set separately from the preset temperature range on the basis of a body temperature of a person. A switching section switches the lighting apparatus between the turn-on state and the turn-off state, when determined that the switching condition has been met.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Denso Wave Incorporated
    Inventor: Yoshihisa Numazaki
  • Patent number: 8928258
    Abstract: A vibration control device and method, wherein the vibration control device includes a first driving unit for vibrating the vibration control device up and down, a second driving unit for moving the vibration control device left or right, and a control unit for controlling the first driving unit and the second driving unit, upon an occurrence of an event. The controller controls the second driving unit to move the vibration control device at a time when the first driving unit vibrates the vibration control device off of a surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Young-joon Choi, Yeo-jun Yoon, Ka-won Cheon, Sung-bin Kuk, Dong-jin Eun
  • Patent number: 8928259
    Abstract: A modular stacked DC architecture for traction system includes a propulsion system includes an electric drive, a direct current (DC) link electrically coupled to the electric drive, and a first DC-DC converter coupled to the DC link. A first energy storage device (ESD) is electrically coupled to the first DC-DC converter, and a second DC-DC converter is coupled to the DC link and to the first DC-DC converter. The system also includes a second energy storage device electrically coupled to the second DC-DC converter and a controller coupled to the first and second DC-DC converters and configured to control a transfer of energy between the first ESD and the DC link via the first and second DC-DC converters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Viswanathan Kanakasabai, Bhaskar Sen
  • Patent number: 8928260
    Abstract: A traction motor system calculates motor flux by generating a real time effective resistance of a resistance grid calculated from motor torque and measured voltage on a DC link. Calculating effective resistance avoids solely relying on DC link voltage, which can be influenced by conditions such as wheel slip and drop out of one or more resistance grids. The effective resistance calculation is based on nominal motor values using known power levels and conditions. From these nominal values and the effective resistance, various scaling factors based on actual motor power can be generated and used to adjust a nominal flux reference to more accurately reflect actual motor flux. The scaling factors include power and torque scaling factors and a resistance scaling factor that is active during conditions such as wheel slip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Alexander Cameron Crosman, III, Joshua M. Williams
  • Patent number: 8928261
    Abstract: A power tool includes a brushless motor, a switching element, a power cable a rectifying device, a heat releasing member. The switching element controls a drive of the brushless motor. The power cable supplies an electric current to the brushless motor from power source. The rectifying device rectifies the electric current from the power cable. The heat releasing member is connected to the switching element and the rectifying device in order to enhance a cooling efficiency for the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Haga, Hideyuki Hashimoto, Hideyuki Tanimoto
  • Patent number: 8928262
    Abstract: A system and method of controlling an electric motor using a motor controller are provided. The system includes an electric motor controller configured to be coupled to an electric motor and to control the electric motor to produce approximately constant average torque. The controller includes a rectifier configured to convert an AC input voltage to a pulsing DC voltage, a DC link electrically coupled to the rectifier, an inverter electrically coupled to the DC link and configured to generate a three phase AC voltage to drive the electric motor, and a controller configured to receive a measurement of a motor current value for the motor, estimate a torque generated in the electric motor using the measurement of the instantaneous motor current value, and generate a real-time current demand signal using the estimated torque value, the real-time current demand signal compensating the motor controller to produce a substantially constant average motor output torque.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Regal Beloit America, Inc.
    Inventor: Ludovic Andre Chretien
  • Patent number: 8928263
    Abstract: A control apparatus in a motor drive system includes a magnet temperature acquiring device and a step-up ratio determining device. The magnet temperature acquiring device is configured to estimate or detect a temperature of a permanent magnet provided in a rotor or a stator of a motor of the motor drive system. The motor drive system includes a power supplying device to output direct current voltage, and a voltage step-up device to increase, at a certain step-up ratio, the direct current voltage which is output from the power supplying device. The step-up ratio determining device is configured to determine the certain step-up ratio in accordance with the temperature of the permanent magnet estimated or detected by the magnet temperature acquiring device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Noritaka Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 8928264
    Abstract: According to typical examples, the first stator winding having the lower rated voltage is connected to the second direct-current voltage source only when the rotation speed of the rotating electrical machine becomes high. Therefore, output in a high-rotation range can be ensured while preventing the second stator winding from reaching a heat-generation limit. Furthermore, such switching operations can be actualized by the first switch and the second switch. Therefore, a control device of a rotating electrical machine can be actualized by a relatively simple configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventor: Makoto Taniguchi
  • Patent number: 8928265
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a sensorless field-oriented control (FOC) motor controller. The motor controller includes a pulse width modulation (PWM) controller configured to generate PWM signals and to provide the PWM signals to an inverter. The motor controller also includes an angle sampler configured to receive a commanded voltage angle signal and to provide the commanded voltage angle signal as an output signal in response to a triggering event. The triggering event is based on a voltage or a current associated with an input or an output of the inverter. The motor controller further includes a first combiner configured to combine (i) a feed-forward voltage angle signal and (ii) a second signal based on the output signal. The first combiner is configured to generate the commanded voltage angle signal. In addition, the motor controller includes a second combiner configured to combine a feed-forward voltage amplitude signal and the second signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Ling Qin, Terry L. Mayhugh, Jr., Swaminathan Kumar Ramanathan
  • Patent number: 8928266
    Abstract: An electric drive system includes a motor output shaft rotating on a motor axis and a first electric motor. The system includes an epicyclical gear that includes a sun gear, a ring gear, a plurality of planet gears and a carrier. The sun gear, the ring gear and the carrier gear of the epicyclical gear all rotate on the motor axis, and the carrier gear is connected to the motor output shaft via a first flange. The system also includes a second electric motor interposed between the first electric motor and the epicyclical gear. The second motor shaft has a hollow center along the motor axis and the first motor shaft extends through the hollow center of the second motor shaft and is connected to the sun gear. The system also includes a second flange. The second flange connects the second motor shaft to the carrier. The first flange and the second flange are located at opposite sides of the epicyclical gear.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Inventor: William Chin-Woei Lin
  • Patent number: 8928267
    Abstract: To stably control a driving object to approach and contact a pressure object at a low impact, to suppress a vibration generated when the driving object presses the pressure object, and to enable a motor controller to operate based on a simple command, a regression torque controller of the motor controller limits a torque-control velocity command to up to a velocity limit value vlim defined based on a contact velocity between a driving object and a pressure object and outputs the torque-control velocity command, and a velocity controller of the motor controller calculates a torque command so that a motor velocity can follow the torque-control velocity command output from the regression torque controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Yuji Igarashi, Hidetoshi Ikeda, Kiyoshi Maekawa, Kei Terada
  • Patent number: 8928268
    Abstract: There are provided a signal duty detecting apparatus detecting a duty of a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal by counting a signal, among signals present in a preset period of the PWM signal, having a predetermined level or higher and a motor driving apparatus having the same. The signal duty detecting apparatus includes: a level detector detecting levels of an input signal; a counter counting the levels detected by the level detector; and a duty calculator calculating a duty of the input signal based on the levels counted by the counter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Bon Young Koo
  • Patent number: 8928269
    Abstract: A power system that supplies electrical power to at least one load is disclosed. The power system may include an electrical power generator, current sensors configured to provide current signals representative of currents output from the electrical power generator to the load, and voltage sensors configured to provide voltage signals representative of voltages output from the electrical power generator to the load. The power system may also include a controller configured to receive the current signals and the voltage signals, compare the current signals and the voltage signals to a predetermined map, determine whether a short circuit exists inside the electrical power generator based on the comparison, and send a command to turn off the electrical power generator when the short circuit exists inside the electrical power generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Paul Curtis Pawelski, Ryan Christopher Byrd
  • Patent number: 8928270
    Abstract: An electric motor system includes a brushless direct-current motor, a driver circuit, a position sensor, and a control circuit. The motor has an output shaft for transmitting torque. The driver circuit supplies power to the motor according to a control signal input thereto. The position sensor measures an angular, rotational position of the motor shaft. The control circuit controls operation of the motor. The control circuit includes a position sensor terminal, a reference terminal, a differential calculator, a controller, and a gain adjuster. The position sensor terminal receives a feedback signal. The reference terminal receives a reference signal. The differential calculator generates an error signal representing a difference between the measured and targeted rotational positions. The controller generates the control signal based on the error signal through a combination of control actions. The gain adjuster is connected to the controller to adjust a gain of each control action.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shogo Sakamoto, Takuya Murata, Takeo Seki, Hiroyuki Kiguchi
  • Patent number: 8928271
    Abstract: An apparatus or method which accepts a burst of pulses at a frequency which may not be tightly controlled and converts this into a trajectory command that is a suitable motion profile for an incremental motor control application. The output of the invention can be a pulse stream that can be fed to an existing incremental pulse input motor drive or the invention can be embedded into a motor drive where its output is a numerical sequence that defines a physically realizable trajectory to be fed to the control circuits and software within the motor drive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Teknic, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas John Bucella, David W. Sewhuk, Scott M. Mayne
  • Patent number: 8928272
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for controlling a charging voltage of a 12V auxiliary battery for a hybrid vehicle, which can (1) improve charging efficiency of an auxiliary battery by increasing the output voltage of a DC-DC converter during cold start when the outside air temperature is low, (2) improve the charging efficiency of the auxiliary battery by increasing or decreasing the output power of the DC-DC converter according to the state of charge of the auxiliary battery and by increasing the output voltage of the DC-DC converter when many electrical loads are turned on, and (3) allow the DC-DC converter to provide continuous power supply for charging the auxiliary battery by turning on a main switch disposed between a high voltage battery and the DC-DC converter based on a reverse power conversion operation of the DC-DC converter even in the case where the voltage of the auxiliary battery falls below 9V.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation
    Inventor: Hong Seok Song
  • Patent number: 8928273
    Abstract: A display device for displaying information of a rechargeable battery of an electric vehicle and a charging module using the display device are disclosed in the present invention. The display device includes a battery capacity unit, a lifetime unit, an information collecting unit and a display unit. It can display the charging state, lifetime, cycle count and health state of the rechargeable battery. The charging module includes a power unit for providing power. It can display battery information when charging the rechargeable battery. The invention provides a convenient way to let customers know the status of the batteries of their electric vehicles and decide if the batteries need to be charged or replaced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Go-Tech Energy Co. Ltd.
    Inventors: Tzu-Wen Soong, Hung-Lan Lin
  • Patent number: 8928274
    Abstract: A battery module for a portable electronic device is disclosed. The battery module is connected with the portable electronic device with at least three contacts. The battery module includes a battery, a recognition circuit, and a thermal sensing circuit. The recognition circuit has an energy storage element and a current limiting element, and the thermal sensing circuit has a switch and a thermal sensing element. The thermal sensing element varies its electric parameter in accordance with the temperature of the battery module. With the charging curve of charging the energy storage element by way of the current limiting element, the portable electronic device can determine a battery type, and the thermal sensing circuit is then initiated to acquire the thermal information of the battery module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: HTC Corporation
    Inventors: Jean-Lieh Shen, Chih-Chung Teng, Chung-Yi Pan
  • Patent number: 8928275
    Abstract: An apparatus (200) comprising monitoring circuitry (230) configured to monitor a resonant frequency of a supply source (100), a receiving component (211a), and a control unit (220) configured to vary a resonant frequency of said receiving component (211a), wherein the apparatus (200) is configured to vary the resonant frequency of said receiving component (211a) in dependence upon the resonant frequency of said supply source (100).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Nokia Corporation
    Inventor: Harri Heikki Elo
  • Patent number: 8928276
    Abstract: A wireless power receiving system for a mobile electronic device that includes a high-Q repeater resonator comprising at least an inductor and a capacitor and having a Q-factor Q1. The inductor of the repeater resonator is enclosed in a removable sleeve of the mobile electronic. The system also includes a high-Q device resonator comprising at least an inductor and a capacitor and having a Q-factor Q2. The device resonator is integrated in the mobile device and electrically connected to the mobile electronic device, and the square root of the product Q1 and Q2 is greater than 100.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: WiTricity Corporation
    Inventors: Morris P. Kesler, Andre B. Kurs, Aristeidis Karalis, Marin Soljacic, Katherine L. Hall, Eric R. Giler
  • Patent number: 8928277
    Abstract: An electronic cigarette and a wireless charging device for the same. The electronic cigarette comprises a receiving coil electrically connected with a battery. The receiving coil is provided in a body of the electronic cigarette and an axis of the coil is parallel to the electronic cigarette. The charging device comprises an electronic switch and a transmitting coil connected with a power source in sequence. The electronic switch is controlled by a transmitting control unit, and the transmitting coil is used for the electronic cigarette to be inserted therein. A housing of the charging device is provided with an inserting hole or a sleeve, which is placed correspondingly with the transmitting coil. The electronic cigarette and the wireless charging device for the same work in a non-contact manner by using a insert total electromagnetic coupling structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Kimree Hi-Tech Inc
    Inventors: Zhiyong Xiang, Xiaozhong Cheng
  • Patent number: 8928278
    Abstract: It is an object to provide a non-contact charging module that uses a magnet included in a counterpart-side non-contact charging module or does not use the magnet when aligning with the counterpart-side non-contact charging module is performed. An L value of a coil that is provided in the non-contact charging module is not changed. This non-contact charging module includes a planar coil portion where electrical lines are wound and a magnetic sheet that places a coil surface of the planar coil portion and faces the coil surface of the planar coil portion, and in the magnetic sheet, a hole portion is provided at the position corresponding to a hollow portion of the planar coil portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenichiro Tabata, Tokuji Nishino, Akio Hidaka
  • Patent number: 8928279
    Abstract: An electric vehicle structure is provided with a charging port, an electric charging harness and an intermediate connector. The charging port is configured to be provided on a portion of a vehicle. The electric charging harness includes a first wiring portion electrically connected to the charging port and a second wiring portion configured to be connected to an electrical component of the vehicle. The intermediate connector releasably connects the first wiring portion of the electric charging harness to the second wiring portion of the electric charging harness with a repeatable connecting and disconnecting connection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kiyohito Sekido, Satoshi Shigematsu
  • Patent number: 8928280
    Abstract: A switching relay is configured to switch between a first power feeding path for feeding power from a charge inlet to an outlet and a second power feeding path for feeding power from a power storage device to the outlet. A PM-ECU controls the switching relay to switch between the first power feeding path and the second power feeding path, based on a result of comparison between a power cost in a case where the power is fed to the outlet through the first power feeding path and a power cost in a case where the power is fed to the outlet through the second power feeding path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Sugiyama, Wanleng Ang
  • Patent number: 8928281
    Abstract: A battery control apparatus includes: a battery circuit in which a plurality of batteries are connected in series; a plurality of bypass circuits, each of which removes a corresponding battery from the battery circuit; a plurality of switches, each of which switches whether to connect a corresponding battery in series with the other batteries, or to connect the corresponding battery to a corresponding bypass circuit to remove the corresponding battery from the battery circuit; a deterioration detecting section that detects deterioration of each of the plurality of batteries; and a switch control section that controls the plurality of switches to remove, from the battery circuit, the batteries having greater deterioration and connects, in series, the batteries having smaller deterioration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignees: ITOCHU Corporation, The Japan Research Institute, Limited
    Inventors: Hiroaki Murase, Kazuhiro Muto
  • Patent number: 8928282
    Abstract: The present invention is a control system for an assembled battery that controls an assembled battery comprising a plurality of cells, including: a bypass circuit connected in parallel to each cell of the cells, and comprising a switching element and a resistor connected in series; and a control circuit that controls a bypass current flowing in the bypass circuit by opening and closing the switching element, in order to discharge the cell; wherein the bypass circuit is set so that a current of a same magnitude as a self-discharge current in a predetermined overcharged states of the cell flow in the bypass circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Akihiko Kudo, Kenji Nakai
  • Patent number: 8928283
    Abstract: An electricity storage system includes a plurality of storage modules connected in series, each storage module including a single storage cell or a plurality of storage cells connected in series, an isolation transformer and a rectifying circuit that are associated with each of the storage modules, the isolation transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding, and a voltage balancing circuit that generates an alternating current by switching a direct-current power source, the primary windings of the isolation transformers being all connected in parallel and connected to an output end of the voltage balancing circuit by a common wiring, the secondary windings of the isolation transformers being connected to the corresponding storage modules via the respective rectifying circuits, the alternating current being supplied to the primary winding of each of the isolation transformers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: FDK Corporation
    Inventor: Fumiaki Nakao
  • Patent number: 8928284
    Abstract: Exemplary embodiments are directed to variable power wireless power transmission. A method may include conveying wireless power to a device at a first power level during a time period. The method may further include conveying wireless power to one or more other devices at a second, different power level during another time period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventor: Francesco Carobolante
  • Patent number: 8928285
    Abstract: Stated is a charging-current regulating device for charging an energy storage device for a field device, and for regulating a charging current for the energy storage device, wherein regulating the charging current for the energy storage device takes place in such a manner that a limiting value relating to an input current of the field device is not exceeded. Regulating the charging current may take place in such a manner that energy storage takes place as quickly as possible and without overloading an input protection circuit of the field device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: VEGA Grieshaber KG
    Inventors: Volker Allgaier, Andreas Isenmann, Karl Griessbaum
  • Patent number: 8928286
    Abstract: Lithium ion batteries can be activated and then cycled to exploit a moderate fraction of the discharge cycling capacity such that the discharge capacity and average discharge voltage stay within initial values for thousands of cycles. The superior cycling performance has been achieved at relatively high discharge rates and for practical battery formats. Lithium ion battery performance can also be achieved with superior cycling performance with partially activated batteries such that good discharge capacities can be exploited for many thousands of cycles before the discharge capacity and average discharge voltage drops more than 20% from initial values. The positive electrode active material can be a lithium rich metal oxide. The activation of the battery can comprise phase changes of the active materials. As described herein, the phase changes can be manipulated to exploit a reasonable fraction of the available high capacity of the material while providing outstanding cycling stability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Envia Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Shabab Amiruddin, Bing Li, Sujeet Kumar
  • Patent number: 8928287
    Abstract: A first upper limit and a second upper limit of emission power are set in each of the NaS batteries. The second upper limit is maximum value of the emission power for maintaining the temperature of the NaS battery at an upper limit temperature or less. In allocation of the emission power to each of the NaS batteries, each of the NaS batteries is separated into a preferential virtual battery to which a non-excess of the emission power that does not exceed the second upper limit is allocated and non-preferential virtual battery to which an excess of the emission power that exceeds the second upper limit is allocated, and after the emission power is allocated to all the preferential virtual batteries, the emission power is allocated to each of the non-preferential virtual batteries.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Abe, Tetsuya Hatta
  • Patent number: 8928288
    Abstract: A controller, a controller network and a method for controlling a charging/discharging that easily make SOC of secondary batteries close to a target value are provided. An ordering index including difference ?SOCm?SOCt-SOCm between the target value SOCt of SOC (state of charge) and a calculated value SOCm of SOC as a main factor is reflected to an order of charging priority and an order of discharging priority of NaS battery. In addition, charging power is allocated to secondary batteries in descending manner of order of discharging priority and discharging power is allocated to the secondary batteries in descending manner order of discharging priority.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Abe, Tetsuya Hatta
  • Patent number: 8928289
    Abstract: Managing power in an electronic device to enhance battery performance includes various elements. One aspect includes automatically accelerating discharge of a battery below a threshold prior to recharging the battery. Another aspect includes measuring power requirements of modular components to create an order for use in power distribution. For example, a modular component with a highest power requirement might be charged first. In another example, power might be transferred first from a modular component with a lowest power requirement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Sprint Communications Company L.P.
    Inventors: Ryan M. Gorham, Geoffrey S. Martin
  • Patent number: 8928290
    Abstract: A set of electric motor drives for recapturing otherwise unused electrical energy from electric motors and methods of using same are disclosed that provide electrical energy in addition to mechanical energy by recapturing electrical energy that would be unused if conventional technologies were followed. Such recapturing motor drives can provide recaptured electrical energy to other loads, can transfer recaptured electrical energy to storage devices for future use, and/or can recirculate recaptured electrical energy back through a recapturing motor drive. By recapturing unused electrical energy, the recapturing motor drives enable significantly greater useful energy output for any given electrical energy input drawn from a power source as compared to conventional technologies, materially increasing the efficient use of electrical energy drawn from the power source and dramatically reducing the relative consumption of electrical energy drawn from the power source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Inventors: Gregory J. Bender, Steven H. Kuhn, David N. Kuhn
  • Patent number: 8928291
    Abstract: An alternator has rectifying module groups. The rectifying module groups form a bridge circuit. The rectifying module groups have a load dump protection judgment section for monitoring an output voltage of rectifying module groups. When the monitored output voltage exceeds a first threshold voltage, the load dump protection judgment section provides to a control section an instruction to turn on MOS transistors in a lower arm of the bridge circuit at a time when a predetermined delay time has elapsed. When a second threshold voltage is lower than the first threshold voltage and the monitored output voltage becomes less than the second threshold voltage after the monitored output voltage exceeds the first threshold voltage, the load dump protection judgment section provides to the control circuit an instruction to turn on the MOS transistors in the lower arm after the MOS transistors are turned off during a predetermined time length.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Toshinori Maruyama, Masaya Nakanishi, Asaka Kimura, Takatoshi Inokuchi
  • Patent number: 8928292
    Abstract: An integrated power system suitable for simultaneously powering marine propulsion and service loads. The system includes: (a) at least one generator configured with at least first and second armature windings configured to output respective first and second alternating current power signals of different voltages, the at least two armature windings positioned within the same stator slots so that they magnetically couple; (b) at least first and second rectifier circuits coupled to said generator to convert said first and second alternating current power signals into first and second direct current power signals; and (c) a first load to which said first direct current power signal is coupled and a second load to which said second direct current power signal is coupled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: DRS Power & Control Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Gene Castles, Edgar S. Thaxton
  • Patent number: 8928293
    Abstract: An electrical machine includes a stator having a main armature winding, an exciter field winding, and a transformer primary winding. A rotor is operatively connected to rotate relative to the stator, wherein the rotor includes an exciter armature winding operatively connected to the exciter armature winding for field excitation therebetween, a main field winding operatively connected to the main armature winding for field excitation therebetween, and a transformer secondary winding operatively connected to the transformer primary winding to form a rotating transformer. A generator control unit is operatively connected to the main armature winding, exciter field winding, and transformer primary winding to control the main armature and exciter field windings based on excitation in the primary winding received from the transformer secondary winding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation
    Inventors: Gregory I. Rozman, Jacek F. Gieras, Steven J. Moss
  • Patent number: 8928294
    Abstract: A hysteresis control step-up switching power supply includes a switching element. Current flowing through the switching element does not continue to increase indefinitely. The switching element is turned off when a detected value of an output voltage increases to a reference voltage, or when the output of a current detector circuit that detects that a current flowing through the switching element increases to a reference current value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kouhei Yamada
  • Patent number: 8928295
    Abstract: A configurable-voltage converter circuit that may be CMOS and an integrated circuit chip including the converter circuit and method of operating the IC chip and circuit. A transistor totem, e.g., of 6 or more field effect transistors, PFETs and NFETs, connected (PNPNPN) between a first supply (Vin) line and a supply return line. A first switching capacitor is connected between first and second pairs of totem PN FETs pair of transistors. A second switching capacitor is connected between the second and a third pair of totem FETs. A configuration control selectively switches both third FETs off to float the connected end of the second capacitor, thereby switching voltage converter modes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Leland Chang, Robert Montoye, Jae-sun Seo
  • Patent number: 8928296
    Abstract: A low dropout voltage regulator (LDO) includes first and second amplifiers and a current mirror. The first amplifier includes a first input receiving a reference voltage and a second input receiving a voltage proportional to an output of the LDO. The current mirror includes an input current at a first end of the current mirror to an output current at a second end of the current mirror, the input current controlled by an output of the first amplifier and the output current being supplied to the output of the LDO. The second amplifier includes a first input coupled to the first end of the current mirror and a second input coupled to the second end of the current mirror.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Analog Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Santiago Iriarte, Alberto Marinas
  • Patent number: 8928297
    Abstract: Disclosed is a ?uk based current source, a control circuit for a ?uk based current source, and a method for providing a current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AG
    Inventors: Andrea Logiudice, Giorgio Chiozzi
  • Patent number: 8928298
    Abstract: A power controlling method includes the following steps. A first Proportional Integral (PI) computation is performed according to an input current signal and command. Next, whether the input current signal is greater than a maximum rated charging current of a battery unit is determined to generate a switching signal for controlling a brake unit correspondingly. Then, a second PI computation is performed in accordance with the output voltage signal and a predetermined voltage command. Thereafter, the output voltage signal and the voltage command are compared to set an output current command selectively. Next, a third PI computation is performed in accordance with the output current signal and command to adjust a first pair of switching signals and a second pair of switching signals, such that a switching unit performs a corresponding switching action to adjust the output voltage signal. A power system and a power controlling apparatus are provide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Delta Electronics, Inc.
    Inventors: Chih-Hung Hsiao, Cheng-Chieh Chan, Ching-Yueh Yu, Yueh-Shan Lin
  • Patent number: 8928299
    Abstract: A low power DC-DC converter includes a converter stage coupled to an input node, and having a low side switch and a rectifier switch. A peak current detector senses a current at the low side switch and a zero current detector senses a current at the rectifier switch. It is configured to set the low side switch to a non-conductive state and the rectifier switch to a conductive state if the peak current detector detects a predetermined peak current. It is configured to set the rectifier switch to a non-conductive state if the zero current detector detects zero current at the rectifier switch. A time interval between subsequent current peaks is triggered by a charge comparator receiving an average current fed to the low side and rectifier switches from the input node and a reference current coupled to the charge comparator by a reference current source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Markus Matzberger, Konrad Wagensohner, Erich Bayer
  • Patent number: 8928300
    Abstract: The present application discloses a control circuit of a switching power converter, wherein the switching power converter comprises a power switch, and is configured to convert an input voltage into an output voltage, the control circuit comprises: a first time generating circuit configured to generate a first time signal; a phase lock circuit configured to generate a second time signal; and a switching signal generating circuit configured to generate a switching signal to control the ON and OFF switching of the power switch. The phase lock circuit generates the second time signal in accordance with the frequency difference between the switching signal and a reference clock signal, so as to get the frequency of the switching signal to be substantially equal to the frequency of the reference clock signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Chengdu Monolithic Power Systems Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Xiaoyu Xi, Paul Ueunten
  • Patent number: 8928301
    Abstract: A control circuit adjusts the duty cycle of a PWM control signal. An analog processing component within the control circuit receives an analog feedback input signal and compares it to an analog reference signal to generate a pre-processed signal. A sigma-delta modulator within the analog processing component generates a quantized signal based on the pre-processed signal. A digital processing component stores a value. The controller then adjusts the duty cycle of the PWM signal to correspond to the value. A clock keeps the system synchronized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventor: Andreas Schubert
  • Patent number: 8928302
    Abstract: A first added signal that is acquired by adding a reference current signal that is in proportion to a current flowing through an inductance element, a slope compensation signal and a voltage difference signal that is in proportion to a difference between an input voltage and an output voltage and a second added signal that is acquired by adding the reference current signal and the slope compensation signal are compared with a difference signal of a voltage that is in proportion to the output voltage and a predetermined reference voltage, and pulse widths of driving pulse signals of a step-down switching circuit and a step-up switching circuit are controlled as a result of the comparison.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Toshimasa Namekawa