ELECTRICAL SYSTEM HAVING A PRIMARY ENERGY SOURCE AND A REDUNDANT RECHARGEABLE ENERGY SOURCE
First Claim
1. An electrical system comprising:
- a primary energy source for an electrical load;
a rechargeable energy source for the electrical load;
a first switch coupled between the primary energy source and the rechargeable energy source, wherein activation of the first switch facilitates charging of the rechargeable energy source with the primary energy source;
a second switch coupled between the primary energy source and the electrical load;
a third switch coupled between the rechargeable energy source and the electrical load; and
a control unit to operate the second switch and the third switch such that by default the primary energy source is decoupled from the electrical load and the rechargeable energy source is coupled to the electrical load to provide operating power to the electrical load, and such that under a degraded performance condition associated with the rechargeable energy source the rechargeable energy source is decoupled from the electrical load and the primary energy source is coupled to the electrical load to provide operating power to the electrical load.
3 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
Presented here is an electrical system for a vehicle having an electrical load. The electrical system includes a primary energy source, a rechargeable redundant energy source coupled to the primary energy source via a first switch, a second switch, a third switch, a fourth switch, and a control unit. The fourth switch is coupled between the electrical load and the second switch, and is coupled between the electrical load and the third switch. The control unit operates the first switch to facilitate charging of the rechargeable redundant energy source with the primary energy source, operates the second switch and the third switch in concert to selectively provide operating power from either the primary energy source or the rechargeable redundant energy source to the fourth switch, and operates the fourth switch to provide the operating power to the electrical load.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An electrical system comprising:
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a primary energy source for an electrical load; a rechargeable energy source for the electrical load; a first switch coupled between the primary energy source and the rechargeable energy source, wherein activation of the first switch facilitates charging of the rechargeable energy source with the primary energy source; a second switch coupled between the primary energy source and the electrical load; a third switch coupled between the rechargeable energy source and the electrical load; and a control unit to operate the second switch and the third switch such that by default the primary energy source is decoupled from the electrical load and the rechargeable energy source is coupled to the electrical load to provide operating power to the electrical load, and such that under a degraded performance condition associated with the rechargeable energy source the rechargeable energy source is decoupled from the electrical load and the primary energy source is coupled to the electrical load to provide operating power to the electrical load. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An electrical system for a vehicle having an electrical load, the electrical system comprising:
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a primary energy source; a rechargeable redundant energy source coupled to the primary energy source via a first switch; a second switch; a third switch; a fourth switch coupled between the electrical load and the second switch, and coupled between the electrical load and the third switch; and a control unit to operate the first switch to facilitate charging of the rechargeable redundant energy source with the primary energy source, to operate the second switch and the third switch in concert to selectively provide operating power from either the primary energy source or the rechargeable redundant energy source to the fourth switch, and to operate the fourth switch to provide the operating power to the electrical load. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of providing operating power to an electrical load of a vehicle, the method comprising:
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configuring a switch architecture to provide operating power from a rechargeable energy source to the electrical load when performance characteristics of the rechargeable energy source are satisfactory; detecting when the performance characteristics of the rechargeable energy source are unsatisfactory; and in response to detecting that the performance characteristics of the rechargeable energy source are unsatisfactory, reconfiguring the switch architecture to provide operating power from a primary energy source to the electrical load. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification