Method and apparatus for providing DC current and voltage from discrete energy elements

• US 6,107,697 A
• Filed: 02/26/1998
• Issued: 08/22/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: RHM High Tech, Inc.
• Original Assignee: RHM High Tech, Inc.
• Inventors: Markelov, Anatoli Nickolayevich
• Primary Examiner(s): FLEMING, FRITZ M
• Application Number:
  US09/031,013
• Time in Patent Office: 908 Days
• Field of Search: 307/43, 307/71, 307/77, 320/15-18
• US Class Current: 307/43
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0024 Parallel/serial switching of connection of batteries to charge or load circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0063 with circuits adapted for supplying loads from the battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00712 the cycle being controlled or terminated in response to electric parameters

Abstract

A method for providing a voltage V which includes calculating a number R of energy elements required to provide a desired voltage V, assigning each of the total number of energy elements M a number from zero to M-1, selecting a number S from zero to M-1, connecting the energy elements in a set of groups of R energy elements in series starting with the first energy element assigned the number S, and connecting in parallel the set of groups of the R energy elements. The parallel connection of the set of groups is applied to the load as the desired voltage V and the steps are reiterated following termination of a predetermined assignment period. The method may further include connecting an additional set of energy elements not already connected in the groups in parallel, connecting a negativevemost terminal of the additional set of energy elements to the desired voltage V, and alternating at a predetermined rate between a positivemost terminal of the additional set and the desired voltage, thereby providing an intermediate voltage between the positivemost terminal and the desired voltage V.

Claims

1. A method for providing a voltage V which comprises:

calculating a number R of energy elements required to provide a desired voltage V;

assigning each of a total number of energy elements M a number from zero to M-1;

selecting a number S from zero to M-1;

connecting energy elements in a set of groups of R energy elements in series starting with said first energy element assigned said number S; and

connecting in parallel said set of groups of said R energy elements, said parallel connection of groups providing a voltage substantially equivalent to said desired voltage V;

further comprising the step of

reiterating said steps of selecting said number S, connecting said energy elements in a set of groups of R energy elements in series, and connecting in parallel said set of groups of said R energy elements following termination of a predetermined assignment period.

2. The method for providing a voltage V of claim 1, further comprising the step of connecting said energy elements in accordance with the following equations

for R=1 and K=1, 2, . . . , G,

3. A method for providing a voltage V which comprises:

calculating a number R of energy elements required to provide a desired voltage V;

assigning each of a total number of energy elements M a number from zero to M-1;

selecting a number S from zero to M-1;

connecting energy elements in a set of groups of R energy elements in series starting with said first energy element assigned said number S; and

connecting in parallel said set of groups of said R energy elements, said parallel connection of groups providing a voltage substantially equivalent to said desired voltage V;

wherein said number S is substantially randomly selected.

4. A method for providing a voltage V which comprises:

calculating a number R of energy elements required to provide a desired voltage V;

assigning each of a total number of energy elements M a number from zero to M-1;

selecting a number S from zero to M-1;

connecting energy elements in a set of groups of R energy elements in series starting with said first energy element assigned said number S; and

connecting in parallel said set of groups of said R energy elements, said parallel connection of groups providing a voltage substantially equivalent to said desired voltage V;

wherein said number S is selected by incrementing a prior value of said number S by a predetermined amount.

5. A method for providing a voltage V which comprises:

calculating a number R of energy elements required to provide a primary voltage V0 which is equal or less to a desired voltage V such that the difference between the desired voltage V and the primary voltage V0 is less than the voltage of one energy element ;

assigning each of a total number of energy elements M a number from zero to M-1;

selecting a number S from zero to M-1;

connecting energy elements in a set of groups of R energy elements in series starting with said first energy element assigned said number S; and

connecting in parallel said set of groups of said R energy elements, said parallel connection of groups providing a voltage substantially equivalent to said primary voltage V0;

further comprising the steps of

connecting in parallel an additional set of said energy elements not already connected in said groups;

connecting a negativevemost terminal of said additional set of energy elements to a positivemost terminal that provides a primary voltage V0; and

alternating at a predetermined rate between a positivemost terminal of said additional set and a positivemost terminal of primary voltage V0, thereby providing an intermediate voltage equal to a desired voltage V.

6. The method for providing a voltage V of claim 5, further comprising the step of connecting said additional set of energy elements in accordance with the following equation ##EQU25## where G is the total number of groups to be connected in parallel, P is the number of unassigned energy elements to be connected in parallel, R is the number of energy elements required to achieve said primary voltage V0, S is a random number, M is the total number of energy elements, i is an indexing variable, d-e are Boolean variables representing states of switches connecting the energy elements, &

is the logical "and" function, and mod represents the value of the remainder following division.

7. A method for providing a voltage V which comprises:

calculating a number R of energy elements required to provide a primary voltage V0 which is equal or less than a desired voltage V such that the difference between the desired voltage V and the primary voltage V0 is less than the voltage of one energy element;

calculating a number G of groups of R energy elements in series so that not all the energy elements of a total number M would be used in said groups;

assigning each of said total number of energy elements M a number from zero to M-1;

selecting a number S from zero to M-1;

connecting energy elements in a set of groups of R energy elements in series starting with said first energy element assigned to said number S; and

connecting in parallel said set of groups of said energy elements, said parallel connection of groups providing a voltage substantially equivalent to said primary voltage V0;

further comprising the steps of;

connecting in parallel an additional set of said energy elements not already connected in said groups;

connecting a negativemost terminal of said additional set of energy elements to a positivemost terminal that provides a primary voltage V0; and

alternating at-a-predetermined rate between a positivemost terminal of said additional set and a positivemost terminal of primary voltage V0, thereby providing an intermediate voltage equal to a desired voltage V.

8. The method for providing a voltage V of claim 7, further comprising connecting said energy elements in accordance with the following equations

for R=1,

9. The method for providing a voltage V of claim 7, further comprising the step of

reiterating said steps of selecting said number S, connecting said energy elements in a set of G groups of R energy elements in series, connecting in parallel said set of G groups of said R energy elements, connecting in parallel an additional set of said energy elements not already connected in said group, connecting a negativemost terminal of said additional set of energy elements to a positivemost terminal that provides a primary voltage V0, and alternating at a predetermined rate between a positivemost terminal of said additional set and a positivemost terminal of primary voltage V0, thereby providing an intermediate voltage equal to a desired voltage V following termination of a predetermined assignment period.

10. The method for providing a voltage V of claim 9, further comprising the step of connecting said energy elements in accordance with the following equations

for R=1 and K=1, 2, . . . , G,

11. The method for providing a voltage V of claim 7, wherein said number S is substantially randomly selected.

12. The method for providing a voltage V of claim 7, wherein said number S is selected by incrementing a prior value of said number S by a predetermined amount.

13. The method for providing a voltage V of claim 7, wherein when said number G of said groups of R energy elements in series is equal to zero a primary voltage V0 is equal to zero and a desired voltage V is obtained by alternating at a predetermined rate between a positivemost terminal of said additional set and a negativemost terminal of primary voltage V0.

14. A method for providing a voltage V which comprises:

calculating a number R of energy elements required to provide a desired voltage V;

connecting energy elements in a first set of groups of R energy elements in series starting from a first energy element if a total number of energy elements M is divisible by R with a remainder equal to zero; and

connecting in parallel said first set of groups of said R energy elements, said parallel connection of groups providing a voltage substantially equivalent to said desired voltage V;

further comprising the steps of

connecting an additional set of said energy elements not already connected in parallel;

connecting a negativevemost terminal of said additional set to said desired voltage V; and

alternating at a predetermined rate between a positivemost terminal of said additional set and said desired voltage, thereby providing an intermediate voltage between and inclusive of said positivemost terminal and said desired voltage V.

15. The method for providing a voltage V of claim 14, further comprising the step of connecting said additional set of energy elements in accordance with the following equation ##EQU28## where G is the total number of groups to be connected in parallel, P is the number of unassigned energy elements to be connected in parallel, R is the number of energy elements required to achieve said desired voltage V, S is a random number, M is the total number of energy elements, i is an indexing variable, d-e are Boolean variables representing states of switches connecting the energy elements, &

is the logical "and" function, and mod represents the value of the remainder following division.

16. An apparatus for providing a voltage V which comprises:

means for conducting primary voltage;

means for conducting return voltage;

means for providing discrete voltages connectable in series with each other, said means for providing discrete voltages connectable to said means for conducting primary voltage and said means for conducting return voltage; and

means for control adapted to control said connectability of said means for providing discrete voltages, said means for control connecting a set of groups comprising R means for providing discrete values in series starting with a first energy element of said means for providing discrete voltages, said control device connecting said set of groups in parallel to provide a desired voltage in parallel across said means for conducting primary voltage and said means for conducting return voltage;

wherein said first energy element is rechosen following an assignment period.

17. An apparatus for providing a voltage V which comprises:

means for conducting primary voltage;

means for conducting return voltage;

means for providing discrete voltages connectable in series with each other, said means for providing discrete voltages connectable to said means for conducting primary voltage and said means for conducting return voltage; and

means for control adapted to control said connectability of said means for providing discrete voltages, said means for control connecting a set of groups comprising R means for providing discrete values in series starting with a first energy element of said means for providing discrete voltages, said control device connecting said set of groups in parallel to provide a desired voltage in parallel across said means for conducting primary voltage and said means for conducting return voltage;

wherein said first energy element is chosen substantially at random.

18. An apparatus for providing a voltage V which comprises:

means for conducting primary voltage;

means for conducting return voltage;

means for providing discrete voltages connectable in series with each other, said means for providing discrete voltages connectable to said means for conducting primary voltage and said means for conducting return voltage; and

means for control adapted to control said connectability of said means for providing discrete voltages, said means for control connecting a set of groups comprising R means for providing discrete values in series starting with a first energy element of said means for providing discrete voltages, said control device connecting said set of groups in parallel to provide a desired voltage in parallel across said means for conducting primary voltage and said means for conducting return voltage;

wherein said first energy element is chosen by incrementing through subsequent energy elements using a predetermined value.

19. An apparatus for providing a voltage V which comprises:

means for conducting primary voltage;

means for conducting return voltage;

means for providing discrete voltages connectable in series with each other, said means for providing discrete voltages connectable to said means for conducting primary voltage and said means for conducting return voltage; and

means for control adapted to control said connectability of said means for providing discrete voltages, said means for control connecting a set of groups comprising R means for providing discrete values in series starting with a first energy element of said means for providing discrete voltages, said control device connecting said set of groups in parallel to provide a desired voltage in parallel across said means for conducting primary voltage and said means for conducting return voltage;

further comprising

means for conducting secondary voltage connectible to said means for providing discrete voltages

means for switching between said means for conducting secondary voltage and said means for conducting primary voltage, said means for switching controllable by said control device, said means for switching alternatively providing said secondary voltage and said primary voltage at a predetermined rate, thereby providing a predetermined voltage between and inclusive of said primary voltage and said secondary voltage.

20. An apparatus for providing DC voltage from discrete energy elements which comprises:

a primary positive bus comprising a primary positive voltage;

a negative bus;

a plurality of energy elements each comprising a positive terminal and a negative terminal, said positive terminal of each of said energy elements electrically connectable to said negative terminal of a subsequent energy element via one of a plurality of series switches, said negative terminal of each of said energy elements electrically connectable to said negative bus via one of a plurality of primary negative switches, said positive terminal of each of said energy elements electrically connectable to said primary positive bus via one of a plurality of primary positive switches; and

a control device adapted to control said series, primary positive and primary negative switches, said control device adapted to connect a first energy element in series with R-1 subsequent energy elements to form a first group of R energy elements via said series switches starting with said first energy element, said control device adapted to connect via said series switches said energy elements not in said first group in series with subsequent energy elements to form groups of R energy elements connected in series, said control device adapted to connect via said primary positive and primary negative switches said groups in parallel in order to provide said primary positive voltage substantially equivalent to a desired voltage V on said primary positive bus;

wherein said control device is adapted to connect via said switches said energy elements not in said first group in series with subsequent energy elements to form groups of R, energy elements connected in series until an insufficient number of energy elements remain to form another of said groups of R energy elements;

wherein said control device is adapted to connect via said switches said energy elements in accordance with the following equations

for R=1 and K=1, 2, . . . , G,

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">a((S+(K-1)R)(mod M))&

b((S+(K-1)R)(mod M))

for R>

1 and K=1, 2, . . . , G, ##EQU29## where G is the total number of groups to be connected in parallel, K is an indexing variable through the number of groups G, R is the number of energy elements required to achieve said desired voltage V, S is a random number, M is the total number of energy elements, i is an indexing variable, a-c are Boolean variables representing states of switches connecting the energy elements, &

is the logical "and" function, and mod represents the value of the remainder following division.

21. An apparatus for providing DC voltage from discrete energy elements which comprises:

a primary positive bus comprising a primary positive voltage;

a negative bus;

a plurality of energy elements each comprising a positive terminal and a negative terminal, said positive terminal of each of said energy elements electrically connectable to said negative terminal of a subsequent energy element via one of a plurality of series switches, said negative terminal of each of said energy elements electrically connectable to said negative bus via one of a plurality of primary negative switches, said positive terminal of each of said energy elements electrically connectable to said primary positive bus via one of a plurality of primary positive switches; and

a control device adapted to control said series, primary positive and primary negative switches, said control device adapted to connect a first energy element in series with R-1 subsequent energy elements to form a first group of R energy elements via said series switches starting with said first energy element, said control device adapted to connect via said series switches said energy elements not in said first group in series with subsequent energy elements to form groups of R energy elements connected in series, said control device adapted to connect via said primary positive and primary negative switches said groups in parallel in order to provide said primary positive voltage substantially equivalent to a desired voltage V on said primary positive bus;

wherein said control device starts with a different first energy element following termination of an assignment period.

22. An apparatus for providing DC voltage from discrete energy elements which comprises:

a primary positive bus comprising a primary positive voltage;

a negative bus;

a plurality of energy elements each comprising a positive terminal and a negative terminal, said positive terminal of each of said energy elements electrically connectable to said negative terminal of a subsequent energy element via one of a plurality of series switches, said negative terminal of each of said energy elements electrically connectable to said negative bus via one of a plurality of primary negative switches, said positive terminal of each of said energy elements electrically connectable to said primary positive bus via one of a plurality of primary positive switches; and

a control device adapted to control said series, primary positive and primary negative switches, said control device adapted to connect a first energy element in series with R-1 subsequent energy elements to form a first group of R energy elements via said series switches starting with said first energy element, said control device adapted to connect via said series switches said energy elements not in said first group in series with subsequent energy elements to form groups of R energy elements connected in series, said control device adapted to connect via said primary positive and primary negative switches said groups in parallel in order to provide said primary positive voltage substantially equivalent to a desired voltage V on said primary positive bus;

wherein said first energy element is chosen substantially at random.

23. An apparatus for providing DC voltage from discrete energy elements which comprises:

a primary positive bus comprising a primary positive voltage;

a negative bus;

a plurality of energy elements each comprising a positive terminal and a negative terminal, said positive terminal of each of said energy elements electrically connectable to said negative terminal of a subsequent energy element via one of a plurality of series switches, said negative terminal of each of said energy elements electrically connectable to said negative bus via one of a plurality of primary negative switches, said positive terminal of each of said energy elements electrically connectable to said primary positive bus via one of a plurality of primary positive switches; and

a control device adapted to control said series, primary positive and primary negative switches, said control device adapted to connect a first energy element in series with R-1 subsequent energy elements to form a first group of R energy elements via said series switches starting with said first energy element, said control device adapted to connect via said series switches said energy elements not in said first group in series with subsequent energy elements to form groups of R energy elements connected in series, said control device adapted to connect via said primary positive and primary negative switches said groups in parallel in order to provide said primary positive voltage substantially equivalent to a desired voltage V on said prima ry positive bus;

wherein said first energy element is chosen by incrementing through said subsequent energy elements using a predetermined value.

24. An apparatus for providing DC voltage from discrete energy elements which comprises:

a primary positive bus comprising a primary positive voltage;

a negative bus;

a plurality of energy elements each comprising a positive terminal and a negative terminal, said positive terminal of each of said energy elements electrically connectable to said negative terminal of a subsequent energy element via one of a plurality of series switches, said negative terminal of each of said energy elements electrically connectable to said negative bus via one of a plurality of primary negative switches, said positive terminal of each of said energy elements electrically connectable to said primary positive bus via one of a plurality of primary positive switches; and

a control device adapted to control said series, primary positive and primary negative switches, said control device adapted to connect a first energy element in series with R-1 subsequent energy elements to form a first group of R energy elements via said series switches starting with said first energy element, said control device adapted to connect via said series switches said energy elements not in said first group in series with subsequent energy elements to form groups of R energy elements connected in series, said control device adapted to connect via said primary positive and primary negative switches said groups in parallel in order to provide said primary positive voltage substantially equivalent to a desired voltage V on said primary positive bus;

wherein said primary positive bus, said negative bus and said energy elements are arranged such that they are substantially equidistant from a central point said primary positive bus, said negative bus and said energy elements comprising substantially concentric rings about said central point.

25. An apparatus for providing DC voltage from discrete energy elements which comprises:

a primary positive bus comprising a primary positive voltage;

a negative bus;

a plurality of energy elements each comprising a positive terminal and a negative terminal, said positive terminal of each of said energy elements electrically connectable to said negative terminal of a subsequent energy element via one of a plurality of series switches, said negative terminal of each of said energy elements electrically connectable to said negative bus via one of a plurality of primary negative switches, said positive terminal of each of said energy elements electrically connectable to said primary positive bus via one of a plurality of primary positive switches; and

a control device adapted to control said series, primary positive and primary negative switches, said control device adapted to connect a first energy element in series with R-1 subsequent energy elements to form a first group of R energy elements via said series switches starting with said first energy element, said control device adapted to connect via said series switches said energy elements not in said first group in series with subsequent energy elements to form groups of R energy elements connected in series, said control device adapted to connect via said primary positive and primary negative switches said groups in parallel in order to provide said primarily positive voltage substantially equivalent to a desired voltage V on said primary positive bus;

further comprising

a secondary positive bus electrically connectable to said positive terminal of said energy elements via one of a plurality of secondary positive switches;

said negative terminal of said energy elements electrically connectable to said primary positive bus via one of a plurality of secondary negative switches, said secondary positive switches and said secondary negative switches controllable by said control device, said secondary positive bus comprising a secondary positive voltage;

a switching unit controllable by said control device, said switching unit alternately switching between providing said secondary positive voltage and said primary positive voltage, thereby providing a predetermined voltage between and inclusive of said primary positive voltage and said secondary positive voltage.

26. The apparatus for providing DC voltage from discrete energy elements of claim 25, wherein said control device is adapted to connect said additional set of energy elements in accordance with the following equation ##EQU30## where G is the total number of groups to be connected in parallel, P is the number of unassigned energy elements to be connected in parallel, R is the number of energy elements required to achieve said desired voltage V, S is a random number, M is the total number of energy elements, i is an indexing variable, d-e are Boolean variables representing states of switches connecting the energy elements, &

is the logical "and" function, and mod represents the value of the remainder following division.

27. The apparatus for providing DC voltage from discrete energy elements of claim 25, wherein said secondary positive bus is arranged such that it is substantially equidistant from a central point, said secondary positive bus, comprising a substantially concentric ring about said central point.

28. The apparatus for providing DC voltage from discrete energy elements of claim 25, wherein said switching unit further comprises

a modulation switch connected in series between said secondary positive bus and a load;

and

a diode connected in parallel across said primary positive bus and a load.