Voltage regulator with improved protection and warning system
First Claim
1. A vehicle electrical system, comprising:
- (a) a generator including a field coil; and
(b) a voltage regulator, comprising;
(i) a field switching (FS) circuit coupled with said generator field coil; and
(ii) a monitor/control/protection (MCP) circuit coupled with an output of said generator and FS circuit;
wherein said MCP circuit is configured to ascertain one or more operating states of said generator and voltage regulator by monitoring said generator output and FS circuit, and wherein the MCP circuit is configured to activate/deactivate said field coil, via said FS circuit, in response to said one or more operating states.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
This invention discloses a vehicle electrical system voltage regulator with improved electrical protection and warning means that discerns and responds to regulator, generator, or vehicle electrical system operation and malfunctions. The regulator includes monitoring, control, and protection circuits with a phase signal monitor, a field switching circuit that operates the field coil in response to electrical power demands, and a field enable switch in series with the field regulating switch. The phase monitor and protection circuit ascertains and transmits generator rotational motion for use by the monitoring and control circuit in discerning the various operating conditions. The monitoring and control circuit operates on the field switching circuit to meet the electrical power demands and provide multi level fault protection to include field switching circuit reconfiguration to continue operating under various fault conditions. A warning and diagnostic system incorporating visual indicators and communication lines provide descriptive system information for use by the vehicle'"'"'s operator and computer network, respectively.
21 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A vehicle electrical system, comprising:
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(a) a generator including a field coil; and (b) a voltage regulator, comprising; (i) a field switching (FS) circuit coupled with said generator field coil; and (ii) a monitor/control/protection (MCP) circuit coupled with an output of said generator and FS circuit; wherein said MCP circuit is configured to ascertain one or more operating states of said generator and voltage regulator by monitoring said generator output and FS circuit, and wherein the MCP circuit is configured to activate/deactivate said field coil, via said FS circuit, in response to said one or more operating states. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A vehicle electrical system, comprising:
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(a) a generator including a field coil; and (b) a voltage regulator, comprising; (i) a field switching (FS) circuit coupled with said generator field coil; and (ii) a monitor/control/protection (MCP) circuit coupled with said FS circuit; wherein said MCP circuit is configured to monitor said FS circuit, and to reconfigure a protective component of the FS circuit to function as an operative component of the FS circuit when the operative component fails to function properly. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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25. A vehicle electrical system, comprising:
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(a) a generator including a field coil; and (b) a voltage regulator, comprising; (i) a field switching (FS) circuit coupled with said generator field coil; and (ii) a monitor/control/protection (MCP) circuit coupled with said FS circuit; wherein said MCP circuit is configured to monitor said FS circuit, and to reconfigure a protective component of the FS circuit to switch on/off said field coil when an operative component of the FS circuit fails to switch on/off said field coil.
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26. A voltage regulator for a generator in a vehicle, said generator comprising a field coil, said voltage regulator comprising:
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(a) a field enable switch; (b) a field regulating switch responsive to said field enable switch and operative to switch on/off said field coil; and (c) a monitor/control/protection (MCP) circuit coupled with an output of said generator and said field enable and field regulating switches; wherein said MCP circuit is configured to ascertain one or more operating states of said generator and voltage regulator by monitoring the output of said generator and a switching interval of said field regulating switch, and wherein the MCP circuit is configured to activate/deactivate said field enable switch in response to said one or more operating states. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification