High current voltage regulator
First Claim
1. A voltage regulation apparatus comprising:
- a power supply terminal adapted to be coupled to a power source;
a linear voltage regulator circuit having an input terminal;
a switched capacitor element functioning as a voltage dropper and serially coupled between the power supply terminal and the input terminal of the linear voltage regulator, the switched capacitor element including at least one super capacitor having a capacitance of at least 0.1 farad and at least one transistor or solid state relay; and
an output terminal coupled to an output terminal of the linear voltage regulator.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A linear voltage regulator which includes on its input side an array of switched super capacitors coupled between the power source and the load. This apparatus is capable of delivering currents typically from milliamperes to greater than several amperes at very low switching frequencies. In addition by using capacitors rather than resistors or transistor devices to drop voltage on the input side, power consumption is reduced. The array of capacitors is switched by simple analog circuitry or a switching logic with or without a processor subsystem and the capacitors themselves are of the super capacitor type, thus providing very high capacitance, and are effectively series connected during certain phases of operation with the input terminal of the conventional linear voltage regulator portion of the apparatus. Energy stored in the super capacitors during the various phases of operation is reused.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A voltage regulation apparatus comprising:
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a power supply terminal adapted to be coupled to a power source; a linear voltage regulator circuit having an input terminal; a switched capacitor element functioning as a voltage dropper and serially coupled between the power supply terminal and the input terminal of the linear voltage regulator, the switched capacitor element including at least one super capacitor having a capacitance of at least 0.1 farad and at least one transistor or solid state relay; and an output terminal coupled to an output terminal of the linear voltage regulator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of providing a regulated voltage from a power source using a capacitance coupled to an input terminal of a linear voltage regulator, comprising the acts of:
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series coupling a first super capacitor functioning as a voltage dropper and having a capacitance of at least 0.1 farad in the capacitance between the power source and the input terminal; disconnecting the first super capacitor and series coupling by a transistor or solid state relay a second super capacitor between the power source and the input terminal of the linear voltage regulator; and disconnecting the second super capacitor from the power source and discharging both super capacitors to the input terminal. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification