18281 results about "Converters" patented technology

Described is a sensor unit having a measured signal receiver, which registers a measured signal, an A / D converter for digitizing the measured signal, a transceiver device for wireless data communication to an environmental device, and a processor. The processor is a control processor for activating the measured signal receiver, the A / D converter, and the transceiver device. The digitized measured signal is transmitted directly via the transceiver device to the environmental device, without the complex and performance-intensive and therefore costly analysis occurring in the sensor unit.

Low-bandgap, monolithic, multi-bandgap, optoelectronic devices (10), including PV converters, photodetectors, and LED's, have lattice-matched (LM), double-heterostructure (DH), low-bandgap GaInAs(P) subcells (22, 24) including those that are lattice-mismatched (LMM) to InP, grown on an InP substrate (26) by use of at least one graded lattice constant transition layer (20) of InAsP positioned somewhere between the InP substrate (26) and the LMM subcell(s) (22, 24). These devices are monofacial (10) or bifacial (80) and include monolithic, integrated, modules (MIMs) (190) with a plurality of voltage-matched subcell circuits (262, 264, 266, 270, 272) as well as other variations and embodiments.

A LED driver is connectible to several series connected RGB LEDs which connect in series with a current generator. A plurality of LED switches are respectively connectible across one RGB LED. Each LED switch, operating in response to a binary signal is either open to permit electrical current to flow through the RGB LED, or closed to shunt current around that RGB LED. By varying respective duty cycles of the binary signals the LED driver is adapted for controlling operation of the combined RGB LEDs so they emit differing colors of light. An adaptive boost converter LED driver continuously adjusts voltage applied across the series connected RGB LEDs to be only that required for operating those LEDs through which open LED switches permit current to flow.

A distributed power system wherein a plurality of power converters are connected in parallel and share the power conversion load according to a prescribed function, but each power converter autonomously determines its share of power conversion. Each power converter operates according to its own power conversion formula / function, such that overall the parallel-connected converters share the power conversion load in a predetermined manner.

A vehicle powering wireless receiver for use with a first electromagnetic resonator coupled to a power supply includes a load configured to power the drive system of a vehicle using electrical power, and a second electromagnetic resonator adapted to be housed upon the vehicle and configured to be coupled to the load by a converter capable of converting energy captured by the second electromagnetic resonator into a form usable by the load, wherein the second electromagnetic resonator is configured to be wirelessly coupled to the first electromagnetic resonator to provide resonant, non-radiative wireless power to the second electromagnetic resonator from the first electromagnetic resonator.

An enhanced receiver for wireless power transmission is disclosed. The receiver may be able to convert RF waves into continuous, stable and suitable voltage or power that can be used for charging or powering an electronic device. The receiver may include an antenna array for extracting and rectifying power from RF waves or pockets of energy. An input boost converter in the receiver may step up and stabilize the rectified voltage, while charging a storage element in the receiver. An output boost converter in the receiver may step up the output voltage of the storage element to deliver continuous and suitable power or voltage to a load. A microcontroller in the receiver may perform power measurements at different nodes or sections to adjust the operation of the input and output boost converters so that load power requirements can be satisfied at all times.

A micropower Maximum Power Point Tracker (μMPPT) suitable for use in low power applications to maximize the power output for a solar-power cell array. In one embodiment, a μMPPT comprises an electrical circuit which includes a microprocessor / microcontroller used to execute the μMPPT control algorithm, and a modulator controller to control the pulse width or frequency to a high speed switch. In addition, the electrical circuit may include an analog-to-digital (A / D) converter usable to measure the input voltage from a connected solar array, the current through an inductor of the circuit, and the voltage of an attached energy store / load. In another embodiment, the μMPPT may operates in at least two modes depending on the energy store / loads conditions.

A silicon-based transducer assembly coupled to a movable structure in a hearing instrument. The transducer assembly includes at least one microphone chip and an ASIC having multiple integrated components such as any combination of a DSP, an A / D converter, an amplifier, a filter, or a wireless interface. The movable structure may be a battery access door, a volume dial, a switch, or a touch pad. A protection strip can be disposed across the battery access door to prevent debris from clogging the silicon-based transducer assembly. The transducer assembly may also include an array of microphone chips to achieve adaptive beam steering or directionality. When equipped with a wireless interface, the hearing instrument wirelessly communicates with another hearing instrument or with a network.

Circuits and methods to achieve a buck-boost converter, capable to achieve a constant output voltage by pre-charging of an inductor if the input voltage is close to the output voltage has been achieved. The prior art problem of output voltage variations occurring while the input voltage is close to the output voltage is avoided. In case the input voltage is lower than a defined threshold voltage or the duty cycle exceeds a defined maximum allowable level, the inductor of the converter is pre-charged followed by boosting of the energy of the inductor to the output of the converter. In both modes the control loops of the buck converter can be used for buck duty cycle control. The duration of the pre-charge depends upon the level of the input voltage, the lower the input level is the longer is the pre-charge performed.

A concentrating photovoltaic module is provided which provides a concentration in the range of about 500 to over 1,000 suns and a power range of a few kW to 50 kW. A plurality of such modules may be combined to form a power plant capable of generating over several hundred megaWatts. The concentrating photovoltaic module is based on a Photovoltaic Cavity Converter (PVCC) as an enabling technology for very high solar-to-electricity conversions. The use of a cavity containing a plurality of single junction solar cells of different energy bandgaps and simultaneous spectral splitting of the solar spectrum employs a lateral geometry in the spherical cavity (where the cell strings made of the single junction cells operate next to each other without mutual interference). The purpose of the cavity with a small aperture for the pre-focused solar radiation is to confine (trap) the photons so that they can be recycled effectively and used by the proper cells. Passive or active cooling mechanisms may be employed to cool the solar cells.

A solar cell array control device has a plurality of solar cell modules, a bidirectional DC converter, at least a voltage sensor and a control unit. The bidirectional DC converter corresponds to and is electrically connected to the solar cell modules to connect these solar cell modules in series to form a solar cell array. The voltage sensor is electrically connected to the solar cell modules, and can generate an abnormal voltage when detecting that one of the solar cell modules is abnormal. The control unit is electrically connected to the voltage sensor and the bidirectional DC converter, and outputs a pulse width modulation signal by detecting the abnormal voltage to control the bidirectional DC converter for compensating the conversion current and thus enhancing the output power of this solar cell module.

The invention provides a body-worn monitor featuring a processing system that receives a digital data stream from an ECG system. A cable houses the ECG system at one terminal end, and plugs into the processing system, which is worn on the patient's wrist like a conventional wristwatch. The ECG system features: i) a connecting portion connected to multiple electrodes worn by the patient; ii) a differential amplifier that receives electrical signals from each electrode and process them to generate an analog ECG waveform; iii) an analog-to-digital converter that converts the analog ECG waveform into a digital ECG waveform; and iv) a transceiver that transmits a digital data stream representing the digital ECG waveform (or information calculated from the waveform) through the cable and to the processing system. Different ECG systems, typically featuring three, five, or twelve electrodes, can be interchanged with one another.

Briefly described, the invention provides a photovoltaic assembly power output utilizing device which partially charges a capacitor assembly. This capacitor assembly is then partially discharged by a DC / DC power converter in different ranges of voltages in which the power output from the photovoltaic assembly peaks for different light intensities.

A novel integrated rectifier and boost converter circuit architecture is disclosed. The rectifier architecture includes a plurality of identical half-bridge rectifiers connected to receiving antennas to convert wireless AC power into DC power. The integrated rectifier may be coupled in series with a charging inductor in a boost converter. The inductor may discharge upon operation of two micro-controller-driven switching transistors using predetermined threshold and timing scheme to turn on / off. The rectifier architecture may provide high power densities, improve efficiency at larger load currents, and may be enabled in an integrated circuit with eight RF signal inputs, eight half-bridge rectifiers, and eight DC outputs ganged together as single feed into the boost converter. The rectifier circuit topology may include a comparator driven by the boost controller with a proprietary algorithm which suits control for a maximum power point tracking functionality, and an external micro-controller for additional control of the boost converter.

Provided is an apparatus and method for encoding and decoding using alternative transform units according to the correlation of residual signals. The video encoding apparatus includes a first transforming unit for performing discrete cosine transform (DCT), first quantization, first inverse quantization, and inverse DCT on a block basis onto residual coefficients generated after intra frame prediction or inter frame prediction; a second transforming unit for performing discrete sine transform (DST), second quantization, second inverse quantization, and inverse DST on a block basis onto the residual coefficients; a selecting unit for selecting one having a high compression rate between the first and second transforming units for each block through performing rate-distortion optimization; and a flag marking unit for recording information about the selected transforming unit at a flag bit provided on a macroblock basis.

System and method for providing control for switch-mode power supply. According to an embodiment, the present invention provides a system for regulating a power converter. The system comprises a signal processing component that is configured to receive a first voltage and a second voltage, to process information associated with the first voltage and the second voltage, to determine a signal based on at least information associated with the first voltage and the second voltage, and to send the signal to a switch for a power converter. The switch is regulated based on at least information associated with the signal. The signal processing component is further configured to determine the signal to be associated a first mode, if the first voltage is higher than a first threshold.

A power adapter, in a presently preferred embodiment, includes a power converter and multiple data ports, and is configured for ease of coupling the power converter into pre-existing premises power connectors. Thus, premises power can be supplied from the power converter and a first data port, via data cabling, to a network terminating device for an external network. Multi-protocol adapters, such as an HPNA (Home Phoneline Network Alliance protocol compliant) / Ethernet adapter, may also be included to provide extension of a protocol (such as Ethernet) over pre-existing premises wiring. A back-up battery is optionally provided, as well as appropriate switches and indicators. Specialized male-female connectors may also be used.

A battery cell converter (BCC) unit including one or more energy-storing battery cells coupled to one or more DC / DC converters is disclosed. A management unit can monitor and control the charging and discharging of each battery cells; including monitoring of voltages & State-of-Charge of each cell as well as controlling the switching of the DC / DC converters. The combined power and cell switching algorithms optimizes the charging and discharging process of the battery cells. A compound battery cell converter system comprising a series stack of BCCs to achieve high effective converter output voltage is also disclosed. The new proposed Battery Cell Converter architecture will enable improvements in battery pack usage efficiencies, will increase battery pack useable time per charge, will extend battery pack life-time and will lower battery pack manufacturing cost.

The present invention relates to a converter and a driving method thereof. The converter uses an input voltage to generate an output voltage by a main switch's switching and applies power to a load, senses the current flowing to the main switch to generate a sense voltage, uses a first voltage corresponding to the current applied to the load and a sawtooth waveform signal having a first frequency to control a group frequency of the burst mode, controls the main switch's turn-on timing, and uses the first voltage and the sense voltage to determine whether to turn off the main switch, thereby controlling the main switch's switching. The converter determines the start and end of the period for switching according to the result of comparing the first voltage and the sawtooth waveform signal. Therefore, a converter for having a constant group frequency, preventing audible noise, and preventing output voltage ripple, and a driving method thereof, are provided.

To prevent a voltage glitch in the regulated DC output voltage of a PWM / PFM DC-DC converter when switching between PFM and PMW modes, the error amplifier of the converter's PWM regulation path is provided with a DC voltage offset correction mechanism. This mechanism “zeros-out” DC voltage offsets that may be present in the voltage regulation path, thereby enabling the error amplifier to accurately regulate the converter's output voltage. When the converter transitions between PFM and PWM modes, the DC offset correction mechanism establishes initial conditions of the error amplifier that effectively ensure that the converter's regulated output voltage at the beginning of a new “switched-to” PWM mode cycle is DC offset-free.

A method and system is proposed for the physical trading of electricity, which is characterized by continuous Dynamic Advanced Prices formation and propagation over a single price period that is a few seconds long. The Node and Branch price equations are applied to the power flows and to the corresponding costs incurred at measure points, as well as to the system-wide costs allocated equitably by means of a Price Designator, Price Announcers, Price Transmuters and Intelligent Meters and by other devices, all of which function together in a sequential and repetitive process of preliminary bidding, clearing, adjustment and dispatching, followed by price designation, confirmation and conversion in a way that takes into account congestion and security costs and the compensation of involuntary deviations. The method provides a common electricity trade environment that allows every market participant, especially every consumer, to respond adequately to last minute price changes.

A method and apparatus for managing DC arc faults. At least a portion of the method is performed by a controller comprising at least one processor. In one embodiment, the method comprises analyzing a signature of a signal of a power converter and determining, based on analysis of the signature, whether an arc fault exists.

A three stage power source for an electric arc welding process comprising an input stage having an AC input and a first DC output signal; a second stage in the form of an unregulated DC to DC converter having an input connected to the first DC output signal, a network of switches switched at a high frequency with a given duty cycle to convert the input into a first internal AC signal, an isolation transformer with a primary winding driven by the first internal high frequency AC signal and a secondary winding for creating a second internal high frequency AC signal and a rectifier to convert the second internal AC signal into a second DC output signal of the second stage, with a magnitude related to the duty cycle of the switches; and, a third stage to convert the second DC output signal to a welding output for welding wherein the input stage has a regulated DC to DC converter with a boost power switch having an active soft switching circuit.

A converter circuit and related technique for providing high power density power conversion includes a reconfigurable switched capacitor transformation stage coupled to a magnetic converter (or regulation) stage. The circuits and techniques achieve high performance over a wide input voltage range or a wide output voltage range. The converter can be used, for example, to power logic devices in portable battery operated devices.

An improved Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit DC-to-DC voltage converter fabricated in GaAs MESFET technology is introduced. The converter comprises a differential oscillator having crossed-coupled symmetrical inductors that ensure low-noise operation. The converter further comprises a highly-efficient synchronous rectifier and a start-up enable circuit.

A variable speed wind turbine is disclosed comprising a turbine rotor that drives a doubly-fed induction generator, a matrix converter which converts variable frequency output into constant frequency output, and a control unit and a protection circuit for the matrix converter. Power is circulated in the system allowing for sensorless detection of rotor position and better output ratios of power from the system.

A method for providing maximum power point tracking for an energy generating device using a local buck-boost converter coupled to the device is provided. The method includes operating in a tracking mode, which includes initializing a conversion ratio for the buck-boost converter based on a previous optimum conversion ratio. A device power associated with the initialized conversion ratio is calculated. The conversion ratio is repeatedly modified and a device power associated with each of the modified conversion ratios is calculated. A current optimum conversion ratio for the buck-boost converter is identified based on the calculated device powers. The current optimum conversion ratio corresponds to one of a buck mode, a boost mode and a buck-boost mode for the buck-boost converter.

The invention relates to a pumping device for introduction of a fluid into a base layer, in particular into a base layer containing gas, for the production of gas-permeable structures in the base layer. The pumping device is arranged on a transportation vehicle having a separate drive unit, including a pump motor and a pump, whereby a speed / torque converter is arranged between pump and pump motor. A hydrodynamic device, in particular a hydrodynamic converter, is used in place of a transmission for speed / torque conversion.

A two-stage power converter that dynamically adjusts to output current requirements includes a first stage regulator that provides power to a second stage regulator. The first stage can be a buck converter, and the second stage can be a multiple-phase buck converter. The output voltage of the first stage (intermediate bus voltage Vbus) is varied according to the load current to optimize conversion efficiency. To provide maximum efficiency, the Vbus voltage is increased as load current increases. The Vbus voltage provided by the first stage can be varied by duty cycle or operating frequency control. In another embodiment, the switching frequency of the second stage is varied as output current changes so that output current ripple is held constant. In an embodiment employing a multiple-phase buck converter in the second stage, the number of operating phases are varied as output current changes.