Battelle Memorial Institute

International Power Systems, Inc.

Matthew K Donnelly

David P Chassin

Jeffery E Dagle

Brent Earle Harris

Gerald W Droppo

Lawrence A Schienbein

Robert G Pratt

Michael Cw Kintner-Meyer

David W Winiarski

Anne Marie Boberly-Bartis

Donald J Hammerstrom

Jeffrey E Dagle

Electrical power distribution control methods, electrical energy demand monitoring methods, and power management devices are described. In one aspect, an electrical power distribution control method includes providing electrical energy from an electrical power distribution system, applying the electrical energy to a load, providing a plurality of different values for a threshold at a plurality of moments in time and corresponding to an electrical characteristic of the electrical energy, and adjusting an amount of the electrical energy applied to the load responsive to an electrical characteristic of the electrical energy triggering one of the values of the threshold at the respective moment in time.

Electrical power distribution control methods, electrical energy demand monitoring methods, and power management devices

Electrical appliance energy consumption control methods and electrical energy consumption systems are described. In one aspect, an electrical appliance energy consumption control method includes providing an electrical appliance coupled with a power distribution system, receiving electrical energy within the appliance from the power distribution system, consuming the received electrical energy using a plurality of loads of the appliance, monitoring electrical energy of the power distribution system, and adjusting an amount of consumption of the received electrical energy via one of the loads of the appliance from an initial level of consumption to an other level of consumption different than the initial level of consumption responsive to the monitoring.

Electrical appliance energy consumption control methods and electrical energy consumption systems

A single- or multi-phase step wave power converter includes multiple transformers configured to receive DC voltage from one or more power sources. Each of the transformers includes a primary winding and a secondary winding. The transformers are each configured to supply a step for a step wave AC output. Bridge circuits are supplied for controlling input of DC voltage into the primary windings of the transformers. Steps for the step wave AC output are output from the secondary windings based upon the input provided to the primary windings. DC source management circuitry manages which DC power source(s) supplies DC voltage input to each of the bridge circuits. The management circuitry provides seamless power switching between the plurality of DC power sources based on each power source's performance characteristics. A pulse-width modulator can also be provided to the step wave power converter to modulate the input into a selected primary winding. In this way, the step wave AC output can be fine-tuned in substantial conformance with an ideal AC waveform.

Step wave power converter

The invention is an improvement of the PASC inverter, wherein the improvements include the reduction from two shorting gates per transformer to one shorting gate per transformer and replacement of active control of the shorting gate with passive control of the shorting gate. Further advantages are obtained through the use of anti-parallel gate sets.

Multiple DC, single AC converter with a switched DC transformer

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Kennewick, WA, United States of America

Matthew K Donnelly