Various embodiments described herein provide a system that uses a capacitor-based power converter to generate a gate voltage (e.g., boot strap voltage) for a buck converter. According to various embodiments described herein, the capacitor-based power converter includes at least one of a combination of a capacitive voltage divider circuit with a low-dropout (LDO) regulator, or a combination of a capacitive doubler circuit with an LDO regulator, to generate the gate voltage for the buck converter.

Various embodiments described herein provide a system that uses a capacitor-based power converter to generate a gate voltage (e.g., boot strap voltage) for a buck converter. According to various embodiments described herein, the capacitor-based power converter includes at least one of a combination of a capacitive voltage divider circuit with a low-dropout (LDO) regulator, or a combination of a capacitive doubler circuit with an LDO regulator, to generate the gate voltage for the buck converter.

An energy storage system has a battery device, a first terminal, a second terminal, a capacitor device and a DC/DC converter. The first and second terminals are respectively connected two electrodes of the battery device, and the two electrodes have opposite polarities. The capacitor device is electrically connected to the first and second terminals in parallel. The DC/DC converter is electrically connected between the first terminal and the capacitor device. The battery device composed of at least one secondary battery and the capacitor device composed of at least one capacitor are electrically connected to each other in parallel, and by combining with the DC/DC converter, configuring the relation between the equivalent series resistor of the capacitor device and the internal resistor of the battery device, and/or configuring the upper current limit of the rated current of range the DC/DC converter, the battery cycle life is increased.

An energy storage system has a battery device, a first terminal, a second terminal, a capacitor device and a DC/DC converter. The first and second terminals are respectively connected two electrodes of the battery device, and the two electrodes have opposite polarities. The capacitor device is electrically connected to the first and second terminals in parallel. The DC/DC converter is electrically connected between the first terminal and the capacitor device. The battery device composed of at least one secondary battery and the capacitor device composed of at least one capacitor are electrically connected to each other in parallel, and by combining with the DC/DC converter, configuring the relation between the equivalent series resistor of the capacitor device and the internal resistor of the battery device, and/or configuring the upper current limit of the rated current of range the DC/DC converter, the battery cycle life is increased.

A diagnosis method for the switching elements in a bidirectional DC-to-DC voltage converter comprising: charging a capacitor in the bidirectional DC-to-DC voltage converter to a predetermined first test voltage, then specifically actuating the switching elements in the bidirectional DC-to-DC voltage converter, and evaluating the voltage in the charged capacitor of the bidirectional DC-to-DC converter to identify a faulty switching element within the switching elements in the bidirectional DC-to-DC voltage converter.

A diagnosis method for the switching elements in a bidirectional DC-to-DC voltage converter comprising: charging a capacitor in the bidirectional DC-to-DC voltage converter to a predetermined first test voltage, then specifically actuating the switching elements in the bidirectional DC-to-DC voltage converter, and evaluating the voltage in the charged capacitor of the bidirectional DC-to-DC converter to identify a faulty switching element within the switching elements in the bidirectional DC-to-DC voltage converter.

The invention relates to an energy storage device including at least one block having n energy storage units, where n2; a charge and discharge management circuit electrically linked to the n storage units and making it possible to alternately connect all of the energy storage units of one and the same block to one another; and the block having a defined block voltage between the low potential of the first energy storage unit and the high potential of the nth energy storage unit. The charge and discharge management circuit includes: first means for triggering the toggling from a parallel mode to a series mode and second means for triggering the toggling from the series mode to the parallel mode.

A charge pump method and apparatus is described having various aspects. Noise injection from a charge pump to other circuits may be reduced by limiting both positive and negative clock transition rates, as well as by limiting drive currents within clock generator driver circuits, and also by increasing a control node AC impedance of certain transfer capacitor coupling switches. A single-phase clock may be used to control as many as all active switches within a charge pump, and capacitive coupling may simplify biasing and timing for clock signals controlling transfer capacitor coupling switches. Any combination of such aspects of the method or apparatus may be employed to quiet and/or simplify charge pump designs over a wide range of charge pump architectures.

A gate-charge harvester includes a harvest capacitor that has a first plate and a second plate. The second plate is coupled to a lower rail and the first plate is coupled to send a voltage towards a regulator. The gate-charge harvester also includes a low-side harvest transistor having a first terminal coupled to a gate of a low-side power transistor and a second terminal coupled to the first plate.

Various embodiments described herein provide a system that uses a capacitor-based power converter to generate a gate voltage (e.g., boot strap voltage) for a buck converter. According to various embodiments described herein, the capacitor-based power converter includes at least one of a combination of a capacitive voltage divider circuit with a low-dropout (LDO) regulator, or a combination of a capacitive doubler circuit with an LDO regulator, to generate the gate voltage for the buck converter.