Power control and supervisory system

Claim 2

A power control and supervisory system comprising a plurality of regulated dc-to-dc power converters each converter including an output inhibiting means and a crowbar protective means, a source of direct current potential coupleD to the power input of each of said plurality of regulated power converters, means for sampling the output voltage of each of said regulated power converters, comparing said output voltage to a preselected standard voltage and generating a control signal when the output voltage of any one of said regulated power converters differs from said standard voltage by a preselected amount, switching means coupled to said sampling means and to the inhibiting means and crowbar protective means of each said regulated power converters, and operative in response to a control signal from said sampling means to selectively couple inhibiting and crowbar control signals to each of said regulated power converters in a predetermined sequence, and a power switch coupled between said source of direct current potential and said plurality of regulated power converts, coupled to said switching means, and operative in response to signals from said switching means to selectively apply said direct current potential to the power inputs of all of said plurality of regulated power converters.

Claim 3

Apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said plurality of regulated power converters are arranged in groups, each converter in a group having a similar output voltage, and said switching means selectively couples said inhibiting signals to each group of converters in a predetermined sequence and selectively couples said crowbar control signals to each group of converters in a reverse sequence.

Claim 4

Apparatus as recited in claim 2 further including manual control means coupled to said switching means and to said power switch for initiating application and removal of said direct current potential to the power inputs of all said plurality of regulated power converters and to initiate the sequential coupling of said inhibiting and said crowbar control signals to each said group of regulated power converters.

Claim 5

Apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said sampling means comprises a substantially constant current generator, a source of interrogating pulses, and a plurality of error detection means, one coupled to the output of each of said regulated power converters, and each coupled to said constant current generator and to said source of interrogating pulses, operating to compare the output of said regulated power converter with the output of said constant current generator, and transmit interrogating pulses from said pulse generator only when said outputs differ by an amount in excess of a preselected level.

Claim 6

Apparatus as recited in claim 4 wherein said switching means operates in response to a pulse transmitted by any one of said error detection means to selectively couple said inhibiting signals and said crowbar control signals to said regulated power converters.

Claim 7

Apparatus as recited in claim 4 wherein said interrogating pulses are bipolar pulses of symmetrical amplitude and time duration, and each said error detection means comprises first and second saturable transformers each having a first primary winding coupled in series with said current generator and opposite the other, a second primary winding coupled in series with said regulated power converter and opposite the other, and secondary windings coupled at one side to said source of bipolar interrogating pulses and at the other to the output of said error detection means, the core of said first transformer being in negative saturation when the outputs of said current generator and said regulated power converter are substantially equal and being in positive saturation when the output of said regulated power converter exceeds that of said current generator by a preselected level such that positive portions of said bipolar pulses are transmitted when said preselected level is exceeded, and the core of said second transformer being in positive saturation when the outputs of said current generator and said regulated power converter are substantially equal and being in negative satuRation when the output of said regulated power converter is lower than that of said current generator by a preselected level such that negative portions of said bipolar pulses are transmitted when said preselected level is exceeded.

Claim 8

Apparatus as recited in claim 4 further including means coupled to said source of interrogating pulses for detecting a failure of said source to produce said pulses, and producing an alarm signal on the detection of such a failure.