Patent ID: 11881790
Assignee: VICOR CORPORATION
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  B | IPC B  H

Claim 0:
1. A method of converting power in a vehicle, the method comprising:
using a first wire harness to conduct unipolar electrical power from a first location in the vehicle to a second location in the vehicle at a power transmission voltage, VT;
using a self-contained first power conversion module located in proximity to the second location to convert power received from the first wire harness via a first converter input at a first unipolar input voltage, Vin1, for delivery to a first converter output at a first unipolar output voltage, Vol, at an essentially fixed voltage transformation ratio, K1=Vol/Vin1, where K1 is less than or equal to unity;
the first power conversion module having one or more power switches in an input circuit, an output circuit, or both, and an inductive component that is electrically connected to the one or more power switches;
using a current flowing in the inductive component to charge and discharge capacitances in the first power conversion module, reducing a voltage across said one or more switches prior to turning ON said one or more switches, in which the capacitances in the first power conversion module comprise parasitic capacitances in the one or more power switches;
the self-contained first power conversion module comprising an enclosure adapted to be mounted in the vehicle or otherwise deployed in proximity to the second location; and
using a second wire harness to conduct electrical power from the first converter output to the load.