Patent ID: 8525488
Filing Date: 2013-09-03
Classification: F02D,H02N

Abstract:
1. A method for charging a capacitive element to a predefined charging voltage with the aid of a charging current, comprising: driving a controllable switch to interrupt the charging current when the charging current exceeds a predetermined current threshold; driving the controllable switch to couple in the charging-current at least one of i) when a predefined period of a time after a previous activation of the controllable switch has elapsed, and ii) when the charging current drops below the predetermined charging-current threshold; and altering the charging-current threshold while the capacitive element is being charged to the predefined charging voltage, wherein the charging-current threshold is altered only when the charging current increases after a first activation of the controllable switch and has fallen below the charging-current threshold in response to a following second activation of the controllable switch.