Patent ID: 7509931

Claim:
A system, comprising: a dual-coil half bridge converter adapted to be coupled to a single or multiple coil actuator of an intake or exhaust valve of a cylinder in an internal combustion engine, the actuator being energized to control actuation of the intake or exhaust valve between an open position and a closed position, the converter having a first capacitor and a second capacitor and a voltage source, with at least one end of each of the first and second capacitors coupled to a common reference, the converter actuated via switches to individually energize coils in said dual coil actuator, wherein at least one end of said actuator is coupled to said common reference, and wherein said dual-coil half bridge converter maintains a charge balance on said first and second capacitors; wherein said converter is adapted to be coupled to a plurality of engine cylinder valves and the charge balance is maintained by disabling at least some of the plurality of cylinders in natural charge sharing pairs.