Patent ID: 7696647

Claim:
A coupling node comprising: an interconnect circuit coupled to two or more drives and configured to allow current to flow from a first one of said drives to a second one of said drives; a sensor circuit in communication with the two or more drives configured to measure an electrical property of the two or more drives; and a controller in communication with the interconnect circuit and sensor circuit configured to cause the interconnect circuit to interrupt the current flowing from the first one of said drives to the second one of said drives, in response to the measured electrical property of the two or more drives meeting at least one predetermined criterion, wherein the controller is further configured to open an electrical connection to prevent current flow between said drives during a startup operation of said drives, and wherein said interconnect circuit allows said current to flow from the first one of said drives to the second one of said drives after respective DC link capacitors of said drives have charged up from said startup operation.