Patent ID: 8378623

Claim:
An energy storage and management system (ESMS) comprising: one or more energy storage devices coupled to a vehicle drivetrain and configured to store DC energy; a power electronic conversion system having a plurality of energy ports, the power electronic conversion system comprising a plurality of DC electrical converters, each DC electrical converter configured to step up and to step down a DC voltage, wherein: each of the plurality of energy ports is coupleable to each of the one or more energy storage devices; and each of the plurality of energy ports is coupleable to an electrical charging system; and a controller configured to: determine a voltage of each energy port having either an energy storage device or a DC electrical charging system coupled thereto; and electrically connect a first energy port to a second energy port of at least two of the plurality of energy ports such that at least one of the DC electrical converters either steps up or steps down an input DC voltage based on the determined voltage of each energy port.