Patent ID: 7847436

Claim:
A method for operating a power supply having a plurality of power supply modules comprising the steps of: monitoring the state of each of the plurality of power supply modules; individually controlling the operation of each of the plurality of power supply modules based on said monitoring; transmitting drive instructions to each of the plurality of power supply modules; transmitting gate signals to a switching module of each of the plurality of power supply modules in response to the drive instructions, each of the switching modules, in response to particular gate signals, connecting a power source of a particular power supply module across a first terminal and a second terminal of a particular switching module, connecting the first terminal to the second terminal of the particular switching module shorting the terminals and allowing current to flow through the particular power supply module without affecting the power source of the particular power supply module, and disconnecting one of the terminals of the particular switching module thereby preventing current flow through the particular power supply module.