Patent ID: 8344545

Claim:
A vehicle comprising: at least one piece of electrical equipment; a first and a second source of electrical power; a first connectivity path from the first source of electrical power to the piece of electrical equipment, a second connectivity path from the second source of electrical power to the piece of electrical equipment; a control unit for opening a first solid state switch in the first connectivity path responsively to a reduction in voltage in the first connectivity path and for closing a second solid state switch in the second connectivity path responsively to said reduction in voltage, wherein the first and second connectivity paths each comprise a set of two metal oxide field effect transistors (MOSFETs) and wherein the sets are arranged in series with their respective sources connected together through a current-sense resistor; wherein, at any one time, the first connectivity path is a conducting path between the piece of electrical equipment and the first source of power and the second connectivity path is a non-conducting path between the piece of electrical equipment and the second source of power; wherein the first and second connectivity paths each comprise: at least one solid state power switch; a voltage feedback circuit for determining voltage in the connectivity path; wherein, upon closure of the solid state switch in the second connectivity path, the second source of power provides power to the piece of electrical equipment; and wherein the piece of electrical equipment becomes powered by the second source of power within a time period that is less a transparency time of the equipment.