Patent ID: 7560903

Claim:
A power module for use with one or more electrical energy storage device comprising: a voltage converter comprising an input and an output, the input of the voltage converter being coupled to the one or more cells to receive voltage of the one or more cells, the voltage converter being configured to convert the voltage at the input of the voltage converter into a converted voltage at the output of the voltage converter; a charging circuit comprising an input and an output, the output of the charging circuit being coupled to the one or more energy storage cells and to the input of the voltage converter, the charging circuit being configured to convert electrical voltage at the input of the charging circuit into charging circuit output voltage for charging the one or more cells at the output of the charging circuit; and a switching assembly connected to the input of the charging circuit and to the output of the voltage converter, the switching assembly being capable of selectively coupling the output of the voltage converter to the input of the charging circuit; wherein, when the switching assembly couples the output of the voltage converter to the input of the charging circuit, the power losses in the voltage converter and in the charging circuit dissipate energy in the one or more cells.