Patent ID: 7560904

Claim:
A system of managing power distribution in a hybrid electric vehicle having an a number of transistors for controlling energy flow between an alternator, ultracapacitor, battery, and electric motor, the system comprising: a sufficient number of transistors associated with each of the ultracapacitor and battery to manage separately flowing energy between the alternator and motor, alternator and ultracapacitor, alternator and battery, ultracapacitor and battery, ultracapacitor and motor, battery and ultracapacitor, and battery and motor; at least one voltage elevator associated with each transistor and configured for boosting an inputted reference voltage (Vref) by a fixed elevator voltage (VEfixed for output as a voltage (VEout) to a gate of the associated transistor, the fixed elevator voltage (VEfixed corresponds with a minimum voltage differential between the gate and a source (Vgs) required to activate the associate transistor; and a controller for controlling the separate energy flow between the alternator, ultracapacitor, battery, and electric motor by controlling activation of the transistors, wherein the controller controls activation of the transistors by selecting the reference voltage (Vref) inputted to the voltage elevator of each active transistor to correspond with a source voltage (Vs) of the associated transistor.