Patent ID: 7514816

Claim:
A system, comprising: first and second power supplies coupled to each other and to a load, said first and second power supplies providing current to the load over a common conductive pathway; wherein the first power supply comprises an adjustable current output limit that is adjusted based on the operational status of the second power supply; and wherein the operational status of the second power supply is indicated to the first power supply by way of a first status signal, and the system further comprises third and fourth power supplies coupled to each other and to the load, said third and fourth power supplies providing current to the load over the common conductive pathway, and wherein the third power supply comprises an adjustable current output limit that is adjusted based on a second status signal provided by the fourth power supply indicating the operational status of the fourth power supply, and wherein the second status signal is not provided to the first or second power supplies and the first status signal is not provided to the third or fourth power supplies.