Patent ID: 7936092

Claim:
A method for providing a supply voltage in a vehicle using a plurality of generator units connected in parallel, wherein each generator unit includes a controller and a generator, wherein each controller includes a measurement voltage input and a monitor output, and wherein the supply voltage is provided at a combined common output of the generator units connected in parallel, the method comprising: in an initialization phase, using the measurement voltage inputs and the monitor outputs of the controllers for assignment of a master function, assignment of a slave function, and address assignment for parallel operation, wherein: the address assignment includes the controller of a generator unit performing the master function assigning itself an address and providing at its monitor output an identifier signal that contains information about the address of the generator unit performing the master function; the identifier signal is supplied to the measurement voltage input of the controller of a downstream generator unit; the controller of the downstream generator unit assigns itself an address on the basis of the identifier signal; and the controller of the downstream generator unit provides at its monitor output another identifier signal that contains information about the address of the downstream generator unit; and in a subsequent parallel operation: generating, using the controller of the generator unit performing the master function, a generator control signal for the generator of the generator unit performing the master function, wherein the generator control signal is generated as a function of a voltage supplied to the measurement voltage input of the controller of the generator unit performing the master function; outputting, at the monitor output of the controller of the generator unit performing the master function, a monitor signal describing the utilization of the generator of the generator unit performing the master function; and supplying the monitor signal outputted at the monitor output of the controller of the generator unit performing the master function to the measurement voltage inputs of the controllers of the generator units performing the slave function, in order to bring the degree of utilization of the generators into agreement.