Patent ID: 8228044

Claim:
A supercapacitor voltage balancing device for connection on demand to a remote supercapacitor module for a maintenance operation, said supercapacitor module having N individual supercapacitors connected in series, said module being deprive of permanent means associated with said individual supercapacitors, each terminal of the series of individual supercapacitors as well as each pole between two adjacent individual supercapacitors being each connected to one wire for accessing selectively the N individual supercapacitors, the total number of wires so being N+1, the module consisting of said N individual supercapacitors, the N+1 wires and a plug for enabling external access by said supercapacitor voltage balancing device to each said terminal of the individual supercapacitors, said supercapacitor voltage balancing device being used for optimizing the voltage of the individual supercapacitors in said module, the voltage balancing device comprising: a connecting cable for connecting said voltage balancing device to the N+1 wires of said supercapacitor module; a selector unit for selectively connecting a group of P individual supercapacitors, with P<N, to be subject in the same time to a voltage optimization processing; a voltage measuring unit to determine the voltage(s) of P individual supercapacitors; a charge adjusting unit for connecting to P individual supercapacitors, comprising at least one of two energy exchange means comprised in a group having energy supply means and energy absorbing means, for adjusting in the same time the voltage of said P individual supercapacitors; and a controller for controlling the selector unit, the voltage measuring unit and the charge adjusting unit and comprising evaluation means in order to determine which ones of the individual supercapacitors are subject to the voltage optimization processing.