Patent ID: 7920369

Claim:
A power supply control unit, comprising: a plasma arc initiator device, wherein the plasma arc initiator device comprises: a solid state relay having one end connected to a positive terminal of the DC power supply; a resistor having a first end coupled to a second end of the solid state relay and a second end coupled to a negative terminal of the DC power supply, wherein when the solid state relay is in a closed position a short circuit occurs in a signal path of the solid state relay, the resistor and the DC power supply; and a cathode formed at the negative terminal of the DC power supply and electrically connected to the negative terminal of the DC power supply; a plurality of insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs), wherein a collector of each of the plurality of IGBTs is coupled to a DC power supply and an emitter of each of the plurality of IGBTs is coupled to a corresponding output for outputting power from the DC power supply; and at least one control circuit, wherein one of the at least one control circuit is coupled to a gate of a corresponding one or more of the plurality of IGBTs, wherein the at least one control circuit controls the corresponding one or more of the plurality of IGBTs to switch power supplied from the DC power supply from being output from one of the plurality of IGBTs to be output from another of the plurality of IGBTs.