초록 ▼

Charge on a storage capacitor in a backup power supply is managed by discharging the capacitor into an aircraft recorder that is to be powered when a primary power source fails. During the discharging, a first amount of energy discharged from the capacitor is measured along with the length of the di

Charge on a storage capacitor in a backup power supply is managed by discharging the capacitor into an aircraft recorder that is to be powered when a primary power source fails. During the discharging, a first amount of energy discharged from the capacitor is measured along with the length of the discharge time. The first amount of energy and the discharge time are employed to define a target energy level to which the capacitor should be charged to enable the backup power supply to adequately power aircraft recorder. Then charging of the capacitor commences while a second amount of energy stored in the capacitor is measured. The capacitor charging terminates when the second amount of energy reaches the target energy level. Definition of the target energy level also may take into account variation in temperature of the capacitor.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A method for operating a backup power supply which has a capacitor and which provides electrical power to a consuming device when electrical power from a primary source is unavailable, said method comprising:defining a target energy level for the capacitor;commencing to

The invention claimed is: 1. A method for operating a backup power supply which has a capacitor and which provides electrical power to a consuming device when electrical power from a primary source is unavailable, said method comprising:defining a target energy level for the capacitor;commencing to charge the capacitor;measuring a first amount of energy that is stored in the capacitor during charging of the capacitor;terminating charging the capacitor when the first amount of energy stored in the capacitor reaches the target energy level;upon electrical power from the primary source becoming unavailable, discharging the capacitor into the consuming device;measuring an amount of time during which the discharging occurs; andadjusting the target energy level in response to the amount of time.