General Electric Company
Range extender and circuit protection method

Abstract:

A circuit protection method comprises operating a range extender in a normal mode, wherein the range extender comprises at least one DC-to-DC converter having an input side and an output side and at least one bypass device coupled between the input side and the output side. The operating of the range extender in the normal mode comprises converting an input voltage at the input side into an output voltage at the output side by the DC-to-DC converter, wherein the output voltage is higher than a critical voltage. The method further comprises operating the range extender in a safety mode when the output voltage is lower than the critical voltage. The operating of the range extender in the safety mode comprises bypassing the DC-to-DC converter by the bypass device, wherein the critical voltage is lower than or equal to the input voltage.