Power converter for recreational vehicles and the like

A switched power converter for a recreational vehicle, said switched power converter producing a stable DC output voltage for the electrical system of the recreational vehicle from an AC power supply, the power converter comprising:

• a housing;
• a switched power supply positioned in said housing, said switched power supply including a switch and at least one energy storage component for converting the AC supply voltage to a regulated DC voltage at an output thereof;
• a sensor positioned in said housing for generating a temperature dependent signal;
• a fan positioned on said housing to move cooling air over said switched power supply;
• a control circuit coupled to said sensor and to said fan, said control circuit including a first temperature detector and a controlled power supply selectively supplying power to said fan, whereby said fan is enabled by said selective power supply when said first temperature detector detects that a temperature is above a first threshold level and said fan is disabled by said selective power supply when said first temperature detector detects that the temperature is below a second threshold level;
• a current sensor for detecting a current level associated with said energy storage element;
• and
• a voltage feedback circuit coupled to said output of said switched power supply and generating a voltage feedback signal having a level related to the voltage at said switched power supply output, and wherein said sensed current level is compared to an output of said voltage feedback signal.

A switched power converter for a recreational vehicle, said switched power converter producing a stable DC output voltage for the electrical system of the recreational vehicle from an AC power supply, the power converter comprising:

• a housing;
• a switched power supply positioned in said housing, said switched power supply including a switch and at least one energy storage component for converting the AC supply voltage to a regulated DC voltage at an output thereof;
• a sensor positioned in said housing for generating a temperature dependent signal;
• a fan positioned on said housing to move cooling air over said switched power supply;
• and
• a control circuit coupled to said sensor and to said fan, said control circuit including a first temperature detector and a controlled power supply selectively supplying power to said fan, whereby said fan is enabled by said selective power supply when said first temperature detector detects that a temperature is above a first threshold level and said fan is disabled by said selective power supply when said first temperature detector detects that the temperature is below a second threshold level;
• wherein said switched power supply includes a feedback circuit and a controller, said feedback circuit coupled between an output of said switched power supply and said controller and said controller generating controls signals applied to said switch;
• wherein said feedback circuit includes an optical coupler providing isolation between said controller and said output of said switched power supply;
• and
• wherein said feedback circuit further includes a compensation circuit coupled to said optical coupler, said compensation circuit compensating for variations in the operating characteristics of said optical coupler.

A switched power converter for a recreational vehicle, said switched power converter producing a stable DC output voltage at a power converter output for connection to a battery, the power converter comprising:

• a switched power supply including a switch and at least one energy storage component producing a regulated, stable DC voltage;
• a controller generating a switching control signal for controlling said switch to selectively supply energy to said at least one energy storage component;
• protection circuitry protecting said power supply from damage resulting when a reverse battery connection is made between the power converter output and the battery;
• a current sensor for detecting a current level associated with said energy storage elements;
• and
• a voltage feedback circuit coupled to an output of said switched power supply and producing a voltage feedback signal having a level related to the voltage at said switched power supply output, and wherein said current level is compared to said voltage feedback signal.

A switched power converter for a recreational vehicle, said switched power converter producing a stable DC voltage at an output thereof, the power converter comprising:

• a switched power supply circuit including a switch and at least one storage element;
• a controller coupled to said switch for controlling the on-time of said switch;
• a circuit coupled to said controller for limiting the output of said switched power supply by selectively limiting the on-time of said switch in said switched power supply;
• a current sensor for detecting a current level associated with said at least one energy storage element;
• and
• a voltage feedback circuit coupled to an output of said switched power supply, said controller comparing said sensed current level to a voltage feedback signal output by said voltage feedback circuit said voltage feedback signal having a level related to the voltage at said output of said switched power supply.

A switched power converter for a recreational vehicle, said switched power converter producing a stable DC output voltage at a power converter output for connection to a battery, the power converter comprising:

• a switched power supply including a switch and at least one energy storage element;
• a current sensor for detecting a current level associated with said energy storage element;
• and
• a voltage feedback circuit coupled to an output of said switched power supply and generating a voltage feedback signal having a level related to the voltage at said switched power supply output, and wherein said sensed current level is compared to the level of said voltage feedback signal.

A switched power converter for a recreational vehicle, said switched power converter producing a stable DC output voltage for the electrical system of the recreational vehicle from an AC power supply, the power converter comprising:

• a switched power supply including a switch and at least one energy storage component for converting the AC supply voltage to a regulated DC voltage at an output thereof;
• wherein said switched power supply includes a feedback circuit and a controller, said feedback circuit coupled between an output of said switched power supply and said controller and said controller generating control signals applied to said switch;
• wherein said feedback circuit includes an optical coupler providing isolation between said controller and said output of said switched power supply;
• and
• wherein said feedback circuit further includes a compensation circuit coupled to said optical coupler, said compensation circuit compensating for variations in the operating characteristics of said optical coupler.

A switched power converter for a recreational vechile, said switched power converter producing a stable DC output voltage at a power converter output for connection to a battery, the power converter comprising:

• a switched power supply including a switch and at least one energy storage component producing a regulated, stable DC voltage;
• a controller generating a switching control signal for controlling said switch to selectively supply energy to said at least one energy storage component;
• and
• protection means for sensing when a reverse battery connection is made between the power converter output and the battery and for causing said controller to control said switch to limit the energy supplied to said at least one energy storage component and to protect said switched power supply from damage resulting from a reverse battery connection.

A power converter for a recreational vehicle, said power converter producing a stable DC output voltage at a power converter output for connection to a battery, the power converter comprising:

• a power supply including at least one energy storage component producing a regulated, stable DC voltage;
• a controller for selectively supplying energy to said at least one energy storage component;
• and
• a reverse battery connection protection circuit including:
• a diode coupled across the output terminals of the power converter, which are adapted for connection to the terminals of the battery, said diode being forward-biased when said power converter output is connected to a battery in reverse and reverse-biased at all other times, and
• a fuse coupled between the power converter output and the battery for protecting the power converter against large currents which occur if the battery is connected to the power converter output in reverse, wherein said fuse interrupts the connection between the power converter and the battery only when said diode is forward-biased as a result of a reverse battery connection.

A power converter for a recreational vehicle, said power converter producing a stable DC output voltage at a power converter output for connection to a battery, the power converter comprising:

• a power supply including at least one energy storage component producing a regulated, stable DC voltage;
• a controller for selectively supplying energy to said at least one energy storage component;
• and
• a reverse battery connection protection circuit including:
• a switch coupled across the output terminals of the power converter, which are adapted for connection to the terminals of the battery, said switch being conductive when said power converter output is connected to a battery in reverse and nonconductive at all other times, and
• a current interrupting element coupled between the power converter output and the battery for protecting the power converter against large currents which occur if the battery is connected to the power converter output in reverse, wherein said current interrupting element interrupts the connection between the power converter and the battery only when said switch is conducting as a result of a reverse battery connection.