1. A vehicle comprising a door hinged at the bottom part of an opening of the vehicle to pivot around a horizontal axis and constitute, in the entirely open position of the door, a ramp facilitating the access to the interior of the vehicle, the vehicle being equipped with a ballistic protection device for a door having a ballistic protection element facing the door and connected to the door via means for automatically bringing closer and spacing apart the protection element and the door when opening and closing the door, respectively, wherein the means for bringing closer and spacing apart comprise:
at least one upper connecting arm and at least one lower connecting arm hinged to the protection element and the door respectively at the top part and the bottom part of the protection element and the door, the upper and lower connecting arms having the same length and being arranged such that the average plane of the door and the average plane of the protection element can be brought closer to and spaced apart from each other, while remaining parallel to each other, and
at least one actuating arm hinged to the at least one lower connecting arm and to a fixed part of the vehicle, around the opening, so as to control, when pivoting the door, by action on the at least one lower connecting arm, the displacement of the protection element with respect to the door,
each hinge allowing a relative rotation around a horizontal axis which is parallel to the pivot axis of the door, and the lengths of the actuating arm and connecting arms being fixed.
2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the three hinge points of the at least one lower connecting arm are arranged at the three vertices of a triangle, the hinge point between the at least one lower connecting arm and the at least one actuating arm being located, in a closed position of the door, below the hinge point between the at least one lower connecting arm and the protection element.
3. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the pivot axis of the hinge connecting the at least one actuating arm and the fixed part of the vehicle is above the pivot axis of the door and on the rear side of the vehicle with respect to a vertical plane which passes by the pivot axis of the door.
4. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle comprises two lower connecting arms, each lower connecting arm being hinged in the vicinity of an edge of the door, and an actuating arm being hinged to each lower connecting arm.
5. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein, in the closed position of the door, each connecting arm is perpendicular to the door.
6. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle comprises at least one yoke to which the at least one actuating arm is hinged.
7. The vehicle according to claim 6, wherein there are means for holding the protection element in a position, called raised position, in which the at least one actuating arm is separated from the at least one yoke and the protection element has been moved upwards by pivoting the at least one upper connecting arm so as to clear an access to the at least one yoke to allow the vehicle to be towed.
8. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the door is formed by a panel having a first part hinged to the vehicle and a second part hinged to the first part and constituting a hatch which can open while the door is closed, and wherein the protection element has a first part connected to the first part of the door by the means for automatically bringing closer and spacing apart, and a second part facing the hatch and hinged to the first part of the protection element so as to allow the second part to pivot with respect to the first part around a pivot axis parallel to the pivot axis of the second part of the door.
9. A ballistic protection device for a door of a vehicle, the device comprising a ballistic protection element adapted to be positioned facing a door of the vehicle having a horizontal pivot axis, and means for allowing the protection element and the door to be automatically brought closer and spaced apart when opening and closing the door, respectively, the means for bringing closer and spacing apart also connecting the ballistic protection element and the vehicle and the door, wherein said means for bringing closer and spacing apart comprise:
at least one upper connecting arm and at least one lower connecting arm hinged to the protection element and to be hinged to the door, respectively at the top part and the bottom part of the protection element and of the door, the upper and lower connecting arms having the same length and being arranged such that, once mounted, the average plane of the protection element can be brought closer to and spaced apart from the average plane of the door, while remaining parallel to the average plane of the door, and
at least one actuating arm hinged to the at least one lower connecting arm and to be hinged to a fixed part of the vehicle, around the opening, so as to control, when pivoting the door, by action on the at least one lower connecting arm, the displacement of the protection element with respect to the door,
each hinge allowing, once mounted, a relative rotation around an axis horizontal and parallel to the pivot axis of the door, and the lengths of the actuating and connecting arms being fixed.
10. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein, in the closed position of the door, each connecting arm is substantially perpendicular to the door.
11. The vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the yoke is removably hinged to the at least one actuating arm.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An inverter charger for providing a bi-directional energy flow between an alternating current source and a direct current chargeable voltage source, the inverter charger comprising:
an H-bridge rectifier inverter circuit coupled with an alternating current voltage source;
a direct current voltage to direct current voltage converter (DC-to-DC converter) coupled between the H-bridge inverter circuit and a direct current chargeable voltage source having a direct current voltage, the DC-to-DC converter switchable between a charge configuration and an inverter configuration;
the charge configuration including a boost circuit operably coupled with the H-bridge, the H-bridge rectifier providing a full wave rectified output signal to the boost circuit, the boost circuit configured to up convert the full wave rectified output signal, the charge configuration further including a buck circuit operably coupled with the boost circuit, the buck circuit configured to provide a regulated charge current to the direct current chargeable voltage source; and
the inverter configuration including the boost circuit operably coupled with the direct current chargeable voltage source, the boost circuit configured to up convert the direct current voltage of the direct current chargeable voltage source, and the buck circuit configured to provide a full wave rectified signal wave form to the H-bridge, the H-bridge configured to tie an alternating current voltage waveform to the alternating current voltage source.
2. The inverter charger of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of relays configured to switch the DC-to-DC converter between the charge configuration and the inverter configuration.
3. The inverter charger of claim 1 wherein the H-bridge rectifier comprises four sets of three parallel connected power MOSFETS connected in a full wave H-bridge configuration, with each MOSFET operating synchronously with the alternating current voltage source wave form to produce a full wave rectified output of the alternating current voltage source.
4. The inverter charger of claim 1 further comprising control signals to the MOSFETS, wherein the control signals provide a dead band where all MOSFETS are off for a period of time around a zero crossing point of the alternating current voltage source.
5. The inverter charger of claim 1 wherein:
the inverter charger further comprises a negative rail;
the boost circuit comprises a first inductor and a first diode coupled in series, and a first capacitor connected with the first inductor, the boost circuit further comprising a first switch connected between the first inductor and first diode, and the negative rail, the first switch in parallel with the first capacitor, the first switch receiving a first control signal to up convert the full wave rectified output signal when the inverter charger is in the charge configuration or to up convert the direct current voltage of the direct current chargeable voltage source when the inverter charger is in the inverter configuration.
6. The inverter charger of claim 5 further comprising:
a DC Link capacitor in parallel with the boost circuit; and
a boost circuit controller comprising a limiter circuit including a first comparator that generates a first output value as function of whether a boost circuit current output exceeds a maximum boost circuit current threshold and a second comparator that generates a second output value as a function of whether the up converted full wave rectified signal at the DC link capacitor exceeds a maximum boost circuit voltage threshold, wherein the limiter circuit causes the control signal to turn off the boost circuit switch when the first output value andor the second output values indicates that the maximum boost circuit current andor maximum boost circuit voltage is met.
7. The inverter charge of claim 1 wherein:
the inverter charger further comprises a negative rail;
the buck circuit comprises a second switch in series with a second inductor, and a second diode connected between the second switch and the second inductor and the negative rail;
the second switch receiving a second control signal for generating a specified charge current output of the buck circuit in the charge configuration; and
the second switch receiving a third control signal for generating a rectified sine wave input current to the bridge in the inverter configuration.
8. The inverter charger of claim 7 wherein the third control signal includes a dead band.