Direct current power supply circuit

Claim 1

IN A DIRECT CURRENT POWER SUPPLY CIRCUIT HAVING AN INPUT ADAPTED TO BE COUPLED TO AN ALTERNATING CURRENT SUPPLY VOLTAGE SOURCE, AN OUTPUT ADAPTED TO BE COUPLED TO A LOAD, AND RECTIFIER MEANS COUPLED BETWEEN SAID INPUT AND SAID OUTPUT FOR CONVERTING ALTERNATING CURRENT TO PULSATING DIRECT CURRENT, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING A NON-LINEAR IMPEDANCE SHUNTED ACROSS SAID OUTPUT, SAID IMPEDANCE HAVING A VOLTAGE-CURRENT CHARACTERISTIC EXHIBITING A SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT VOLTAGE DROP OVER A WIDE RANGE OF CURRENT VALUES; CURRENT CONTROL MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE MAGNITUDE OF THE CURRENT THROUGH SAID NON-LINEAR IMPEDANCE; CURRENT SENSING MEANS COUPLED TO SAID NON-LINEAR IMPEDANCE AND TO SAID CURRENT CONTROL MEANS FOR CAUSING SAID CONTROL MEANS TO MAINTAIN THE MAGNITUDE OF THE CURRENT THROUGH SAID IMPEDANCE AT A PREDETERMINED VALUE AT WHICH SAID NON-LINEAR IMPEDANCE EXHIBITS A SMALL INTERNAL DYNAMIC IMPEDANCE TO VOLTAGE VARIATIONS ACROSS SAID CIRCUIT OUTPUT; AND CONDITION SENSING MEANS COUPLED TO SAID CURRENT CONTROL MEANS FOR CAUSING SAID CONTROL MEANS TO CONTROL THE MAGNITUDE OF THE CURRENT THROUGH SAID IMPEDANCE IN RESPONSE TO AN OPERATING CONDITION OF SAID CIRCUIT, WHEREBY SAID NON-LINEAR IMPEDANCE FUNCTIONS TO REGULATE THE VOLTAGE ACROSS SAID CIRCUIT OUTPUT WITH A HIGH ORDER OF DYNAMIC REGULATION AND SAID CURRENT CONTROL MEANS AND SAID IMPEDANCE COMBINE TO REGULATE THE OUTPUT VOLTAGE OF SAID CIRCUIT WITH A HIGH ORDER OF STATIC REGULATION, WHEREIN SAID CONDITION SENSING MEANS COMPRISES MEANS FOR SENSING THE RATE OF CHANGE OF THE OUTPUT CURRENT OF THE POWER SUPPLY CIRCUIT TO PROVIDE RATE FEEDBACK CONTROL FOR SAID CURRENT CONTROL MEANS, SO TAHT INSTABILITY OF OPERATION CAUSED BY CAPACITIVE LOADING IS PREVENTED.