Power supply unit for use with an aircraft electrical system

1. A power supply unit for use with an aircraft power bus, comprising:

a connection circuit being electrically coupled to the aircraft power bus and providing the power supply unit with both charge and discharge paths;

an energy storage circuit being electrically coupled to the connection circuit, wherein during charging periods the energy storage circuit receives charge from the aircraft power bus through the charge path, and during discharging periods the energy storage circuit provides charge to the aircraft power bus through the discharge path;

a comparator circuit that is electrically coupled to the energy storage circuit and that determines if there is adequate voltage on the aircraft power bus; and

a time delay circuit that is electrically coupled to the comparator circuit and that, in response to a determination by the comparator circuit that there is inadequate voltage on the aircraft power bus, distinguishes when a loss of power on the aircraft power bus is due to a temporary disruption and when it is due to a desired shut down.

2. The power supply unit of claim 1 , further comprising a pulse circuit that is electrically coupled to the energy storage circuit and reduces the amount of power used by the power supply unit during operation.

3. The power supply unit of claim 1 , further comprising a low voltage lockout circuit that is electrically coupled to the connection circuit and detects when the voltage on the aircraft power bus falls below a predetermined threshold.

4. The power supply unit of claim 3 , wherein the low voltage lockout circuit also acts as a short circuit fault detection.

5. A power supply unit for use with an aircraft power bus, comprising:

a connection circuit having positive and negative input terminals for connecting to two corresponding terminals of an aircraft power bus; and

an energy storage circuit electrically connected to said connection circuit;

wherein said connection circuit provides separate charging and discharging paths between said input terminals and said energy storage circuit, and wherein said connection circuit includes an impedance in said charging path and a switch in said discharge path; and

wherein said power supply unit includes circuitry that controls operation of said switch based on voltage differences between two nodes located at opposite ends of said impedance.

6. The power supply unit of claim 5 , wherein the connection circuit includes at least one diode in each of the paths.

7. The power supply unit of claim 5 , wherein the switch is normally maintained in an on state such that power from the energy storage circuit can be instantaneously supplied to the aircraft power bus during switchovers of bus power from different aircraft power sources.

8. The power supply unit of claim 5 , further comprising a low voltage lockout circuit that is electrically coupled to the connection circuit and detects when the voltage on the aircraft power bus falls below a predetermined threshold.

9. The power supply unit of claim 5 , wherein said switch comprises a transistor.

10. The power supply unit of claim 5 , wherein said input terminals are the only electrical connections on said power supply unit.

11. A power supply unit for use with an aircraft power bus, comprising:

a connection circuit having positive and negative input terminals for connecting to two corresponding terminals of an aircraft power bus; and

an energy storage circuit electrically connected to said connection circuit;

wherein said connection circuit provides separate charging and discharging paths between said input terminals and said energy storage circuit, and wherein said connection circuit includes an impedance in said charging path and a switch in said discharge path;

wherein said power supply unit includes circuitry that controls operation of said switch based on voltage differences between two nodes located at opposite ends of said impedance; and

wherein said energy storage circuit comprises a plurality of energy storage devices and a second impedance defining a path in parallel with said energy storage devices.

12. The power supply unit of claim 11 , wherein said energy storage devices comprise capacitors.

13. The power supply unit of claim 11 , further comprising a pulse circuit in series with said second impedance to switch said impedance in and out of circuit at a selected duty cycle.

14. A power supply unit for use with an aircraft power bus, comprising:

a connection circuit having positive and negative input terminals for connecting to two corresponding terminals of an aircraft power bus; and

an energy storage circuit electrically connected to said connection circuit;

wherein said connection circuit provides separate charging and discharging paths between said input terminals and said energy storage circuit, and wherein said connection circuit includes an impedance in said charging path and a switch in said discharge path;

wherein said power supply unit includes circuitry that controls operation of said switch based on voltage differences between two nodes located at opposite ends of said impedance; and

wherein said power supply unit further comprises a comparator circuit and a timer delay circuit that controls operation of said switch, said comparator circuit being electrically connected to the nodes and having an output electrically connected to an input of the timer delay circuit, and wherein said comparator circuit and said timer delay circuit together operate to turn off said switch if the aircraft power bus has lost power for more than a selected amount of time.

15. The power supply unit of claim 14 , wherein said comparator circuit and a timer delay circuit together comprise the circuitry that controls operation of said switch based on voltage differences between the to nodes.