voltage requlation with variablel curent output

[toolsrbob]

all,

I am new and not sure if I am asking my question in the right place.

I have several variable ac voltage inputs that range form 1 volt to 30 volts.

I desire to have a steady dc voltage output but to also utilize the extra curent created from the input source over the dc voltage level..

Example: if I have three ac inputs of 5v ea and I want a 10 volt dc output.
how can I add all three ac voltages, regulate to 10 volts dc and utilize the extra curent in the extra 5 volts over the dc level.

and if each ac input goes to 18 volts, how can I series the inputs, regulate them to 10 volts dc and utilize the extra curent in the over voltage.

Is this possible using solid state devices, not waste a lot of power and generate a ton of heat.

thank you for your time

 

[jonpry]

I supposed you could start by putting all of the inputs in series and then using a switch mode power supply to generate the 10vdc. This does seem a bit strange to me as you would end up drawing from each supply a power proportional to its input voltage. Ie all the currents will be the same. I would think that if you are needing to hook up lots of supplies that each one is going to be used near its maximum potential. If you want to draw different amounts of current from each supply, then there would need to be some mechanism to report the supplies capabilities to the board.

 

[toolsrbob]

I have 4 AC generating circuits all driven from the same mechanical source. Ie. they all will have the same voltage and curent output capability at any given time. However the voltage will very from 3 to 30 volts over a period of 5 to 10 minutes due to the mechanical source changing speeds. I want to add all 4 ac sources into one but be able to clamp the voltage to 10 volts but not loose the curent capability of the voltage over 10 volts a normal regulator will waste the extra energy created.

---------- Post added at 22:44 ---------- Previous post was at 22:36 ----------

example if I have 30 volts at 1 amp I can use a zener to clamp to 10 volts at 1 amp but the other 20 volts will just be wasted. Is there a way to some how devide the 20 volts to two 10 volt sections and be able to capture the 1 amp for each and then add them into the circuit to produce 10 volts at 3 amps ?