Universal voltage converter and inductive power coupling

• US 10,361,752 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2012
• Issued: 07/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Inventors: Jansen, Gerardus Lucien Mathildus, Sahin Nomaler, Funda, Nemlioglu, Can, Van Der Voort, Ronald Hans
• Primary Examiner(s): Kessie, Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chowdhuri, Swarna N
• Application Number:
  US14/236,466
• Publication Number:
  US 20140306546A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,541 Days
• Field of Search: 307104
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 11/00 Circuit arrangements for providing service supply to auxiliaries of stations in which electric power is generated, distributed or converted
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/70 involving the reduction of electric, magnetic or electromagnetic leakage fields
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/80 involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/90 involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/007 Plural converter units in cascade push-pull DC/DC converters with pre-regulator H02M3/3374; DC-AC converters following a DC-DC stage including a high frequency transformer H02M7/4807; DC-AC converters following a DC-DC conversion stage generating periodically varying voltages H02M7/4826
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/24 by static converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 5/04 by static converters controlling transformers, reactors or choke coils, e.g. by tap changing H02P13/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 5/42 by static converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 5/45 using semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/44 by static converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/4807 having a high frequency intermediate AC stage
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 41/24 in which the lamp is fed by high frequency ac, or with separate oscillator frequencyH05B41/26 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/382 with galvanic isolation between input and output
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/39 Circuits containing inverter bridges

Abstract

The present invention relates to a Voltage converter (100) for converting an input voltage (V10) to an output voltage (V20) comprising an input circuitry (102) for receiving the input voltage (V10) from a power supply (112), wherein the input circuitry includes chopper means (110) for chopping a voltage (V12) derived from the input voltage (V10) at a chopper frequency to a chopped voltage (V14), an inductive transformer unit (106) for transforming the chopped voltage (V14) to a chopped AC voltage (V16), and an output circuitry (104) for converting the chopped AC voltage (V16) of the inductive transformer unit (106) to the output voltage (V20) having a lower frequency than the chopper frequency.

Claims

1. A voltage converter for converting an input voltage to an output voltage, said voltage converter comprising:

a primary element comprising;

an input circuitry configured to receive the input voltage from a power supply, the input circuitry comprising;

a chopper configured to generated a chopped voltage from a voltage derived from the input voltage, the chopped voltage being at a chopper frequency,

an inductive transformer unit configured to transform the chopped voltage to a chopped AC voltage,

a first magnet configured to generate a magnetic field;

a switch configured to monitor a direction of the magnetic field; and

a second element, attachable to the primary element, the second element comprising;

a second magnet configured to generate a second magnetic field, said second magnet oppositely opposed to the first magnet; and

an output circuitry configured to convert the chopped AC voltage of the inductive transformer unit to the output voltage, said output voltage having a frequency lower than the chopper frequency, wherein the switch is configured to;

determine the output circuitry is proximate to the input circuitry by determining an alteration of the direction of the magnetic field, wherein said alteration of said direction of the magnetic field causing the first magnetic field to pass substantially vertically through the switch; and

remove said input voltage from said input circuitry when the output circuitry is determined not proximate to the input circuitry.

2. The voltage converter of claim 1, wherein the input circuitry comprises:

a rectifier unit configured to;

rectify the input voltage; and

provide a unipolar voltage as the voltage derived from the input voltage.

3. The voltage converter of claim 1, wherein the inductive transformer unit comprises:

a resonant capacitor connected to one of;

a primary side to the input circuitry and a secondary side to the output circuitry.

4. The voltage converter of claim 1, wherein the output circuitry comprises:

a second rectifier unit configured to convert the chopped AC voltage to a second unipolar voltage having a waveform of the unipolar voltage provided by the first rectifier.

5. The voltage converter of claim 1, wherein the output circuitry comprises:

a lowpass filter configured to convert the chopped AC voltage to the second unipolar voltage.

6. The voltage converter of claim 1, wherein the output circuitry comprises:

an inverter configured to invert the second unipolar voltage to an AC output voltage.

7. The voltage converter of claim 6, wherein the inverter comprises:

an H-bridge comprising;

a detector configured to detect;

a minimum of the second unipolar voltage to reconstruct the waveform of the input voltage.

8. The voltage converter of claim 6, wherein the inverter comprises an H-bridge connected to the input circuitry to reconstruct the waveform of the input voltage.

9. An inductive power coupling comprising:

a first coupling member connected to a power supply via a set of primary conductors, the first coupling member comprising;

a first signal shaping circuit configured to convert a nominal AC power level (F_nom) into a higher frequency power (F_high); and

an automatic power switch connected to the set of primary conductors, said power switch configured to determine a direction of a magnetic field; and

a second coupling member configured to couple to the first coupling member to inductively receive the higher frequency power transferred from the first coupling member, the second coupling member comprising;

a second signal shaping circuit configured to convert the inductively-received higher frequency power (F_high) into the nominal AC power level (F_nom), wherein each of the first and second coupling members comprises;

a set of inductive coils configured to inductively transfer power,

a permanent magnet configured to couple the first coupling member and the second coupling member together,

a sealing capsule positioned around the respective coupling member;

wherein the power switch is activated to provide power to the first coupling member when the direction of a magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet passes vertically through the power switch.

10. The inductive power coupling of claim 9, wherein the automatic power switch comprises:

a Hall Effect switch responsive to the presence of the second coupling member.

11. The inductive power coupling of claim 9, wherein the first and second coupling members comprise:

an electromagnetic field shield around the coils and inside the sealing capsule to reduce the leakage of high frequency electromagnetic fields.

12. The inductive power coupling of claim 9, wherein the first coupling member further comprises:

a line current measurement means in communication with the power switch; and

a timer, in communication with the power switch, configured to initiate a predetermined time interval, wherein a line voltage applied to the coils of the first coupling member is stopped for the predetermined time interval when a line current exceeds a predetermined limit.

13. The inductive power coupling of claim 9, wherein the power switch is in further communication with a second power switch to control power through the set of primary conductors, wherein the second power switch is located away from the first coupling member and near the power supply.

14. The inductive power coupling of claim 13, wherein the second switch is configured to:

remove electric power from the primary conductors when at least one of;

the second coupling member is not coupled to the first coupling member, and not in communication with the power switch.