Magnetic peak current mode control for radiation tolerant active driven synchronous power converters

• US 10,425,080 B1
• Filed: 11/06/2018
• Issued: 09/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Crane Electronics, Inc. (Crane Company)
• Original Assignee: Crane Electronics, Inc. (Crane Company)
• Inventors: Lam, Cuon, Liu, Kai, Chen, Herman, Song, Sovann, Nguyen, Khoa
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Long
• Application Number:
  US16/182,316
• Time in Patent Office: 322 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/28 Coils; Windings; Conductive connections
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/0058 by employing soft switching techniques, i.e. commutation of transistors when applied voltage is zero or when current flow is zero using an auxiliary actively switched resonant commutation circuit connected to an intermediate DC voltage or between two push-pull branches of an inverter bridge H02M7/4811; in resonant inverters H02M7/4815; in inverters operating from a resonant DC source H02M7/4826
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/14 Arrangements for reducing ripples from dc input or output
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/33515 with digital control
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/33523 with galvanic isolation between input and output of both the power stage and the feedback loop
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/33592 having a synchronous rectifier circuit or a synchronous freewheeling circuit at the secondary side of an isolation transformer
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 19/0016 by using a control or a clock signal, e.g. in order to apply power supply
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 5/1565 the output pulses having a constant duty cycle
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 7/08 Duration or width modulation ; Duty cycle modulation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/10 Technologies improving the efficiency by using switched-mode power supplies [SMPS], i.e. efficient power electronics conversion e.g. power factor correction or reduction of losses in power supplies or efficient standby modes

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing peak current mode control (PCMC) for power converters using discrete analog components. A pair of complementary bipolar junction transistors may be used to set a maximum duty cycle for the power converter. PCMC may be achieved using a comparator that compares peak input current to an error feedback signal and terminates a pulse-width modulation (PWM) pulse when the peak input current exceeds the error feedback signal. A magnetic signal transformer may be used to establish a secondary side bias voltage supply, to return the error signal, and to drive an AC-coupled signal for a synchronous gate drive. A synchronous switch may be turned on when the main switch is turned off via an output winding of the flyback transformer and may be turned off by the trailing edge of a clock pulse from the magnetic signal transformer before the main switch is turned on.

Claims

1. A peak current mode control (PCMC) controller for a power converter, the power converter comprising a main transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding, the primary winding electrically coupleable to an input voltage node and electrically coupled to a main switch, the secondary winding electrically coupleable to an output voltage node and electrically coupled to a synchronous rectifier switch, the PCMC controller comprising:

a peak current detector circuit having a first input node operatively coupled to a current sensor circuit that, in operation, senses a current of the power converter, a second input node operatively coupled to an error control signal circuit, and an output node that provides a peak current detector output signal usable at least in part to control the operation of the main switch, in operation the peak current detector circuit compares a current sensor signal received from the current sensor circuit to an error control signal received from the error control signal circuit and, responsive to detecting that the current sensor signal exceeds the error control signal, changes the state of the peak current detector output signal;

a magnetic isolator circuit comprising an isolation transformer comprising a primary winding and a secondary winding, the magnetic isolator circuit comprising a first input node operatively coupled to the error control signal circuit, a second input node operatively coupled to a clock circuit to receive a clock signal therefrom, a first output node electrically coupled to the second input node of the peak current detector circuit to provide the error control signal to the peak current detector circuit, and a second output node electrically coupled to the secondary winding of the isolation transformer; and

a synchronous gate drive circuit comprising a first input node operatively coupled to the secondary winding of the main transformer, a second input node operatively coupled to the second output node of the magnetic isolator circuit, and an output node operatively coupled to control the operation of the synchronous rectifier switch.

2. The PCMC controller of claim 1 wherein the peak current detector circuit comprises a comparator and the synchronous gate drive circuit comprises a MOSFET driver.

3. The PCMC controller of claim 1 wherein the magnetic isolator circuit includes circuitry that provides a voltage source for the secondary side circuit of the PCMC controller.

4. The PCMC controller of claim 1, further comprising:

a time delayed gate drive circuit comprising a first input node operatively coupled to the clock circuit to receive the clock signal therefrom, a second input node operatively coupled to the output node of the peak current detector circuit, and an output node operatively coupled to control the operation of the main switch based at least in part on the clock signal and the peak current detector output signal, in operation, the time delayed gate drive circuit causes main switch to turn on only after the synchronous rectifier switch has turned off during a switching cycle.

5. The PCMC controller of claim 4 wherein the time delayed gate drive circuit comprises a resistor-capacitor (RC) circuit.

6. The PCMC controller of claim 4 wherein the time delayed gate drive circuit comprises a MOSFET gate driver.

7. The PCMC controller of claim 4, further comprising:

a preset maximum duty cycle circuit comprising an input node operatively coupled to the clock circuit to receive the clock signal therefrom, and an output node operatively coupled to the second input node of the time delayed gate drive circuit, in operation, the present maximum duty cycle sets a maximum duty cycle for the main switch of the power converter.

8. The PCMC controller of claim 7 wherein the preset maximum duty cycle circuit comprises first and second complementing bipolar junction transistors.

9. The PCMC controller of claim 1 wherein the magnetic isolator circuit comprises a magnetic isolator circuit switch operatively coupled to the primary winding of the isolation transformer, and wherein the second input node of the magnetic isolator circuit is operatively coupled to control the operation of the synchronous rectifier switch.

10. The PCMC controller of claim 1 wherein the synchronous gate drive circuit is operative to cause the synchronous rectifier switch to turn on after the main switch turns off each cycle, and to cause the synchronous rectifier switch to turn off before the main switch turns on during a subsequent cycle.

11. The PCMC controller of claim 1, further comprising:

the current sensor circuit comprising a current transducer that, in operation, senses a current of the power converter.

12. The PCMC controller of claim 11 wherein the current transducer comprises a transformer or a resistor.

13. A power converter, comprising:

a transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding, the primary winding electrically coupleable to an input voltage node and the secondary winding electrically coupleable to an output voltage node;

a primary circuit electrically coupled to the primary winding, the primary circuit comprising a main switch;

a secondary circuit electrically coupled to the secondary winding, the primary circuit comprising a synchronous rectifier switch; and

a peak current mode control (PCMC) controller, comprising;

a peak current detector circuit having a first input node operatively coupled to a current sensor circuit that, in operation, senses a current of the power converter, a second input node operatively coupled to an error control signal circuit, and an output node that provides a peak current detector output signal usable at least in part to control the operation of the main switch, in operation the peak current detector circuit compares a current sensor signal received from the current sensor circuit to an error control signal received from the error control signal circuit and, responsive to detecting that the current sensor signal exceeds the error control signal, changes the state of the peak current detector output signal;

a magnetic isolator circuit comprising an isolation transformer comprising a primary winding and a secondary winding, the magnetic isolator circuit comprising a first input node operatively coupled to the error control signal circuit, a second input node operatively coupled to a clock circuit to receive a clock signal therefrom, a first output node electrically coupled to the second input node of the peak current detector circuit to provide the error control signal to the peak current detector circuit, and a second output node electrically coupled to the secondary winding of the isolation transformer; and

a synchronous gate drive circuit comprising a first input node operatively coupled to the secondary winding of the main transformer, a second input node operatively coupled to the second output node of the magnetic isolator circuit, and an output node operatively coupled to control the operation of the synchronous rectifier switch.

14. The power converter of claim 13 wherein the peak current detector circuit comprises a comparator and the synchronous gate drive circuit comprises a MOSFET driver.

15. The power converter of claim 13 wherein the magnetic isolator circuit includes circuitry that provides a voltage source for the secondary side of the PCMC controller.

16. The power converter of claim 13, further comprising:

a time delayed gate drive circuit comprising a first input node operatively coupled to the clock circuit to receive the clock signal therefrom, a second input node operatively coupled to the output node of the peak current detector circuit, and an output node operatively coupled to control the operation of the main switch based at least in part on the clock signal and the peak current detector output signal, in operation, the time delayed gate drive circuit causes main switch to turn on only after the synchronous rectifier switch has turned off during a switching cycle.

17. The power converter of claim 16 wherein the time delayed gate drive circuit comprises a resistor-capacitor (RC) circuit.

18. The power converter of claim 16, further comprising:

a preset maximum duty cycle circuit comprising an input node operatively coupled to the clock circuit to receive the clock signal therefrom, and an output node operatively coupled to the second input node of the time delayed gate drive circuit, in operation, the present maximum duty cycle sets a maximum duty cycle for the main switch of the power converter.

19. The power converter of claim 18 wherein the preset maximum duty cycle circuit comprises first and second complementing bipolar junction transistors.

20. The power converter of claim 13 wherein the magnetic isolator circuit comprises a magnetic isolator circuit switch operatively coupled to the primary winding of the isolation transformer, and wherein the second input node of the magnetic isolator circuit is operatively coupled to control the operation of the synchronous rectifier switch.

21. The power converter of claim 13 wherein the synchronous gate drive circuit is operative to cause the synchronous rectifier switch to turn on after the main switch turns off each cycle, and causes the synchronous rectifier switch to turn off before the main switch turns on for a subsequent cycle.

22. The power converter of claim 13, further comprising:

the current sensor circuit comprising a current transducer that, in operation, senses a current of the power converter.

23. The power converter of claim 22 wherein the current transducer comprises a transformer or a resistor.

24. A peak current mode control (PCMC) controller for a power converter, the power converter comprising a main transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding, the primary winding electrically coupleable to an input voltage node and electrically coupled to a main switch, the secondary winding electrically coupleable to an output voltage node and electrically coupled to a synchronous rectifier switch, the PCMC controller comprising:

a magnetic isolator circuit comprising an isolation transformer comprising a primary winding electrically coupled to a primary side circuit and a secondary winding electrically coupled to a secondary side circuit, the magnetic isolator circuit comprising circuitry that, in operation, provides a voltage supply to the secondary side circuit, provides an error control signal from the secondary side circuit to the primary side circuit, and provides an output signal usable by a synchronous gate drive circuit to control the operation of the synchronous rectifier switch.