Resonant pulsed voltage multiplier and capacitor charger

• US 10,587,188 B2
• Filed: 01/22/2019
• Issued: 03/10/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Transient Plasma Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Transient Plasma Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Sanders, Jason M., Thomas, Mark, Ford, Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu, An T
• Application Number:
  US16/254,146
• Publication Number:
  US 20190229615A1
• Time in Patent Office: 413 Days
• 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 1/007 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 3/07 using capacitors charged and discharged alternately by semiconductor devices with control electrode , e.g. charge pumps
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/156 with automatic control of output voltage or current, e.g. switching regulators
• 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 quickly charging a load capacitance to a voltage level that is a multiple of the DC input voltage are provided herein. In one approach, the load capacitance is charged by a voltage multiplication circuit, and the load capacitance is subsequently discharged into a resonant circuit that drives a diode opening switch in order to create a fast rising, unipolar electrical pulse.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

supplying a DC charging voltage to a plurality of capacitors of a voltage multiplying circuit; and

resonantly charging a load capacitor of a first resonant circuit that includes the load capacitor and a first inductor to a voltage that is an integer multiple of the DC charging voltage by selectively electrically coupling each of the capacitors of the voltage multiplying circuit in series with one another and with the load capacitor.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein resonantly charging the load capacitor of the first resonant circuit includes resonantly charging the load capacitor of the first resonant circuit within a single half-cycle of a resonant period of the resonant circuit.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of capacitors of the voltage multiplying circuit includes n capacitors, each of which have a substantially same capacitance, wherein resonantly charging the load capacitor of the first resonant circuit includes resonantly charging the load capacitor to a voltage that is between n times the DC charging voltage and 2*n times the DC charging voltage, inclusive.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein resonantly charging the load capacitor includes selectively electrically coupling each of the capacitors of the voltage multiplying circuit in series with one another, the load capacitor a switch, an inductor, and a rectifier.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the rectifier comprises a diode.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recharging, by a second resonant circuit, the plurality of capacitors of the voltage multiplying circuit at a time after the resonantly charging the load capacitor of the first resonant circuit.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the voltage multiplying circuit includes a plurality of diodes and a plurality of switches, the switches operable to selectively couple the plurality of capacitors of the voltage multiplying circuit to one another in series and reverse bias the plurality of diodes during the resonantly charging the load capacitor of the first resonant circuit, the switches further operable to selectively couple the plurality of capacitors of the voltage multiplying circuit to one another in parallel and forward bias the plurality of diodes during the recharging the plurality of capacitors of the voltage multiplying circuit.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the second resonant circuit includes a switch, a second inductor, and a diode.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein resonantly charging the load capacitor includes resonantly charging the load capacitor to a voltage that is two times the DC charging voltage.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

discharging the load capacitor into a second resonant circuit;

driving a diode opening switch by the second resonant circuit to generate an electrical pulse; and

supplying the electrical pulse to a load electrically coupled in parallel with the diode opening switch.

11. A resonant pulsed voltage multiplier and capacitor charger, comprising:

a charge circuit including a load capacitance and a charge circuit inductor electrically coupled to one another;

a voltage multiplying circuit electrically coupled to the charge circuit, the voltage multiplying circuit including a plurality of voltage multiplying stages, each of the plurality of voltage multiplying stages including a capacitor and a first switch, the first switches of the plurality of voltage multiplying stages operable to selectively electrically couple the capacitors of the plurality of voltage multiplying stages in series, and to selectively electrically couple the capacitors of the plurality of voltage multiplying stages in parallel; and

a recharge circuit electrically coupled to the voltage multiplying circuit, the recharge circuit including a DC power supply operable to supply a DC charging voltage to the capacitors of the plurality of voltage multiplying stages.

12. The resonant pulsed voltage multiplier and capacitor charger of claim 11 wherein each of the plurality of voltage multiplying stages further includes:

a diode electrically coupled between a first electrode of the capacitor and a first electrode of the first switch, the first switch having a second electrode electrically coupled to a second electrode of the capacitor; and

a second switch coupled between the second electrode of the capacitor and a recharge return path to the recharge circuit.

13. The resonant pulsed voltage multiplier and capacitor charger of claim 12 wherein the voltage multiplying circuit further includes an input capacitor having a first electrode electrically coupled to an anode of the diode of a first voltage multiplying stage of the plurality of voltage multiplying stages and a second electrode electrically coupled to the second switch of the first voltage multiplying stage.

14. The resonant pulsed voltage multiplier and capacitor charger of claim 12 wherein a respective diode of the plurality of voltage multiplying stages includes a plurality of diodes electrically coupled to one another in a series-parallel arrangement.

15. The resonant pulsed voltage multiplier and capacitor charger of claim 12 wherein the recharge circuit further includes a recharge circuit switch, a recharge circuit diode, and a recharge circuit inductor, the recharge circuit switch, the recharge circuit diode, and the recharge circuit inductor electrically coupled in series to one another, and the charge circuit further includes a charge circuit switch and a charge circuit diode electrically coupled in series to one another and to the charge circuit inductor,

wherein the resonant pulsed voltage multiplier and capacitor charger is operable to:

selectively electrically couple the capacitors of the plurality of voltage multiplying stages in series by transitioning the first switches from a non-conducting state to a conducting state,

provide electrical charges from the series-coupled capacitors of the plurality of voltage multiplying stages to the load capacitance by transitioning the charge circuit switch from a non-conducting to a conducting state, and

recharge the voltage capacitors of the plurality of voltage multiplying stages by transitioning the first switches of the plurality of voltage multiplying stages and the charge circuit switch from the conducting state to the non-conducting state, and subsequently transitioning the second switches of the plurality of voltage multiplying stages from the non-conducting state to the conducting state.

16. The resonant pulsed voltage multiplier and capacitor charger of claim 15 wherein the charge circuit switch includes a plurality of switches electrically coupled to one another in a series-parallel arrangement, and the charge circuit switch includes at least one of:

field effect transistors, insulated gate bipolar transistors, thyristors, silicon controlled thyristors, bipolar junction transistors, photo conductive solid state switches, thyratrons, spark gaps, or any solid state, avalanche, optically triggered or gas discharge switches.

17. The resonant pulsed voltage multiplier and capacitor charger of claim 12 wherein the first switches or the second switches include at least one of:

field effect transistors, insulated gate bipolar transistors, thyristors, silicon controlled thyristors, bipolar junction transistors, photo conductive solid state switches, thyratrons, spark gaps, or any solid state, avalanche, optically triggered or gas discharge switches.

18. The resonant pulsed voltage multiplier and capacitor charger of claim 11, further comprising:

a pulse generator circuit electrically coupled to the charge circuit, the pulse generator circuit including;

the load capacitor;

a switch electrically coupled to a first electrode of the load capacitor;

a pulse generator circuit capacitor having a first electrode electrically coupled to a second electrode of the load capacitor;

a first inductor electrically coupled to the second electrode of the load capacitor;

a second inductor having a first electrode electrically coupled to a second electrode of the pulse generator circuit capacitor; and

a diode opening switch electrically coupled to a second electrode of the second inductor.

19. The resonant pulsed voltage multiplier and capacitor charger of claim 18 wherein the switch of the pulse generator circuit includes a plurality of switches electrically coupled to one another in a series-parallel arrangement.

20. The resonant pulsed voltage multiplier and capacitor charger of claim 11 wherein each of the plurality of voltage multiplying stages further includes a first resistor coupled between a first electrode of the DC power supply and a first electrode of the capacitor, and a second resistor coupled between a second electrode of the DC power supply and a second electrode of the capacitor.