Power converter including circuits for improved operational contol of synchronous rectifiers therein
First Claim
1. A power converter device including a primary section and a secondary section electromagnetically coupled to one another through a transformer including respective primary and secondary transformer windings, the power converter comprising:
- at least a first synchronous rectifier coupled to the secondary transformer winding to pass a voltage induced at said secondary winding in response to an input voltage supplied to the primary transformer winding during an on-state of a main power switch coupled to the primary transformer winding; and
a first drive circuit coupled to the gate terminal of the first synchronous rectifier to selectively activate and deactivate the first rectifier in correspondence with respective on and off states of the main power switch based on a gate voltage supplied by said first drive circuit, with at least one circuit parameter being selected in said first drive circuit for maintaining the gate voltage within a predefined range regardless of variation in the level of the input voltage.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A power converter device using synchronous rectifiers and method for controlling operation thereof are provided. A first synchronous rectifier is coupled to the secondary transformer winding to pass a voltage induced at the secondary winding in response to an input voltage supplied to the primary transformer winding during an on-state of a main power switch. A first drive circuit is coupled to the gate terminal of the first synchronous rectifier to selectively activate and deactivate the first rectifier in correspondence with the respective on and off states of the main power switch based on a gate voltage supplied by the first drive circuit, with at least one circuit parameter being selected in the first drive circuit for maintaining the gate voltage within a predefined range regardless of variation in the level of the input voltage.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A power converter device including a primary section and a secondary section electromagnetically coupled to one another through a transformer including respective primary and secondary transformer windings, the power converter comprising:
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at least a first synchronous rectifier coupled to the secondary transformer winding to pass a voltage induced at said secondary winding in response to an input voltage supplied to the primary transformer winding during an on-state of a main power switch coupled to the primary transformer winding; and
a first drive circuit coupled to the gate terminal of the first synchronous rectifier to selectively activate and deactivate the first rectifier in correspondence with respective on and off states of the main power switch based on a gate voltage supplied by said first drive circuit, with at least one circuit parameter being selected in said first drive circuit for maintaining the gate voltage within a predefined range regardless of variation in the level of the input voltage. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 7)
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2. The power converter device further comprising a second synchronous rectifier coupled to the secondary transformer winding to pass voltage induced at said secondary winding during an on-state of a clamp switch coupled to the primary transformer winding;
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a second drive circuit coupled to the gate terminal of the second synchronous rectifier to selectively activate and deactivate the second rectifier in correspondence with the respective on and off states of the clamp switch based on a gate voltage supplied by said second drive circuit, with at least one parameter being selected in said second drive circuit for maintaining the gate voltage within the predefined range regardless of variation in the level of the input voltage. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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14. A method for controlling a power converter device including a primary section and a secondary section electromagnetically coupled to one another through a transformer including respective primary and secondary transformer windings, the method comprising:
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coupling at least a first synchronous rectifier to the secondary transformer winding to pass a voltage induced at said secondary winding in response to an input voltage supplied to the primary transformer winding during an on-state of a main power switch; and
coupling a first drive circuit to the gate terminal of the first synchronous rectifier to selectively activate and deactivate the first rectifier in correspondence with respective on and off states of the main power switch based on a gate voltage supplied by said first drive circuit; and
selecting at least one circuit parameter in said first drive circuit for maintaining the gate voltage within a predefined range regardless of variation in the level of the input voltage.
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Specification