Apparatus for power transmission

• US 20040095099A1
• Filed: 07/31/2003
• Published: 05/20/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricotec OY
• Original Assignee: Ricotec OY
• Inventors: Salama, Mikko
• Granted Patent: US 6,911,805 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 322/24
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 5/458 using semiconductor devices only

Abstract

Apparatus for the transfer of electric power produced by at least one multi-phase alternating-current generator (1) or generator unit into at least one multi-phase alternating-current power network (U_U,U_V,U_W), said apparatus comprising at least one control unit (4), at least one non-controlled rectifier bridge (2), a direct-current intermediate circuit and at least one controlled inverter bridge (3) for supplying d.c. power into an alternating-current power network, said inverter bridge (3) having fully gate-controlled semiconductor switches (V11-V16) in its upper and lower branches, and said control unit controlling the semiconductor switches (V11-V16) of the inverter bridge (3) so as to cause them to conduct in such manner that: in the upper branch, the switch in each phase conducts substantially as long as the instantaneous value of the network phase voltage (U_U,U_V,U_W) in question is the most positive, and in the lower branch, correspondingly the switch in each phase conducts substantially as long as the instantaneous value of the network phase voltage (U_U,U_V,U_W) in question is the most negative. The rectifier bridge (2) is connected directly to the inverter bridge (3) without a d.c. capacitor unit functioning as an intermediate energy storage. In addition, the direct current output from the rectifier bridge (2) is conducted directly into those two a.c. network phases in which the magnitudes of the instantaneous values of the voltages are highest, without current limitation by an inductor unit.

Claims

1. Apparatus for the transfer of electric power produced by at least one multi-phase alternating-current generator (1) or generator unit into at least one multi-phase alternating-current power network (U_U, U_V, U_W), said apparatus comprising at least one control unit (4), at least one non-controlled rectifier bridge (2), a direct-current intermediate circuit and at least one controlled inverter bridge (3) for supplying d.c. power into an alternating-current power network

said inverter bridge (3) having fully gate-controlled semiconductor switches (V11-V16) in its upper and lower branches, and

said control unit controlling the semiconductor switches (V11-V16) of the inverter bridge (3) so as to cause them to conduct in such manner that:

in the upper branch, the switch in each phase conducts substantially as long as the instantaneous value of the network phase voltage (U_U, U_V, U_W) in question is the most positive, and

in the lower branch, correspondingly the switch in each phase conducts substantially as long as the instantaneous value of the network phase voltage (U_U, U_V, U_W) in question is the most negative

characterized in that

the rectifier bridge (2) is connected directly to the inverter bridge (3) without a d.c. capacitor unit functioning as an intermediate energy storage, and that

the direct current output from the rectifier bridge (2) is conducted directly into those two a.c. network phases in which the magnitudes of the instantaneous values of the voltages are highest, without current limitation by an inductor unit.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the control unit controls the semiconductor switches (V11-V16) of the inverter bridge (3) at the frequency of the electric network so that the semiconductor switches are controlled with a single continuous control pulse that continues throughout the duration of the conduction period of the semiconductor switch.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which the alternating-current power network is a constant-frequency network, characterized in that the control unit controls the semiconductor switches (V11-V16) of the inverter bridge (3) at the constant frequency.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the control unit (4) contains control elements for controlling the semiconductor switches (V11-V16) of the inverter bridge (3), said control elements being connected to the same phase voltage terminals (u1,v1,w1) as the inverter bridge (3).

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4, characterized in that the control elements are optoisolators, and that the control unit comprises a diode bridge (V31-V36), the optoisolators'"'"' emitter diodes (V11c-V16c) connected in series with the diodes of the diode bridge, and a resistor (R1) connected to the direct-voltage terminals of the diode bridge, a current determined by said resistor (R1) flowing through those emitter diodes that, according to the control logic, are to give a control command to the corresponding semiconductor switches (V11-V16) of the inverter bridge (3).