Dc-dc converters providing reduced deadtime
First Claim
1. A DC-DC power converter, comprising:
- first and second input terminals;
at least one electrical element connected to at least one of the first and second input terminals, the at least one electrical element being operative, in the event a first voltage is applied across the first and second input terminals, to provide a second voltage having a value between the first voltage value and a reference voltage value;
at least one transformer having at least one primary winding and at least one secondary winding;
a switch assembly including a plurality of switching elements, the switch assembly being operatively connected to the first input terminal, the second input terminal, the electrical element, and the transformer primary winding, wherein the switch assembly is operative, in the event the first voltage is applied across the first and second input terminals, to switchably apply the first voltage, the second voltage, and the reference voltage, across the transformer primary winding to generate at least one third voltage across the transformer secondary winding;
a plurality of output terminals; and
a rectifier connected between the transformer secondary winding and the output terminals.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A DC-DC power converter (100) that provides increased power density, reduced size, and reduced costs of manufacture. The DC-DC power converter (100) includes first and second input terminals (101, 102), a plurality of output terminals (116, 117), and at least one electrical element (108/109) connected to at least one of the first and second input terminals (101, 102). In the event a first voltage is applied across the first and second input terminals (101, 102), the electrical element (108/109) provides a second voltage having a value between the first voltage value and a reference voltage value. The DC-DC power converter (100) further includes a transformer (110) having a primary winding (111) and a secondary winding (112), and a switch assembly (103-107) operatively connected to the first input terminal (101), the second input terminal (102), the electrical element (108/109), and the transformer primary winding (111). In the event the first voltage is applied across the first and second input terminals (101, 102), the switch assembly (103-107) switchably applies the first, second, and reference voltages across the transformer primary winding (111) to generate at least one third voltage across the transformer secondary winding (112). The DC-DC power converter (100) further includes a rectifier (113) connected between the transformer secondary winding (112) and the output terminals (116, 117).
37 Citations
67 Claims
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1. A DC-DC power converter, comprising:
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first and second input terminals;
at least one electrical element connected to at least one of the first and second input terminals, the at least one electrical element being operative, in the event a first voltage is applied across the first and second input terminals, to provide a second voltage having a value between the first voltage value and a reference voltage value;
at least one transformer having at least one primary winding and at least one secondary winding;
a switch assembly including a plurality of switching elements, the switch assembly being operatively connected to the first input terminal, the second input terminal, the electrical element, and the transformer primary winding, wherein the switch assembly is operative, in the event the first voltage is applied across the first and second input terminals, to switchably apply the first voltage, the second voltage, and the reference voltage, across the transformer primary winding to generate at least one third voltage across the transformer secondary winding;
a plurality of output terminals; and
a rectifier connected between the transformer secondary winding and the output terminals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of operating a DC-DC power converter, comprising the steps of:
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in the event a first voltage is applied across first and second input terminals of the DC-DC power converter, providing a second voltage having a value between the first voltage value and a reference voltage value by at least one electrical element connected to at least one of the first and second input terminals;
switchably applying the first voltage, the second voltage, and the reference voltage across a primary winding of a transformer by a switch assembly, thereby generating at least one third voltage across a secondary winding of the transformer, the switch assembly being operatively connected to the first input terminal, the second input terminal, the electrical element, and the transformer primary winding; and
providing the at least one third voltage to a rectifier by the transformer secondary winding, thereby generating a fourth rectified voltage at output terminals of the DC-DC power converter. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A DC-DC power converter, comprising:
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a switch assembly including first and second input terminals, at least one electrical element connected to at least one of the first and second input terminals, the at least one electrical element being operative, in the event a first voltage is applied across the first and second input terminals, to provide a second voltage having a value between the first voltage value and a reference voltage value, first and second output terminals, and a switch subassembly including a plurality of switching elements, the switch subassembly being operatively connected to the first input terminal, the second input terminal, and the electrical element, wherein the switch subassembly is operative, in the event the first voltage is applied across the first and second input terminals, to switchably apply the first voltage, the second voltage, and the reference voltage across the first and second output terminals; and
a second DC-DC power converter operatively connected to the first and second output terminals of the switch assembly, the second DC-DC power converter being configured to receive the first voltage, the second voltage, and the reference voltage applied across the first and second output terminals, and to generate at least one third voltage. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A method of operating a DC-DC power converter, comprising the steps of:
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in the event a first voltage is applied across first and second input terminals of a switch assembly, providing a second voltage having a value between the first voltage value and a reference value by at least one electrical element included in the switch assembly;
switchably applying the first voltage, the second voltage, and the reference voltage across first and second output terminals of the switch assembly by a switch subassembly, the switch subassembly including a plurality of switching elements and being operatively connected to the first input terminal, the second input terminal, and the electrical element;
receiving the first voltage, the second voltage, and the reference voltage applied across the first and second output terminals of the switch assembly by a second DC-DC power converter; and
generating at least one third voltage by the second DC-DC power converter. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A DC-DC power converter, comprising:
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a switch assembly including first and second input terminals, at least one electrical element connected to at least one of the first and second input terminals, the at least one electrical element being operative, in the event a first voltage is applied across the first and second input terminals, to provide a second voltage having a value between the first voltage value and a reference voltage value, first and second output terminals, and a switch subassembly including a plurality of switching elements, the switch subassembly being operatively connected to the first input terminal, the second input terminal, and the electrical element, wherein the switch subassembly is operative, in the event the first voltage is applied across the first and second input terminals, to switchably apply the first voltage, the second voltage, and the reference voltage across the first and second output terminals; and
a filter operatively connected to the first and second output terminals of the switch assembly, the filter being configured to receive the switchably applied first, second, and reference voltages, and to generate at least one third filtered voltage. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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59. A method of operating a DC-DC power converter, comprising the steps of:
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in the event a first voltage is applied across first and second input terminals of a switch assembly, providing a second voltage having a value between the first voltage value and a reference value by at least one electrical element included in the switch assembly;
switchably applying the first voltage, the second voltage, and the reference voltage across first and second output terminals of the switch assembly by a switch subassembly, the switch subassembly including a plurality of switching elements and being operatively connected to the first input terminal, the second input terminal, and the electrical element;
receiving the first voltage, the second voltage, and the reference voltage applied across the first and second output terminals of the switch assembly by a filter; and
generating at least one third filtered voltage by the filter. - View Dependent Claims (60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67)
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Specification