Pendulum resonant converter and method

• US 20050195626A1
• Filed: 02/22/2005
• Published: 09/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infineon Technologies Americas Corp. (Infineon Technologies AG)
• Original Assignee: International Rectifier Corporation (Infineon Technologies AG)
• Inventors: Ribarich, Thomas J., Huang, Zan
• Granted Patent: US 7,368,879 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 363/132
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/425 using a single converter stage both for correction of AC input power factor and generation of a high frequency AC output voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 41/282 with semiconductor devices H05B41/2806, H05B41/288, H05B41/295 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/355 Power factor correction [PFC]; Reactive power compensation
• 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

A resonant switching converter comprising a first pair of series connected switches comprising a high side switch and a low side switch coupled across a DC input voltage, there being a first switched node between the switches; a second pair of series connected switches comprising a high side switch and a low side switch coupled across a DC bus, there being a second switched node between the switches; a DC bus capacitor coupled across the DC bus; the first and second switched nodes adapted to have a load coupled therebetween; the high side switch of the first pair of switches supplying current to the load from the DC input voltage, the low side switch of the first pair of switches being switched opposite the high side switch of the first pair of switches and providing a re-circulation path to allow bi-directional current flow through the load; the high side switch of the second pair of switches supplying current to the load from the DC bus capacitor, the low side switch of the second pair of switches being switched opposite said high side switch of the second pair of switches and providing a re-circulation path to allow bidirectional current flow through the load; a controller for controlling the switching of each of the switches of the first and second pairs of switches, the controller comprising a phase shift circuit providing a phase shift between the control signals driving the switches of the first and second pairs of switches to shape the waveshape of the output voltage of the converter provided to the load; the controller further comprising a first circuit for providing a first compensation signal for the control signals driving the first pair of switches to compensate for variation of the DC input voltage; and a second circuit for providing a second compensation signal for the control signals driving the second pair of switches to compensate for variation of the DC bus voltage.

Claims

1. A DC to DC resonant switching converter comprising:

a first pair of series connected switches comprising a high side switch and a low side switch coupled across a DC input voltage, there being a first switched node between the switches;

a second pair of series connected switches comprising a high side switch and a low side switch coupled across a DC bus, there being a second switched node between the switches;

a DC bus capacitor coupled across the DC bus;

the first and second switched nodes adapted to have a load coupled therebetween;

the high side switch of said first pair of switches supplying current to the load from said DC input voltage, the low side switch of said first pair of switches being switched opposite said high side switch of said first pair of switches and providing a re-circulation path to allow bi-directional current flow through the load;

the high side switch of said second pair of switches supplying current to the load from said DC bus capacitor, the low side switch of said second pair of switches being switched opposite said high side switch of said second pair of switches and providing a re-circulation path to allow bi-directional current flow through the load;

a controller for controlling the switching of each of said switches of said first and second pairs of switches, said controller comprising a phase shift circuit providing a phase shift between the control signals driving the switches of the first and second pairs to shape the waveshape of the output voltage of the converter provided to the load;

the controller further comprising a first circuit for providing a first compensation signal for the control signals driving the first pair of switches to compensate for variation of the DC input voltage; and

a second circuit for providing a second compensation signal for the control signals driving the second pair of switches to compensate for variation of the DC bus voltage.

2. The converter of claim 1, wherein the first circuit comprises a circuit for generating a first pulse width modulated signal to control the first pair of switches wherein the pulse width provided to control the first pair of switches varies with the DC input voltage.

3. The converter of claim 2, wherein the pulse width of the control signal provided to the high side switch of the first pair of switches is reduced when the DC input voltage or current is low and vice versa.

4. The converter of claim 2, wherein the first circuit comprises a first comparator receiving at one input a voltage related to the DC input voltage and at a second input an oscillator signal and for generating the first pulse width modulated signal.

5. The converter of claim 2, wherein the second circuit comprises a circuit for generating a second pulse width modulated signal having a pulse width varying with the voltage on said DC bus.

6. The converter of claim 5, wherein the second pulse width modulated signal has an increased pulse width when the DC bus voltage reduces and vice versa.

7. The converter of claim 6, wherein the second circuit comprises a further comparator for generating the second pulse width modulated signal, the comparator receiving at one input a voltage related to the DC bus voltage and at a second input an oscillator signal and generating an output comprising said second pulse width modulated signal.

8. The converter of claim 7, further comprising a superimposing circuit for superimposing said phase shift onto said second pulse width modulated signal and providing a superimposed pulse width modulated signal wherein said superimposed pulse width modulated signal is phase shifted to provide said phase shift and pulse width modulated to control the on times of said second pair of switches.

9. The converter of claim 5, wherein the first and second pulse width modulated signals comprise a pair of opposite phase pulse width modulated signals for driving said respective first pair of switches and second pair of switches.

10. The converter of claim 1, wherein said load comprises a resonant inductor in series with a resonant capacitor and a lamp load in parallel with said resonant capacitor.

11. The converter of claim 10, further comprising a DC blocking capacitor in series with said load.

12. The converter of claim 11, wherein the lamp load comprises a gas discharge lamp.

13. The converter of claim 1, further comprising an input circuit comprising a rectifier adapted to be coupled to an AC input voltage, an input inductor in series with the rectifier and an input capacitor across which said DC input voltage is provided, and further wherein the phase shift circuit shapes the input current drawn from the AC input voltage.

14. The converter of claim 1, wherein said controller comprises a PI controller having an input related to the load current coupled to said load and for providing a signal related to said phase shift.

15. The converter of claim 14, wherein the controller further comprises an amplifier stage and a rectifier for providing a DC voltage related to said phase shift.

16. The converter of claim 2, wherein the first circuit further comprises an amplifier stage for providing a signal related to said DC input voltage.

17. The converter of claim 1, wherein said switches comprise MOSFETs.

18. A method for operating a DC to DC resonant switching converter, wherein the switching converter comprises a first pair of series connected switches comprising a high side switch and a low side switch coupled across a DC input voltage with a first switched node between the switches;

a second pair of series connected switches comprising a high side switch and a low side switch coupled across the DC bus with a second switched node between the switches; and

a DC bus capacitor coupled across the DC bus, a load adapted to be coupled between the first and second switched nodes adapted to have a load coupled therebetween;

the method comprising;

supplying current to the load from said DC input voltage through the high side switch of said first pair of switches;

switching the low side switch of said first pair of switches in opposite phase to said high side switch of said first pair of switches and providing a re-circulation path to allow bi-directional current flow through the load through said low side switch;

supplying current to the load from said DC bus capacitor through the high side switch of said second pair of switches;

switching the low side switch of said second pair of switches in opposite phase to said high side switch of said second pair of switches and providing a re-circulation path to allow bi-directional current flow through the load through the low side switch of the second pair of switches;

controlling the switching of each of the switches of the first and second pairs of switches by providing a phase shift between control signals driving switches of the first and second pairs of switches to shape the waveshape of the output voltage of the converter provided to the load;

further comprising providing a first compensation signal for the control signals driving the first pair of switches to compensate for variation of the DC input voltage and providing a second compensation signal for the control signals driving the second pair of switches to compensate for variation of the DC bus voltage.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of providing a first compensation signal comprises generating a first pulse width modulated signal to control the first pair of switches wherein the pulse width provided to the first pair of switches varies with the DC input voltage.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the pulse width of the control signal provided to the high side switch of the first pair of switches is reduced when the DC input voltage or current is low and vice versa.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of generating the first compensation signal comprises comparing a voltage related to the DC input voltage and an oscillator signal and generating the first pulse width modulated signal.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of generating a second compensation signal comprises generating a second pulse width modulated signal having a pulse width varying with the voltage on said DC bus.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of generating the second pulse width modulated signal comprises increasing the pulse width when the DC bus voltage reduces and vice versa.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of generating the second compensation signal comprises comparing a voltage related to the DC bus voltage and an oscillator signal and generating an output comprising said second pulse width modulated signal.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising superimposing said phase shift onto said second pulse width modulated signal to generate a superimposed pulse width modulated signal wherein said superimposed pulse width modulated signal is phase shifted to provide said phase shift and pulse width modulated to control the on times of said second pair of switches.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the steps of generating the first and second pulse width modulated signals each comprise generating a pair of opposite phase pulse width modulated signals for driving said respective first and second pairs of switches.

27. The method of claim 18, wherein the load comprises a resonant inductor in series with the resonant capacitor and a lamp load in parallel with said resonant capacitor.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising providing a DC blocking capacitor in series with said load.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the lamp load comprises a gas discharge lamp.

30. The method of claim 18, further comprising supplying said DC input voltage from a rectifier providing a rectified DC voltage from said AC input voltage, and filtering said rectified DC voltage with an input inductor in series with said rectifier and providing an input capacitor across which said DC input voltage is provided, and further comprising shaping the input current drawn from said AC input voltage with said phase shift.

31. The method of claim 18, further comprising coupling a signal related to the current in said load to a PI controller and providing as an output of the PI controller a signal related to said phase shift.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising providing an amplifier stage and a rectifier for providing a DC voltage related to said phase shift.

33. The method of claim 19, further comprising amplifying a signal related to said DC input voltage to generate said first compensation signal.

34. A circuit for determining the current through a gas discharge lamp, wherein the gas discharge lamp is coupled into a resonant circuit such that the lamp is in series with an inductor and in parallel with a resonant capacitance, the lamp having a resonant voltage applied thereacross, the lamp having a filament having a resistance, the circuit comprising an amplifier having its inputs coupled across the lamp for sensing the voltage across the lamp for only one half cycle of each cycle of the applied resonant voltage, whereby the output of the amplifier is proportional to the voltage across the filament of the lamp and thus proportional to the current in the lamp.

35. A method for determining the current through a gas discharge lamp, wherein the gas discharge lamp is coupled into a resonant circuit such that the lamp is in series with an inductor and in parallel with a resonant capacitance, the lamp having a resonant voltage applied thereacross, the lamp having a filament having a resistance, the method comprising sensing the voltage across the lamp for only one half cycle of each cycle of the applied resonant voltage, whereby the sensed voltage is proportional to the voltage across the filament of the lamp and thus proportional to the current in the lamp.