BIDIRECTIONAL SWITCH CIRCUIT AND POWER CONVERTER INCLUDING THE SAME
First Claim
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1. A bidirectional switch circuit comprising:
- two switching elements connected to conduct a current in both directions,whereinthe two switching elements are connected in series to each other, andof the two switching elements, the switching element to which a reverse voltage is applied, a voltage of a source of one of the switching elements being higher than a voltage of a drain of the one, is configured to conduct a current from the source to the drain even when an on-drive signal is not being input to a gate terminal of the one.
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Abstract
A bidirectional switch circuit includes two switching elements connected to conduct a current in both directions. The two switching elements are connected in series to each other. Of the two switching elements, the switching element to which a reverse voltage is applied, a voltage of a source of one of the switching elements being higher than a voltage of a drain of the one, is configured to conduct a current from the source to the drain even when an on-drive signal is not being input to a gate terminal of the one.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A bidirectional switch circuit comprising:
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two switching elements connected to conduct a current in both directions, wherein the two switching elements are connected in series to each other, and of the two switching elements, the switching element to which a reverse voltage is applied, a voltage of a source of one of the switching elements being higher than a voltage of a drain of the one, is configured to conduct a current from the source to the drain even when an on-drive signal is not being input to a gate terminal of the one. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
wherein the gate drive circuit includes a resistance material connected between the source and the gate terminal of the switching element and in parallel to the switching element.
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3. The bidirectional switch circuit of claim 1, wherein
the switching element to which the reverse voltage is applied includes a gate-drain body diode provided between the gate terminal and the drain and configured to allow a current to flow only from the gate terminal to the drain, and the switching element is configured so that a threshold voltage at which the switching element starts to be in an on state is lower than a forward voltage of the gate-drain body diode. -
4. The bidirectional switch circuit of claim 1, wherein
the switching element to which the reverse voltage is applied includes a gate-drain body diode provided between the gate terminal and the drain and configured to allow a current to flow only from the gate terminal to the drain, and a gate drive circuit configured to control the driving of the switching element, and the gate drive circuit includes a gate voltage adjuster configured to adjust a gate-drain voltage between the gate terminal and the drain so that the gate-drain voltage is lower than a forward voltage of the gate-drain body diode. -
5. The bidirectional switch circuit of claim 1, further comprising:
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two gate drive circuits configured to control the driving of the two respective switching elements, wherein the gate drive circuits are configured to input the same drive signal to the gate terminals of the respective switching elements.
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6. The bidirectional switch circuit of claim 1, further comprising:
a control circuit configured to output an off-control signal to the switching element to which the reverse voltage is applied.
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7. The bidirectional switch circuit of claim 1, wherein
the two switching elements are provided in a single device including two gate electrodes. -
8. The bidirectional switch circuit of claim 7, wherein
a distance between the two gate electrodes is greater than distances between the gate electrodes and the respective corresponding source electrodes. -
9. A power converter, wherein
the power converter is a matrix converter including the bidirectional switch circuit of claim 1 as a switching unit. -
10. The power converter of claim 9, wherein
two switching elements constituting the switching unit of the matrix converter are provided in a single device having two gate electrodes. -
11. The power converter of claim 10, wherein
a distance between the two gate electrodes is greater than distances between the gate electrodes and the respective corresponding source electrodes. -
12. A power converter comprising:
the bidirectional switch circuit of claim 1 as a switching unit.
Specification