RESONANT CONVERTER

• US 20120163037A1
• Filed: 10/26/2011
• Published: 06/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Inventors: KIM, Jinwook, HONG, Sungsoo, RHO, Chungwook, HAN, Sangkyoo, KIM, Jonghae, WON, Jaesun, LEE, Taewon
• Application Number:
  US13/281,651
• Publication Number:
  US 20120163037A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 363/21.02
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/325 with means for allowing continuous operation despite a fault, i.e. fault tolerant converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/3387 in a push-pull configuration
• 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

Disclosed herein is a resonant converter, including: a power conversion circuit alternately switching applied DC power to output a predetermined level of output power; and a control circuit fixing an operating frequency and controlling the level of the output power by varying the comparison voltage level that is a comparison target of the operating frequency, by determining that a short circuit occurs when the output current of the power conversion circuit is a reference current or more by comparing the output current of the power conversion circuit with the reference current. By this configuration, the output current can be constantly controlled even when the short circuit occurs in the output of the resonant converter.

Claims

1. A resonant converter, comprising:

a power conversion circuit alternately switching applied DC power to output a predetermined level of output power; and

a control circuit fixing an operating frequency and controlling the level of the output power by varying the comparison voltage level that is a comparison target of the operating frequency, by determining that short-circuit occurs when the output current of the power conversion circuit is a reference current or more by comparing the output current of the power conversion circuit with the reference current.

2. The resonant converter according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit includes:

a first frequency controller controlling the operating frequency according to a first error voltage that is a comparison result between the voltage level of the output power and the preset first reference voltage level to control the operating frequency;

a second frequency controller controlling the operating frequency according to a second error voltage that is a comparison result between a voltage level of an output current sensing resistor of the power conversion circuit and a preset second reference voltage level.

3. The resonant converter according to claim 2, wherein the control circuit includes a voltage controller outputting the comparison voltage that is a comparison result between the voltage level of the output current sensing resistor of the power conversion circuit and preset third reference voltage level.

4. The resonant converter according to claim 3, wherein the control circuit performs the constant current control of the output power in a pulse width modulation manner varying the comparison voltage output from the voltage controller when the short circuit occurs.

5. The resonant converter according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit is operated in a pulse frequency modulation scheme that varies the operating frequency to control the level of the output power when the output current of the power conversion circuit is less than the reference current.

6. The resonant converter according to claim 3, wherein the control circuit includes:

a frequency setting unit setting the operating frequency according to the first or second error voltages;

a triangular wave generator generating a triangular wave according to the operating frequency;

a duty controller comparing a triangular wave generated from the triangular wave generator with the comparison voltage output from the voltage controller to control the switching duty of the power conversion circuit; and

a switching controller outputting the first and second switching signals controlling the alternate switching of the power conversion circuit according to the switching duty control of the duty controller.

7. The resonant converter according to claim 2, wherein the first frequency controller includes a first error amplifier comparing the voltage level of the output power with the first reference voltage level to amplify the first error voltage that is the comparison result, and

the second frequency controller includes a second error amplifier amplifying the second error voltage that is a comparison result obtained by comparing the voltage level of the output current sensing resistor of the power conversion circuit with the second reference voltage level.

8. The resonant converter according to claim 3, wherein the voltage controller includes a third amplifier that amplifies the comparison voltage that is the comparison result obtained by comparing the voltage level of the output current sensing resistor of the power conversion circuit with the third reference voltage level.

9. The resonant converter according to claim 2, wherein the control circuit includes a selection controller performing a control to operate only one of the first and second frequency controllers.

10. The resonant converter according to claim 9, wherein the selection controller performs a control to operate the frequency controller outputting a low voltage level among the first and second voltage levels output from the first and second frequency controllers.

11. The resonant converter according to claim 6, wherein the first frequency controller outputs the bias voltage, the power voltage as the first error voltage when the short circuit occurs, and

the second frequency controller outputs zero voltage as the second error voltage when the short circuit occurs.

12. The resonant converter according to claim 11, wherein the frequency setting unit sets the operating frequency to a maximum operating frequency according to the zero voltage, when the zero voltage is output from the second frequency controller due to the occurrence of a short circuit.

13. The resonant converter according to claim 11, wherein the voltage controller reduces the third error voltage, the comparison voltage to perform the constant current control of the output power when the short-circuit occurs.

14. The resonant converter according to claim 3, wherein the second reference voltage level is a maximum value or more of the voltage applied to the output current sensing resistor of the power conversion circuit and is set to be lower than the short circuit voltage applied to the output current sensing resistor that is the maximum voltage when the short circuit occurs.

15. The resonant converter according to claim 3, wherein the third reference voltage level is set to the short circuit voltage applied to the output current sensing resistor that is the maximum voltage when the short circuit occurs.

16. The resonant converter according to claim 3, wherein the second reference voltage level is set to be lower than the third reference voltage level.