POWER CONVERSION SYSTEM

• US 20120218790A1
• Filed: 09/30/2009
• Published: 08/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Sato, Eduardo Kazuhide, Kinoshita, Masahiro, Yamamoto, Yushin, Amboh, Tatsuaki, Ikeda, Katsumi
• Granted Patent: US 8,964,431 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 363/71
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/493 the static converters being arranged for operation in parallel

Abstract

A power conversion system includes n (n being an integer of 2 or more) power conversion devices (P1 to P4) connected in parallel to a load (4); and a communication line (2) connected to the n power conversion devices (P1 to P4). Each of power conversion devices includes a communication circuit (10) which transmits a load current value detected by a current sensor (37) to each of other (n−1) power conversion devices through the communication line (2), and receives (n−1) load current values transmitted through the communication line (2) from other (n−1) power conversion devices; and an operation circuit (11) calculating a shared current and a cross current of the corresponding power conversion device based on the n load current values. Accordingly, a wiring line is prevented from becoming complicated even when the number of power conversion devices is increased.

Claims

1. A power conversion system comprising:

n (n being an integer of 2 or more) power conversion devices (P1 to P4) connected in parallel to a load (4); and

a communication line (2) connected to said n power conversion devices (P1 to P4),

each of the power conversion devices including

an inverter (31) converting direct-current (DC) power into alternating-current (AC) power and supplying the AC power to said load,

a current sensor (37) detecting a load current value,

a communication circuit (10) transmitting the load current value detected by said current sensor (37) to each of other (n−

1) power conversion devices through said communication line (2) and receiving (n−

1) load current values transmitted through said communication line (2) from the other (n−

1) power conversion devices.

an operation circuit (11) calculating a shared current and a cross current of a corresponding one of the power conversion devices based on the load current value detected by the corresponding current sensor (37) and said (n−

1) load current values received by said communication circuit (10), and

a control circuit (32 to 36, 38 to 59) controlling said inverter (31) such that said shared current is supplied from the corresponding one of the power conversion devices to said load (4) and said cross current is eliminated.

2. The power conversion system according to claim 1, wherein

said communication line (2) includes

a first connector and a second connector (C1, C2) provided corresponding to each of the power conversion devices and connected to said communication circuit (10) of the corresponding one of the power conversion devices, and

(n−

1) multicore cables (L1 to L3) provided between said n power conversion devices (P1 to P4),

each of the multicore cables has one end connected to the first connector (C1) corresponding to one of two corresponding power conversion devices, and the other end connected to the second connector (C2) corresponding to the other of the two corresponding power conversion devices, and

each communication circuit (10) transmits said load current value to each of other communication circuits (10) and receives the load current value from each of the other communication circuits (10), through said (n−

1) multicore cables (L1 to L3).

3. The power conversion system according to claim 2, wherein

each of said first connector and said second connector (C1, C2) has 2n terminals (T1 to T8),

the 2n terminals (T1 to T8) of said first connector (C1) are connected to 2n terminals (T1 to T8), respectively, of said second connector (C2) and connected to said communication circuit (10) of the corresponding one of the power conversion devices,

each of the multicore cables includes 2n wiring lines,

one ends of the 2n wiring lines of each of the multicore cables are connected to the 2n terminals (T1 to T8), respectively, of the first connector (C1) corresponding to one of two corresponding power conversion devices,

the other ends of the 2n wiring lines of each of the multicore cables are connected to the 2n terminals (T1 to T8), respectively, of the second connector (C2) corresponding to the other of the two corresponding power conversion devices, and

each communication circuit (10) transmits a differential signal stream showing said load current value to each of other communication circuits (10) through two terminals assigned in advance among said 2n terminals (T1 to T8) and receives, through remaining two (n−

1) terminals, a differential signal stream showing the (n−

1) load current values from other (n−

1) communication circuits (10).

4. The power conversion system according to claim 1, wherein

each communication circuit (10) transmits a beat signal together with said load current value through said communication line (2) to each of other communication circuits (10),

said operation circuit (11) includes

an adder (22) adding the load current value detected by the corresponding current sensor (37) and the (n−

1) load current values received by said communication circuit (10), to obtain a sum of the load current values of the n power conversion devices (P1 to P4),

an operation unit (21) calculating the number of the power conversion devices under operation based on the beat signal transmitted from each of other communication circuits (10),

a divider (23) dividing the sum of the load current values of said n power conversion devices (P1 to P4) obtained by said adder (22) by the number of said power conversion devices calculated by said operation unit (21) to obtain a shared current value of each of the power conversion devices, and

a subtracter (25) subtracting said shared current value from the load current value detected by said current sensor (37) to obtain said cross current.