CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENT FOR MODULAR DRIVE POWER CONVERTERS

• US 20130049659A1
• Filed: 01/31/2011
• Published: 02/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ECPE Engineering Center for Power Electronics GmbH
• Original Assignee: ECPE Engineering Center for Power Electronics GmbH
• Inventors: Marquardt, Rainer
• Granted Patent: US 8,890,465 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 318/400.23
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/0074 Plural converter units whose inputs are connected in series
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/4835 comprising two or more cells, each including a switchable capacitor, the capacitors having a nominal charge voltage which corresponds to a given fraction of the input voltage, and the capacitors being selectively connected in series to determine the instantaneous output voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/797 using semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 9/006 Means for protecting the generator by using control H02H7/06 takes precedence; control effected upon generator excitation circuit to reduce harmful effects of overloads or transients H02P9/10

Abstract

The invention relates to power converter circuits which are suitable, in particular, for mobile drive systems with stringent requirements in terms of weight minimization and availability as well as direct attachment to rotating field machines. Inter alia, the strictly modular design of the electronics and the very low expenditure on passive filter elements by virtue of the principle involved are characteristic.

Claims

1. Device for bi-directional conversion of direct voltage of a direct voltage supply into a variable-frequency three-phase voltage of a three-phase voltage system with a power converter circuit comprising a plurality of identically designed sub-modules each being clocked with a clock frequency, which each comprise two terminals on the direct current side and two terminals on the alternating current side,

where said sub-modules are connected in series by means of their terminals on the direct current side, so that the first terminal of the first sub-module and the second terminal of the last sub-module are connected to said direct current supply;

where said terminals on the alternating current side of either one, or of a part of all sub-modules each form one of at least two phase-angle offset phases of said three-phase voltage system, and

where said sub-modules are further designed such that the time course of said voltage at said terminals on the direct current side of each sub-module averaged over a few clock cycles can be controlled such that it is proportional to the power that is delivered to or received at said terminals on the alternating current side so that a storage capacitor of each sub-module must compensate only the comparatively low required energy between individual clock cycles of said clock frequency, and said voltages of said terminals on the direct current side of all sub-modules therefore add up to the voltage value of said direct voltage supply.

2. Device according to claim 1, where said power converter circuit is specifically designed to supply a rotating field machine.

3. Device according to claim 2, where each individual winding of said rotating field machine is divided into a group of individual partial windings, so that each group of sub-modules with the same phase supplies a respective group of partial windings.

4. Device according to claim 1, where semiconductors with low inverse voltage can be used in said sub-modules.

5. Device according to claim 1, where field-effect transistors can be used in said sub-modules.

6. Device according to claim 1, where said sub-modules are clocked in such a phase-shifted manner that a resulting frequency of noise to said direct voltage supply results from said clock frequency multiplied by said number of sub-modules.

7. Device according to claim 1, where each sub-module comprises switching transistors T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 as well as said storage capacitor,

where each switching transistor comprises two power connections and a control connection;

wherein said terminals on the direct current side are connected by a bridge circuit consisting of four transistors T2, T3, T4 and T6 to said terminals on the alternating current side so that the respective first power connection of T2 and T6 is connected to the second terminal on the direct current side, the respective second power connection of T4 and T3 is connected to the first terminal on the direct current side, the second power connection of T2 is connected to the first power connection of T4 and the second terminal on the alternating current side, and the second power connection of T6 is connected to the first power connection of T3 and the first terminal on the alternating current side; and

where the first connection of said storage capacitor is connected to a terminal on the direct current side and the second connection of said storage capacitor is connected to the respective second connection of said two transistors T1 and T5, the respective first connection of which is each connected to one of said terminals of the alternating current side.

11. Device according to claim 3, where semiconductors with low inverse voltage can be used in said sub-modules.

12. Device according to claim 3, where field-effect transistors can be used in said sub-modules.

13. Device according to claim 11, where said sub-modules are clocked in such a phase-shifted manner that a resulting frequency of noise to said direct voltage supply results from said clock frequency multiplied by said number of sub-modules.

14. Device according to claim 12, where said sub-modules are clocked in such a phase-shifted manner that a resulting frequency of noise to said direct voltage supply results from said clock frequency multiplied by said number of sub-modules.

15. Device according to claim 2, where each sub-module comprises switching transistors T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 as well as said storage capacitor,

where each switching transistor comprises two power connections and a control connection;

wherein said terminals on the direct current side are connected by a bridge circuit consisting of four transistors T2, T3, T4 and T6 to said terminals on the alternating current side so that the respective first power connection of T2 and T6 is connected to the second terminal on the direct current side, the respective second power connection of T4 and T3 is connected to the first terminal on the direct current side, the second power connection of T2 is connected to the first power connection of T4 and the second terminal on the alternating current side, and the second power connection of T6 is connected to the first power connection of T3 and the first terminal on the alternating current side; and

where the first connection of said storage capacitor is connected to a terminal on the direct current side and the second connection of said storage capacitor is connected to the respective second connection of said two transistors T1 and T5, the respective first connection of which is each connected to one of said terminals of the alternating current side.

16. Device according to claim 3, where each sub-module comprises switching transistors T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 as well as said storage capacitor,

where each switching transistor comprises two power connections and a control connection;

wherein said terminals on the direct current side are connected by a bridge circuit consisting of four transistors T2, T3, T4 and T6 to said terminals on the alternating current side so that the respective first power connection of T2 and T6 is connected to the second terminal on the direct current side, the respective second power connection of T4 and T3 is connected to the first terminal on the direct current side, the second power connection of T2 is connected to the first power connection of T4 and the second terminal on the alternating current side, and the second power connection of T6 is connected to the first power connection of T3 and the first terminal on the alternating current side; and

where the first connection of said storage capacitor is connected to a terminal on the direct current side and the second connection of said storage capacitor is connected to the respective second connection of said two transistors T1 and T5, the respective first connection of which is each connected to one of said terminals of the alternating current side.

17. Device according to claim 4, where each sub-module comprises switching transistors T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 as well as said storage capacitor,

where each switching transistor comprises two power connections and a control connection;

wherein said terminals on the direct current side are connected by a bridge circuit consisting of four transistors T2, T3, T4 and T6 to said terminals on the alternating current side so that the respective first power connection of T2 and T6 is connected to the second terminal on the direct current side, the respective second power connection of T4 and T3 is connected to the first terminal on the direct current side, the second power connection of T2 is connected to the first power connection of T4 and the second terminal on the alternating current side, and the second power connection of T6 is connected to the first power connection of T3 and the first terminal on the alternating current side; and

where the first connection of said storage capacitor is connected to a terminal on the direct current side and the second connection of said storage capacitor is connected to the respective second connection of said two transistors T1 and T5, the respective first connection of which is each connected to one of said terminals of the alternating current side.

18. Device according to claim 5, where each sub-module comprises switching transistors T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 as well as said storage capacitor,

where each switching transistor comprises two power connections and a control connection;

wherein said terminals on the direct current side are connected by a bridge circuit consisting of four transistors T2, T3, T4 and T6 to said terminals on the alternating current side so that the respective first power connection of T2 and T6 is connected to the second terminal on the direct current side, the respective second power connection of T4 and T3 is connected to the first terminal on the direct current side, the second power connection of T2 is connected to the first power connection of T4 and the second terminal on the alternating current side, and the second power connection of T6 is connected to the first power connection of T3 and the first terminal on the alternating current side; and

where the first connection of said storage capacitor is connected to a terminal on the direct current side and the second connection of said storage capacitor is connected to the respective second connection of said two transistors T1 and T5, the respective first connection of which is each connected to one of said terminals of the alternating current side.

19. Device according to claim 6, where each sub-module comprises switching transistors T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 as well as said storage capacitor,

where each switching transistor comprises two power connections and a control connection;

wherein said terminals on the direct current side are connected by a bridge circuit consisting of four transistors T2, T3, T4 and T6 to said terminals on the alternating current side so that the respective first power connection of T2 and T6 is connected to the second terminal on the direct current side, the respective second power connection of T4 and T3 is connected to the first terminal on the direct current side, the second power connection of T2 is connected to the first power connection of T4 and the second terminal on the alternating current side, and the second power connection of T6 is connected to the first power connection of T3 and the first terminal on the alternating current side; and

where the first connection of said storage capacitor is connected to a terminal on the direct current side and the second connection of said storage capacitor is connected to the respective second connection of said two transistors T1 and T5, the respective first connection of which is each connected to one of said terminals of the alternating current side.

8. Method for controlling a power converter circuit comprising a plurality of identically designed sub-modules being clocked with a clock frequency for bi-directional conversion of direct voltage of a direct voltage supply into a variable-frequency three-phase voltage of a three-phase voltage system, where said sub-modules, each comprising two terminals on the direct current side and two terminals on the alternating current side, are in their clocking and pulse width controlled such that

said terminals on the alternating current side of either one, or of a part of all sub-modules each form one of at least two phase-angle offset phases of said three-phase voltage system;

the time course of said voltage at said terminals on the direct current side averaged over a few clock cycles is proportional to the power that is delivered to or received at said terminals on the alternating current side so that a storage capacitor of each sub-module must compensate only the comparatively low required energy between individual clock cycles; and

the voltages of said terminals on the direct current side of all sub-modules add up to the voltage value of said direct voltage supply.

9. Method according to claim 9, wherein the control of said power converter circuit is used to control a rotating field machine with respect to rotational speed and torque.

10. Method according to claim 9, where said sub-modules are controlled in a phase-shifted manner with respect to their clocking so that a resulting frequency of noise to said direct voltage supply results from said clock frequency multiplied by said number of sub-modules.

20. Method according to claim 10, where said sub-modules are controlled in a phase-shifted manner with respect to their clocking so that a resulting frequency of noise to said direct voltage supply results from said clock frequency multiplied by said number of sub-modules.