ELECTRICAL POWER CONVERTER

• US 20150188447A1
• Filed: 07/02/2013
• Published: 07/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Tmeic Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Azuma, Satoshi, Hosokawa, Yasuhiko, Higashi, Kotaro, Jimichi, Takushi, Koyanagi, Kimiyuki, Funahashi, Sadao, Tamai, Shinzo
• Granted Patent: US 9,780,685 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/0074 Plural converter units whose inputs are connected in series
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/19 arranged for operation in series, e.g. for voltage multiplication
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/44 by static converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/483 Converters with outputs that each can have more than two voltages levels
• 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 7/493 the static converters being arranged for operation in parallel

Abstract

An electrical power converter includes: AC voltage terminals U, V, and W; DC voltage terminals P and N; a converter cell series unit composed of one or more converter cells connected in series between the AC voltage terminals U, V, and W and the DC voltage terminals P and N, each converter cell including a semiconductor element and a capacitor; and a first inductance connected in series to the converter cell series unit, between, of the DC voltage terminals P and N, a DC voltage terminal at the lowest potential with respect to the ground, and the AC voltage terminals U, V, and W.

Claims

1. An electrical power converter comprising:

AC voltage terminals;

DC voltage terminals;

a converter cell series unit composed of one or more converter cells connected in series between the AC voltage terminals and the DC voltage terminals, each converter cell including a semiconductor element and a capacitor;

a first inductance connected in series to the converter cell series unit, between, of the DC voltage terminals, one of the DC voltage terminals, and the AC voltage terminals; and

a second inductance connected in series to the converter cell series unit and having a smaller inductance value than the first inductance, between the other DC voltage terminal and the AC voltage terminals.

2. The electrical power converter according to claim 1, wherein the second inductance is an inductance of wiring.

4. The electrical power converter according to claim 1, the electrical power converter having a plurality of phases, wherein

the AC voltage terminals, the converter cell series units, and the first inductances are provided for the respective plurality of phases, and

the first inductances for the respective plurality of phases are magnetically coupled with each other.

5. The electrical power converter according to claim 1,

wherein the DC voltage terminal connected to the first inductance is connected to the ground.

6. The electrical power converter according to claim 4,

wherein the DC voltage terminal connected to the first inductance is connected to the ground.

7. The electrical power converter according to claim 1,

wherein the semiconductor element included in each converter cell is formed by a wide bandgap semiconductor which has a wider bandgap than silicon.

8. The electrical power converter according to claim 7, wherein the wide bandgap semiconductor is silicon carbide, gallium-nitride-based material, or diamond.

3. (canceled)

9. An electrical power converter comprising:

first AC voltage terminals;

second AC voltage terminals;

a positive DC voltage terminal;

a negative DC voltage terminal;

a neutral point between the positive and negative DC voltage terminals;

converter cell series units provided between the first AC voltage terminals and the positive DC voltage terminal, between the first AC voltage terminals and the neutral point, between the second AC voltage terminals and the neutral point, and between the second AC voltage terminals and the negative DC voltage terminal, each converter cell series unit composed of one or more converter cells connected in series, each converter cell including a semiconductor element and a capacitor;

a third inductance connected in series to the converter cell series unit, between the first AC voltage terminals and the neutral point;

a fourth inductance connected in series to the converter cell series unit, between the second AC voltage terminals and the neutral point;

a fifth inductance connected in series to the converter cell series unit and having a smaller inductance value than the third inductance, between the first AC voltage terminals and the positive DC voltage terminal; and

a sixth inductance connected in series to the converter cell series unit and having a smaller inductance value than the fourth inductance, between the second AC voltage terminals and the negative DC voltage terminal.

10. The electrical power converter according to claim 9, wherein

the fifth inductance and the sixth inductance are an inductance of wiring.

12. The electrical power converter according to claim 9, wherein the neutral point is present at a potential closer to a ground than the other AC voltage terminals and positive and negative DC voltage terminals are.

13. The electrical power converter according to claim 9, wherein the third inductance and the fourth inductance are magnetically coupled with each other via the neutral point.

14. The electrical power converter according to claim 12, wherein the third inductance and the fourth inductance are magnetically coupled with each other via the neutral point.

15. The electrical power converter according to claim 9, the electrical power converter having a plurality of phases, wherein

the first AC voltage terminals, the second AC voltage terminals, the converter cell series units, the third inductances, and the fourth inductances are provided for the respective plurality of phases, and

the third inductances for the respective plurality of phases are magnetically coupled with each other, and the fourth inductances for the respective plurality of phases are magnetically coupled with each other.

16. The electrical power converter according to claim 9, wherein the first AC voltage terminals and the second AC voltage terminals are connected in parallel to each other via one or more transformers.

17. The electrical power converter according to claim 9, wherein the semiconductor element included in each converter cell is formed by a wide bandgap semiconductor which has a wider bandgap than silicon.

18. The electrical power converter according to claim 17, wherein the wide bandgap semiconductor is silicon carbide, gallium-nitride-based material, or diamond.

11. (canceled)