Coupled Split Path Power Conversion Architecture
First Claim
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1. A coupled split path (CSP) voltage converter having one or more input ports and one or more output ports, comprising:
- a set of inverter cells that are electrically coupled with their input ports cascaded to form a series chain to provide a set of terminals at the inverter cell inputs forming a set of N voltages levels of increasing magnitude relative to a reference potential;
a power distributor circuit having an input and a set of outputs, said power distributor circuit comprising an inductor and a switch network and arranged such that said power distributor circuit operates to draw power from its input and deliver power via its outputs into at least two of the N voltage levels;
a transformer having at least three windings, said transformer disposed such that each inverter cell drives a transformer winding;
and one or more rectifier circuit cells each having an output port and an input coupled to a transformer winding.
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Abstract
Described herein are power conversion systems and related techniques which utilize a coupled split path (CSP) circuit architecture. The CSP structure combines switches, capacitors and magnetic elements in such a way that power is processed in multiple coupled split paths in a variety of voltage domains. These techniques are well suited for power conversion applications that have one or more input/output ports that have a wide voltage range, or if the application is interfacing with the ac line voltage and requires power-factor correction.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A coupled split path (CSP) voltage converter having one or more input ports and one or more output ports, comprising:
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a set of inverter cells that are electrically coupled with their input ports cascaded to form a series chain to provide a set of terminals at the inverter cell inputs forming a set of N voltages levels of increasing magnitude relative to a reference potential; a power distributor circuit having an input and a set of outputs, said power distributor circuit comprising an inductor and a switch network and arranged such that said power distributor circuit operates to draw power from its input and deliver power via its outputs into at least two of the N voltage levels; a transformer having at least three windings, said transformer disposed such that each inverter cell drives a transformer winding; and one or more rectifier circuit cells each having an output port and an input coupled to a transformer winding. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A power conversion method comprising:
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distributing power from one input source to a plurality of N inverter circuit cells having their input ports cascaded by; utilizing an inductor and a set of switches to deliver energy from an input to at least two of the inverter inputs by switching at least one terminal of the inductor among at least two inverter input terminals; and balancing the input voltages of the plurality of N inverter circuit cells via one or both of switched-capacitor energy transfer and magnetic coupling; providing power from the plurality of N inverter cells to the inputs of a three or more winding magnetic component operating via magnetic coupling to step up or down voltage; delivering power transferred via the magnetic component to an output by rectification; - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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Specification