Adjustable AC power supply equipment for air-conditioner system

• US 5,065,302 A
• Filed: 04/20/1990
• Issued: 11/12/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kanazawa, Hidetoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Peter S.
• Application Number:
  US07/512,173
• Time in Patent Office: 571 Days
• Field of Search: 363/37, 363/39, 363/40, 363/44-48, 363/65, 363/67, 363/69, 363/71
• US Class Current: 363/37
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2400/06 Several compression cycles arranged in parallel
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2600/021 Inverters therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/12 Arrangements for reducing harmonics from ac input or output
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 5/458 using semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating

Abstract

In an adjustable a.c. power supply for an air-conditioner system, comprising a first frequency converter for driving a compressor motor of a first air-conditioner, a second frequency converter for driving a compressor motor of a second air-conditioner, and a common a.c. power supply for delivering a.c. power to both frequency converters, a rectifier included in at least one frequency converter is constructed as a controllable rectifier and subjected to phase-control so that a synthetic higher harmonic current of the two frequency converters as viewed from the a.c. power supply is reduced. By conducting phase-control of plural controllable rectifiers in a manner that, e.g., one rectifier has a phase-control angle of zero degrees and the other rectifier has a phase-control angle of 30 degrees, load current from the a.c. power supply is permitted to have a waveform closer to a sine wave, i.e., a waveform in which higher harmonic components are further reduced.

Claims

1. Adjustable a.c. power supply equipment for an air-conditioner system comprising:

a first frequency converter comprised of a three-phase non-controllable rectifier and a first inverter to deliver load current to a first compressor motor of a first air-conditioner, said first inverter being an unfiltered inverter;

a second frequency converter comprised of a three-phased controllable rectifier and a second inverter to deliver load current to a second compressor motor of a second air-conditioner, said second inverter being a capacitor input voltage type inverter;

a common a.c. power supply for deliverying a.c. power to both said frequency converters;

first and second means for controlling said first and second inverters, respectively;

third means for carrying out phase-control of said controllable rectifier in order to reduce synthetic higher harmonic current of both said frequency converters as viewed from said a.c. power supply and for controlling said controllable rectifier at a phase angle of substantially 30 degrees.

2. Adjustable a.c. power supply equipment for an air-conditioner system comprising:

a first frequency converter comprised of a three-phase non-controllable rectifier and a first inverter to deliver load current to a first compressor motor of a first air-conditioner;

a second frequency converter comprised of a three-phase controllable rectifier and a second inverter to deliver load current to a second compressor motor of a second air-conditioner;

a common a.c. power supply for delivering a.c. power to both said frequency converters;

first and second means for controlling said first and second inverters, respecitvely;

third means for controlling said controllable rectifier of said second frequency converter; and

fourth means for operating said controllable rectifier of said second frequency converter at a phase-control angle of zero degrees in a normal state, wherein when said fourth means receives a higher harmonic reduction command, said fourth means shifts said phase-control angle of said controllable rectifier so that a synthetic higher harmonic current of both said frequency converters as viewed from said a.c. power supply is reduced.

3. Adjustable a.c. power supply equipment as set forth in claim 2, wherein an amount of shift of said phase-control angle of said controllable rectifier is equal to substantially 30 degrees.

4. Adjustable a.c. power supply equipment as set forth in claim 2, which further comprises:

ratio control means for controlling a ratio V/f between an output voltage V and an output frequency f of each said inverter so that said ratio is kept substantially constant in a normal state, wherein when said ratio control means receives said higher harmonic reduction command, ratio control means steps up an output voltage V of said second inverter of said second frequency converter in accordance with a phase-control angle of said controllable rectifier of said second frequency converter.

5. Adjustable a.c. power supply equipment as set forth in claim 2, wherein said first inverter is an unfiltered inverter, and said second inverter is a capacitor input voltage type inverter.

6. Adjustable a.c. power supply equipment as set forth in claim 2, wherein said first inverter is a capacitor input voltage type inverter, and said second inverter is a capacitor input voltage type inverter.

7. Adjustable a.c. power supply equipment for an air-conditioner system comprising:

a plurality of frequency converters each comprised of a three-phase controllable rectifier and an inverter to deliver load currents to compressor motors of individual air-conditioners, respectively;

a common power supply for delivering a.c. power to said frequency converters;

control means for controlling said frequency converters;

operating state detection means for detecting a detected result including ON/OFF states of said frequency converters and for estimating load current;

means for estimating total current of said frequency converters being operated in accordance with said detected result from said operating state detection means; and

means responsive to a higher harmonic reduction command to classify said frequency converters being operated into two groups thereof so that said total current is substantially equally divided in half, to thus control a first group of said controllable rectifiers and a second group of said controllable rectifiers so that there is a phase-control angle difference of substantially 30 degrees therebetween.

8. Adjustable a.c. power supply equipment as set forth in claim 7, wherein said first group of controllable rectifiers has a phase-control angle of zero degrees, and said second group of controllable rectifiers has a phase-control angle of substantially 30 degrees.