Unity power factor power supply for use with variable frequency power sources

• US 5,959,852 A
• Filed: 12/19/1997
• Issued: 09/28/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
• Inventors: Hewett, Walter H., Deloy, Jeff J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Peter S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vu, Bao Q.
• Application Number:
  US08/994,952
• Time in Patent Office: 648 Days
• Field of Search: 363/45, 363/89, 323/222, 323/282, 323/283, 323/284, 323/285, 323/288
• US Class Current: 363/45
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/4225 using a non-isolated boost converter
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/10 Technologies improving the efficiency by using switched-mode power supplies [SMPS], i.e. efficient power electronics conversion e.g. power factor correction or reduction of losses in power supplies or efficient standby modes

Abstract

A unity power factor power supply includes a boost converter. The boost converter draws current in phase with the input voltage by operating as a current regulator having a current reference control signal which tracks the line voltage waveform. A sample and hold technique is utilized to accommodate single cycle step input compensation and to reduce harmonic distortion over a wide input frequency range.

Claims

1. A power factor controller for a switched power supply including a pulse width modulation control input, the switched power supply receiving input power at variable frequencies and providing output power with an optimized power factor, the power factor controller comprising:

a sample and hold circuit coupled to the switched power supply to receive an electrical voltage parameter related to the input power and to provide an averaged sampled parameter; and

a control circuit having a control output coupled to the pulse width modulation control input, the control circuit coupled to the sample and hold circuit, the control circuit generating the pulse width modulation signal in response to an integral of a factor, the factor being equal to a current parameter related to the output power plus the electrical voltage parameter multiplied by a voltage error factor related to the output power divided by a square of the averaged sampled parameter.

2. The controller of claim 1, further comprising:

a zero crossing detector coupled to the sample and hold circuit, wherein the sample and hold circuit samples the electrical parameter when the input power crosses a zero voltage level.

3. The controller of claim 2, wherein the electrical parameter represents output voltage of a rectifier circuit.

4. The controller of claim 1, wherein the control circuit includes an integrator, the integrator having poles set to accommodate a minimum input frequency associated with the input power, the integrator integrating the factor.

5. A boost converter coupled to a rectifier output, the boost converter comprising:

a power output;

an inductor coupled to the rectifier output;

a switch coupled to the inductor, the switch having a control input;

a sample and hold circuit coupled to the rectifier output and providing an averaged voltage sampled signal at a sense output; and

a control circuit having a sense input coupled to the sense output and a control output coupled to the control input, the control circuit providing a control signal at the control output in response to an integral of a factor, the factor being equal to a current parameter at the power the output, plus a voltage parameter at the rectifier output multiplied by an error factor related to a voltage parameter at the power output divided by a square of the averaged voltage sampled signal.

6. The boost converter of claim 5, wherein the control signal is proportional to the inverse square of the average of the sampled signal.

7. The boost converter of claim 6, wherein the control circuit further includes an integrator and a pulse width modulation logic circuit.

8. The boost converter of claim 5, further comprising:

a zero crossing detector coupled to the sample and hold circuit, wherein the sample and hold circuit samples the rectifier output once per every crossing of a zero voltage level by an input signal to the rectifier circuit.

9. The boost converter of claim 5, wherein the filter has poles up to one-half of a minimum frequency associated with an input frequency of a power signal provided up to the rectifier.

10. The boost converter of claim 7, wherein the control circuit includes an integrator, the integrator having poles set to accommodate a minimum input frequency associated with the input power.

11. A boost conversion circuit for use with a rectifier circuit coupled to an alternating current power source, the alternating current power source providing a variable frequency power signal in a frequency range, the boost converter comprising:

a semiconductor switch having a control input;

a sample and hold means for sampling an average of a voltage electrical parameter and for providing a sampled averaged voltage parameter signal; and

a control means for providing a control signal to the control input in response to an integral of a factor, the factor being equal to a current parameter plus the voltage electrical parameter multiplied by a voltage error factor divided by a square of the average of the sampled averaged voltage parameter the sampled signal, whereby a power factor associated with the rectifier circuit is increased over the frequency range by utilizing the sampled signal.

12. The boost converter of claim 11, wherein the control signal is proportional to the inverse square of the sampled signal, or the inverse of the average of the sampled signal.

13. The boost converter of claim 11, further comprising:

a zero crossing detector means for causing the sample and hold means to sample the rectifier output once per every crossing of a zero voltage level by an input signal to the rectifier circuit.

14. The boost converter of claim 11, wherein the control means includes an integrator, the integrator having poles set to accommodate a minimum input frequency associated with the variable frequency power signal.

15. The boost converter of claim 11, wherein the frequency range is between 50 and 1000 Hz.