Multiphase power converter

• US 6,014,323 A
• Filed: 08/07/1998
• Issued: 01/11/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Robicon Corp. (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Matesa, Joseph M. Jr., Aiello, Marc F., Hammond, Peter W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Riley, Shawn
• Application Number:
  US09/130,076
• Time in Patent Office: 522 Days
• Field of Search: 323/361, 363/71, 363/40, 363/64, 363/156
• US Class Current: 363/71
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 5/271 from a three phase input voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 5/458 using semiconductor devices only
• 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 7/49 Combination of the output voltage waveforms of a plurality of converters

Abstract

An electrical power converter for an incoming AC transformer connected to a multiphase power source and having multiple secondary windings. Each secondary winding is connected to multiple switching cells, each of which functions like a matrix converter. The secondary windings can be either single or multi-phase and more than one transformer can be provided such that the multiple secondary windings can be distributed among individual transformers. The output of at least two of the switching cells are connected in series. The switching cells can be either bi-directional or unidirectional and can also have a three-phase input. A combination of IGBTs and diodes can form the switching cells.

Claims

1. An electrical power supply for operation from a multiphase input comprising:

a. at least one transformer connected to said multiphase AC source;

b. said at least one transformer having a plurality of secondary windings each having three phases;

c. at least one of said plurality of secondary windings being spaced in phase relationship from others of said plurality of secondary windings;

d. a plurality of switching cells connected to respective ones of said plurality of secondary windings;

e. each of said plurality of switching cells having outputs;

f. said plurality of said switching cells configured such that each of said outputs is electrically connected to at least one of said three phases of respective ones of said plurality of secondary windings; and

g. at least one of said plurality of switching cells having respective ones of said outputs serially connected to at least one output of another of said plurality of said switching cells.

2. The electrical power supply of claim 1 wherein at least one of said plurality of said switching cells is a matrix converter.

3. The electrical power supply of claim 1 wherein said plurality of three phase secondary windings are highly coupled to each other.

4. The electrical converter of claim 1 further comprising said plurality of switching cells being bi-directional.

5. The electrical converter of claim 4 wherein said bi-directional switching cell utilizes two series-connected IGBTs.

6. The electrical converter of claim 4 wherein said bi-directional switching cell utilizing one IGBT within a diode bridge arrangement.

7. The electrical converter of claim 4 wherein said bi-directional switching cell utilizes two IGBTs connected in an inverse parallel arrangement with reverse polarities.

8. The electrical converter of claim 1 further comprising said plurality of switching cells being unidirectional.

9. The electrical converter of claim 8 wherein said unidirectional switching cell utilizes one IGBT with a series reverse-blocking diode.

10. The electrical power supply of claim 1 wherein said plurality of switching cells further comprises each of said plurality of switching cells having a three phase input and a single phase output.

11. The electrical power supply of claim 10 wherein said single phase output is single phase AC.

12. The electrical power supply of claim 10 wherein said single phase output has unidirectional current flow.

13. The electrical power supply of claim 10 wherein at least one of said plurality of switching cells is bi-directional providing regenerative operation.

14. The electrical power supply of claim 1 wherein said plurality of switching cells are operated to provide said plurality of outputs of said plurality of said switching cells from selected ones of the highest and lowest voltage of said three phases of said plurality of phase secondary windings.

15. The electrical power supply of claim 14 wherein said plurality of switching cells further comprises each of said plurality of switching cells having a three phase input and a single phase output.

16. The electrical power supply of claim 15 wherein said plurality of said switching cells have a first switch set supplying a pair of intermediate nodes, each of said pair of intermediate nodes being in electrical connection with at least one of said three phases of respective ones of said plurality of three phase secondary windings;

said plurality of said switching cells each having a second switch set and each of said outputs of said second switch set being in electrical connection with said intermediate nodes of the respective one of said switch cells.

17. The electrical power supply of claim 16 wherein said first and second switch sets comprise switch devices having characteristics to conduct bi-directional current and block voltage in a single direction.

18. The electrical power supply of claim 16 wherein said first and second switch sets comprise switch devices having characteristics to block voltage in two directions and conduct current flow in a single direction.

19. The electrical converter of claim 1 further comprising said at least one switching cells having serially connected outputs being three switching cells having serially connected outputs.

20. The electrical converter of claim 1 further comprising said at least one switching cells having serially connected outputs being at least one of three, four and five switching cells having serially connected outputs.

21. The electrical converter of claim 1 further comprising said at least two switching cells having serially connected outputs having an output line to a three-phase load.

22. The electrical converter of claim 1 further comprising said plurality of secondary windings being coupled to a single transformer primary.

23. The electrical converter of claim 1 further comprising said plurality of secondary windings being coupled to a plurality of individual transformer primaries.