Power supply circuit

• US 6,016,259 A
• Filed: 12/24/1997
• Issued: 01/18/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Works Ltd (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tamura, Hideki, Abe, Hideaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Peter S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel, Rajnikant B.
• Application Number:
  US08/998,247
• Time in Patent Office: 755 Days
• Field of Search: 363/20, 363/21, 363/19, 363/18, 363/131, 363/97
• US Class Current: 363/21.02
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/338 in a self-oscillating arrangement H02M3/337 takes precedence
• 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 power supply circuit includes a switching element provided with a control terminal for changing between an ON state and an OFF state, and an LC resonant circuit connected to the switching element and has a predetermined resonant frequency. A resistor connects to the control terminal of the switching element, and a feedback winding applies a feedback voltage derived from a high frequency signal across the LC resonant circuit to the control terminal through the resistor. A bias circuit connected to the feedback winding provides a bias voltage superimposed with the feedback voltage to the control terminal through the feedback winding and the resistor for alternately switching between the ON and Off states. The feedback voltage is delayed by a time defined by the resistor before being applied to the control terminal of the switching element.

Claims

1. A power supply circuit, comprising:

a voltage driven type switching element having a control terminal for repeatedly changing between an ON state and an OFF state;

an LC resonant circuit connected to said switching element and has a predetermined resonant frequency;

a delay resistor directly connected to said control terminal of said switching element;

a feedback winding for applying a feedback voltage derived from a high frequency signal across said LC resonant circuit to said control terminal through said delay resistor, said feedback voltage being delayed by said delay resistor before being applied to said control terminal; and

a bias circuit connected to said feedback winding for providing a bias voltage to said control terminal through said feedback winding and said resistor for alternately switching between said ON and Off states in combination with said feedback voltage;

wherein said voltage driven type switching element has an input impedance sufficiently higher than a source impedance of said feedback voltage in such a way that substantially no current flows into said control terminal of said switching element by said feedback voltage, and wherein said feedback voltage is delayed by a time defined by said delay resistor and an input capacitor of said switching element before being applied to said control terminal.

2. A power supply circuit as defined in claim 1, further comprising a diode connected in parallel with said delay resistor.

3. A power supply circuit as defined in claim 1, further comprising a transistor whose base bias voltage is controlled by a current flowing through said switching element and whose collector is connected to said control terminal in such a way to decrease a bias voltage at said control terminal of said switching element when said transistor is in an ON state.

4. A power supply circuit as defined in claim 3, further comprising a capacitor for delaying said base bias voltage of said transistor in such a way to delay transition of said transistor changing to an OFF state so that a current in said switching element quickly decreases in response to the change of said feedback voltage.

5. A power supply circuit as defined in claim 4, wherein said switching element is a FET (field effect transistor) and said control terminal of said switching element is a gate of said FET wherein said bias voltage of said transistor is produced by a pair of resistors series connected to a source of said FET.

6. A power supply circuit as defined in claim 5, wherein a second diode is connected between said collector of said transistor and said gate of said FET.

7. A power supply circuit as defined in claim 6, wherein said bias circuit includes a bias capacitor which is charged by a DC (direct current) voltage source and discharged through a discharge path formed with said delay resistor, said second diode, and said transistor.

8. A power supply circuit as defined in claim 1, wherein said bias circuit includes a bias capacitor which is charged by a DC (direct current) voltage source and discharged through a discharge path.

9. A power supply circuit as defined in claim 1, wherein said LC resonant circuit includes a transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding where said primary winding serves as inductance of said LC resonant circuit and said secondary winding supplies an output voltage to a load.

10. A power supply circuit as defined in claim 1, wherein said switching element is a FET (field effect transistor) and said control terminal of said switching element is a gate of said FET.

11. A power supply circuit for driving an electrical device, comprising:

a DC supply providing a DC voltage;

a transformer having a primary winding, a secondary winding and a feedback winding;

a self-excited oscillator comprising a FET transistor which is connected in series with said primary winding across said DC supply and energized by said DC supply to generate a high frequency voltage across said primary winding, a high frequency feedback voltage across said feedback winding and a resulting output AC voltage across said secondary winding, said output AC voltage being applied to a load circuit of said device;

a bias capacitor connected in series with said feedback winding across a gate-source path of said FET transistor for providing an offset voltage which is additive to said high frequency feedback voltage developed across said feedback winding to give a bias voltage to a gate of said FET transistor so as to alternately turn on and off said FET transistor for driving said self-excited oscillator;

a delay resistor connected between said feedback winding and said gate of said FET transistor for delaying said bias voltage induced in said feedback winding before being supplied to said gate by a time constant defined by said delay resistor and an input capacitor of said FET transistor, and said FET transistor having an input impedance sufficiently higher than a source impedance of said bias voltage so that substantially no current flows into said gate by said bias voltage;

a transistor connected to said gate of said FET transistor to establish a discharge path for said bias capacitor, said transistor being turned on when a current flowing through said FET transistor exceeds a predetermined amount; and

a delay capacitor for delaying said transistor to turn off when said current flowing through said FET transistor decreases.