Universal high efficiency power converter
First Claim
1. A universal power converter for generating a regulated wide range output DC voltage from a variable input voltage, the power converter comprising:
- a voltage boost function to boost the rectified input voltage;
a voltage chop function to electronically chop the boosted voltage;
at least one relay in electrical communication with the chopped boosted function, the relay having at least a first and second position;
a transformer in electrical communication with the relay, the transformer having a primary winding and at least one secondary winding, the primary winding having at least two inputs being operative to selectively vary the voltage generated on the secondary winding(s) from the position of the relay; and
a rectifier in electrical communication with the transformer, the rectifier being operative to generate the output voltage from the secondary winding(s) of the transformer.
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Abstract
A universal power converter for generating a regulated voltage, current or power with a large input voltage range. The power converter has a voltage boost function configured to boost the rectified input voltage and provide power factor correction. The power converter also includes a voltage chop function to chop the boosted voltage to form an AC voltage. The power converter further includes at least one relay in electrical communication with the AC voltage and a transformer. The primary winding has at least two inputs operative to selectively vary the voltage generated on a secondary winding thereof selected by the relay. Accordingly, the power converter can generate different voltages at the output based upon the position of the relay and the boosted voltage. The power converter provides maximum power operation at a wide output voltage range, maximizing the charging energy.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A universal power converter for generating a regulated wide range output DC voltage from a variable input voltage, the power converter comprising:
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a voltage boost function to boost the rectified input voltage;
a voltage chop function to electronically chop the boosted voltage;
at least one relay in electrical communication with the chopped boosted function, the relay having at least a first and second position;
a transformer in electrical communication with the relay, the transformer having a primary winding and at least one secondary winding, the primary winding having at least two inputs being operative to selectively vary the voltage generated on the secondary winding(s) from the position of the relay; and
a rectifier in electrical communication with the transformer, the rectifier being operative to generate the output voltage from the secondary winding(s) of the transformer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of converting a variable input voltage to a regulated output voltage different from the input voltage with a power converter having a single power processing stage, a relay, a transformer with multiple inputs, and an output rectifier, the method comprising the steps of:
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a) applying a rectified input voltage to the input of the single power processing stage;
b) increasing the rectified input voltage with a boost voltage function of the single power processing stage to generate a boosted voltage;
c) applying the boosted voltage to a voltage chop function of the single power processing stage to produce an AC voltage to the relays;
d) selecting the inputs of the transformer with the relays;
e) apply the AC voltage from the output of the single power processing stage to the transformer; and
f) inducing the output voltage on the transformer from the AC voltage applied to the transformer. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
g) rectifying the output voltage from the transformer with an output rectifier.
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19. The method of claim 18 wherein step (g) comprises rectifying the transformer output voltage with a rectifier bridge network.
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20. The method of claim 11 wherein step (f) comprises inducing an output voltage that is configured to charge a battery pack.
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21. The method of claim 11 wherein step (a) comprises applying a rectified AC input voltage to the boost voltage function of the single power processing stage.
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22. A method of converting an universal AC input voltage to a regulated DC output voltage, current, or power with an AC/DC power converter having an input rectifier, a single power processing stage consisting of a voltage boost function, a voltage chop function, at least one relay, a transformer with multiple inputs, an output rectifier, and a processor, the method comprising the steps of:
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a) applying the AC input voltage to the input rectifier to generate a DC input voltage;
b) applying the DC input voltage to the voltage boost function of the single power processing stage;
c) increasing the DC input voltage with the voltage boost function of the single power processing stage to generate a boost voltage;
d) chopping the boost voltage with the voltage chop function of the single power processing stage to generate an AC voltage;
e) selecting an input of the transformer with the relay;
f) applying the AC voltage to the relay and the selected inputs of the transformer;
g) inducing the AC voltage on to the secondary winding of the transformer;
h) altering the amplitude of the AC voltage with the transformer in response to the input selected by the relays; and
i) applying the transformer secondary winding voltage to the output rectifier to generate the regulated DC output voltage. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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Specification