Decoupling circuits

• US 7,279,850 B2
• Filed: 10/11/2005
• Issued: 10/09/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Auckland UniServices Limited (Auckland University)
• Original Assignee: Auckland UniServices Limited (Auckland University)
• Inventors: Boys, John Talbot, Covic, Grant Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinh; Trinh Vo
• Application Number:
  US11/246,166
• Publication Number:
  US 20060082324A1
• Time in Patent Office: 728 Days
• Field of Search: 315/224, 315/225, 315/209.R, 315/247
• US Class Current: 315/244
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/2176 comprising a passive stage to generate a rectified sinusoidal voltage and a controlled switching element in series between such stage and the output
• 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

Power taken inductively from the alternating current in a track is received by a resonant circuit which is output controlled by a switching circuit asynchronous with the frequency of the power supply. The switch on and off time is controlled to regulate the output power and the circuit is such that on light loads the resonant circuit decouples from the track.

Claims

1. A switchable circuit for receiving power inductively from an alternating current power supply and supplying output power to a load, said switchable circuit includes a receiving circuit which is substantially resonant at the frequency of the received power, wherein the receiving circuit is a series resonant circuit, the output of the receiving circuit is rectified in a rectifier, the rectified output is supplied to a boost connected switched mode power circuit which supplies output power, and a switch of the power circuit is controlled to maintain the output power voltage constant as the load varies and on the load where the rectifier current substantially reduces to zero, the switchable circuit for receiving power will substantially decouple itself from said alternating current power supply.

2. A switchable circuit for receiving power as claimed in claim 1 wherein the switchable circuit utilises a full wave rectifier as the rectifier and a unidirectional switching component as the switch in the switchable circuit.

3. A switchable circuit for receiving power as claimed in claim 1 wherein the switch is disposed to short circuit the rectified output.

4. A switchable circuit for receiving power as claimed in claim 1 wherein the switch is continually switched at a frequency higher than the power supply frequency and asynchronous with the power supply frequency with a variable on/off time to regulate the output voltage or current.

5. A switchable circuit for receiving power as claimed in claim 1 wherein the switch is continually switched at a frequency lower than the power supply frequency with a variable on/off time to regulate the output voltage and current.

6. A switchable circuit for receiving power as claimed in claim 1 wherein the failure mode due to the failure of a single component is identifiable and the circuit will not self destruct in the event of such a failure.