Synchronous multi-phase AC-to-DC converter
First Claim
1. An alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) converter that comprises:
- a transistor bridge coupled to multiple AC lines to two DC lines, each AC line coupled to each DC line by at least one transistor;
a switching controller configured to control the transistor bridge in response to voltage threshold crossings on each AC line;
a set of comparators where each comparator is configured to compare a respective AC line voltage to a threshold value to generate a compare signal; and
a direction detector configured to process the compare signals to generate an order signal to indicate an order in which the AC line voltages cross the threshold value.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed herein are various embodiments of power conversion systems and methods employing synchronous multi-phase AC-to-DC conversion. In one embodiment, a power converter comprises a transistor bridge and a switching controller that operates the transistor bridge in response to AC voltage threshold crossings. The switching controller may include a period counter to measure times between threshold crossings, and a delay counter to trigger a delayed state transition for the transistor bridge. One disclosed method embodiment comprises: receiving multiple phased alternating voltages; comparing each phased alternating voltage to a threshold; determining a period associated with voltage threshold crossings; triggering state transitions at some fraction of the period after each threshold crossing; and placing a transistor bridge into a configuration associated with a current state. For each state, the transistor bridge configuration is designed to couple phased alternating voltages to two output terminals in a sequence that produces a non-alternating voltage difference.
10 Citations
16 Claims
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1. An alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) converter that comprises:
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a transistor bridge coupled to multiple AC lines to two DC lines, each AC line coupled to each DC line by at least one transistor; a switching controller configured to control the transistor bridge in response to voltage threshold crossings on each AC line; a set of comparators where each comparator is configured to compare a respective AC line voltage to a threshold value to generate a compare signal; and a direction detector configured to process the compare signals to generate an order signal to indicate an order in which the AC line voltages cross the threshold value.
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2. An alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) converter that comprises:
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a transistor bridge coupled to multiple AC lines to two DC lines, each AC line coupled to each DC line by at least one transistor; a switching controller configured to control the transistor bridge in response to voltage threshold crossings on each AC line; a set of comparators where each comparator is configured to compare a respective AC line voltage to a threshold value to generate a compare signal; and wherein the switching controller includes; commutation state logic configured to determine a current state for the transistor bridge; and an edge detector configured to detect a transition in a compare signal associated with the current state. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) converter that comprises:
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a transistor bridge coupled to multiple AC lines to two DC lines, each AC line being coupled to each DC line by at least one transistor; a switching controller configured to control the transistor bridge in response to voltage threshold crossings on each AC line; a frequency discriminator configured to disable the switching controller while the voltage on the AC lines alternates below a predetermined frequency threshold. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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13. An alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) converter that comprises:
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a transistor bridge coupled to multiple AC lines to two DC lines, each AC line being coupled to each DC line by at least one transistor; a switching controller configured to control the transistor bridge in response to voltage threshold crossings on each AC line; and a diode bridge coupled to the multiple AC lines to the two DC lines, wherein the diode bridge is configured to rectify the AC voltages when the transistor bridge is not operating.
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14. A system controller that comprises an integrated circuit having:
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a switching controller configured to operate a transistor bridge in response to voltage threshold crossings in phased alternating signals so as to convert the phased alternating signals into a non-alternating voltage; a frequency discriminator configured to disable the switching controller while the voltage on the phased alternating signals alternates below a predetermined frequency threshold; and a bus configured to couple the switching controller to a processor. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A method of creating a non-alternating voltage difference between two terminals, the method comprising:
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receiving multiple phased alternating voltages; comparing each of the phased alternating voltages to a threshold; determining a period associated with threshold crossings by the phased alternating voltages and whether a frequency of the phased alternating voltages is below a threshold; triggering state transitions at some fraction of the period after each threshold crossing; placing a transistor bridge into a configuration associated with a current state, the transistor bridge configuration being designed to couple phased alternating voltages to the two terminals in a sequence that produces the non-alternating voltage difference; and inhibiting operation of the transistor bridge while the frequency is below the threshold.
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Specification