Multilevel push pull power converter

• US 7,796,409 B2
• Filed: 01/18/2007
• Issued: 09/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Knott, Arnold
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso; Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): HERNANDEZ, MANUEL J
• Application Number:
  US11/624,491
• Publication Number:
  US 20070201249A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,335 Days
• Field of Search: 363/24, 363/25, 363/26, 363/39, 363/40, 363/134, 363/133
• US Class Current: 363/24
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/3378 in a push-pull configuration of the parallel type H02M3/3374 takes precedence

Abstract

A power converter for converting an input voltage (Vin) into an output voltage (Vout), comprising a first supply potential and a second supply potential established by the input voltage, and at least one primary winding having two terminals, a center tap arranged between the two terminals and connected to the first supply potential, and at least one secondary winding magnetically coupled to the primary winding for providing at least one output voltage (Vout) and a first controllable switch connected between the second supply potential and one terminal of the primary winding and a second controllable switch connected between the second supply potential and the other terminal of the primary winding and a third controllable switch connected between the second supply potential and the one terminal of the primary winding and a fourth controllable switch connected between the second supply potential and the other terminal of the primary winding, and a control unit for controlling the switches such that the first, second, third, and fourth switches are turned on sequentially wherein at any time maximum one switch is turned on.

Claims

1. A power converter for converting an input voltage (Vin) into an output voltage (Vout), comprising:

a primary winding having first and second terminals, a center tap arranged between the first and second terminals and connected to a first supply potential;

a secondary winding magnetically coupled to the primary winding for providing at least one output voltage;

a first controllable switch connected between a second supply potential and the first terminal;

a second controllable switch connected between the second supply potential and the second terminal;

a third controllable switch connected between the second supply potential and the first terminal;

a fourth controllable switch connected between the second supply potential and the second terminal; and

a control unit for controlling the switches such that (i) the first, the third, the second and the fourth switches or (ii) the fourth, the second, the third and the first switches are turned on successively where at any time a maximum of one of the first, the second, the third or the fourth switches is turned on, where a dead time occurs between turn on periods for the first and the third switches, and where another dead time occurs between turn on periods for the second and the fourth switches.

2. The power converter of claim 1, where the control unit includes a control signal generation unit adapted to generate a first, a second, a third, and a fourth control signal for controlling the first, second, third, and fourth switches, respectively.

3. The power converter of claim 1, where the control signal generation unit comprises at least one NOR gate, the NOR gate for receiving the first and second clock signal and the first and second control signal for generating the third control signal and the fourth control signal.

4. The power converter of claim 1, where the switches comprise MOSFETs.

5. The power converter of claim 1, where the switches comprise bipolar transistors.

6. The power converter of claim 1, where the switches comprise thyristors.

7. The power converter of claim 1, where the switches comprise IGBTs.

8. The power converter of claim 1, further comprising a rectifying circuit coupled to the secondary winding for rectifying the output voltage.

9. The power converter of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of secondary windings magnetically coupled to the primary winding for providing a plurality of output voltages.

10. The power converter of claim 1, further comprising one or more regulation circuits coupled between the output voltage and the control unit.

11. The power converter of claim 10, where the number of the regulation circuits is determined by the number of the switches.

12. The power converter of claim 11, where the regulation circuits are coupled between the output voltage and the control circuit via regulation loops, and where the number of the regulation loops is at least Rmin=((K/2)−

1), where K equals the total number of switches minus two.

13. The power converter of claim 11, where the number of the regulation loops is at most Rmax=K/2, where K equals the total number of switches minus two.

14. A power converter for converting an input voltage (Vin) into an output voltage (Vout), comprising:

a primary winding having first and second terminals, a center tap arranged between the first and second terminals and connected to a first supply potential;

a secondary winding magnetically coupled to the primary winding for providing at least one output voltage;

a first controllable switch connected between a second supply potential and the first terminal;

a second controllable switch connected between the second supply potential and the second terminal;

a third controllable switch connected between the second supply potential and the first terminal;

a fourth controllable switch connected between the second supply potential and the second terminal; and

a control unit for controlling the switches such that (i) the first, the third, the second and the fourth switches or (ii) the fourth, the second, the third and the first switches are turned on successively where at any time a maximum of one of the first, the second, the third or the fourth switches is turned on, where the control unit includes a control signal generation unit adapted to generate a first, a second, a third, and a fourth control signal for controlling the first, second, third, and fourth switches, respectively, and where the control signal generation unit is adapted to generate the third and the fourth control signal from the first and the second control signal, where a dead time occurs between turn on periods for the first and the third switches, and where another dead time occurs between turn on periods for the second and the fourth switches.

15. The power converter of claim 14,

where the control unit further comprises a clock signal source coupled to the control signal generation unit for generating first and second clock signals, and where the control signal generation unit is adapted to generate the third and the fourth control signal based on the first and the second control signal and the first and the second clock signal.

16. The power converter of claim 15, where the clock signal source generates a first clock signal and a second clock signal, where the second clock signal is the invert of the first clock signal.

17. The power converter of claim 16, where the first and the second clock signals are of the rectangular waveform.

18. The power converter of claim 17, where the control signal generation unit is adapted to generate the third control signal as a signal equivalent to the logic AND of the invert of the first control signal and the first clock signal.

19. The power converter claim 18, where the control signal generation unit is adapted to generate the fourth control signal as a signal equivalent to the logic AND of the invert of the second control signal and the second clock signal.

20. The power converter of claim 14, where the control signal generation unit further comprises a frequency splitter for dividing the frequency of an input signal thereto.

21. The power converter of claim 20, where the frequency splitter divides the frequency of the input signal by two.

22. The power converter of claim 20, where the frequency splitter is edge triggered.

23. The power converter of claim 22, where the edge triggered circuit comprises a latch.

24. The power converter of claim 22, where the control signal generation unit further comprises an OR gate for OR linking the first and second control signals for triggering the edge triggered circuit.

25. The power converter of claim 22, where the control signal generation unit further comprises a comparator for forming edge signals for triggering the edge triggered circuit.

26. The power converter of claim 25, where the edge triggered circuit is a flip flop.

27. A multilevel push pull converter for converting an input voltage (Vin) into an output voltage (Vout), comprising:

a primary transformer winding located between first and second terminals, and a center transformer tap located between the first and second terminals and connected to a first supply potential;

a secondary transformer winding magnetically coupled to the primary transformer winding for providing an output voltage;

a first controllable switch connected between a second supply potential and the first terminal;

a second controllable switch connected between the second supply potential and the second terminal;

a third controllable switch connected between the second supply potential and the first terminal;

a fourth controllable switch connected between the second supply potential and the second terminal; and

means for controlling the controllable switches such that (i) the first, the third, the second and the fourth controllable switches or (ii) the fourth, the second, the third and the first controllable switches are turned on successively where at any time a maximum of one of the first, second, third or fourth controllable switches is turned on, where a dead time occurs between turn on periods for the first and the third controllable switches, and where another dead time occurs between turn on periods for the second and the fourth controllable switches.