AC converter, AC converting method, and storage medium for converting an AC voltage with a relatively high frequency into an AC voltage with a relatively low frequency

• US 8,681,517 B2
• Filed: 11/17/2011
• Issued: 03/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Itoh, Junichi, Yamamoto, Hiroshi, Sada, Tomokazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Dole, Timothy J
• Assistant Examiner(s): AHMED, YUSEF A
• Application Number:
  US13/298,454
• Publication Number:
  US 20120300511A1
• Time in Patent Office: 859 Days
• Field of Search: 363/17, 363/37, 363/97, 363/98, 363/126, 363/132
• US Class Current: 363/37
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 5/293 using semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 5/297 for conversion of frequency

Abstract

An AC converter includes: a switching section, which converts the input AC voltage in response to a control signal and which outputs the converted voltage to a phase that has been selected in accordance with the control signal; a filter section, which filters out high frequency components from the converted voltage, thereby converting the converted voltage into the output AC voltage; and a switching control section, which performs a pulse density modulation on a phase-by-phase basis and in response to a reference signal with the frequency f1, which is associated with the output AC voltage of each phase, synchronously with a zero cross of the input AC voltage, thereby generating the control signal according a pulse generation status by the pulse density modulation and the polarity of the input AC voltage and sending out the control signal to the switching section.

Claims

1. An AC converter that converts a single-phase input AC voltage with a frequency f0 into a three-phase output AC voltage with a frequency f1 (where f1 is lower than f0), the converter comprising:

a switching section, which converts the input AC voltage in response to a control signal and which outputs the converted voltage to a phase that has been selected in accordance with the control signal;

a filter section, which filters out high frequency components from the converted voltage, thereby converting the converted voltage into the output AC voltage; and

a switching control section, which performs a pulse density modulation on a phase-by-phase basis and in response to a reference signal with the frequency f1, which is associated with the output AC voltage of each said phase, synchronously with a zero cross of the input AC voltage, thereby generating the control signal according a pulse generation status by the pulse density modulation and the polarity of the input AC voltage and sending out the control signal to the switching section,

wherein the switching section includes a first type of switching element that applies a positive voltage to its associated phase if the polarity of the input AC voltage is positive and a second type of switching element that applies a positive voltage to its associated phase if the polarity of the input AC voltage is negative, and

wherein if the polarities of the input AC voltage and the reference signal for use in the pulse density modulation are both positive, the switching control section outputs the control signal to turn the first type of switching element ON, and

if the polarities of the input AC voltage and the reference signal for use in the pulse density modulation are negative and positive, respectively, the switching control section outputs the control signal to turn the second type of switching element ON, and

if the polarities of the input AC voltage and the reference signal for use in the pulse density modulation are positive and negative, respectively, the switching control section outputs the control signal to turn the second type of switching element ON, and

if the polarities of the input AC voltage and the reference signal for use in the pulse density modulation are both negative, the switching control section outputs the control signal to turn the first type of switching element ON.

2. The AC converter of claim 1, wherein the switching control section controls the switching section so as to avoid turning both of the first and second types of switching elements ON at the same time.

3. The AC converter of claim 1, wherein the switching control section changes the ON and OFF states of the respective switching elements at a time interval that is equal to or longer than a minimum ON period and a minimum OFF period that have been set in advance, and

wherein the minimum ON period and the minimum OFF period are set to be n1/2f0 (where n1 is an integer that is equal to or greater than two).

4. The AC converter of claim 1, wherein the switching control section changes the ON and OFF states of the respective switching elements at a time interval that is equal to or shorter than the minimum ON and OFF periods that have been set in advance, and

wherein the minimum ON and OFF periods are set to be n2/2f0 (where n2 is an integer that is equal to or greater than two).

5. The AC converter of claim 1, wherein the switching control section controls the switching section so that a portion of the input AC voltage that covers a half period is always output only to one particular phase.

6. The AC converter of claim 1, wherein the switching control section controls the switching section so that a portion of the input AC voltage that covers a half period is output to each said phase the same number of times every period of the output AC voltage.

7. The AC converter of claim 1, wherein the switching control section includes:

a positive/negative determining section, which determines the polarity of the input AC voltage;

a reference signal generating section, which generates the reference signal;

a Δ

-Σ

converting section, which converts the reference signal into pulses by Δ

-Σ

conversion and which outputs the pulses when the input AC voltage goes zero; and

a switching signal output section, which generates the control signal based on the pulses supplied from the Δ

-Σ

converting section and a decision made by the positive/negative determining section and which sends out the control signal to the switching section.

8. An AC converter that converts a single-phase input AC voltage with a frequency f0 into a three-phase output AC voltage with a frequency f1 (where f1 is lower than f0), the converter comprising:

a converter section, which converts the input AC voltage into a DC voltage;

a switching section, which converts the DC voltage in response to a control signal and which outputs the converted voltage to a phase that has been selected in accordance with the control signal;

a filter section, which filters out high frequency components from the converted voltage, thereby converting the converted voltage into the output AC voltage; and

a switching control section, which performs a pulse density modulation on a phase-by-phase basis and in response to a reference signal with the frequency f1, which is associated with the output AC voltage of each said phase, synchronously with a zero cross of the input AC voltage, thereby generating the control signal according a pulse generation status by the pulse density modulation and sending out the control signal to the switching section,

wherein the switching section includes a first type of switching element that applies a positive voltage to its associated phase if the polarity of the input AC voltage is positive and a second type of switching element that applies a positive voltage to its associated phase if the polarity of the input AC voltage is negative, and

wherein if the polarity of the reference signal for use in the pulse density modulation is positive, the switching control section outputs the control signal to turn the first type of switching element ON, and

wherein if the polarity of the reference signal for use in the pulse density modulation is negative, the switching control section outputs the control signal to turn the second type of switching element ON.

9. The AC converter of claim 8, wherein the switching control section controls the switching section so as to avoid turning both of the first and second types of switching elements ON at the same time.

10. The AC converter of claim 8, wherein the switching control section changes the ON and OFF states of the respective switching elements at a time interval that is equal to or longer than a minimum ON period and a minimum OFF period that have been set in advance, and

wherein the minimum ON period and the minimum OFF period are set to be n1/2f0 (where n1is an integer that is equal to or greater than two).

11. The AC converter of claim 8, wherein the switching control section changes the ON and OFF states of the respective switching elements at a time interval that is equal to or shorter than the minimum ON and OFF periods that have been set in advance, and

wherein the minimum ON and OFF periods are set to be n2/2f0 (where n2 is an integer that is equal to or greater than two).

12. The AC converter of claim 8, wherein the switching control section controls the switching section so that a portion of the input AC voltage that covers a half period is always output only to one particular phase.

13. The AC converter of claim 8, wherein the switching control section controls the switching section so that a portion of the input AC voltage that covers a half period is output to each said phase the same number of times every period of the output AC voltage.

14. The AC converter of claim 8, wherein the switching control section includes:

a positive/negative determining section, which determines the polarity of the input AC voltage;

a reference signal generating section, which generates the reference signal;

a Δ

-Σ

converting section, which converts the reference signal into pulses by Δ

-Σ

conversion and which outputs the pulses when the input AC voltage goes zero; and

a switching signal output section, which generates the control signal based on the pulses supplied from the Δ

-Σ

converting section and a decision made by the positive/negative determining section and which sends out the control signal to the switching section.

15. An AC converting method for converting a single-phase input AC voltage with a frequency f0 into a three-phase output AC voltage with a frequency f1 (where f1 is lower than f0), the method comprising the steps of:

(A) converting the input AC voltage in response to a control signal and outputting the converted voltage to a phase that has been selected in accordance with the control signal;

(B) filtering out high frequency components from the converted voltage, thereby converting the converted voltage into the output AC voltage;

(C) performing a pulse density modulation on a phase-by-phase basis and in response to a reference signal with the frequency f1, which is associated with the output AC voltage of each said phase, synchronously with a zero cross of the input AC voltage; and

(D) generating the control signal according a pulse generation status by the pulse density modulation and the polarity of the input AC voltage,

wherein the step (A) includes;

(A1) applying a positive voltage to its associated phase if the polarity of the input AC voltage is positive; and

(A2) applying a positive voltage to its associated phase if the polarity of the input AC voltage is negative, and

wherein the step (D) includes;

generating a signal to perform the step (A1) as the control signal if the polarities of the input AC voltage and the reference signal for use in the pulse density modulation are both positive, and

generating a signal to perform the step (A2) as the control signal if the polarities of the input AC voltage and the reference signal for use in the pulse density modulation are negative and positive, respectively, and

generating a signal to perform the step (A2) as the control signal if the polarities of the input AC voltage and the reference signal for use in the pulse density modulation are positive and negative, respectively, and

generating a signal to perform the step (A1) as the control signal if the polarities of the input AC voltage and the reference signal for use in the pulse density modulation are both negative.

16. An AC converting method for converting a single-phase input AC voltage with a frequency f0 into a three-phase output AC voltage with a frequency f1 (where f1 is lower than f0), the method comprising the steps of:

(A) converting the input AC voltage into a DC voltage;

(B) converting the DC voltage in response to a control signal and outputting the converted voltage to a phase that has been selected in accordance with the control signal;

(C) filtering out high frequency components from the converted voltage, thereby converting the converted voltage into the output AC voltage;

(D) performing a pulse density modulation on a phase-by-phase basis and in response to a reference signal with the frequency f1, which is associated with the output AC voltage of each said phase, synchronously with a zero cross of the input AC voltage; and

(E) generating the control signal according a pulse generation status by the pulse density modulation,

wherein the step (A) includes;

(A1) applying a positive voltage to its associated phase if the polarity of the input AC voltage is positive; and

(A2) applying a positive voltage to its associated phase if the polarity of the input AC voltage is negative, and

wherein the step (E) includes;

generating a signal to perform the step (A1) as the control signal if the polarity of the reference signal for use in the pulse density modulation is positive; and

generating a signal to perform the step (A2) as the control signal if the polarity of the reference signal for use in the pulse density modulation is negative.

17. A non-transitory storage medium that stores a program for converting a single-phase input AC voltage with a frequency f0 into a three-phase output AC voltage with a frequency f1 (where f1 is lower than f0), the program being defined to make a computer perform the steps of:

(A) converting the input AC voltage in response to a control signal and outputting the converted voltage to a phase that has been selected in accordance with the control signal;

(B) filtering out high frequency components from the converted voltage, thereby converting the converted voltage into the output AC voltage;

(C) performing a pulse density modulation on a phase-by-phase basis and in response to a reference signal with the frequency f1, which is associated with the output AC voltage of each said phase, synchronously with a zero cross of the input AC voltage; and

(D) generating the control signal according a pulse generation status by the pulse density modulation and the polarity of the input AC voltage,

wherein the step (A) includes;

(A1) applying a positive voltage to its associated phase if the polarity of the input AC voltage is positive; and

(A2) applying a positive voltage to its associated phase if the polarity of the input AC voltage is negative, and

wherein the step (D) includes;

generating a signal to perform the step (A1) as the control signal if the polarities of the input AC voltage and the reference signal for use in the pulse density modulation are both positive, and

generating a signal to perform the step (A2) as the control signal if the polarities of the input AC voltage and the reference signal for use in the pulse density modulation are negative and positive, respectively, and

generating a signal to perform the step (A2) as the control signal if the polarities of the input AC voltage and the reference signal for use in the pulse density modulation are positive and negative, respectively, and

generating a signal to perform the step (A1) as the control signal if the polarities of the input AC voltage and the reference signal for use in the pulse density modulation are both negative.

18. A non-transitory storage medium that stores a program for converting a single-phase input AC voltage with a frequency f0 into a three-phase output AC voltage with a frequency f1 (where f1 is lower than f0), the program being defined to make a computer perform the steps of:

(A) converting the input AC voltage into a DC voltage;

(B) converting the DC voltage in response to a control signal and outputting the converted voltage to a phase that has been selected in accordance with the control signal;

(C) filtering out high frequency components from the converted voltage, thereby converting the converted voltage into the output AC voltage;

(D) performing a pulse density modulation on a phase-by-phase basis and in response to a reference signal with the frequency f1, which is associated with the output AC voltage of each said phase, synchronously with a zero cross of the input AC voltage; and

(E) generating the control signal according a pulse generation status by the pulse density modulation

wherein the step (A) includes;

(A1) applying a positive voltage to its associated phase if the polarity of the input AC voltage is positive; and

(A2) applying a positive voltage to its associated phase if the polarity of the input AC voltage is negative, and

wherein the step (E) includes;

generating a signal to perform the step (A1) as the control signal if the polarity of the reference signal for use in the pulse density modulation is positive; and

generating a signal to perform the step (A2) as the control signal if the polarity of the reference signal for use in the pulse density modulation is negative.