Three-quarter bridge power converters for wireless power transfer applications and other applications
First Claim
1. A three-quarter bridge power converter circuit configured for providing regulated power to a load, comprising:
- a first switch configured to selectively couple a switch node to a higher voltage;
a second switch configured to selectively couple the switch node to a lower voltage;
a clamp voltage element configured to store a clamp voltage intermediate the higher and lower voltages;
a bi-directional clamping switch configured to selectively couple the switch node to the voltage element when the first and second switches are not coupling the switch node to the higher and lower voltages, and thereby clamp the switch node to the clamp voltage; and
a control circuit configured to generate control signals G1, G2, and G3 to cooperatively switch respectively the first and second switches and the bi-directional clamping switch, including generating G1 and G2 based on values associated with switching frequency and duty cycle, converted to respectively a reference phase value related to the switching frequency, and a variable phase value related to both the switching frequency and the duty cycle, such thatthe reference phase value and the variable phase value have a predetermined resolution,the difference between the reference phase value and the variable phase value is used to generate the G1 and G2 control signals,the G3 control signal is asserted to clamp the switch node to the clamp voltage when neither G1 nor G2 is asserted, such that the G1, G2 and G3 control signals provide a predetermined duty factor resolution.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A three-quarter bridge power converter includes a first switch configured to selectively couple a switch node to a higher voltage. The power converter also includes a second switch configured to selectively couple the switch node to a lower voltage. The power converter further includes a third switch configured to selectively cause a third voltage to be provided to the switch node when the first and second switches are not coupling the switch node to the higher and lower voltages. The third switch may be configured to selectively couple the switch node to an energy storage or energy source, such as a capacitor. The third switch may also be configured to selectively couple an energy storage or energy source to ground, where the energy storage or energy source is coupled to the switch node.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A three-quarter bridge power converter circuit configured for providing regulated power to a load, comprising:
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a first switch configured to selectively couple a switch node to a higher voltage; a second switch configured to selectively couple the switch node to a lower voltage; a clamp voltage element configured to store a clamp voltage intermediate the higher and lower voltages; a bi-directional clamping switch configured to selectively couple the switch node to the voltage element when the first and second switches are not coupling the switch node to the higher and lower voltages, and thereby clamp the switch node to the clamp voltage; and a control circuit configured to generate control signals G1, G2, and G3 to cooperatively switch respectively the first and second switches and the bi-directional clamping switch, including generating G1 and G2 based on values associated with switching frequency and duty cycle, converted to respectively a reference phase value related to the switching frequency, and a variable phase value related to both the switching frequency and the duty cycle, such that the reference phase value and the variable phase value have a predetermined resolution, the difference between the reference phase value and the variable phase value is used to generate the G1 and G2 control signals, the G3 control signal is asserted to clamp the switch node to the clamp voltage when neither G1 nor G2 is asserted, such that the G1, G2 and G3 control signals provide a predetermined duty factor resolution. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A system comprising:
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a load; and a three-quarter bridge power converter configured to provide power to the load, the power converter comprising; a first switch configured to selectively couple a switch node to a higher voltage; a second switch configured to selectively couple the switch node to a lower voltage; a clamp voltage element configured to store a clamp voltage intermediate the higher and lower voltages; a bi-directional clamping switch configured to selectively couple the switch node to the voltage element when the first and second switches are not coupling the switch node to the higher and lower voltages, and thereby clamp the switch node to the clamp voltage; and a control circuit configured to generate control signals G1, G2, and G3 to cooperatively switch respectively the first and second switches and the bi-directional clamping switch, including generating G1 and G2 based on values associated with switching frequency and duty cycle, converted to respectively a reference phase value related to the switching frequency, and a variable phase value related to both the switching frequency and the duty cycle, such that the reference phase value and the variable phase value have a predetermined resolution, the difference between the reference phase value and the variable phase value is used to generate the G1 and G2 control signals, the G3 control signal is asserted to clamp the switch node to the clamp voltage when neither G1 nor G2 is asserted, such that the G1, G2 and G3 control signals provide a predetermined duty factor resolution. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of half-bridge power conversion, comprising:
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repeatedly coupling a switch node to a higher voltage and a lower voltage using first and second switches, respectively; and selectively coupling the switch node to a clamp voltage intermediate the higher and lower voltages using a bi-directional clamping switch when the first and second switches are not coupling the switch node to the higher and lower voltages, and thereby clamping the switch node to the clamp voltage, by generating control signals G1, G2, and G3 to cooperatively switch respectively the first and second switches and the bi-directional clamping switch, including generating G1 and G2 based on values associated with switching frequency and duty cycle converted to respectively a reference phase value related to the switching frequency, and a variable phase value related to both the switching frequency and the duty cycle, such that the reference phase value and the variable phase value have a predetermined resolution, the difference between the reference phase value and the variable phase value is used to generate the G1 and G2 control signals, and asserting the G3 control signal to clamp the switch node to the clamp voltage when neither G1 nor G2 is asserted, such that the G1, G2 and G3 control signals provide a predetermined duty factor resolution. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification