Voltage converter with soft communication networks

• US 9,318,978 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2013
• Issued: 04/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria Ag (Infineon Technologies AG)
• Original Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria Ag (Infineon Technologies AG)
• Inventors: Braz, Cesar Augusto
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Emily P
• Application Number:
  US14/041,993
• Publication Number:
  US 20150092457A1
• Time in Patent Office: 932 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/0058 by employing soft switching techniques, i.e. commutation of transistors when applied voltage is zero or when current flow is zero using an auxiliary actively switched resonant commutation circuit connected to an intermediate DC voltage or between two push-pull branches of an inverter bridge H02M7/4811; in resonant inverters H02M7/4815; in inverters operating from a resonant DC source H02M7/4826
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/33507 with automatic control of the output voltage or current, e.g. flyback converters H02M3/33561, H02M3/33569 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/33584 Bidirectional converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/5387 in a bridge configuration
• 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

Embodiments of the present invention describe a voltage converter and a method for operating the voltage converter. In one embodiment the voltage converter includes a primary path configured to generate a pulse modulated voltage or current from an input direct current (DC) voltage, a transformer arrangement with m≧1 primary windings and n≧2 secondary windings inductively coupled together, the m primary windings being connected to the primary path, and a secondary path configured to output a pulsed direct current (DC) voltage or current, wherein the secondary path includes n capacitors connected in series and n secondary controllable semiconductor switches, and each of the n secondary windings is connected via at least one of the secondary controllable semiconductor switches to at least one of the capacitors.

Claims

1. A voltage converter comprising:

a primary path configured to generate a pulse modulated voltage or current from an input direct current (DC) voltage;

a transformer arrangement with m≧

1 primary windings and n≧

2 secondary windings inductively coupled together, the m primary windings being connected to the primary path; and

a secondary path configured to output a pulsed direct current (DC) voltage or current, wherein the secondary path comprises n capacitors connected in series and n secondary controllable semiconductor switches, and wherein each of the n secondary windings is connected via at least one of the secondary controllable semiconductor switches to at least one of the capacitors; and

n soft commutation networks, each connected in parallel to one of the n secondary controllable semiconductor switches, wherein each of the n soft commutation networks comprises;

a series connection of a commutation inductance, a first commutation diode and a commutation capacitor, the series connection being connected in parallel to the respective secondary controllable semiconductor switch and the commutation inductance being connected to a node between the secondary controllable semiconductor switch and the respective one of the n capacitors; and

a second commutation diode connected between the node between the first commutation diode and the commutation capacitor, and the node between the respective secondary winding and the respective one of the n capacitors.

2. The voltage converter of claim 1, wherein the transformer arrangement comprises one transformer with m primary windings and n secondary windings.

3. The voltage converter of claim 1, wherein the transformer arrangement comprises m transformers, each with one primary winding and one secondary winding.

4. The voltage converter of claim 1, wherein, for m≧

1, the m primary windings are connected in series or in parallel or partly in series and partly in parallel.

5. The voltage converter of claim 1, wherein at least one of the controllable semiconductor switches is a metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), or a transistor using wide-band gap material.

6. The voltage converter of claim 1, further comprising a circuit structure that is configured to generate a bidirectional power flow between the secondary path and the primary path.

7. The voltage converter of claim 6, wherein the circuit structure is a flyback structure.

8. The voltage converter of claim 1, wherein the secondary path is configured to generate an alternating current (AC) voltage that comprises a reactive power component and an active power component.

9. The voltage converter of claim 8, wherein the secondary path comprises four further controllable semiconductor switches in a H-bridge configuration to unfold the pulsed DC current into an AC current.

10. The voltage converter of claim 1, wherein the pulsed DC voltage has a peak voltage of at least 1,000 Volts.

11. The voltage converter of claim 1, wherein the primary path comprises a first primary controllable semiconductor switch that is configured to switch a single primary winding to the input DC voltage.

12. The voltage converter of claim 11, wherein a primary inductance is connected in series to the first primary controllable semiconductor switch.

13. The voltage converter of claim 1, wherein the primary path comprises a first primary controllable semiconductor switch that is configured to switch the primary windings to the input DC voltage.

14. The voltage converter of claim 13, wherein a primary inductance is connected in series to the first primary controllable semiconductor switch.

15. The voltage converter of claim 1, wherein the primary path comprises a second primary controllable semiconductor switch that is configured to switch a primary capacitor in parallel to a single primary winding.

16. The voltage converter of claim 1, wherein the primary path comprises a second primary controllable semiconductor switch that is configured to switch a primary capacitor in parallel to a plurality of primary windings.