Rectifier circuit with current injection

• US 9,444,362 B2
• Filed: 02/22/2013
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schneider Electric Power Drives Gmbh (Schneider Electric SE)
• Original Assignee: Schneider Electric Power Drives Gmbh (Schneider Electric SE)
• Inventors: Hartmann, Michael, Fehringer, Rudolf
• Primary Examiner(s): Behm, Harry
• Application Number:
  US14/382,726
• Publication Number:
  US 20150029771A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,299 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/0095 Hybrid converter topologies, e.g. NPC mixed with flying capacitor, thyristor converter mixed with MMC or charge pump mixed with buck
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/4216 operating from a three-phase input voltage H02M1/4233 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/06 using discharge tubes without control electrode or semiconductor devices without control electrode
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/2176 comprising a passive stage to generate a rectified sinusoidal voltage and a controlled switching element in series between such stage and the output
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/219 in a bridge configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/487 Neutral point clamped inverters
• 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

The present invention relates to a rectifier circuit with a three-phase rectifier arrangement (1) of semiconductor valves (2), preferably a bridge rectifier circuit of diodes, wherein the rectifier arrangement (1) comprises a three-phase mains input (3) and a DC output (4), and at least one of the three phases (U, V, W) at the mains input (3) is connected to a first pole connection (A) of a three-pole circuit (5) for diverting an injection current (i_h3) into the three-pole circuit (5). It is provided in accordance with the invention that each phase (U, V, W) can respectively be connected with a switching element (S₁, S₂, S₃) to the first pole connection (A) of the three-pole circuit (5), and a second and third pole connection (B, C) of the three-pole circuit (5) is respectively connected to an output line (P_DC,N_DC) of the DC output (4) for control currents (i_cp,i_cn), wherein the three-pole circuit (5) comprises controllable semiconductor valves (S_cp+,S_cp−,S_cn+,S_cn−), preferably IGBTs, for the active control of the control currents (i_cp,i_cn) and/or the injection current (i_h3), and at least one choke (7) is arranged on one of the output lines (P_DC,N_DC) at the DC output (4), and a time-variable load (6) is provided at the DC output (4).

Claims

1. A rectifier circuit with a three-phase rectifier arrangement of semiconductor valves, preferably a bridge rectifier circuit of diodes, wherein the rectifier arrangement comprises a three-phase mains input and a DC output, and at least one of the three phases at the mains input is connected to a first pole connection of a three-pole circuit for diverting an injection current into the three-pole circuit, wherein each phase can respectively be connected with a switching element to the first pole connection of the three-pole circuit, and a second and third pole connection of the three-pole circuit is respectively connected to an output line of the DC output for control currents, wherein the three-pole circuit comprises controllable semiconductor valves, preferably IGBTs, for the active control of the control currents and/or the injection current, and at least one choke is arranged on one of the output lines at the DC output, and a time-variable load is provided at the DC output, and wherein the second and third pole connection of the three-pole circuit are respectively connected via a second and third inductor to one of the two output lines of the DC output, and the choke is provided between the second or third pole connection and the load.

2. The rectifier circuit according to claim 1, wherein the first pole connection is connected to the switching elements via a first inductor, wherein the three inductors are arranged via a three-leg choke.

3. The rectifier circuit according to claim 1, wherein the two output lines at the DC output are connected to an output capacitor.

4. The rectifier circuit according to claim 1, wherein each of the three phases at the mains input is respectively connected to a filter capacitor, and wherein the filter capacitors are interconnected in a point-to-point manner in a star point.

5. The rectifier circuit according to claim 1, wherein the three-pole circuit is connected via at least one bypass capacitor to the mains input.

6. The rectifier circuit according to claim 1, wherein the three-pole circuit comprises three converter systems with controllable semiconductor valves and/or a bidirectional switch, preferably arranged in a bridge structure, wherein the first pole connection of the three-pole circuit is provided on a first converter system, the second pole connection of the three-pole circuit on a second converter system, and the third pole connection of the three-pole circuit on a third converter system, and a connection to a branching point, i.e. a common center point of the three-pole circuit, is provided from all three converter systems.

7. The rectifier circuit according to claim 6, wherein the first converter system is provided as a three-level bridge leg, wherein the second and third converter system are provided as a half-bridge, and the three converter systems are arranged via three branches which are switched in parallel and are provided with electronic components, wherein the first pole connection of the three-pole circuit is arranged on a first branch, and the second and third pole connection are arranged on a third branch, and each of the branches comprises a center point connection, wherein the components of the branches are arranged symmetrically around said center point connections, and wherein a first center point connection of the first branch is connected via a bidirectional switch to a second center point connection of the second branch, and the second center point connection is directly conductively connected to a third center point connection of the third branch, wherein the third center point connection is provided as the center point of the three-pole circuit.

8. The rectifier circuit according to claim 7, wherein two bridge valves, preferably diodes, are switched in the first branch in series with the same conducting direction, and wherein the first center point connection is arranged between the two bridge valves.

9. The rectifier circuit according to claim 8, wherein the two bridge valves are arranged as controllable semiconductor valves, preferably IGBTs.

10. The rectifier circuit according to claim 7, wherein two buffer capacitors are switched in series on the second branch, and wherein the second center point connection is arranged between the two buffer capacitors.

11. The rectifier circuit according to claim 7, wherein the four controllable semiconductor valves are provided to be switched in series on the third branch, and wherein the center point of the three-pole circuit is arranged in the connection between two pairs of the controllable semiconductor valves which are switched in series, and the second pole connection is provided between the controllable semiconductor valves of the first pair, and the third pole connection is provided between the controllable semiconductor valves of the second pair.

12. The rectifier circuit according to claim 1, wherein the three-pole circuit comprises two converter systems with controllable semiconductor valves, preferably arranged in a bridge structure, wherein the second pole connection of the three-pole circuit is provided on a second converter system, and the third pole connection of the three-pole circuit is provided on a third converter system, and a connection to a branching point, i.e. a common center point of the three-pole circuit, is provided from both converter systems, and the center point is connected to the first pole connection.

13. The rectifier circuit according to claim 12, wherein the second and third converter system are provided as a half-bridge, wherein the two converter systems are arranged via two branches switched in parallel, and the first pole connection of the three-pole circuit is connected to a second branch, and the second and third pole connection are arranged on a third branch, and each of the branches comprises a center point connection, wherein the components of the branches are arranged symmetrically around said center point connections, and a second center point connection of the second branch is directly conductively connected to a third center point connection of the third branch, wherein the third center point connection is provided as the center point of the three-pole circuit.

14. The rectifier circuit according to claim 13, wherein the second center point connection is connected via a voltage source to the first pole connection.

15. The rectifier circuit according to claim 12, wherein the second and third converter system of the three-pole circuit are arranged with known bidirectional three-level bridge legs, preferably two so-called three-level neutral-point-clamped-converters, and wherein the three-level bridge legs are arranged symmetrically around a center point branch which is switched in parallel to the three-level bridge legs, and the center point branch is arranged as two buffer capacitors which are switched in series, and the center point is provided between the two buffer capacitors, and a neutral connection of the three-level bridge leg is connected to the center point and the first pole connection, and an AC voltage connection of the three-level bridge leg is respectively provided as the second pole connection and third pole connection of the three-pole circuit.

16. The rectifier circuit according to claim 12, wherein the three-pole circuit is connected with the first pole connection to one respective side of two injection capacitors, which connection forms the center point of the three-pole circuit, wherein the two other sides of the injection capacitors are connected via a voltage source and form connection points, wherein a current loop is provided which originates from the connection points and comprises one respective buffer capacitor and one respective pair of controllable semiconductor valves, and the second pole connection and the third pole connection are provided between the respective two controllable semiconductor valves of a pair.

17. A method for impressing control currents into a DC output of a rectifier circuit with a three-phase rectifier arrangement of semiconductor valves, preferably a three-pole bridge rectifier circuit of diodes, wherein an injection current is diverted from at least one of the three phases at a mains input of the rectifier circuit, wherein the injection current is supplied to a first pole connection of a three-pole circuit, and the control of the injection current and/or the control currents occurs via active components, preferably controllable semiconductor valves, in the three-pole circuit, and the rectifier currents in two DC output lines are added the control currents via a second and third pole connection of the three-pole circuit, and are guided at least through one choke arranged on the DC output, and wherein the injection current and/or the control currents are conducted through at least two of three inductors, provided on at least two of the three pole connections for smoothing and controlling the currents, by differential voltages via the inductors, and the third current is set via control of two of the three currents.

18. The method for impressing control currents (i_cp,i_cn) according to claim 17, wherein a center point voltage (U_MN) is measured between the center point of the three-pole circuit and a neutral point, and a mean value of the center point voltage is controlled by one of the converter systems.

19. The method for impressing control currents according to claim 18, wherein the mean value of the center point voltage is controlled to zero.

20. The method for impressing control currents according to claim 18, wherein a first buffer capacitor voltage at the buffer capacitor is controlled to be greater than a voltage of the positive output line against a neutral point, and a second buffer capacitor voltage at the buffer capacitor is controlled to be lower than a voltage of the negative output line against the neutral point.

21. The method for impressing control currents according to claim 18, wherein the control of the mean value of the center point voltage occurs via the controllable semiconductor valves.

22. The method for impressing control currents according to claim 17, wherein a first buffer capacitor voltage is minimized at the buffer capacitor and a second buffer capacitor voltage is minimized at the buffer capacitor, and wherein the center point voltage is controlled to the negative half value of an injection voltage, and the injection voltage is applied between the first pole connection and the neutral point.

23. The method for impressing control currents according to claim 17, wherein the potential of the center point voltage is increased or decreased in relation to one of the two output lines via the control of the voltage source.