Modular inverter platform providing physical and electrical configurability and scalability

• US 9,722,510 B2
• Filed: 06/02/2015
• Issued: 08/01/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cummins Power Generation IP, Inc. (Cummins Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Cummins Power Generation IP, Inc. (Cummins Incorporated)
• Inventors: Ayana, Elias M., Kunin, Sergey, Palmer, Bradford K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhang, Jue
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kyaw, Htet Z
• Application Number:
  US14/728,556
• Publication Number:
  US 20150349661A1
• Time in Patent Office: 791 Days
• Field of Search: 363132, 363147, 363141, 363144, 363146
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/5387 in a bridge configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/141 One or more single auxiliary printed circuits mounted on a main printed circuit, e.g. modules, adapters H05K1/142 and H05K1/147 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/148 Arrangements of two or more hingeably connected rigid printed circuit boards, i.e. connected by flexible means
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/368 parallel to each other H05K3/361 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/1432 specially adapted for power drive units or power converters
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/14322 wherein the control and power circuits of a power converter are arranged within the same casing
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/14324 comprising modular units, e.g. DIN rail mounted units
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/2089 for power electronics, e.g. for inverters for controlling motor

Abstract

Modular inverter platforms and methods for providing physical and electrical configurability and scalability are disclosed. The modular inverter apparatus includes a printed circuit board (PCB) comprising at least two modules and one or more mounting components structured to switch the at least two modules between a plurality of physical configurations. The modular inverter apparatus also includes a plurality of electrical interconnections structured to electrically connect the at least two modules and to switch the at least two modules between a plurality of electrical configurations.

Claims

1. A modular inverter apparatus, comprising:

a printed circuit board (PCB) comprising at least two modules and one or more mounting components structured to switch the at least two modules between a plurality of physical configurations, wherein, in a first physical configuration, the one or more mounting components couple a second module of the at least two modules to a first module of the at least two modules in a first position, and wherein, in a second physical configuration, the one or more mounting components couple the second module to the first module in a second position different from the first position; and

a plurality of electrical interconnections structured to electrically connect the at least two modules by providing a connection between a first plurality of contacts of the first module and a second plurality of contacts of the second module, wherein the plurality of electrical interconnections are structured to switch the at least two modules between a plurality of electrical configurations in the first physical configuration and to switch the at least two modules between the plurality of electrical configurations in the second physical configuration, and wherein the first plurality of contacts of the first module and the second plurality of contacts of the second module are connected in different ways in the plurality of electrical configurations.

2. The modular inverter apparatus of claim 1, wherein the PCB includes a plurality of board sections segmented by perforations therebetween, wherein the plurality of board sections are separable at the perforations, wherein the at least two modules are each placed on one of the plurality of board sections, wherein a first board section of the plurality of board sections is integrated with a second board section of the plurality of board sections in the first physical configuration, and wherein the first board section is separated from the second board section and repositioned to a back side of the second board section in the second physical configuration.

3. The modular inverter apparatus of claim 2, wherein a third board section of the plurality of board sections is removable, and wherein the plurality of electrical interconnections are structured to provide a connection between the first plurality of contacts of the first module to the second plurality of contacts of the second module in response to the third board section being removed.

4. The modular inverter apparatus of claim 2, wherein the plurality of board sections are populated by components based on one of the plurality of physical configurations.

5. The modular inverter apparatus of claim 1, wherein the modular inverter apparatus is structured to receive power from an alternator of a variable speed genset.

6. The modular inverter apparatus of claim 5, wherein at least one of the at least two modules includes a rectifier module, and wherein the modular inverter apparatus is structured to receive the power at the rectifier module.

7. The modular inverter apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least two modules includes an inverter bridge module, and wherein the modular inverter apparatus is structured to receive a direct current (DC) power at the inverter bridge module.

8. The modular inverter apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least two modules includes a DC bus module, wherein the DC bus module includes a plurality of capacitors placed on a side of the PCB, and wherein the plurality of electrical configurations include a first electrical configuration in which the plurality of capacitors are connected in parallel and a second electrical configuration in which the plurality of capacitors are connected in series.

9. The modular inverter apparatus of claim 1, wherein the modular inverter apparatus is cooled by air cooling, liquid cooling, or active cooling.

10. The modular inverter apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least two modules includes an inverter bridge module, wherein at least one of the at least two modules includes an inverter driver module, and wherein an automatic re-configuration is implemented on the module inverter apparatus in response to a failure of a transistor of the inverter bridge module or a gate driver of the inverter driver module.

11. The modular inverter apparatus of claim 10, wherein the plurality of electrical configurations includes a third electrical configuration in which the modular inverter apparatus has a single-phase output and a fourth electrical configuration in which the modular inverter apparatus has a two-phase output, and wherein the automatic reconfiguration includes changing the modular inverter apparatus from the fourth electrical configuration to the third electrical configuration in response to the failure of a transistor of the inverter bridge or a gate driver of the inverter drive module.

12. The module inverter apparatus of claim 10, wherein the plurality of electrical configurations include a third electrical configuration in which the modular inverter apparatus has a single-phase output and a fifth electrical configuration in which the modular inverter apparatus has a three-phase output, and wherein the automatic reconfiguration includes changing the modular inverter from the fifth electrical configuration to the third electrical configuration in response to the failure of a transistor of the inverter bridge or a gate driver of the inverter drive module.

13. The modular inverter apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least two modules includes a filter module, wherein the plurality of electrical configurations include a sixth electrical configuration in which the filter module has a single-phase output, a seventh electrical configuration in which the filter module has a split-phase output, and an eighth electrical configuration in which the filter module has a three phase output, and wherein the filter module is switched between the sixth, the seventh, and the eighth electrical configurations by software, jumpers, inductors, capacitors, or transformers.

14. The modular inverter apparatus of claim 1, wherein the modular inverter apparatus includes a wide band-gap device bridge, a silicon carbide device bridge, a gallium nitride device bridge, or a multi-level transistor bridge.

15. The modular inverter apparatus of claim 1, wherein the modular inverter apparatus is configured to output a first voltage under a first electrical configuration of the plurality of electrical configurations and output a second voltage different from the first voltage under a second electrical configuration of the plurality of electrical configurations.

16. The modular inverter apparatus of claim 1, wherein the modular inverter apparatus is configured to output a first power under a first electrical configuration of the plurality of electrical configurations and output a second power different from the first power under a second electrical configuration of the plurality of electrical configurations.

17. The modular inverter apparatus of claim 1, wherein the modular inverter apparatus is configured to output single-phase output under a first electrical configuration of the plurality of electrical configurations, a split-phase output under a second electrical configuration of the plurality of electrical configurations, and a three phase output under a third electrical configuration of the plurality of electrical configurations.

18. A method comprising:

dividing a printed circuit board (PCB) of an inverter into at least two modules, wherein the PCB comprises one or more mounting components structured to switch the at least two modules between a plurality of physical configurations, wherein, in a first physical configuration, the one or more mounting components couple a second module of the at least two modules to a first module of the at least two modules in a first position, and wherein, in a second physical configuration, the one or more mounting components couple the second module to the first module in a second position different from the first position; and

electrically connecting the at least two modules via a plurality of electrical interconnections structured to provide a connection between a first plurality of contacts of the first module and a second plurality of contacts of the second module, wherein the at least two modules each comprise at least one of a rectifier module, an inverter bridge module, a filter module, an inverter bridge driver module, an inverter controller module, a current sensor module, a voltage sensor module, and a thermal management module, and wherein the plurality of electrical interconnections are structured to switch the at least two modules between a plurality of electrical configurations in the first physical configuration and to switch the at least two modules between the plurality of configurations in the second physical configuration, and wherein the first plurality of contacts of the first module and the second plurality of contacts of the second module are connected in different ways in the plurality of electrical configurations.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said dividing the PCB further comprises perforating the PCB into a plurality of separable board sections, wherein the at least two modules are each placed on one of the plurality of board sections, wherein a first board section of the plurality of board sections is integrated with a second board section of the plurality of board sections in the first physical configuration, and wherein the first board section is separated from the second board section and repositioned to a back side of the second board section in the second physical configuration.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

removing a third board section of the plurality of board sections; and

providing a connection between the first plurality of contacts of the first module to the second plurality of contacts of the second module in response to the third board section being removed.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising receiving power from an alternator of a variable speed genset at the rectifier module.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein at least one of the at least two modules further includes a direct current (DC) bus module, and the method further comprising receiving a DC power at the DC bus module or at the inverter bridge module.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the plurality of electrical configurations include a first electrical configuration in which the filter module has a single-phase output, a second electrical configuration in which the filter module has a split-phase output, and a third electrical configuration in which the filter module has a three phase output.

24. A modular inverter apparatus, comprising:

a printed circuit board (PCB) comprising at least two modules and one or more mounting components structured to switch the at least two modules between a plurality of physical configurations, wherein, in a first physical configuration, the one or more mounting components couple a second module of the at least two modules to a first module of the at least two modules in a first position, and wherein, in a second physical configuration, the one or more mounting components couple the second module to the first module in a second position different from the first position; and

one or more jumpers structured to electrically connect the at least two modules by providing a connection between a first plurality of contacts of the first module and a second plurality of contacts of the second module, wherein the one or more jumpers are structured to switch the at least two modules between a plurality of electrical configurations in the first physical configuration and to switch the at least two modules between the plurality of electrical configurations in the second physical configuration, and wherein the first plurality of contacts of the first module and the second plurality of contacts of the second module are connected in different ways in the plurality of electrical configurations.

25. The modular inverter apparatus of claim 24, wherein the PCB includes a plurality of board sections segmented by perforations therebetween, wherein the plurality of board sections are separable at the perforations, wherein the at least two modules are each placed on one of the plurality of board sections, wherein a first board section of the plurality of board sections is integrated with a second board section of the plurality of board sections in the first physical configuration, and wherein the first board section is separated from the second board section and repositioned to a back side of the second board section in the second physical configuration.

26. The modular inverter apparatus of claim 25, wherein a third board section of the plurality of board sections is removable, and wherein the one or more jumpers are structured to provide a connection between the first plurality of contacts of the first module to the second plurality of contacts of the second module in response to the third board section being removed.

27. The modular inverter apparatus of claim 24, wherein at least one of the at least two modules includes a filter module, and wherein the plurality of electrical configurations include a first electrical configuration in which the filter module has a single-phase output, a second electrical configuration in which the filter module has a split-phase output, and a third electrical configuration in which the filter module has a three phase output.