TNPC inverter device and method for detecting short-circuit thereof

• US 9,800,176 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2015
• Issued: 10/24/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Delta Electronics Company Limited (Delta Electronics Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Delta Electronics Company Limited (Delta Electronics Incorporated)
• Inventors: Ding, Xibing, Feng, Weiyi, Zhang, Weiqiang, Wu, Hongyang
• Primary Examiner(s): Dole, Timothy J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Andino, Ivan Laboy
• Application Number:
  US14/730,469
• Publication Number:
  US 20150357935A1
• Time in Patent Office: 873 Days
• Field of Search: 363 16- 17, 363 34- 43, 363 50- 57, 363 84, 363 89, 363 95- 98, 363125, 363127, 363131-132, 363135-136, 361 18
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/0006 Arrangements for supplying an adequate voltage to the control circuit of converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/08 Circuits specially adapted for the generation of control voltages for semiconductor devices incorporated in static converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/32 Means for protecting converters other than automatic disconnection
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/487 Neutral point clamped inverters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/537 using semiconductor devices only, e.g. single switched pulse inverters
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/0828 in composite switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/0027 Measuring means of, e.g. currents through or voltages across the switch

Abstract

The present application discloses a TNPC inverter device, comprising: a TNPC inverter module and a short circuit detecting module. The TNPC module at least comprises an inverting bridge arm and a bi-directional switching bridge arm. The inverting bridge arm comprises at least two switches connected in series; the bi-directional switching bridge arm comprises at least two switches. The short circuit detecting module mainly consists of two switch detecting unit corresponding to the two switches in the inverting bridge arm respectively. Increasing the voltage drop of the switches in the inverting bridge when a short circuit occurs in the TNPC module by some way, then it could realize the short circuit detecting module is able to detect all the paths of the short circuit in the TNPC module to simplify the peripheral circuit of the TNPC module in the TNPC inverter device.

Claims

1. A TNPC inverter device, comprising:

a TNPC inverter module comprising;

a first DC terminal;

a second DC terminal;

an AC terminal;

a capacitor bridge arm;

an inverting bridge arm comprised an upper switch unit and a lower switch unit which are connected in series; and

a bi-directional switching bridge arm; and

a short circuit detecting module, mainly consisting of an upper switch detecting unit and a lower switch detecting unit;

wherein ends of the capacitor bridge arm and ends of the inverting bridge arm are correspondingly connected to the first DC terminal and the second DC terminal, ends of the bi-directional switching bridge arm are correspondingly connected to a midpoint of the capacitor bridge arm and a midpoint of the inverting bridge arm, the AC terminal is the midpoint of the inverting bridge arm; and

wherein the upper switch detecting unit is configured to detect a voltage drop of the upper switch unit, and the lower switch detecting unit is configured to detect a voltage drop of the lower switch unit,

wherein the TNPC inverter module futher comprises a midpoint terminal, and the midpoint of the capacitor bridge arm is eletrically connected with the midpoint terminal,

wherein the bi-directional switching bridge arm comprises;

a first flow direction switch unit; and

a second flow direction switch unit,

when the first flow direction switch unit turns on, current in the bi-directional switching bridge arm flows to the midpoint terminal from the AC terminal, and when the second flow direction switch unit turns on, current in the bio-directional switching bridge arm flows to the AC terminal from the midpoint terminal, and

wherein when a short-circuit path comprised both the bi-directional switching bridge arm and the upper switch unit or the lower switch unit, the voltage drop of the upper switch unit of the voltage drop of the lower switch unit in the short-circuit path is not less than voltage drops of the corresponding first flow direction switch unit or second flow direction switch unit.

2. The TNPC inverter device according to claim 1, wherein a rated current of the upper switch unit or the lower switch unit is not greater than a rated current of the first flow direction switch unit or the second flow direction switch unit.

3. The TNPC inverter device according to claim 1, wherein the TNPC inverter device further comprises:

a first driving voltage generating circuit for driving the upper switch unit; and

a second driving voltage generating circuit for driving the lower switch unit,

wherein the first driving voltage generating circuit and the second driving voltage generating circuit respectively have a stabilivolt for making the static driving voltages generated by both the first driving voltage generating circuit and the second driving voltage generating circuit to be less than the static driving voltage of the first flow direction switch unit or the second flow direction switch unit.

4. The TNPC inverter device according to claim 1, wherein a transconductance of the upper switch unit or the lower switch unit is less than a transconductance of the first flow direction switch unit or the second flow direction switch unit.

5. The TNPC inverter device according to claim 1, wherein the TNPC inverter device further comprises:

a first driving voltage generating circuit configured with a first connection resistor for driving the upper switch unit;

a second driving voltage generating circuit configured with a second connection resistor for driving the lower switch unit;

a third driving voltage generating circuit configured with a third connection resistor for driving the first flow direction switch unit; and

a fourth driving voltage generating circuit configured with a fourth connection resistor for driving the second flow direction switch unit;

wherein value of the first or second connection resistor is smaller than value of the third or fourth connection resistor to reduce the loss of the first driving voltage generating circuit or the second driving voltage generating circuit.

6. The TNPC inverter device according to claim 1, wherein a voltage drop of any one of the switches constituting the upper switch unit and the lower switch unit is greater than 5.6V when a short-circuit path comprised the upper switch unit or the lower switch unit.

7. The TNPC inverter device according to claim 1, wherein the TNPC inverter module is encapsulated in a packaged case with pins, the short circuit detecting module is outside of the packaged case.

8. The TNPC inverter device according to claim 1, wherein a static driving voltage of the upper switch unit or the lower switch unit is less than a static driving voltage of the first flow direction switch unit or the second flow direction switch unit.

9. The TNPC inverter device according to claim 8, wherein the TNPC inverter device further comprises:

a first driving voltage generating circuit for driving the upper switch unit comprised a first voltage stabilizing integrated circuit and a first voltage adjusting resistor; and

a second driving voltage generating circuit for driving the lower switch unit comprised a second voltage stabilizing integrated circuit and a second voltage adjusting resistor,

wherein adjusting the first or second voltage stabilizing integrated circuits by the first or second voltage adjusting resistors to make the static driving voltages generated by both the first driving voltage generating circuit and the second driving voltage generating circuit are less than the static driving voltage of the first flow direction switch unit or the second flow direction switch unit.

10. The device TNPC inverter according to claim 1, wherein any one of the upper switch unit, the lower switch unit, the first flow direction switch unit and the second flow direction switch unit is formed of one switch, or formed of a plurality of switches connected in parallel or in series.

11. The TNPC inverter device according to claim 10, wherein the switch is a controllable switch.

12. The TNPC inverter device according to claim 10, wherein the first flow direction switch unit and the second flow direction switch unit are connected in series, and any one of the switches is anti-parallelly connected with a diode.

13. The TNPC inverter device according to claim 10, wherein the first flow direction switch unit and the second flow direction switch unit are connected in parallel, each of the switches constituting any one of the first flow direction switch unit and the flow direction switch unit is connected with a diode in reverse series, and each of the switches constituting any one of the upper switch unit and the lower switch unit is anti-parallelly connected with a diode.

14. A method for detecting a short-circuit in a TNPC inverter device, wherein the TNPC inverter device comprises:

a TNPC inverter module comprising;

a first DC terminal;

a second DC terminal;

an AC terminal;

a capacitor bridge arm;

an inverting bridge arm comprising an upper switch unit and a lower switch unit which are connected in series; and

a bi-directional switching bridge arm; and

a short circuit detecting module mainly consisting of an upper switch detecting unit and a lower switch detecting unit,

wherein ends of the capacitor bridge arm and ends of the inverting bridge arm are correspondingly connected to the first DC terminal and the second DC terminal, ends of the bi-directional switching bridge arm are correspondingly connected to a midpoint of the capacitor bridge arm and a midpoint of the inverting bridge arm, the AC terminal is the midpoint of the inverting bridge arm; and

wherein the upper switch detecting unit is configured to detect a voltage drop of the upper switch unit, and the lower switch detecting unit is configured to detect a voltage drop of the lower switch unit,

wherein the TNPC inverter module further comprises a midpoint terminal, and the midpoint of the capacitor bridge arm is electrically connected with the midpoint terminal,

wherein the bi-directional switching bridge arm comprises;

a first flaw direction switch unit, and

a second flow direction switch unit,

when the first flow direction switch unit turns on, current in the bi-directional switching bridge arm flows to the midpoint terminal from the AC terminal, and when the second flow direction switch unit turns on, current in the bi-directional switching bridge arm flows to the AC terminal from the midpoint terminal, and

wherein when a short-circuit path comprised both the bi-directional switching bridge arm and the upper switch unit or the lower switch unit, the voltage drop of the upper switch unit or the voltage drop of the lower switch unit in the short-circuit path is not less than voltage drops of the corresponding first flow direction switch unit or second flow direction switch unit, and

the method comprising;

merely detecting voltage drops of the upper switch unit and the lower switch unit in the TNPC inverter module of the TNPC inverter device; and

making a judgment about the occurrence of a short-circuit in the TNPC inverter module based on the comparison result of the voltage drop of the upper switch unit or the lower switch unit and a reference value amendments to the figures and claims and the following remarks.