Robust single-phase DC/AC inverter for highly varying DC voltages

• US 9,876,442 B2
• Filed: 10/09/2015
• Issued: 01/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Regents of the University of California (University of California)
• Original Assignee: Regents of the University of California (University of California)
• Inventors: Sanfelice, Ricardo G., Chai, Jun
• Primary Examiner(s): Dole, Timothy J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kyaw, Htet Z
• Application Number:
  US14/879,630
• Publication Number:
  US 20160105128A1
• Time in Patent Office: 837 Days
• Field of Search: 363 97, 363 35, 363131, 323906, 323207
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/53871 with automatic control of output voltage or current

Abstract

A single-phase DC/AC inverter has a single-phase inverter bridge with binary switches connected to an RLC low-pass filter. Digital control logic in a control circuit (or in a microcontroller) determines and controls a logic state q determining the position of the switches in the inverter bridge from sensed i_L, v_C values from the RLC filter. The control logic selects one of multiple possible logic states q based on whether the sensed i_L, v_C values belongs one of multiple boundary regions of a tracking band in an i_L, v_C state space.

Claims

1. A single-phase DC/AC inverter comprising:

two DC input terminals;

a single-phase inverter bridge having a set of four signal-controllable switches switch one (S₁), switch two (S₂), switch three (S₃), and switch four (S₄)connected to the two DC input terminals, wherein a switching state of the four signal-controllable switches is referred to as a logic state (q);

a series RLC low-pass filter connected to the single-phase inverter bridge;

two AC output terminals connected to the series RLC low-pass filter; and

a controller circuit comprising;

input lines for sensing current and voltage values from an inductor and capacitor of the RLC low-pass filter;

output lines for sending a logic state control signal to the set of four signal-controllable switches switch one (S₁), switch two (S₂), switch three (S₃), and switch four (S₄);

digital control logic that outputs by the output lines the logic state (q) in response to the sensed current and voltage values,

where the control logic switches the logic state (q) by selecting one of multiple possible logic states based on whether the sensed current and voltage values intersect one of multiple boundary regions of a tracking band in an a current-voltage state space.

2. The inverter of claim 1 wherein the control logic switches the logic state (q) by selecting one of three possible logic states based on whether the sensed current and voltage values map to one of six boundary regions of the tracking band in the current-voltage state space, wherein two of the boundary regions are boundaries of an inner boundary of the tracking band and four of the boundary regions are boundaries of an outer boundary of the tracking band.

3. The inverter of claim 1 wherein the control logic switches the logic state (q) by selecting one of the multiple possible logic states based additionally on a current logic state.

4. The inverter of claim 1 wherein the logic state (q) has three possible states

i) logic state 1:

switch one (S₁) is ON, switch two (S₂) is OFF, switch three (S₃) is ON, and switch four (S₄) is OFF,

ii) logic state −

1;

switch one (S₁) is OFF, switch two (S₂) is ON, switch three (S₃) is OFF, and switch four (S₄) is ON,

iii) logic state 0;

switch one (S₁) is OFF, switch two (S₂) is ON, switch three (S₃) is ON, and switch four (S₄) is OFF.