Harmonic harvester for improved RF-to-DC rectifying efficiency

• US 10,637,255 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2018
• Issued: 04/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ohio State Innovation Foundation (Ohio State University)
• Original Assignee: Ohio State Innovation Foundation (Ohio State University)
• Inventors: Chen, Chi-Chih
• Primary Examiner(s): Deberadinis, Robert L
• Application Number:
  US16/019,071
• Publication Number:
  US 20180309303A1
• Time in Patent Office: 672 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 5/00 Circuit arrangements for transfer of electric power between ac networks and dc networks H02J3/36 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/0048 Circuits or arrangements for reducing losses using snubbers H02M1/34
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/12 Arrangements for reducing harmonics from ac input or output
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/05 Capacitor coupled rectifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/06 using discharge tubes without control electrode or semiconductor devices without control electrode
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/066 particular circuits having a special characteristic
• 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

A harmonic harvesting circuit design for harvesting unrectified AC power contained in the fundamental and harmonic frequencies at the output of conventional rectifying circuits.

Claims

1. A circuit comprising:

a direct-current (DC) blocking circuit configured to pass alternating-current (AC) signals and block DC signals generated by an AC-to-DC converter circuit;

an impedance matching circuit connected to the DC blocking circuit and configured to receive the AC signals;

a rectifying circuit connected to the impedance matching circuit and configured to convert the AC signals; and

an AC blocking circuit configured to pass the DC signals, wherein the AC blocking circuit is connected to the AC-to-DC converter circuit and the DC blocking circuit.

2. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the AC blocking circuit is further connected to the rectifying circuit.

3. The circuit of claim 2, wherein the AC blocking circuit comprises an input and an output and the rectifying circuit comprises an input and an output, the output of the AC blocking circuit being connected to the output of the rectifying circuit.

4. The circuit of claim 3, wherein the DC blocking circuit comprises an input and an output, the input of the DC blocking circuit being connected to the input of the AC blocking circuit.

5. The circuit of claim 4, wherein the impedance matching circuit comprises an input and an output, the input of the impedance matching circuit being connected to the output of the DC blocking circuit.

6. The circuit of claim 5, wherein the output of the impedance matching circuit is connected to the input of the rectifying circuit.

7. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the impedance matching circuit is further connected to the rectifying circuit.

8. The circuit of claim 7, wherein the AC blocking circuit is further connected to the rectifying circuit.

9. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the DC blocking circuit comprises one of a capacitor and a high-pass filter.

10. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the AC blocking circuit comprises one of an inductor and a low-pass filter.

11. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the rectifying circuit comprises a Schottky diode.

12. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the AC blocking circuit comprises a series inductor and a shunt capacitor.

13. The circuit of claim 1 being a first harmonic harvester circuit, wherein at least a second harmonic harvester circuit of identical arrangement to the first harmonic harvester circuit but with element values configured to rectify harmonics of the AC signals, is cascaded in series after the first harmonic harvester circuit to improve AC to DC rectifying efficiency.

14. A circuit comprising:

a direct-current (DC) blocking circuit configured to pass an alternating-current (AC) signal generated by an AC-to-DC converter circuit;

an impedance matching circuit connected to the DC blocking circuit and configured to receive the AC signal;

a rectifying circuit connected to the impedance matching circuit and configured to convert the AC signal; and

an AC blocking circuit configured to pass a DC signal generated by the AC-to-DC converter circuit, wherein the C blocking circuit is connected to the AC-to-DC converter circuit

and the DC blocking circuit.

15. The circuit of claim 14, wherein the AC signal comprises an AC signal having a fundamental frequency and an AC signal having a harmonic frequency.

16. The circuit of claim 15, wherein the rectifying circuit is configured to rectify the AC signal having the fundamental frequency and the AC signal having the harmonic frequency to minimize an amount of AC power present at the fundamental and the harmonic frequency, wherein to rectify the AC signal comprises increasing an amount of DC power of the DC signal.

17. The circuit of claim 14, wherein the impedance matching circuit is further connected to the rectifying circuit.

18. The circuit of claim 17, wherein the AC blocking circuit is further connected to the rectifying circuit.

19. The circuit of claim 14, wherein the DC blocking circuit comprises one of a capacitor and a high-pass filter.

20. The circuit of claim 14, wherein the AC blocking circuit comprises one of an inductor and a low-pass filter.

21. The circuit of claim 14, wherein the DC blocking circuit comprises an input and

an output, the input of the DC blocking circuit being connected to the AC-to-DC converter circuit and an output of the DC blocking circuit being connected to the impedance matching circuit.

22. The circuit of claim 21, wherein the AC blocking circuit comprises an input and

an output and the rectifying circuit comprises an input and an output, the output of the AC blocking circuit being connected to the output of the rectifying circuit and the input of the AC blocking circuit being connected to the input of the DC blocking circuit and an AC-to-DC converter circuit.

23. A circuit comprising:

a direct-current (DC) blocking circuit comprising an input and an output, wherein the input of the DC blocking circuit is connected to an output of an AC-to-DC converter circuit;

an impedance matching circuit comprising an input and an output, wherein the input of the impedance matching circuit is connected to the output of the DC blocking circuit;

a rectifying circuit comprising an input and an output, wherein the input of the rectifying circuit is connected to the output of the impedance matching circuit, the output of the rectifying circuit being connected to an input of the AC-to-DC converter circuit; and

an AC blocking circuit comprising an input and an output, wherein the input of the AC blocking circuit is connected to output of the AC-to-DC converter circuit and the input of the DC blocking circuit.

24. A circuit, comprising:

a two-port feedback circuit connected in parallel to an AC-to-DC converter circuit, such that a first port of the two-port feedback circuit is connected to an input port of the first AC-to-DC converter circuit and the second port of the two-port feedback circuit is connected to an output port of the AC-to-DC converter circuit;

wherein the two-port feedback circuit comprises;

a direct-current (DC) blocking circuit having a first end and a second end, the first end of the DC blocking circuit is connected to the first port of the two-port feedback circuit, and the DC blocking circuit configured to pass alternating-current (AC) signals and block DC signals;

an impedance matching circuit having a first end and a second end, the first end of the impedance matching circuit connected to the second end of the DC blocking circuit to receive the AC signals;

a rectifying circuit having a first end and a second end, the first end of the rectifying circuit connected to the second end of the impedance matching circuit to rectify the AC signals to output DC signals at the second end of the rectifying circuit, wherein the second end of the rectifying circuit is connected to a second port of the two-port feedback circuit; and

an AC blocking circuit having a first end and a second end, the first end of the AC blocking circuit is connected to the first end of the DC blocking circuit and the second end of the AC blocking circuit is connected to the second end of the rectifying circuit.

25. The circuit of claim 24, wherein the DC blocking circuit comprises one of a capacitor and a high-pass filter.

26. The circuit of claim 24, wherein the AC blocking circuit comprises one of:

an inductor, a shunt capacitor and a combination of a series inductor and a shunt capacitor.