System and method for limting currents in a power distribution system

• US 10,972,087 B2
• Filed: 05/22/2018
• Issued: 04/06/2021
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Aviation Systems Limited (General Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: GE Aviation Systems Limited (General Electric Company)
• Inventors: Handy, Peter James, Tyler, Peter Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Barnie, Rexford N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Parries, Dru
• Application Number:
  US15/986,056
• Publication Number:
  US 20180375505A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,050 Days
• Field of Search: 307 91
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2221/00 Electric power distribution systems onboard aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 1/0007 concerning the detecting means in general G01R or other subclasses of G01; reed switches H01H71/2445
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 3/025 Disconnection after limiting, e.g. when limiting is not sufficient or for facilitating disconnection
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 9/02 responsive to excess current current limitation for voltage regulators G05F1/573; disconnection after limiting H02H3/025
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 9/025 Current limitation using field effect transistors
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 1/06 Two-wire systems
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 1/10 Parallel operation of dc sources
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 1/14 Balancing the load in a network
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/44 for aircrafts
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/082 by feedback from the output to the control circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/10 Modifications for increasing the maximum permissible switched voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/16 Modifications for eliminating interference voltages or currents

Abstract

An apparatus and method for controlling voltage sharing between a set of switching components can include applying power from a current source with a positive lead and a negative lead, closing the set of switching components to connect power from the current source to an electrical load, detecting a set of voltage values for the set of switching components, and controlling a current limiting function of at least one of the set of switching components.

Claims

1. A power distribution system, comprising:

a bipolar direct current (DC) source with a positive voltage lead and a negative voltage lead;

an electrical load capable of drawing electrical power from the bipolar DC source;

a set of switching components configured to selectively connect power from the bipolar DC source to the electrical load by switching between an open state that disconnects power from the bipolar DC source to the electrical load and a closed state that connects power from the bipolar DC source to the electrical load, wherein a first switching component is connected to the positive lead of the bipolar DC source and a second switching component is connected to the negative lead of the bipolar DC source, and wherein each of the switching components includes a switch, a current limiting device, and a controller module; and

a current limiter module connected with an output of the first switch of the first switching component and the output of the second switch of the second switching component, the current limiter module including a bias value related to at least one of the first switch or the second switch, and the current limiter module adapted to determine a voltage sharing balance between the first switch and the second switch;

wherein only the current limiting device of the first switching component is adapted to modify a current limiting characteristic in response to a determination that voltage sharing is unbalanced between the first switching component and the second switching component, by the current limiter module adjusting the control signal sent from the controller module to the current limiting device of the first switching component.

2. The power distribution system of claim 1 wherein the first switching component includes a dynamic current limiter.

3. The power distribution system of claim 2 wherein the dynamic current limiter is adapted to modify the current limiting characteristic of the dynamic current limiter in response to the determination that voltage sharing is unbalanced.

4. The power distribution system of claim 1 wherein the first switching component is adapted to modify the current limiting characteristic such that the voltage sharing is balanced between the first switch and the second switch.

5. The power distribution system of claim 1 wherein the current limiter module includes a summation of a first voltage value from the positive lead and a second voltage value from the negative lead.

6. The power distribution system of claim 5 wherein the summation is provided to a comparator module configured to generate an output representative of the voltage sharing balance.

7. The power distribution system of claim 6 wherein the output is positive when more voltage is dropped across the second switch, compared with the voltage dropped across the first switch.

8. The power distribution system of claim 6 wherein the output is at least one of zero or null when the voltages dropped across the first switch and second switch are equal.

9. The power distribution system of claim 1 wherein the bias value biases the summation such that an amount of voltage dropped by at least one of the first switch or second switch is negated by the bias.

10. The power distribution system of claim 1 wherein the bipolar DC source includes two 270 Volt DC power supplies.

11. The power distribution system of claim 10 wherein a negative lead of one of the two 270 volt direct current power supplies is coupled to a chassis ground and the positive lead of the other of the two 270 volt direct current power supplies is coupled to the chassis ground.

12. The power distribution system of claim 1 wherein the set of switching components includes two solid-state power controllers.

13. A power distribution system for an aircraft, comprising:

a bipolar direct current (DC) source with a positive voltage lead and a negative voltage lead;

an electrical load capable of drawing electrical power from the bipolar DC source;

a set of switching components configured to selectively connect power from the bipolar DC source to the electrical load by switching between an open state that disconnects power from the bipolar DC source to the electrical load and a closed state that connects power from the bipolar DC source to the electrical load, wherein a first switching component is connected to the positive lead of the bipolar DC source and a second switching component is connected to the negative lead of the bipolar DC source, and wherein each of the first switching component and the second switching component includes a switch, a current limiting device, and a controller module;

a first voltage sensor disposed across the first switch of the first switching component and adapted to sense the voltage dropped across the first switch and a second voltage sensor disposed across the second switch of the second switching component and adapted to sense the voltage dropped across the second switch; and

a current limiter module adapted to receive the voltage dropped across the first switch and the voltage dropped across the second switch, and adapted to determine a voltage sharing balance between the first switch and the second switch;

wherein only the current limiting device of the first switching component is adapted to modify a current limiting characteristic in response to a determination that voltage sharing is unbalanced between the first switching component and the second switching component, by the current limiter module adjusting the control signal sent from the controller module to the current limiting device of the first switching component.

14. The power distribution system of claim 13 wherein the current limiting device includes a dynamic current limiter.

15. The power distribution system of claim 14 wherein the dynamic current limiter is adapted to modify the current limiting characteristic of the dynamic current limiter in response to the determination that voltage sharing is unbalanced.

16. A method of controlling voltage sharing between a set of switching components, each of the set of switching components including a switch, a current limiting device, and a controller module, the method comprising:

applying power from a bipolar direct current (DC) source with a positive voltage lead and a negative voltage lead;

closing each of the switches of the set of switching components to connect power from the bipolar DC source to an electrical load, wherein the set of switching components are in series with the electrical load;

detecting a set of voltage values across the set of switching components;

determining an imbalance between the voltage values for the set of switching components in a current limiter module by applying a bias value to at least one of the voltage values, and wherein the bias value is related to a desired power sharing ratio between the set of switching components; and

dynamically controlling a current limiting device of only one of the set of switching components to correct the imbalance between the voltage values for the set of switching components, by the current limiter module adjusting the control signal sent from the controller module to the current limiting device of the only one of the set of switching components.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein determining the imbalance between the voltage values includes receiving a first voltage value from a first switching component, receiving a second voltage value from a second switching component, and comparing the first voltage value with the second voltage value at the current limiter module.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising altering a current limiting control signal proportional to the determined imbalance, and dynamically controlling the current limiting device of at least one of the set of switching components by way of the altered current limiting control signal.