POWER SUPPLY

• US 20080231211A1
• Filed: 03/20/2008
• Published: 09/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Philips IP Ventures B.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Access Business Group International LLC (Alticor Incorporated)
• Inventors: Baarman, David W., Schwannecke, Joshua K., Taylor, Joshua B., Bachman, Wesley J., Lord, John James
• Granted Patent: US 8,223,508 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 315/294
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/2804 Printed windings
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/2823 Wires H01F27/2866 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/34 Special means for preventing or reducing unwanted electric or magnetic effects, e.g. no-load losses, reactive currents, harmonics, oscillations, leakage fields
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/38 Auxiliary core members; Auxiliary coils or windings
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 30/08 without magnetic core
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 38/14 Inductive couplings for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using inductive coupling H02J50/10
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/33523 with galvanic isolation between input and output of both the power stage and the feedback loop
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/3376 with automatic control of output voltage or current
• 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 power supply to provide electrical power to one or more loads. The power supply may include a resonant air core transformer to provide an adjustable and adaptable source of power to electronic devices. The power supply may include isolated primary-side circuitry and secondary-side circuitry. The primary-side circuitry may include control circuitry that, among other things, provides drive waveforms for the primary-side switching circuitry. In embodiments configured to produce AC output, the secondary-side circuitry may also include switching circuitry. The primary-side control circuitry may provide drive waveforms for the secondary-side switching circuitry. The secondary-side circuitry may include measurement circuitry that measures the current and/or voltage of the output and provides those measurements to the control circuitry through isolation circuitry. The control circuitry may adjust the drive waveforms for the primary-side and/or secondary-side switching circuitry as a function of the measured values.

Claims

1. A power supply comprising:

primary-side circuitry having control circuitry and a primary, said control circuitry controlling operation of the power supply;

secondary-side circuitry having a secondary and measurement circuitry;

isolation circuitry coupling the primary-side circuitry and the secondary-side circuitry, said isolation circuitry providing communication between said measurement circuitry and said controller, said controller configured to adjust operation of the power supply in response to communications from said measurement circuitry.

2. The power supply of claim 1 wherein said primary and said secondary are inductively coupled via an air coil.

3. The power supply of claim 1 wherein said primary-side circuitry includes a series resonant tank circuit, said tank circuit including said primary and a capacitor.

4. The power supply of claim 1 wherein said secondary-side circuit includes a rectifier electrically connected to said secondary, said rectifier rectifying power inductively generated in said secondary.

5. The power supply of claim 1 wherein said secondary-side circuitry includes switching circuitry.

6. The power supply of claim 5 wherein said control circuitry is configured to generate drive waveforms for said secondary-side switching circuitry as a function of said communications from said measurement circuitry.

7. The power supply of claim 5 wherein said measurement circuitry includes a voltage sensor, said measurement circuitry communicating a measured voltage to said control circuitry through said isolation circuitry, said control circuitry configured to vary a duty cycle of said drive waveform for said secondary-side switching circuitry as a function of said measured voltage.

8. The power supply of claim 5 wherein said measurement circuitry includes a current sensor, said measurement circuitry communicating a measured current to said control circuitry through said isolation circuitry, said control circuitry configured to take remedial action if said measured current represents an overcurrent or undercurrent condition.

9. The power supply of claim 7 wherein said secondary-side current includes a switch driver electrically connected to said secondary-side switching circuitry, said control circuitry coupled to said switch driver through said isolation circuitry, whereby said control circuitry applies said drive waveforms for said secondary-side switching circuitry to said secondary-side switch driver.

10. The power supply of claim 7 wherein said secondary-side circuitry includes a linear regulator electrically connected to said secondary-side rectifier, said linear rectifier supplying power to at least one of said switch driver, said measurement circuitry and said isolation circuitry.

11. The power supply of claim 10 wherein at least one of said primary and said secondary is a split coil, said split coil including two coil sections sandwiching the other of said primary and said secondary.

12. A power supply comprising:

primary-side circuitry having control circuitry and a primary, said control circuitry controlling operation of the power supply;

secondary-side circuitry having a secondary and switching circuitry, said primary and said secondary being inductively coupled via an air core; and

isolation circuitry coupling the primary-side circuitry and the secondary-side circuitry, said isolation circuitry providing communication between said primary-side circuitry and said secondary-side circuitry, said control circuitry adapted to provide drive waveforms for said secondary-side switching circuitry through said isolation circuitry.

13. The power supply of claim 12 wherein said secondary-side circuit includes a rectifier electrically connected to said secondary, said rectifier rectifying power inductively generated in said secondary to produce a substantially DC output.

14. The power supply of claim 13 wherein said secondary-side switching circuitry is coupled to said rectifier, said secondary-side switching circuitry being operable to generate an AC output from said DC output.

15. The power supply of claim 14 wherein said secondary-side switching circuitry is a full H-bridge switching circuit.

16. The power supply of claim 15 wherein said secondary-side circuitry includes a switch driver coupled to said full H-bridge switching circuit.

17. The power supply of claim 16 wherein said secondary-side circuitry includes measurement circuitry having a voltage sensor, said measurement circuitry communicating a measured voltage to said control circuitry through said isolation circuitry, said control circuitry configured to vary a duty cycle of said drive waveform for said secondary-side switching circuitry as a function of said measured voltage.

18. The power supply of claim 17 wherein said measurement circuitry includes a current sensor, said measurement circuitry communicating a measured current to said control circuitry through said isolation circuitry, said control circuitry configured to take remedial action if said measured current represents an overcurrent or undercurrent condition.

19. The power supply of claim 18 wherein said control circuitry is coupled to said switch driver through said isolation circuitry, whereby said control circuitry applies said drive waveforms for said secondary-side switching circuitry to said secondary-side switch driver.

20. An inductive coupling comprising:

a first coil;

a second coil, said second coil include first and second coil sections, said first coil section and said second coil section being disposed on opposite sides of said first coil, whereby said first coil is sandwiched between said first coil section and said second coil section.

21. The inductive coupling of claim 20 wherein said first coil, said first coil section and said second coil section are substantially coextensive.

22. The inductive coupling of claim 20 wherein said first coil has an inner diameter and an outer diameter, said first coil section and said second coil section each having an inner diameter and an outer diameter;

and

wherein said first coil inner diameter, said first coil section inner diameter and said second coil section inner diameter are substantially equal, and said first coil outer diameter, said first coil section outer diameter and said second coil section outer diameter are substantially equal.

23. A method for establishing an operating parameter of a power supply applying power to a power supply line, comprising the steps of:

connecting one or more remote voltage monitors to the power supply line;

communicating a measured voltage from the one or more remote voltage monitors to a base;

analyzing the measured voltage to determine power loss along the power supply line; and

setting an operating parameter of the power supply to compensate for the power loss.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein said communicating step is further defined as wirelessly communicating the measured voltage from the one or more remote voltage monitors to the base.

25. The method of claim 24 further including the step of incorporating the remote voltage monitor into a load, whereby the remote voltage monitor remains coupled to the power supply line along with the load.

26. The method of claim 25 further including the step of coupling the base to a computer running software to interface the base and the computer.

27. The method claim 23 wherein the power supply is further defined as a power supply for landscape lighting and the power supply line is further defined as the power supply line for a plurality of landscape lamps;

and

wherein said connecting step is further defined as connecting a remote voltage monitor to the power supply line approximate a location of at least one landscaping lamp.

28. The method claim 23 wherein the power supply is further defined as a power supply for landscape lighting and the power supply line is further defined as the power supply line for a plurality of landscape lamps;

and

wherein said connecting step is further defined as connecting a remote voltage monitor to the power supply line approximate a location of a landscaping lamp most remote from the power supply.