Current source wave voltage inverter voltage-clamping and soft-switching techniques, and fuel cell system using the same

• US 7,262,979 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2006
• Issued: 08/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yuan Ze University
• Original Assignee: Yuan Ze University
• Inventors: Duan, Rou-Yong, Wai, Rong-Jong
• Primary Examiner(s): Laxton; Gary L
• Application Number:
  US11/534,003
• Publication Number:
  US 20070081368A1
• Time in Patent Office: 341 Days
• Field of Search: 363/55, 363/56.01, 363/56.03, 363/56.04, 363/97, 363/98, 363/131, 363/132
• US Class Current: 363/56.03
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/007 Plural converter units in cascade push-pull DC/DC converters with pre-regulator H02M3/3374; DC-AC converters following a DC-DC stage including a high frequency transformer H02M7/4807; DC-AC converters following a DC-DC conversion stage generating periodically varying voltages H02M7/4826
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/34 Snubber circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/342 Active non-dissipative snubbers
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/48 using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/53871 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 current-source sine-wave voltage inverter for converting a direct current (DC) voltage to an alternating (AC) voltage includes a DC source for providing a DC voltage, a current source circuit having a primary side inductance of a transformer, a clamping circuit, an inverting circuit, and a control and driving circuit. The clamping circuit includes a first switch cascaded with a first diode, a second diode cascaded with a second switch, a first capacitor connected between an anode of the first diode and a cathode of the second diode, a secondary side inductance of the transformer cascaded with a third diode, the secondary side inductance of the transformer and the third diode connected to two ends of the DC source, and a cathode of the third diode connected to an anode of the DC source. The present invention also provides a fuel cell system.

Claims

1. A current-source sine-wave voltage inverter for converting a direct current (DC) voltage to an alternating (AC) voltage, comprising:

a DC source for providing a DC voltage;

a current source circuit having a primary side inductance of a transformer;

a clamping circuit comprising a first switch cascaded with a first diode, a second diode cascaded with a second switch, a first capacitor connected between an anode of the first diode and a cathode of the second diode, a secondary side inductance of the transformer cascaded with a third diode, the secondary side inductance of the transformer and the third diode connected to two ends of the DC source, and a cathode of the third diode connected to an anode of the DC source;

an inverting circuit, being a full-bridge dc-ac inverting circuit which comprising diagonally opposite a third switch and a fourth switch, a fifth switch and a sixth switch from two legs, a fourth diode, a fifth diode, a sixth diode and a seventh diode used for avoiding the short current from a second capacitor to pass through the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth switches or the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh diodes; and

a control and driving circuit comprising a single-phase voltage and frequency command signal and then further makes a logic determination, a delay operation, isolates an amplified driving current and triggers and cuts off the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth switches;

when an output voltage is at an upper half cycle of the sine wave, current flowing from the DC source through the primary side inductance and the first and second switches, then via the third and fourth switches to charge the second capacitor;

when an output voltage is at a lower half cycle of the sine wave, the first, second, third, and fourth switches turn on at the same time to discharge the second capacitor;

when the primary side inductance is forward-biased, the third diode is reverse-biased, no current flowing through the secondary side inductance, and current on the primary side inductance storing energy at the transformer;

when the first and second switches cut off, the primary side inductance reverses a voltage polarity (the polarity of the black spots is negative), the third diode is forward-biased, a current on the secondary side inductance will release the energy stored in the transformer to the DC source; and

during the energy releasing time, the voltage value of the secondary side inductance is the same as the source'"'"'s, and the voltage value of the primary side inductance will be limited by turns ratio of the primary and secondary side inductances;

wherein the first capacitor and the first and second diodes all connect either sides of the first and second switches to enable a zero voltage switching (ZVS) property of the first and second switches when the first and second switches cut off;

when a current on the secondary side inductance is zero, which means all stored energy in the transformer has been released, then if any one of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth switches on the primary side turns on, it will have a zero current switching (ZCS) property.

2. The current-source sine-wave voltage inverter of claim 1, wherein the control and driving circuit comprises a feedback control circuit, a phase splitting circuit, a logic control circuit, and an isolating and current amplification driving circuit, the feedback control circuit includes a low-pass filter circuit and a comparator,

wherein the feedback control circuit inputs a result obtained by a comparator and then forwards the result to the phase splitting circuit to obtain a phase-split signal, the phase-split signal is split into two sets of signals having a phase difference of 180 degrees as compared to each other, each of the two sets of signals flows through a first-order RC charging and discharging circuit formed of a two-path diode circuit connected in series with a resistor and a same capacitor so as to add a rise delay and a fall delay on a same signal source, add an on-time delay and an off-time delay through the inverter and provide a time required for an interlock of an upper and a lower branch switches, the logic control circuit is used to eliminate the delay of the off-time by using an AND gate in the phase-split circuit and to provide front stage triggering signals of the first and second switches in the clamping circuit, and the isolation and current amplification circuits is used to drive the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth switches so as to prevent short circuit is occurred with respect to the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth switches.

3. The current-source sine-wave voltage inverter of claim 1, wherein the first and second switches of the clamping circuit clamp two times a voltage provided by the DC source when the transformer thereof has a winding number ratio of the primary and secondary side turns of 1:

1 and a voltage of the primary side inductance being inversely proportional to the winding number ratio when the winding number ratio is varied.

4. The current-source sine-wave voltage inverter of claim 1, when the transformer having a 1:

1 ratio for a primary side'"'"'s inductance value and a secondary side'"'"'s inductance value, a maximum voltage value to be sustained by the clamping circuit is twice a value of the DC source, therefore, changing a ratio of the primary side'"'"'s inductance value and the secondary side'"'"'s inductance value will change a voltage of the primary side inductance to be sustained by the first and second switches.

5. The current-source sine-wave voltage inverter of claim 1, wherein the clamping circuit is using voltage-clamping, quasi-resonant techniques and is controlling the inductance current in discontinuous conduction mode so that when the first and second switches, the first and second diodes in the clamping circuit are on or off, the first and second switches, the first and second diodes respectively have ZVS or ZCS switching properties.

6. The current-source sine-wave voltage inverter of claim 5, wherein the third, fourth, fifth and sixth switches have both ZVS and ZCS switching properties, and the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh diodes have both ZVS and ZCS switching properties.

7. The current-source sine-wave voltage inverter of claim 1, which generates a single-phase 60 Hz sine wave voltage.

8. A fuel cell system, comprising:

a fuel cell for providing a direct current (DC) voltage, the fuel cell comprising an anode, a cathode, a catalyst and an electrolyte, wherein the anode, used as a negative post in the fuel cell, disperses hydrogen gases equally over the entire catalyst surface and conducts electrons for being used as power in an external circuit, and the cathode, used as a positive post in the fuel cell, distributes oxygen fed to it onto the catalyst surface and conducts electrons back from the external circuit, and the catalyst is a special material used to facilitate the oxygen and hydrogen reaction;

a DC to DC converter circuit comprising a first and second coupled windings, a third capacitor having an electrode connected to coupled ends of the first and second winding, and a transistor cascaded between the anode of the fuel cell and the coupled ends of the first and second windings; and

a current-source sine-wave voltage inverter for converting the DC voltage to an alternating (AC) voltage, the current-source sine-wave voltage inverter comprising;

a current source circuit having a primary side inductance of a transformer;

a clamping circuit comprising a first switch cascaded with a first diode, a second diode cascaded with a second switch, a first capacitor connected between an anode of the first diode and a cathode of the second diode, a secondary side inductance of the transformer cascaded with a third diode, the secondary side inductance of the transformer and the third diode connected to two ends of the DC source, and a cathode of the third diode connected to an anode of the DC source;

an inverting circuit, being a full-bridge dc-ac inverting circuit which comprising diagonally opposite a third switch and a fourth switch, a fifth switch and a sixth switch from two legs, a fourth diode, a fifth diode, a sixth diode and a seventh diode used for avoiding the short current from a second capacitor to pass through the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth switches or the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh diodes; and

a control and driving circuit comprising a single-phase voltage and frequency command signal and then further makes a logic determination, a delay operation, isolates an amplified driving current and triggers and cuts off the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth switches;

when an output voltage is at an upper half cycle of the sine wave, current flowing from the DC source through the primary side inductance and the first and second switches, then via the third and fourth switches to charge the second capacitor;

when an output voltage is at a lower half cycle of the sine wave, the first, second, third, and fourth switches turn on at the same time to discharge the second capacitor;

when the primary side inductance is forward-biased, the third diode is reverse-biased, no current flowing through the secondary side inductance, and current on the primary side inductance storing energy at the transformer;

when the first and second switches cut off, the primary side inductance reverses a voltage polarity (the polarity of the black spots is negative), the third diode is forward-biased, a current on the secondary side inductance will release the energy stored in the transformer to the DC source; and

during the energy releasing time, the voltage value of the secondary side inductance is the same as the source'"'"'s, and the voltage value of the primary side inductance will be limited by turns ratio, therefore the structure disclosed herein is able to clamp two times the voltage of the DC source;

wherein the first capacitor and the first and second diodes all connect either sides of the first and second switches to enable a zero voltage switching (ZVS) property of the first and second switches when the first and second switches cut off;

when a current on the secondary side inductance is zero, which means all stored energy in the transformer has been released, then if any one of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth switches on the primary side turns on, it will have a zero current switching (ZCS) property.

9. The fuel cell system of claim 8, wherein the fuel cell further comprising an ultracapacitor C_i and a diode D_i cascaded with each other, the ultracapacitor C_i having an electrode electrically connected to the anode of the fuel cell, the diode D_i having an anode electrically connected to the cathode of the fuel cell.

10. The fuel cell system of claim 8, wherein the fuel cell is a Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC).

11. The fuel cell system of claim 8, wherein the DC-DC converter circuit is a high-efficiency, high step-up dc-dc converter.

12. The fuel cell system of claim 8, wherein the control and driving circuit comprises a feedback control circuit, a phase splitting circuit, a logic control circuit, and an isolating and current amplification driving circuit, the feedback control circuit includes a low-pass filter circuit and a comparator,

wherein the feedback control circuit inputs a result obtained by a comparator and then forwards the result to the phase splitting circuit to obtain a phase-split signal, the phase-split signal is split into two sets of signals having a phase difference of 180 degrees as compared to each other, each of the two sets of signals flows through a first-order RC charging and discharging circuit formed of a two-path diode circuit connected in series with a resistor and a same capacitor so as to add a rise delay and a fall delay on a same signal source, add an on-time delay and an off-time delay through the inverter and provide a time required for an interlock of an upper and a lower branch switches, the logic control circuit is used to eliminate the delay of the off-time by using an AND gate in the phase-split circuit and to provide front stage triggering signals of the first and second switches in the clamping circuit, and the isolation and current amplification circuits is used to drive the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth switches so as to prevent short circuit is occurred with respect to the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth switches.

13. The fuel cell system of claim 8, wherein the first and second switches of the clamping circuit clamp two times a voltage provided by the DC source when the transformer thereof has a winding number ratio of the primary and secondary side turns of 1:

1 and a voltage of the primary side inductance being inversely proportional to the winding number ratio when the winding number ratio is varied.

14. The fuel cell system of claim 8, when the transformer having a 1:

1 ratio for a primary side'"'"'s inductance value and a secondary side'"'"'s inductance value, a maximum voltage value to be sustained by the clamping circuit is twice a value of the DC source, therefore, changing a ratio of the primary sides'"'"'s inductance value and the secondary side'"'"'s inductance value will change a voltage of the primary side inductance to be sustained by the first and second switches.

15. The fuel cell system of claim 8, wherein the clamping circuit is using voltage-clamping, quasi-resonant techniques and is controlling the inductance current in discontinuous conduction mode so that when the first and second switches, the first and second diodes in the clamping circuit are on or off, the first and second switches, the first and second diodes respectively have ZVS or ZCS switching properties.

16. The fuel cell system of claim 15, wherein the third, fourth, fifth and sixth switches have both ZVS and ZCS switching properties, and the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh diodes have both ZVS and ZCS switching properties.

17. The fuel cell system of claim 8, which generates a single-phase 60 Hz sine wave voltage.