Power source switch device and power source system provided with same

• US 8,508,966 B2
• Filed: 02/02/2012
• Issued: 08/13/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tagome, Masaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Berhane, Adolf
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAM, EMILY P
• Application Number:
  US13/635,979
• Publication Number:
  US 20130009624A1
• Time in Patent Office: 558 Days
• Field of Search: 363/17, 363/132, 318/376
• US Class Current: 363/132
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/525 Temperature of converter or components thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/20 Inrush current reduction, i.e. avoiding high currents when connecting the battery
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/00 Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposes; Monitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells B60L58/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/003 relating to inverters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/327 against abnormal temperatures

Abstract

Provided are semiconductor elements 107A, 107B, and 107C that allow a current to flow that is at most a maximum current determined by the level of control signals VGA, VGB, and VGC and that depends on the difference between the voltage of a DC power supply BA and the charging voltage of a capacitor 102, a controller 105 that outputs a control signal to each semiconductor element, and a temperature detection circuit that detects the temperature of each semiconductor element. Until a predetermined time elapses after the electric circuit is closed, the controller 105 adjusts the level of each control signal based on the temperature detected by the temperature detection circuit so that current through the electric circuit does not exceed a current limit, and after the predetermined time period elapses, the controller 105 adjusts the level of each control signal so that current through the electric circuit is allowed to exceed the current limit.

Claims

1. A power switching device for switching an electric circuit connecting a DC power supply and a capacitance element in response to a command from an external source, the power switching device comprising:

one or more semiconductor elements, inserted along the electric circuit, each allowing current to flow at or below a maximum current determined according to a level of an input control signal, the current corresponding to a difference between a voltage of the DC power supply and a charging voltage of the capacitance element;

a controller outputting a control signal individually to each of the one or more semiconductor elements; and

a temperature detection circuit detecting a temperature of the one or more semiconductor elements, wherein

until a predetermined time period elapses after receipt of a command to place the electric circuit into a closed state, the controller adjusts the level of each control signal in accordance with the temperature detected by the temperature detection circuit so that current flowing through the electric circuit does not exceed a current limit, and

after the predetermined time period elapses, the controller adjusts the level of each control signal so that the current flowing through the electric circuit is allowed to exceed the current limit.

2. The power switching device of claim 1, wherein

the one or more semiconductor elements exhibit temperature dependence, the maximum current that is determined according to the level of the input control signal being dependent on temperature, and

until the predetermined time period elapses, the controller compensates for temperature by adjusting the level of each control signal in accordance with the temperature detected by the temperature detection circuit.

3. The power switching device of claim 1, wherein

the one or more semiconductor elements comprise a plurality of semiconductor elements connected in parallel,

until the predetermined time period elapses, the controller adjusts the level of each control signal output to first semiconductor elements, the first semiconductor elements being fewer in number than the plurality of semiconductor elements, so that a sum of the maximum current of each of the first semiconductor elements does not exceed the current limit, and

after the predetermined time period elapses, the controller adjusts the level of each control signal output to second semiconductor elements, the second semiconductor elements being equal to or greater in number than the first semiconductor elements, so that a sum of the maximum current of each of the second semiconductor elements exceeds the current limit.

4. The power switching device of claim 3, wherein the second semiconductor elements are greater in number than the first semiconductor elements.

5. The power switching device of claim 3, wherein

the maximum current of each of the second semiconductor elements is greater than the maximum current of each of the first semiconductor elements.

6. The power switching device of claim 3, wherein the controller selects which of the plurality of semiconductor elements constitute the first semiconductor elements in accordance with the temperature detected by the temperature detection circuit.

7. The power switching device of claim 6, wherein

the temperature detection circuit detects the temperature of each of the plurality of semiconductor elements, and

the controller selects the first semiconductor elements in ascending order of temperature starting from the semiconductor element with a lowest temperature among the plurality of semiconductor elements.

8. The power switching device of claim 6, wherein

the temperature detection circuit detects the temperature as an overall temperature of the plurality of semiconductor elements, and

the controller

acquires the temperature detected by the temperature detection circuit once every predetermined number of times the command to place the electric circuit into a closed state is received,

when the temperature detected by the temperature detection circuit is less than a predetermined temperature, selects the same semiconductor elements to be the first semiconductor elements as when semiconductor elements were selected upon an immediately prior reception of the command to place the electric circuit into a closed state, and

when the temperature detected by the temperature detection circuit is equal to or greater than the predetermined temperature, selects new first semiconductor elements from among semiconductor elements excluding at least one of the semiconductor elements that were selected upon the immediately prior reception of the command to place the electric circuit into a closed state.

9. The power switching device of claim 1, wherein

the controller adjusts the level of each control signal output to the one or more semiconductor elements so that, as the difference between the voltage of the DC power supply and the charging voltage of the capacitance element increases, a sum of the maximum current of each of the one or more semiconductor elements increases.

10. The power switching device of claim 9, further comprising

a power supply voltage detection circuit detecting the voltage of the DC power supply, wherein

the controller adjusts the level of each control signal output to the one or more semiconductor elements so that, as the voltage detected by the power supply voltage detection circuit increases, a sum of the maximum current of each of the one or more semiconductor elements increases.

11. The power switching device of claim 9, further comprising

a capacitor voltage detection circuit detecting the charging voltage of the capacitance element, wherein

the controller adjusts the level of each control signal output to the one or more semiconductor elements so that, as the charging voltage detected by the capacitor voltage detection circuit decreases, a sum of the maximum current of each of the one or more semiconductor elements increases.

12. The power switching device of claim 9, further comprising

a power supply voltage detection circuit detecting the voltage of the DC power supply;

and

a capacitor voltage detection circuit detecting the charging voltage of the capacitance element, wherein

the controller adjusts the level of each control signal output to the one or more semiconductor elements so that, as the difference between the voltage detected by the power supply voltage detection circuit and the charging voltage detected by the capacitor voltage detection circuit increases, a sum of the maximum current of each of the one or more semiconductor elements increases.

13. The power switching device of claim 1, wherein

the number of semiconductor elements through which current flows until the predetermined time period elapses equals the number of semiconductor elements through which current flows after the predetermined time period elapses, and

the level of each control signal output to the semiconductor elements through which current flows until the predetermined time period elapses is the same, and the level of each control signal output to the semiconductor elements through which current flows after the predetermined time period elapses is the same.

14. The power switching device of claim 1, wherein

when the capacitance element is charged by current that does not exceed the current limit, the predetermined time period is longer than a time period required for the capacitance element to charge from 0% to 80%.

15. The power switching device of claim 1, wherein

the current limit is set to be equal to or less than a maximum output current of the DC power supply.

16. The power switching device of claim 1, wherein

the current limit is set to be equal to or less than a sum of a maximum rated current of each element inserted along the electric circuit that connects the DC power supply and the capacitance element.

17. The power switching device of claim 1, wherein

at least one of the one or more semiconductor elements is constituted by a wide bandgap semiconductor.

18. The power switching device of claim 17, wherein

at least one of the one or more semiconductor elements is a Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor,

the control signal is a gate voltage input into a gate of the Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor, and

the maximum current for current flowing between a drain and a source of the Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor is determined by a magnitude of the gate voltage.

19. The power switching device of claim 18, wherein

the one or more semiconductor elements comprise a plurality of Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors connected in parallel,

until the predetermined time period elapses, the controller outputs the gate voltage to first Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors, the first Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors being fewer in number than the plurality of Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors, and after the predetermined time period elapses, the controller outputs the gate voltage to second Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors, the second Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors being equal to or greater than the first Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors in number, and

a transconductance of the first Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors is less than a transconductance of the second Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors.

20. A power system for supplying power from a DC power supply to a load, comprising:

a capacitance element;

a power switching device switching an electric circuit connecting the DC power supply and the capacitance element in response to a command from an external source; and

a power converter inserted along the electric circuit connecting the capacitance element and the load and including one or more semiconductor elements each allowing current to flow in accordance with a level of an input control signal,

the power switching device comprising;

one or more semiconductor elements, inserted along the electric circuit, each allowing current to flow at or below a maximum current determined according to a level of an input control signal, the current corresponding to a difference between a voltage of the DC power supply and a charging voltage of the capacitance element;

a controller outputting a control signal individually to each of the one or more semiconductor elements provided in the power switching device; and

a temperature detection circuit detecting a temperature of the one or more semiconductor elements, wherein

until a predetermined time period elapses after receipt of a command to place the electric circuit into a closed state, the controller adjusts the level of each control signal in accordance with the temperature detected by the temperature detection circuit so that current flowing through the electric circuit does not exceed a predetermined current limit, and

after the predetermined time period elapses, the controller adjusts the level of each control signal so that the current flowing through the electric circuit is allowed to exceed the current limit.

21. The power system of claim 20, wherein

the one or more semiconductor elements provided in the power switching device and the one or more semiconductor elements provided in the power converter are housed in a same package.