Patents by Inventor Akihiko Iwata

Akihiko Iwata has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8649196
    Abstract: A power converting apparatus includes a first inverter (3) connected to a first DC power supply (1) and a plurality of second inverters (4A, 4B) connected in series to the first DC power supply (1). The plurality of second inverters (4A, 4B) provide compensation to an output voltage of the first inverter (3) by the sum of outputs at which a power balance becomes approximately zero. The power converting apparatus generates output voltage commands (VrefA, VrefB) for the respective second inverters (4A, 4B) upon individually making an adjustment so that DC bus voltages of the second inverters (4A, 4B) become equal to each other depending on whether charging or discharging mode is selected while keeping the sum of the individual output voltage commands (VrefA, VrefB) at a target sum voltage (Vref2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2014
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Kenji Fujiwara, Akihiko Iwata
  • Patent number: 8625307
    Abstract: A neutral point clamped three-phase three-level inverter is connected to a first DC power supply and single-phase inverters are connected in series with AC output lines of individual phases of the three-phase three-level inverter such that sums of output voltages of the three-phase three-level inverter and output voltages of the respective single-phase inverters are output to a load through a smoothing filter. An output control unit controls the three-phase three-level inverter so that the individual phases of the three-phase three-level inverter output primary voltage pulses at a rate of one pulse per half cycle and controls the individual single-phase inverters by PWM, so that output voltages to the individual phases of the load form sine waves of which phases are offset by 2?/3 from one phase to another, the sine waves having the same peak value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2014
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Akihiko Iwata, Hiroshi Ito
  • Patent number: 8614903
    Abstract: Power generated by a solar battery of thin-film type is stepped up to a predetermined DC voltage by a step-up chopper circuit, and the predetermined DC voltage is converted into three-phase AC power by an inverter circuit, and the three-phase AC power is supplied to an AC power supply system via an output DC voltage circuit. The solar battery is not grounded, and a negative electrode thereof has a floating capacitance between the negative electrode and the ground. The AC power supply system is configured by three-phase star-connection, and the neutral point is grounded. The output DC voltage circuit includes three batteries, and the batteries are provided, for the respective phases, between the AC power supply system and a sine wave filter connected to the AC output side of the inverter circuit. Therefore, it is possible to prevent acceleration of the deterioration of the solar battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Taichiro Tsuchiya, Akihiko Iwata, Tomoyuki Kawakami, Tatsuya Okuda
  • Patent number: 8611120
    Abstract: A power conversion apparatus including: a three-level inverter including bridge circuits each including a first semiconductor switching device and a second semiconductor switching device connected in series, the bridge circuits being connected to a positive terminal and a negative terminal of a DC power supply, and switch circuits having bidirectional characteristics and connected to respective AC output terminals of the bridge circuits which are the connection points between the first semiconductor switching devices and the second semiconductor switching devices, and to an intermediate potential point of the DC power supply; and single-phase inverters each including a plurality of semiconductor switching devices and respectively connected in series to the AC output terminals of the bridge circuits. The sum of an output voltage of the three-level inverter and output voltages of the single-phase inverters is supplied to a load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Tatsuya Okuda, Akihiko Iwata, Kenji Fujiwara, Kikuo Izumi
  • Patent number: 8576593
    Abstract: A power converting apparatus is configured with single-phase sub-converters (4) connected to AC input lines of individual phases of a three-phase main converter (3) in series therewith. In a control device (12) for performing output control of the power converting apparatus, a current command value calculating circuit (20) which adjusts a DC voltage command given to the main converter (3) so that DC voltages of the sub-converters (4) follow a command and generates AC current commands so that a DC voltage of the main converter (3) follows the DC voltage command is configured with a CPU, and AC currents are controlled by switching output voltage levels of the sub-converters (4) at an AC side thereof so that deviations of instantaneous AC current values from the AC current commands become smaller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Osamu Mori, Toshiyuki Fujii, Akihiko Iwata, Junichiro Ishikawa, Masanori Yasue, Yukimori Kishida
  • Patent number: 8559202
    Abstract: In a power conversion apparatus that boosts a solar light voltage, converts it to AC and supplies AC power to a load or system, power loss is reduced and efficiency is improved. An inverter unit, in which AC sides of three single-phase inverters receive DC power from respective sources with a voltage ratio of 1:3:9 as respective inputs are connected in series. Gradational output voltage control of an output voltage is carried out using the sum of the respective generated AC voltages. Also, a solar light voltage is boosted by a chopper circuit to generate the highest voltage DC power source. When the solar light voltage exceeds a predetermined voltage, the boosting of the chopper circuit is stopped, thereby reducing power loss due to the boosting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Akihiko Iwata, Makoto Seto, Masaki Yamada, Shigeki Harada, Noriyuki Matsubara, Takashi Kumagai
  • Patent number: 8541989
    Abstract: A power supply apparatus includes: an AC generator including an AC generating section, and a rectifier for rectifying an AC voltage generated in the AC generating section, and outputting a DC voltage; and a DC/DC converter for converting the output voltage of the rectifier into a DC voltage having a different voltage value, wherein the output voltage of the rectifier is set to be larger than the output voltage of the DC/DC converter in accordance with the rotation speed of the AC generating section and the amount of power supply to an electrical load connected to the DC/DC converter, and is stepped down and outputted by using the DC/DC converter. The power supply apparatus is capable of increasing an output power efficiently.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Takahiro Urakabe, Tatsuya Okuda, Akihiko Iwata, Hirotoshi Maekawa, Masaru Kobayashi, Matahiko Ikeda, Yoshikazu Tsunoda, Kazutoshi Kaneyuki, Yuya Tanaka
  • Patent number: 8502415
    Abstract: An uninterrupted power supply unit is provided with a straightforward switch connected between a power source and a load to supply or interrupt a power to a system. The combination of the outputs from two kinds of single phase inverters enables compensating for a variation in the system voltage in the normal condition and to supply a predetermined voltage to the load after decreasing in the system voltage and opening of a straight forward switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masaki Yamada, Akihiko Iwata, Yoshihiro Hatakeyama
  • Patent number: 8232830
    Abstract: A highly efficient rectifier can readily replace a two-terminal diode. Its conduction losses are reduced from that of the two-terminal diode. Connected between the source and drain of a MOSFET including a parasitic diode are a micro-power converter section for boosting a conduction voltage Vds between the source and drain to a predetermined voltage, and a self-drive control section that operates based on a voltage output from the micro-power converter section. When the source and drain are conductive with each other, the micro-power converter section generates, from the conduction voltage Vds, a power source voltage for the self-drive control section, and the self-drive control section (4) continues drive control of the MOSFET.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2012
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Miyuki Takeshita, Akihiko Iwata, Ikuro Suga, Shigeki Harada, Kenichi Kawabata, Takashi Kumagai, Kenji Fujiwara
  • Patent number: 8228699
    Abstract: A power converting apparatus includes three sets of half-bridge inverters connected between output terminals of a solar battery, each of the half-bridge inverters including two series-connected switching devices, single-phase inverters connected to individual AC output lines of the bridge inverters, and two series-connected capacitors dividing a voltage of the solar battery, wherein output terminals of the single-phase inverters are connected to individual phases of a three-phase power system. Each of the half-bridge inverters is operated to output one pulse per half cycle, each of the single-phase inverters is controlled by PWM control operation to make up for a voltage insufficiency from the system voltage, and sums of outputs of the half-bridge inverters and the single-phase inverters are output to the power system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2012
    Assignees: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Tokyo Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Akihiko Iwata, Hiroshi Ito, Hirofumi Akagi, Hideaki Fujita, Takushi Jimichi
  • Patent number: 8223517
    Abstract: A converter controllable in regenerative running mode, which is a power converting apparatus capable of suppressing harmonics without increasing the size of a reactor, and reducing power loss and electromagnetic noise. A power converter is configured by directly connecting AC sides of single-phase sub-converters having a DC voltage lower than a DC voltage of a 3-phase main converter to AC input lines of individual phases thereof in series. The main converter is driven by one gate pulse per half recurring cycle and a voltage produced by each sub-converter at AC terminals thereof is controlled to match a difference between an AC power supply voltage and a voltage produced by the main converter at AC terminals thereof, whereby phase voltages of the power converter are generated as the sums of phase voltages of the individual converters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Yukimori Kishida, Akihiko Iwata, Shinichi Ogusa, Akira Imanaka, Tetsuaki Nagano
  • Patent number: 8194192
    Abstract: A projection display uses a light modulating device to modulate, in accordance with image data, light radiated from a light source, project the modulated light onto a screen, and display an image. The projection display separates a unit of time configuring the image data into an effective light time when the light modulating device can express the light as an image on the screen and an ineffective light time when the light modulating device cannot express the light as an image on the screen. The projection display increases the power supplied to the light source during the effective light time over the power supplied to the light source during the ineffective light time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2012
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Shigeki Harada, Takayoshi Nagai, Ikuro Suga, Akihiko Iwata, Yoshiteru Suzuki, Akira Okumura, Jun Someya, Kuniko Kojima
  • Patent number: 8188701
    Abstract: There are provided a smoothing capacitor (71) for storing an induced electromotive force generated by a three-phase induction motor (5), a regenerative transistor (81 to 86) for switching a terminal voltage of the smoothing capacitor to carry out a power regenerating operation over a three-phase AC power supply (3), a line voltage detecting portion (6) for detecting a line voltage of the three-phase AC power supply, a fundamental waveform generating portion (10) for generating, from a signal output from the line voltage detecting portion, a fundamental waveform defined to be a line voltage waveform of the three-phase AC power supply in which a source voltage distortion component is not mixed, a base driving signal creating portion (7) for creating a base driving signal to be used for an ON/OFF control of the regenerative transistor based on a signal output from the fundamental waveform generating portion, and a base driving signal output portion (9) for outputting the base driving signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2012
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshitomo Hayashi, Akihiko Iwata
  • Publication number: 20120120694
    Abstract: Power generated by a solar battery of thin-film type is stepped up to a predetermined DC voltage by a step-up chopper circuit, and the predetermined DC voltage is converted into three-phase AC power by an inverter circuit, and the three-phase AC power is supplied to an AC power supply system via an output DC voltage circuit. The solar battery is not grounded, and a negative electrode thereof has a floating capacitance between the negative electrode and the ground. The AC power supply system is configured by three-phase star-connection, and the neutral point is grounded. The output DC voltage circuit includes three batteries, and the batteries are provided, for the respective phases, between the AC power supply system and a sine wave filter connected to the AC output side of the inverter circuit. Therefore, it is possible to prevent acceleration of the deterioration of the solar battery.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 14, 2010
    Publication date: May 17, 2012
    Applicant: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Taichiro Tsuchiya, Akihiko Iwata, Tomoyuki Kawakami, Tatsuya Okuda
  • Publication number: 20120099353
    Abstract: A power converting apparatus includes a main inverter having a high-voltage DC power supply that operates at a low frequency employing SiC MOSFETs having a high withstand voltage exceeding 600 V and a sub-inverter having a low-voltage capacitor that operates through high-frequency PWM employing Si MOSFETs having a low withstand voltage. With AC sides of the main inverter and the sub-inverter connected in series, the power converting apparatus outputs AC power having a prescribed voltage waveform by adding voltages individually generated by the main inverter and the sub-inverter. Specifically, the SiC MOSFETs are used only in the main inverter of which devices are required to have a high withstand voltage and the Si MOSFETs are used in the sub-inverter of which devices may have a relatively low withstand voltage, whereby conduction loss is reduced with an inexpensive circuit configuration.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 7, 2010
    Publication date: April 26, 2012
    Applicant: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Satoshi Azuma, Takeshi Oi, Akihiko Iwata
  • Publication number: 20120092915
    Abstract: A power conversion apparatus including: a three-level inverter including bridge circuits each including a first semiconductor switching device and a second semiconductor switching device connected in series, the bridge circuits being connected to a positive terminal and a negative terminal of a DC power supply, and switch circuits having bidirectional characteristics and connected to respective AC output terminals of the bridge circuits which are the connection points between the first semiconductor switching devices and the second semiconductor switching devices, and to an intermediate potential point of the DC power supply; and single-phase inverters each including a plurality of semiconductor switching devices and respectively connected in series to the AC output terminals of the bridge circuits. The sum of an output voltage of the three-level inverter and output voltages of the single-phase inverters is supplied to a load.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2009
    Publication date: April 19, 2012
    Applicant: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Tatsuya Okuda, Akihiko Iwata, Kenji Fujiwara, Kikuo Izumi
  • Patent number: 8154893
    Abstract: A three-phase inverter circuit including a DC portion including capacitors connected between output terminals of a solar battery and single-phase inverters connected in series with AC output lines of the three-phase inverter circuit that together constitute an inverter section, the inverter section being connected to a three-phase power system. The three-phase inverter circuit outputs a reverse-polarity voltage pulse during a period within each of basic voltage pulses of which pulsewidth corresponds to a half cycle every half cycle of a system voltage. A power burden born by the individual single-phase inverters in each half cycle is made approximately zero and the individual single-phase inverters make a correction for subtracting a common voltage from target output voltages of individual phases during the period when the reverse-polarity voltage pulse is generated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2012
    Assignees: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Tokyo Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Akihiko Iwata, Hiroshi Ito, Hirofumi Akagi, Hideaki Fujita, Takushi Jimichi
  • Publication number: 20120014139
    Abstract: In a power converting apparatus which converts AC power into DC power, an inverter circuit including at least one series-connected single-phase inverter is connected in a downstream of a stage in which an AC input is rectified in series therewith. In the downstream stage of the inverter circuit, there are provided a smoothing capacitor connected via a rectifier diode and a short-circuiting switch for bypassing the smoothing capacitor. The short-circuiting switch is set to an ON state only in each of short-circuiting phase ranges of which midpoint matches each of zero-crossing phases and an output of the inverter circuit is controlled by using a current command so that a DC voltage of the smoothing capacitor follows a target voltage and an input power factor is improved.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2009
    Publication date: January 19, 2012
    Applicant: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Masaki Yamada, Takahiro Urakabe, Akihiko Iwata, Norikazu Ito
  • Publication number: 20110280049
    Abstract: A power converting apparatus is configured with single-phase sub-converters (4) connected to AC input lines of individual phases of a three-phase main converter (3) in series therewith. In a control device (12) for performing output control of the power converting apparatus, a current command value calculating circuit (20) which adjusts a DC voltage command given to the main converter (3) so that DC voltages of the sub-converters (4) follow a command and generates AC current commands so that a DC voltage of the main converter (3) follows the DC voltage command is configured with a CPU, and AC currents are controlled by switching output voltage levels of the sub-converters (4) at an AC side thereof so that deviations of instantaneous AC current values from the AC current commands become smaller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2009
    Publication date: November 17, 2011
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Osamu Mori, Toshiyuki Fujii, Akihiko Iwata, Junichiro Ishikawa, Masanori Yasue, Yukimori Kishida
  • Publication number: 20110273916
    Abstract: A power converting apparatus includes a first inverter (3) connected to a first DC power supply (1) and a plurality of second inverters (4A, 4B) connected in series to the first DC power supply (1). The plurality of second inverters (4A, 4B) provide compensation to an output voltage of the first inverter (3) by the sum of outputs at which a power balance becomes approximately zero. The power converting apparatus generates output voltage commands (VrefA, VrefB) for the respective second inverters (4A, 4B) upon individually making an adjustment so that DC bus voltages of the second inverters (4A, 4B) become equal to each other depending on whether charging or discharging mode is selected while keeping the sum of the individual output voltage commands (VrefA, VrefB) at a target sum voltage (Vref2).
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2009
    Publication date: November 10, 2011
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kenji Fujiwara, Akihiko Iwata