In Transistor Inverter Systems Patents (Class 363/131)
  • Patent number: 10044282
    Abstract: Using two converters placed in a primary-side and a secondary-side and each configured as a single-phase full-bridge, and one single-phase transformer TR, a power conversion device converts DC power of a primary-side capacitor to which a primary-side DC voltage is applied, to DC power of a secondary-side capacitor to which a secondary-side DC voltage is applied, through a transformer. A control device sets a dead time Td1 for the converter serving as a power-transferring side converter, to be equal to or less than a current-polarity reversal time Tcmtt, to thereby surely achieve zero-voltage switching.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Takushi Jimichi, Tatsuya Okuda, Osamu Mori, Takaharu Ishibashi
  • Patent number: 10044274
    Abstract: A protection circuit for power supply is disclosed. The power supply includes a power conversion unit having a primary winding and a secondary winding. The primary winding receives an input voltage. The secondary winding is used for generating an output voltage. The protection circuit comprises a first impedance unit coupled to the secondary winding. A loading current of the power supply flows through the first impedance unit. The output voltage is generated at the first impedance unit. A second impedance unit is coupled to the secondary winding and generates a reference voltage. A comparison unit compares the output voltage and the reference voltage to generate a protection signal for turning off the power supply. A adjustment unit is coupled to the second impedance unit and the comparison unit and adjusts the magnitude of the reference voltage for controlling the comparison unit to output the protection signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: Infinno Technology Corp.
    Inventor: Hui-Tsung Yang
  • Patent number: 10038389
    Abstract: A method for controlling a converter including a resonant circuit, where the converter is controlled such that control switches are switched into a first state at the occurrence of an event that is related to a dependent variable of the converter and are switched into a second state at the occurrence of an event that is not related to a dependent variable of the converter, and the method may be employed in a converter or an inductive power transfer transmitter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel James Robertson, Saining Ren, Eugenio Sia Lecias
  • Patent number: 10033292
    Abstract: A power conditioning unit for delivering power from a power source to a mains utility supply, the power conditioning unit comprising a plurality of input terminals for connecting to the power source, a plurality of output terminals for connecting to the mains utility supply, a voltage increasing converter connected to the input terminals, a voltage reducing converter connected to the voltage increasing converter and a dc-to-ac converter connected to the voltage reducing converter and to the output terminals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: SolarCity Corporation
    Inventor: Cuauhtemoc Rodriguez
  • Patent number: 10033264
    Abstract: In one example, a circuit includes a voltage rail, a reference node, a first capacitor, and a capacitor module. The first capacitor is coupled to the voltage rail and to the reference node. The capacitor module includes a second capacitor and a switching unit. The switching unit is configured to operate in a closed state and an open state. The switching unit couples the second capacitor in parallel with the first capacitor in the closed state. The switching unit decouples the second capacitor from the first capacitor in the open state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AG
    Inventor: Anders Lind
  • Patent number: 10027249
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a method for connecting a photovoltaic installation to a power supply grid, the photovoltaic installation comprising a photovoltaic generator, a direct voltage intermediate circuit with at least one capacitor, and an inverter. The method including connecting the direct voltage intermediate circuit to the photovoltaic generator and the capacitor is pre-charged to a first voltage. The direct voltage intermediate circuit is then separated from the photovoltaic generator and the capacitor is discharged to or below a second voltage that corresponds to a maximum operating voltage of the inverter. The inverter is then connected to the power supply grid, an inverter bridge of the inverter is clocked, and the direct voltage intermediate circuit is connected to the photovoltaic generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: SMA Solar Technology
    Inventor: Andreas Falk
  • Patent number: 10008948
    Abstract: Switched mode power supply (SMPS) with at least one active clamp circuit and method of operating such a SMPS are described. The active claim circuit utilizes a clamp switch, a Zener diode and a clamp capacitor that are connected in series between one side of a particular winding of a transformer and the other side of the particular winding of the transformer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventor: Joan Wichard Strijker
  • Patent number: 9997989
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a method and a control device for controlling at power semiconductor switches connected in parallel for switching a total current. The semiconductor switches each have a gate terminal. An input terminal for feeding the total current, an output terminal for discharging the total current, and a joint control terminal for receiving a joint control signal that has the state ‘disconnect’ or ‘connect’ are provided. The power semiconductor switches are each connected between to the input terminal and the output terminal. At least one ascertainment unit is designed to receive the joint control signal, ascertain individual control signals in accordance with the joint control signal to control the individual power semiconductor switches, and output the individual control signals to the gate terminals of the power semiconductor switches. The individual control signals each have the state ‘disconnect’ or ‘connect’ and differ at least temporarily.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Stefan Butzmann, Peter Taufer, Bernd Eckert
  • Patent number: 9992907
    Abstract: In a power conversion apparatus, an inverter converts a DC voltage supplied from a battery into an AC voltage, and a DC-to-DC converter steps up or down the DC voltage. A case has an input terminal to which a power line from the battery is connected so as to input the DC voltage to the inverter, and a converter input terminal to which a power line to the DC-to-DC converter is connected so as to input the DC voltage to the DC-to-DC converter. The case has a reference wall and an opposed wall opposed to each other. The inverter input terminal is disposed adjacent to the reference wall with respect to an imaginary plane that bisects the case between the reference wall and the opposed wall. The converter input terminal is disposed adjacent to the opposed wall with respect to the imaginary plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Makoto Okamura
  • Patent number: 9991803
    Abstract: A method for reducing electromagnetic interference in a flyback converter includes activating a first switch to generate a primary current therein. The first switch is deactivated to generate a secondary current from a magnetic flux generated by the primary current. The magnetic flux is removed by the generation of the secondary current. A second switch is activated with a first voltage pulse to limit an excess voltage across the first switch. The excess voltage is generated in response to the deactivation of the first switch. A second switch is activated with a second voltage pulse to limit a voltage oscillation across the first switch. The voltage oscillation occurs after the removal of the magnetic flux. A first pulse width of the first voltage pulse is increased by a first jitter delay. A second pulse width of the second voltage pulse is increased by a second jitter delay.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventors: Zhao-Jun Wang, Dibyendu Rana
  • Patent number: 9985516
    Abstract: A DC/DC converter having an inverter which accepts a DC input voltage, a rectifier that produces a DC output voltage, a resonant tank, and a controller. The inverter includes a first and second switch as does the rectifier. The resonant tank is coupled between the inverter and the rectifier. The controller is configured to independently control and adjust the phase and duty cycle of each of the four switches such that zero-voltage switching occurs for each switch as each switch transitions. The controller utilizes input parameters such as the DC input voltage, a target output voltage, and a target output current to determine the appropriate phase and duty cycle of each of the four switches. Zero-voltage switching occurs for each of the four switches when the switch is transitioning and a voltage across the switch is substantially zero.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: PALO ALTO RESEARCH CENTER INCORPORATED
    Inventor: David E. Schwartz
  • Patent number: 9979290
    Abstract: A switching regulator is presented. An embodiment of the switching regulator can include a high switch coupled between an input voltage and a switched output; a low switch coupled between the switched output and a ground; and a ringing switch coupled between a capacitor and the switched output, wherein the ringing switch is closed prior to transition into a tristate where both the high switch and the low switch are open.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: Integrated Device Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Stephen Ulbrich
  • Patent number: 9979238
    Abstract: A turn-on current controller performs turn-on current control, based on turn-on current. A transmission power controller performs transmission power control so that the magnitude of transmission power approaches a target of the transmission power. A power transmission coil current controller performs power transmission coil current control so as to minimize current flowing through a power transmission coil. The transmission power control and the power transmission coil current control are not executed, during execution of the turn-on current control. At least one of the transmission power control or the power transmission coil current control is executed while the turn-on current control is not being executed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Takahiro Misawa
  • Patent number: 9948206
    Abstract: A multilevel power conversion device includes: N (N?1) direct current voltage sources; a first flying capacitor; a second flying capacitor; and a phase module of a M phase (M?2) being configured to output, from the output terminal, a potential of one of the input terminals, or a potential obtained by adding or subtracting the voltage of the capacitor to or from the potential of the one of the input terminals, by selectively controlling the respective switching elements in an ON/OFF manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Assignee: MEIDENSHA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Isamu Hasegawa, Takashi Kodama, Takeshi Kondo, Shota Urushibata, Hiromi Sako, Kenji Kobori, Shizunori Hamada, Keiichi Kodachi
  • Patent number: 9948198
    Abstract: A resonant inverter includes a first switch element and a second switch element that are alternately turned on and off, a first capacitor and a second capacitor, a first inverter section constituted by the first switch element and the first capacitor, and a second inverter section constituted by the second switch element and the second capacitor. A first coil and the first capacitor constitute a first resonant circuit included in the first inverter section, and the first coil and the second capacitor constitute a second resonant circuit included in the second inverter section, thereby forming a resonant converter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Assignee: TDK CORPORATION
    Inventor: Katsunori Imai
  • Patent number: 9941803
    Abstract: Embodiments of a controller integrated circuit (IC) device for a switched mode power converter and a method of operating a controller IC device of a switched mode power converter are described. In one embodiment, a controller IC device for a switched mode power converter an input/output unit connected to an input/output node of the controller IC device and a controller unit. The input/output unit is configured to receive an input current from the input/output node and output an output voltage through the input/output node in response to an input voltage received at the input/output unit. The controller unit is configured to control voltage regulation of the switched mode power converter in response to the input current received from the input/output unit and generate the input voltage for the input/output unit. Other embodiments are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Hans Halberstadt, Peter Theodorus Johannes Degen, Jacobus Peeters
  • Patent number: 9941255
    Abstract: A power semiconductor module includes: a positive arm and a negative arm that are formed by series connection of self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor elements and that are connected at a connection point between the self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor elements; a positive-side DC electrode, a negative-side DC electrode, and an AC electrode that are connected to the positive arm and the negative arm; and a substrate on which a wiring pattern is formed, the wiring pattern connecting the self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor elements of the positive arm and the negative arm to the positive-side DC electrode, the negative-side DC electrode and the AC electrode. The positive-side DC electrode, the negative-side DC electrode, and the AC electrode are insulated from one another and arranged such that one of the electrodes faces each of the other two electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Junichi Nakashima, Yoshiko Tamada, Yasushi Nakayama, Yukimasa Hayashida
  • Patent number: 9931948
    Abstract: An electrical pulse generator for ohmic-inductive loads with a capacitive module in which a primary capacitor is charged by a first generator for generating voltage pulses, with high capacity and high voltage, on an ohmic-inductive load. In the capacitive module there is also a secondary capacitor or supercapacitor with a very high capacity, charged by a second generator designed to continuously supply voltage to the load. An electronic splitter, or Chopper is interposed between the capacitive module and the load which splits the voltage supplied by the capacitive module according to modulated high frequency pulses, in such a way that the value of the voltage supplied to the load is constant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: ENERGY TECHNOLOGY S.R.L.
    Inventors: Sandro Maria Tenconi, Giuseppe Taddia
  • Patent number: 9925880
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a power electronics unit for converting energy between a DC circuit and a polyphase machine, wherein the power electronics unit has a power module, a driver board, and a control board. The power electronics unit has two DC current rails, wherein the DC circuit can be connected to the same, and the power electronics unit has phase current rails, wherein the polyphase machine can be connected to the same. The number of the phase current rails corresponds to the number of the phases of the polyphase machine. The arrangement of the power module, the driver board, and the control board corresponds to a stacked or sandwiched construction, the phase current rails are electrically connected to the power module, and the control board has a passage for each of the phase current rails, wherein one phase current rail is fed through each passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Jose Lopez de Arroyabe
  • Patent number: 9929677
    Abstract: The invention relates to a active-neutral point clamped converter having at least one half-bridge circuit connected into a DC voltage circuit. Each half-bridge circuit has a high-potential-side input half-bridge and a low-potential-side input half-bridge in series. The half-bridge circuit further has an output half-bridge connected between center taps of the input half-bridges. The total inductance within the output half-bridges and between the three half-bridges is dimensioned such that if any of the power semiconductors of the half-bridge circuit fails, a short-circuit can be reliably disconnected via a shorted circuit formed between the three half-bridges of the half-bridge circuit by the intact power semiconductors in said shorted circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: SIEMENS AKTIENGELLSCHAFT
    Inventor: Hans-Günter Eckel
  • Patent number: 9917520
    Abstract: Power adapters generally include a few components that make up the majority of the volume. One component that can consume a relatively large volume is a bulk capacitor. In accordance with the implementations described herein, the size (which can include the capacitance value or volume) of the bulk capacitor within a power adapter can be reduced. Moreover, by introducing a new control scheme, the bulk capacitor can be eliminated from the power adapter. This size reduction or elimination of the bulk capacitor from a power adapter can result in not only a smaller power adapter, but can also result in a lower cost for production of the power adapter and/or an improvement in the power factor and/or power efficiency of the power adapter. This type of relatively small adapter can be beneficial from a user experience perspective.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: GOOGLE LLC
    Inventor: Xuelin Wu
  • Patent number: 9912173
    Abstract: Embodiments of the invention relate to a method and system for transferring power wirelessly to electronic devices. The system can utilize magnetic coupling between two coils at close proximity to transfer sufficient power to charge an electronic device. Embodiments of the invention pertain to an array of spiral coils that can be used to transmit power for transfer to receiver coils. Potential applications of this technology include charging consumer electronic devices (cell phones, laptops, PDAs, etc), developing hermetically sealed devices for extreme environments, and less invasive transcutaneous energy transfer (TET) systems. Various embodiments of the subject system can be referred to as PowerPad system. Embodiments can incorporate one or more of the following: planar inductors, PCB transformers, and very high frequency power supplies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventor: Ryan Tseng
  • Patent number: 9906150
    Abstract: According to some aspects of the present disclosure, open loop bi-directional converters and corresponding control methods are disclosed. Example open loop bi-directional converters include a transformer, one or more primary switches coupled to a primary side of the transformer, one or more secondary switches coupled to a secondary side of the transformer, an input capacitor coupled to an input terminal, an output capacitor coupled to an output terminal, and a primary side controller operable to control the one or more primary switches in an open loop mode at a fixed frequency and a fixed duty cycle. The open loop bi-directional converter is coupled to provide current from the secondary side of the transformer to the primary side of the transformer automatically when the voltage of the input capacitor is reduced below the voltage of the output capacitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: ASTEC INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
    Inventors: Yong Tao Xie, Ernesto Jr. Zaparita Caguioa, Michael Juan Gregorio
  • Patent number: 9906119
    Abstract: A ripple-compensation control method and electrical energy conversion device utilizing the same are provided. The ripple-compensation control method is disclosed, adopted by an electrical energy conversion device including a converter configured to perform electrical energy conversion, a controller coupled to control terminals of the converter and controlling a first voltage of a DC node of the converter according to a command value, and a ripple-compensation unit configured to generate a ripple-component voltage of the first voltage and provide the command value generated based on the ripple-component voltage to the controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
    Inventors: Wan-Pei Chen, Yoshihiro Konishi, Shu-Syuan Huang, Zong-Zhen Yang
  • Patent number: 9899931
    Abstract: A flyback converter implements a Forced Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS) timing control by detecting a positive current excursion of the secondary winding current as the synchronous rectifier turn off trigger. The synchronous rectifier switch is turned on near the end of the switching cycle or the on duration is extended to develop a current ripple on the secondary winding current. The control circuit of the flyback converter detects a positive current excursion on the secondary winding current to turn off the synchronous rectifier and to start the next switching cycle. At this point, the voltage across the primary switch has been discharged and the primary switch can be turned on with zero drain-to-source voltage. In other embodiments, zero voltage switching for the off-transition of the primary switch is realized by coupling a capacitor across the primary switch or by coupling a capacitor across the primary winding, or both.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Incorporated
    Inventors: Kuang Ming Chang, Lin Chen, Qihong Huang
  • Patent number: 9899929
    Abstract: A method is shown to improve any forward topology operation to achieve efficient resonant transitions by actively shorting the magnetizing inductance and release the short at another time thus producing lower switching losses independent of frequency. In another embodiment of this invention the current from the output inductor is allowed to go negative before the freewheeling synchronous rectifier is turned off, pushing the current back into the primary to create a soft transition across the switching elements before they are turned on. In another embodiment of the invention a current source is used to inject a negative current through the freewheeling synchronous rectifier before is turned off with the purpose of transferring the current into the primary to discharge the parasitic capacitances of the primary switchers before are turned on. An optimized control method can be utilized to tailor the frequency to create the necessary conditions requested by the embodiments of the invention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: ROMPOWER ENERGY SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: Ionel Jitaru, Marco Antonio Davila
  • Patent number: 9893648
    Abstract: A controller switches between modes each having a different connection state of a DC power supply and the capacitor with respect to first and second output points by controlling switches. A generation unit generates a reference wave including at least one carrier wave. The modes are classified into a sustaining mode in which no current is caused to flow to the capacitor, a charging mode in which a current is caused to flow to the capacitor, and a discharging mode in which a current in a direction opposite to that in the charging mode is caused to flow to the capacitor. The controller switches between the sustaining mode and a charging or discharging mode according to the comparison result between a signal wave and the reference wave.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mariko Kifuji, Kazunori Kidera, Mitsuru Tanabe, Kazuo Itoh
  • Patent number: 9887631
    Abstract: Disclosed are a current sampling apparatus and a current sampling method for an isolated power converter. The isolated power converter includes a square wave generator, an isolated transformer, and a primary side filter circuit coupled therebetween. The current sampling apparatus includes: a first sampling circuit coupled to the primary side of the isolated transformer and sampling a total current of the primary side of the isolated transformer and outputting a first sampling current; and a shunt circuit receiving the first sampling current. The shunt circuit includes a first shunt branch circuit through which the first sampling current is transformed into an excitation sampling current and a second shunt branch circuit through which the first sampling current is transformed into a current to be sampled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: Delta Electronics (Shanghai) CO., LTD
    Inventors: Chao Yan, Liping Sun, Jianjun Ni, Baochen Wang
  • Patent number: 9866146
    Abstract: A DC/DC flyback converter that exhibits reduced switch and transformer voltage stresses in comparison to known flyback converters. The flyback converter also employs soft switching. Embodiments of such flyback converters may be used, without limitation, in electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. A front-stage of the flyback converter comprises a DC/AC step-down circuit that may be separately used for various purposes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: OHIO STATE INNOVATION FOUNDATION
    Inventors: Jin Wang, Xuan Zhang, Ke Zou
  • Patent number: 9853534
    Abstract: A converter circuit arrangement is provided, including a converter switch controller, a converter switch, a load circuit interface and an inductor. The converter switch controller may include a control input. The converter switch may be coupled between a first power supply potential and the control input. The inductor may be coupled between a second power supply potential and the load circuit interface. The load circuit interface may be coupled between the control input and the inductor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2017
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AG
    Inventors: Andreas Hofmann, Pierrick Ausseresse
  • Patent number: 9853551
    Abstract: A power transfer system includes DC-DC power conversion circuitry that has a first switch and a second switch on either side of a first transformer and a first capacitor and a second capacitor on either side of a second transformer that is connected in parallel with the first transformer. Primary secondary sides of the DC-DC power conversion circuitry are aligned based a direction of power transfer. A quantity of power transfer through the DC-DC power conversion circuitry is determined based on power and voltage characteristics of electrical components. A duty cycle and a switching frequency for the first switch or second switch is determined based on the quantity of power to be transferred. The primary and secondary switches are controlled using switching.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2017
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masanori Ishigaki, Jongwon Shin
  • Patent number: 9847725
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a flyback system. The flyback system includes a tank circuit comprising a primary side and a secondary side. The flyback system also includes a switching device configured to pulse energy to the tank circuit. The energy is stored in a first side of the tank circuit when the switching device is on. The energy is transferred from the primary side to the secondary side when the switching device is off.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2017
    Assignee: AKTIEBOLAGET SKF
    Inventor: Robert Pray
  • Patent number: 9843182
    Abstract: Systems (100), power modules (108), and methods for using in controlling a converter (110) coupled between a power generator (104) and an electric grid (102). A power module (108) includes the converter (110) configured to supply the output from the power generator (104) to the electric grid (102) and a controller (112) coupled to the converter (110) and configured to disable the converter (110) in response to a grid fault event, to identify the type or the grid fault event after a first predetermined interval from disabling the converter (110), and to enable switching of the converter (110), when the type of the grid fault event is identified as a low voltage condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Huibin Zhu, David Smith, Maozhong Gong, Xeuqin Wu
  • Patent number: 9839082
    Abstract: A flyback converter is provided with a first output associated with a first secondary winding, a primary side controller arranged to maintain the first output at a predetermined voltage level and a second output associated with a second secondary windings; an LED controller. A first secondary electronically controlled switch is responsive to the LED controller; a first LED luminaire arranged to provide a first illumination responsive to a power signal on the second output when the first secondary electronically controlled switch is in a closed state and not provide the first illumination when the first secondary electronically controlled switch is in the open state, wherein the turns ratio of the first secondary winding and the second secondary winding is such that power is delivered to the first output via the first unidirectional electronic valve only when the first secondary electronically controlled switch is switched to the open state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2017
    Assignee: Microsemi Corporation
    Inventor: Xiaoping Jin
  • Patent number: 9837943
    Abstract: Multiphase generator-conversion systems are disclosed. The system includes a multiphase generator having one rotor and m+1 number of electromagnetically coupled stators, each stator having a plurality of phase legs. The system includes a converter having m+1 conversion lines, each conversion line connected to the plurality of phase legs of one of the m+1 stators. Each conversion line has a rectification module. At most m of the m+1 rectification modules has an active filtering converter. At least one of the m+1 rectification modules has a passive rectifier. At least one of the active filtering converters is configured to directly control its current to vary the magnetic flux of the stator to which it is connected and indirectly affect the magnetic flux of the rest of the stators through the electromagnetic coupling. Also disclosed are wind turbines that include generation conversion systems and methods of mitigating harmonics in multi-phase generator-conversion systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2017
    Assignee: GE RENEWABLE TECHNOLOGIES
    Inventors: Gomis Bellmunt Oriol, De Prada Gil Mikel, Diaz Gonzalez Francisco, Prieto Araujo Edardo
  • Patent number: 9837887
    Abstract: A vehicle powertrain includes an IGBT, having a Kelvin emitter and a mirror current sense, configured to energize an inductance, a first switch configured to draw a current from a gate of the IGBT at a rate based on a resistance engaged by the first switch while a current of the inductance exceeds a threshold, and a second switch configured to increase the rate in response to the current being less than the threshold. In one embodiment, the current is based on a filtered voltage across a resistor connected between the mirror current sense and chassis ground while the Kelvin emitter is connected to chassis ground. In another embodiment, the current is based on a filtered voltage across a resistor connected between the mirror current sense and the Kelvin emitter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2017
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Yan Zhou, Lihua Chen, Shuitao Yang, Fan Xu
  • Patent number: 9837930
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a power supply system and a power conversion device. The power conversion device is used for converting electric energy outputted by a power supply module, and the power conversion device includes an electric energy conversion module and a switching module. The electric energy conversion module is configured to convert the electric energy output from the power supply module into a single-phase two-wire output or a single-phase three-wire output, and includes a half-bridge circuit, a bridge conversion circuit and a neutral line. The switching module is coupled with the electric energy conversion module, and is configured to control the electric energy conversion module to provide the single-phase two-wire output or single-phase three-wire output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2017
    Assignee: Delta Electronics (Shanghai) CO., LTD
    Inventors: Feiqin Hao, Hongyang Wu, Xiaoming Chen, Cheng Lu, Tao Ge
  • Patent number: 9825544
    Abstract: A power converter comprising: an input portion; a forward converter output portion with a ripple steering element; and a flyback converter output portion with a ripple steering element, wherein the input portion, forward converter output portion and flyback converter output portion are combined in an isolated magnetic configuration sharing a single transformer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: Securaplane Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Joseph Marrero
  • Patent number: 9800189
    Abstract: An inverter controller is provided. The controller according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure generates a compensation voltage to compensate an inverter command voltage using motor torque current and motor information, and apply the compensation voltage to the command voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2017
    Assignee: LSIS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Junghan Kim
  • Patent number: 9800069
    Abstract: A linear current regulator is provided for precharging a high voltage bus, such as within a hybrid electric vehicle, in a quick, efficient, and optimal manner. The linear current regulator can include a battery; a bus; a transistor having, a base, a collector coupled to the bus, and an emitter; a resistor coupled between a precharge switch and the base; the precharge switch coupled to the battery and the resistor; and a main contactor coupled to the battery, the emitter, and the bus. When the recharge switch is closed, the bus is connected to the battery through the resistor and the transistor so that the bus is charged. When the voltages of the bus and the battery are nearly equal, the transistor turns off, the precharge switch is opened, and the main contactor is closed for normal operation of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2017
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Hasdi R Hashim, Arnold Kweku Mensah-Brown, Bruce Carvell Blakemore
  • Patent number: 9780016
    Abstract: Conventional lead frames could neither be self-supporting nor be picked up by an automatic mounter through suction and mounted on a circuit board. Lead frame 15 is equipped with a plurality of leads 15d, each lead having a land-connection section 15c formed on one end of a pin-shaped terminal 15a with a bent section therebetween 15b; and a joining section 15e joining the plurality of leads 15d. The joining section 15e is formed by joining a base plate to the ends of land-connection sections 15c. This base plate makes the leads 15d stand upright and/or has a suction surface 15f which may be picked up by an automatic lead frame mounting device via suction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.
    Inventors: Katsumasa Hagiwara, Haruaki Motoda
  • Patent number: 9768698
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for converting DC input power to DC output power. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a plurality of flyback circuits, coupled in parallel, for providing DC-to-DC conversion; and a controller for automatically adjusting activation timing of each flyback circuit in said plurality of flyback circuits to achieve a balanced operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: Enphase Energy, Inc.
    Inventors: Martin Fornage, Mudhafar Hassan-Ali, Tarik H. Omar
  • Patent number: 9762114
    Abstract: The invention generally relates to methods and circuits for controlling switching of parallel coupled power semiconductor switching devices (3), for example for use in a power converter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2017
    Assignee: MASCHINENFABRIK REINHAUSEN GMBH
    Inventors: Robin Lyle, Mark Snook, Robert John Leedham
  • Patent number: 9755551
    Abstract: A power conversion device includes: a plurality of 3-level converters (31 to 35) that are multiple-connected in series to an AC power supply; and a control device (10) controlling operations of the plurality of 3-level converters (31 to 35). The control device (10) includes: a calculation unit calculating an output voltage command for the plurality of 3-level converters (31 to 35); a carrier signal generation unit generating a carrier signal; a correction unit correcting a phase of the carrier signal based on a potential variation on a DC neutral point bus (7); and a pulse width modulation control. unit delaying the phase by a prescribed amount based on the carrier signal having the phase corrected by the correction unit as a reference phase, to generate a plurality of carrier signals, and comparing the output voltage command with each of the plurality of carrier signals to generate a control command for each of the plurality of 3-level converters (31 to 35).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: TOSHIBA MITSUBISHI-ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takashi Sugiyama, Naoki Morishima
  • Patent number: 9755545
    Abstract: A power conversion system includes at least one multi-level power converter and a controller coupled to the at least one multi-level power converter. The controller includes a first CMV injection module and a second CMV injection module. The first CMV injection module generates a first CMV signal for modifying at least one voltage command to achieve a first function in association with operation of the power conversion system. The second CMV injection module generates a second CMV signal based at least in part on a three-level CMV limit either for modifying the at least one voltage command or for further modifying the at least one modified voltage command to achieve a second function in association with operation of the power conversion system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Qin Lei, Jie Shen, Stefan Schroeder
  • Patent number: 9755639
    Abstract: In accordance with an embodiment, a method includes driving a transistor device by a driver having an output coupled to a control node of the transistor through a capacitor and limiting a magnitude of a voltage of one polarity between the control node and a first load node of the transistor device by a rectifier circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AG
    Inventors: Severin Kampl, Matteo-Alessandro Kutschak
  • Patent number: 9748851
    Abstract: A switching power supply apparatus includes a first series circuit including a third rectifier device and a fourth rectifier device and that is connected between a positive output terminal and a negative output terminal, and a first capacitor a first end of which is connected to a connection node between the third rectifier device and the fourth rectifier device and a second end of which is connected to an end, not connected to the first series circuit, of a first rectifier device or a second rectifier device. The first series circuit and the first capacitor define a snubber circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takami Muto, Tadahiko Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 9742311
    Abstract: A method of controlling an inverter includes receiving output voltage target waveforms for phases of an inverter, generating uncompensated midpoint duty cycle waveforms for the inverter phases, selecting an uncompensated midpoint duty cycle waveform for one of the inverter phases based on the magnitudes of the uncompensated midpoint duty cycle waveforms, and applying a compensation signal to the selected uncompensated midpoint duty cycle waveform. An inverter controller and inverter employ the method for generating switch command signals for solid-state switch devices of the inverter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation
    Inventor: Adam M. White
  • Patent number: 9742210
    Abstract: Remote control device comprising a generator (PVU) intended to convert light or mechanical energy to electrical energy, a wireless transmitter (RF) able to send messages to a remote receiver, a first electrical energy storage element (C1) connected to the energy generator (PVU) and intended to be charged with the electrical energy generated by the generator (PVU) in order to supply power to the wireless transmitter (RF) in a first operating mode of the control device, and a second electrical energy storage element (C2) intended to supply power to the wireless transmitter (RF) in a second operating mode. The second electrical energy storage element is connected to the generator (PVU) via parallel connection of a first resistor (R1) and a first diode (D1), the cathode of the first diode being connected to the positive terminal of the generator (PVU).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: SOMFY SAS
    Inventor: Bruno Lambersend
  • Patent number: 9742287
    Abstract: The disclosure concerns a switched-mode power supply comprising a module for charging and discharging an energy store including an electrical transformer. The device provides high configuration flexibility.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: Airbus Operations (S.A.S.)
    Inventors: Olivier Rieux-Lopez, Arnaud Davy, Thibault Pinchon