Patents by Inventor Sizhao Lu

Sizhao Lu 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).

  • Coupled inductor for interleaved multi-phase three-level DC-DC converters
    Patent number: 10396684
    Abstract: Output current ripple is reduced in a three-level DC-DC power converter by connecting a plurality of phase legs in parallel between a source of input power and an output of the power converter and conducting power from the source of input power to the power converter output in an interleaved manner. The large current that results from such interleaved operation is reduced to acceptable levels, potentially less than the output current ripple of the power converter by providing inversely coupled inductors having a mutual inductance preferably greater than the inductor of the power converter in respective phase legs and in series in the circulating current path to avoid any need to increase the power converter inductance due to the circulating current. The inductor and inversely coupled inductors are preferably integrated into a single magnetic element of compact design.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc
    Inventors: Mingkai Mu, Sizhao Lu, Yang Jiao, Fred C. Lee
  • Coupled Inductor for Interleaved Multi-Phase Three-Level DC-DC Converters
    Publication number: 20160172976
    Abstract: Output current ripple is reduced in a three-level DC-DC power converter by connecting a plurality of phase legs in parallel between a source of input power and an output of the power converter and conducting power from the source of input power to the power converter output in an interleaved manner. The large current that results from such interleaved operation is reduced to acceptable levels, potentially less than the output current ripple of the power converter by providing inversely coupled inductors having a mutual inductance preferably greater than the inductor of the power converter in respective phase legs and in series in the circulating current path to avoid any need to increase the power converter inductance due to the circulating current. The inductor and inversely coupled inductors are preferably integrated into a single magnetic element of compact design.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2015
    Publication date: June 16, 2016
    Inventors: Mingkai Mu, Sizhao Lu, Yang Jiao, Fred C. Lee