START-UP CIRCUIT TO DISCHARGE EMI FILTER FOR POWER SAVING OF POWER SUPPLIES

- SYSTEM GENERAL CORP.

A start-up circuit to discharge EMI filter is developed for power saving. It includes a detection circuit detecting a power source for generating a sample signal. A sample circuit is coupled to the detection circuit for generating a reset signal in response to the sample signal. The reset signal is utilized for discharging a stored voltage of the EMI filter.

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Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This Application is being filed as a Continuation application of Ser. No. 12/539,722, filed 12 Aug. 2009, currently pending.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a power supply, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a start-up circuit.

2. Description of Related Art

Switching mode power supplies have been widely used to provide regulated power for computers, home appliances, communication equipments, etc. In recent years, the problem of power saving in switching mode power supplies has drawn much attention. Based on the restriction of environmental pollution, the computer and other equipment manufactures have been striving to meet the power management and energy conservation requirements.

FIG. 1 shows a traditional approach for filtering electromagnetic interference (EMI) and providing a DC voltage. An EMI filter located between a power source VAC and a bridge rectifier 10 includes a choke L1, X-capacitors C1 and C2. The X-capacitor C1 is placed across the power source VAC. The choke L1 is coupled between the power source VAC and the bridge rectifier 10. The X-capacitor C2 is coupled between the choke L1 and an input of the bridge rectifier 10. A bulk capacitor CIN connected from an output of the bridge rectifier 10 to a ground is for stabilizing the DC voltage VBUS at the output of the bridge rectifier 10. For safety regulations in US and European, a bleeding resistor RD is generally placed across the X-capacitors C1 or C2 of the EMI filter. The bleeding resistor RD will discharge the stored energy at the X-capacitors C1 and C2 to prevent an electric shock when end-user cut off the power source VAC. In fact, the bleeding resistor RD always has a fixed power-loss as long as the X-capacitors C1 and C2 have the stored voltage. Besides, for higher power source, the bleeding resistor RD consumes much standby-power when the power supply is operated at no-load. Therefore, the disadvantage of the traditional approach causes a poor power saving at light-load and no-load. Because of the existence of the X-capacitors, it has become a major concern to reduce the standby-power.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The start-up circuit to discharge EMI filter is for power saving of power supplies according to the present invention. It includes a detection circuit detecting a power source for generating a sample signal. A sample circuit is coupled to the detection circuit for generating a reset signal in response to the sample signal. The reset signal is for discharging a stored voltage of the EMI filter. The start-up circuit further includes a delay circuit coupled to the sample circuit for generating a discharging signal in response to the reset signal. The discharging signal is coupled to drive the detection circuit for discharging the stored voltage of an X-capacitor of the EMI filter when the sample signal is still larger than the reference signal over a period.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANIED DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention. In the drawings,

FIG. 1 shows a circuit diagram of a traditional EMI filter.

FIG. 2 shows a circuit diagram of a preferred embodiment of a start-up circuit according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows the waveform of the power source and the high-voltage signal according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 2 is a preferred embodiment of a start-up circuit according to the present invention. The start-up circuit is utilized to discharge the EMI filter for power saving of power supplies. The EMI filter includes the choke L1, X-capacitors C1 and C2, the bulk capacitor CIN, and the bridge rectifier 10 for filtering EMI and providing the DC voltage VBUS. The start-up circuit includes a rectifier, a series resistor R1, a detection circuit 20, a sample circuit 30 and a delay circuit 40. The rectifier can be a full-wave rectifier having a first diode D1 and a second diode D2 according to one embodiment of the present invention, Anodes of the first diode D1 and the second diode D2 are connected to the power source VAC respectively. Cathodes of the first diode D1 and the second diode D2 are together connected to one terminal of the series resistor R1. The other terminal of the series resistor R1 generates a high-voltage signal VHV through the full-wave rectification of the first diode D1 and the second diode D2. Thus, the rectifier is coupled to the power source VAC for rectifying the power source VAC to generate the high-voltage signal VHV.

The detection circuit 20 is coupled to the series resistor R1 for detecting the high-voltage signal VHV to generate a sample signal VSP and a supply voltage VDD. Therefore, the detection circuit 20 detects the power source VAC for generating the sample signal VSP through detecting the high-voltage signal VHV. The sample signal VSP is correlated to the high-voltage signal VHV. The sample circuit 30 is coupled to the detection circuit 20 for generating a reset signal VRESET in response to a clock signal VCLK and the sample signal VSP. The delay circuit 40 is coupled to the sample circuit 30 for generating a discharging signal VDIS and a power-on signal VON in response to a pulse signal VPULSE and the reset signal VRESET. The detection circuit 20 is coupled to the X-capacitors C1 and C2 of the EMI filter and receives the discharging signal VDIS for pulling down the supply voltage VDD and discharging the stored voltage of the X-capacitors C1 and C2. The power-on signal VON is used for turning on a PWM circuit to regulate the output of the power supply. The PWM circuit is a prior-art technique, so here is no detailed description about it.

The detection circuit 20 includes a high-voltage switch J1, a first transistor M1, a switch circuit having a second transistor M2 and a third transistor M3, a fourth transistor M4, a discharge resistor R2 and a hysteresis comparator 210. The high-voltage switch J1 formed by a Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET) has a drain terminal coupled to the series resistor R1 for receiving the high-voltage signal VHV. The drain terminal of the high-voltage switch J1 is further coupled to the X-capacitors C1 and C2 through the series resistor R1, the first diode D1 and the second diode D2. The first transistor M1 has a drain terminal coupled to a source terminal of the high-voltage switch J1, a gate terminal coupled to a gate terminal of the high-voltage switch J1. The sample signal VSP is generated at the source terminal of the high-voltage switch J1 and the drain terminal of the first transistor M1. A trigger signal VGJ1 is generated at the gate terminals of the high-voltage switch J1 and the first transistor M1. The second transistor M2 has a drain terminal coupled to the gate terminals of the high-voltage switch J1 and the first transistor M1, a source terminal coupled to the source terminal of the high-voltage switch J1 and the drain terminal of the first transistor M1 for receiving the sample signal VSP. The third transistor M3 has a drain terminal coupled to the drain terminal of the second transistor M2 for receiving the trigger signal VGJ1, a source terminal that is coupled to a ground, a gate terminal coupled to a gate terminal of the second transistor M2.

The fourth transistor M4 has a drain terminal coupled to a source terminal of the first transistor M1, a source terminal coupled to one terminal of the discharge resistor R2. The other terminal of the discharge resistor R2 is coupled to the ground. A positive input of the hysteresis comparator 210 is coupled to the source terminal of the first transistor M1 and the drain terminal of the fourth transistor M4 for receiving the supply voltage VDD. The hysteresis comparator 210 has a negative input to receive a threshold signal VTH. An output of the hysteresis comparator 210 generates a switching signal VSW that is coupled to the gate terminals of the second transistor M2 and the third transistor M3. By comparing the supply voltage VDD with the threshold signal VTH, the switching signal VSW is generated and controls an on/off status of the second transistor M2 and the third transistor M3. The hysteresis comparator 210 is only one embodiment of the present invention, and the prevent invention isn't limited to the hysteresis comparator 210. In this manner, the switching signal VSW is at a high-level once the supply voltage VDD is larger than an upper-limit of the threshold signal VTH. On the contrary, the switching signal VSW is at a low-level once the supply voltage VDD is smaller than a lower-limit of the threshold signal VTH. The lower-limit of the threshold signal VTH is also called under voltage lockout (UVLO). Because of the hysteresis characteristic of the hysteresis comparator 210, the difference between the upper-limit and the lower-limit always keeps a fixed voltage range.

The sample circuit 30 includes a fifth transistor M5, a pull-down resistor R3, a voltage comparator 310 and a NAND gate 320. The fifth transistor M5 has a drain terminal coupled to the detection circuit 20 for receiving the sample signal VSP, a source terminal coupled to one terminal of the pull-down resistor R3 for generating an input signal VINAC. The other terminal of the pull-down resistor R3 is coupled to the ground. The voltage comparator 310 has a positive input receiving a reference signal VREF, a negative input coupled to the source terminal of the fifth transistor M5 for receiving the input signal VINAC. The input signal VINAC is proportional to the high-voltage signal VHV and correlated to the sample signal VSP once the high-voltage switch J1 and the fifth transistor M5 are turned on. A first input of the NAND gate 320 coupled to a gate terminal of the fifth transistor M5 receives the clock signal VCLK. A period of the clock signal VCLK is T1. A second input of the NAND gate 320 coupled to an output of the voltage comparator 310 receives a first signal V1. The first signal V1 is generated by comparing the input signal VINAC with the reference signal VREF. The output of the NAND gate 320 generates the reset signal VRESET. As mentioned above, the voltage comparator 310 is utilized for generating the reset signal VRESET in response to the sample signal VSP and the reference signal VREF.

The delay circuit 40 includes a first flip-flop 410 and a second flip-flop 420. The first flip-flop 410 has an input D receiving the supply voltage VDD, a clock-input CK receiving the pulse signal VPULSE, a reset-input R receiving the reset signal VRESET. A period of the pulse signal VPULSE is T2. The period T2 is much larger than the period T1 about 20 times. The second flip-flop 420 has an input D receiving the supply voltage VDD, a clock-input CK coupled to an output Q of the first flip-flop 410, a reset-input R receiving the reset signal VRESET, an output Q generating the discharging signal VDIS coupled to a gate terminal of the fourth transistor M4, an output QN generating the power-on signal VON coupled to the PWM circuit to turn on the PWM circuit to regulate the output of the power supply.

FIG. 3 shows the waveform of the power source and the high-voltage signal. The period of the power source VAC is about 20 ms if the input supply frequency is 50 Hz. The high-voltage signal VHV is generated through the full-wave rectification of the first diode D1 and the second diode D2. The clock signal VCLK is used to sample the high-voltage signal VHV for each period T1. If the power source VAC is shut down in the peak value of the negative half-wave of the power source VAC, the amplitude of the high-voltage signal VHV will last a high DC voltage for a long time. According to the present invention, the delay circuit 40 will count a period to be period T3 and turned off the PWM circuit when the amplitude of the sample signal VSP is still larger than the reference signal VREF over the period T3. It means that the delay circuit 40 will turn off the PWM circuit when the high-voltage signal VHV is still larger than the reference signal VREF over the period T3. In the meantime, the X-capacitors C1 and C2 of the EMI filter is discharged and the supply voltage VDD is pulled to UVLO. The period T3 is equal to the period T2 or higher than the period T2.

Referring to the detection circuit 20 of FIG. 2, when the power source VAC is switched on, the drain terminal of the high-voltage switch J1 receiving the high-voltage VHV is turned on immediately. The switching signal VSW is at a low-level since the supply voltage VDD doesn't be created yet. At this time, the third transistor M3 is turned off and the second transistor M2 is turned on. The sample signal VSP is about a threshold voltage of the second transistor M2 and generated at the source terminal of the high-voltage switch J1 and the drain terminal of the first transistor M1. Because the second transistor M2 is turned on, the trigger signal VGJ1 is the same as the sample signal VSP and generated at the gate terminals of the high-voltage switch J1 and the first transistor M1. In the meantime, the first transistor M1 is turned on and the supply voltage VDD is charged by the high-voltage signal VHV. The first transistor M1 serves as a charge transistor for charging the supply voltage VDD. When the supply voltage VDD reaches to the upper-limit of the threshold signal VTH, the switching signal VSW is at a high-level. At this time, the third transistor M3 is turned on and the second transistor M2 is turned off. Because the trigger signal VGJ1 is pulled-down to the ground, the first transistor M1 is turned off and the gate terminal of the high-voltage switch J1 is at a low-level. During a short period, the source-to-gate voltage of the high-voltage switch J1 will be higher than a threshold and the high-voltage switch J1 is turned off.

Referring to the sample circuit 30 of FIG. 2, the fifth transistor M5 is turned on once the clock signal VCLK is at a high-level. Because of the voltage drop in the pull-down resistor R3, the source-to-gate voltage of the high-voltage switch J1 will be lower than the threshold and the high-voltage switch J1 is turned on. On the other hand, the high-voltage switch J1 is turned off once the clock signal VCLK is at a low-level. The period T1 of the clock signal VCLK is about 0.6 ms according to one embodiment of the present invention. When the power source VAC is normal operation and the fifth transistor M5 is turned on, the input signal VINAC with 120 Hz sinusoidal is proportional to the high-voltage signal VHV. The first signal V1 is generated by comparing the input signal VINAC with the reference signal VREF. The first signal V1 is at a high-level and the reset signal VRESET is generated once the input signal VINAC is smaller than the reference signal VREF. At this time, the discharging signal VDIS at the output Q of the second flip-flop 420 is at a low-level and the fourth transistor M4 is turned off whatever the pulse signal VPULSE is at a high-level or a low-level. The power-on signal VON at the output QN of the second flip-flop 420 is at a high-level to turn on the PWM circuit. On the contrary, the first signal V1 is at a low-level and the reset signal VRESET is at a high-level not to reset once the input signal VINAC is larger than the reference signal VREF. The delay circuit 40 starts to count when the reset signal VRESET and the pulse signal VPULSE are at the high-level. Since the power source VAC is normal operation and the high-voltage signal VHV is sampled by the clock signal VCLK, the input signal VINAC will be smaller than the reference signal VREF again. The discharging signal VDIS is at the low-level to turn off the fourth transistor M4 and the power-on signal VON is at the high-level to turn on the PWM circuit.

When the power source VAC is shut down, the high-voltage signal VHV will not be 120 Hz sinusoidal and also will last the high DC voltage. During the shut down moment, the supply voltage VDD keeps a fixed voltage and the switching signal VSW is at the high-level because the high-voltage signal VHV still has the high DC voltage. At this time, by sampling the high-voltage signal VHV, the sample signal VSP is still larger than the reference signal VREF. Therefore, the input signal VINAC is always larger than the reference signal VREF. The delay circuit 40 will count the period T3 through the pulse signal VPULSE. The period T2 of the pulse signal VPULSE is about 12 ms and the period T3 is about 24 ms according to one embodiment of the present invention. The power-on signal VON at the output QN of the second flip-flop 420 will be at a low-level to turn off the PWM circuit after the period T3.

In the meantime, the discharging signal VDIS of the output Q of the second flip-flop 420 will be at a high-level to turn on the fourth transistor M4 after the period T3. Because of the voltage drop in the discharge resistor R2, the supply voltage VDD will be lower than the lower-limit of the threshold signal VTH. Therefore, the delay circuit 40 will turn off the PWM circuit and pull the supply voltage VDD to UVLO. The switching signal VSW is at the low-level and the third transistor M3 is turned off after the supply voltage VDD is lower than the lower-limit of the threshold signal VTH. At this time, the first transistor M1 and the second transistor M2 are turned on. The high-voltage switch J1 is turned on in response to the difference between the source and gate terminals of the high-voltage switch J1 is at a low-level. The stored voltage at the X-capacitors C1 and C2 of the EMI filter will be discharged at the series resistor R1 and the discharge resistor R2 through the on-status of the high-voltage switch J1, the first transistor M1 and the fourth transistor M4. Thus, the present invention provides a discharge path to solve the drawback as mentioned above once the supply voltage VDD is lower than the lower-limit of the threshold signal VTH.

According to the description above, when the sample signal VSP is still larger than the reference signal VREF over the period T3, the discharging signal VDIS is at the high-level for driving the detection circuit 20 in response to the reset signal VRESET. The discharging signal VDIS drives the detection circuit 20 for discharging the stored voltage of the X-capacitors C1 and C2 of the EMI filter and pulling down the supply voltage VDD. Therefore, when the sample signal VSP is still larger than the reference signal VREF over the period, the reset signal VRESET is utilized for discharging the stored voltage of the X-capacitors C1 and C2 of the EMI filter and pulling down the supply voltage VDD. The fourth transistor M4 of the detection circuit 20 serves as a discharge transistor due to the stored voltage of the X-capacitors C1 and C2 is discharged through the fourth transistor M4.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A discharge circuit of an EMI filter, comprising:

a monitor circuit, coupled to the EMI filter and monitoring a power source, when the power source is shut down over a period of time, a discharging path is provided for discharging a stored voltage of the EMI filter.

2. The discharge circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stored voltage is stored in an X-capacitor of the EMI filter, and the discharging path is provided for discharging the stored voltage of the X-capacitor of the EMI filter.

3. The discharge circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the monitor circuit comprises:

a detection circuit, detecting the power source for generating a sample signal;
wherein the discharging path is provided when the sample signal is still larger than a reference signal over the period.

4. The discharge circuit as claimed in claim 3, further comprising a full-wave rectifier coupled to the power source for rectifying the power source to generate a high-voltage signal, and the high-voltage signal coupled to the detection circuit for generating the sample signal.

5. The discharge circuit as claimed in claim 3, wherein the monitor circuit further comprises:

a sample circuit, generating a reset signal in response to the sample signal for providing the discharging path.

6. The discharge circuit as claimed in claim 5, wherein the sample circuit comprises a voltage comparator for generating the reset signal in response to the sample signal and the reference signal.

7. The discharge circuit as claimed in claim 6, wherein the sample circuit further comprises a transistor, the transistor receives the sample signal for generating an input signal, and the voltage comparator compares the input signal with the reference signal for generating the reset signal.

8. The discharge circuit as claimed in claim 5, wherein the reset signal drives the detection circuit to provide the discharging path for discharging the stored voltage of the EMI filter.

9. The discharge circuit as claimed in claim 5, wherein the detection circuit comprises:

a high-voltage switch, coupled to a high-voltage signal for generating the sample signal and coupled to the stored voltage; and
a discharge transistor, coupled to the high-voltage switch and providing the discharge path in response to the reset signal for discharging the stored voltage of the EMI filter.

10. The discharge circuit as claimed in claim 9, wherein the detection circuit further comprises:

a charge transistor, coupled to the high-voltage switch for charging a supply voltage;
a comparator, comparing the supply voltage with a threshold signal for generating a switching signal; and
a switch circuit, coupled to the charge transistor for switching the charge transistor in response to the switching signal;
wherein the supply voltage is coupled to the discharge transistor, and the discharge transistor pulls down the supply voltage in response to the reset signal.

11. The discharge circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the monitor circuit comprises:

a detection circuit, detecting the power source for generating a sample signal; and
a sample circuit, generating a reset signal in response to the sample signal;
wherein the reset signal drives the detection circuit to provide the discharging path for discharging the stored voltage of the EMI filter.

12. The discharge circuit as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a delay circuit, coupled to the monitor circuit;
wherein the monitor circuit monitors the power source for generating an output signal, and the delay circuit drives the monitor circuit to provide the discharging path in response to the output signal for discharging the stored voltage of the EMI filter.

13. The discharge circuit as claimed in claim 12, wherein the monitor circuit comprises:

a detection circuit, detecting the power source for generating a sample signal; and
a sample circuit, generating the output signal in response to the sample signal;
wherein the delay circuit drives the detection circuit to provide the discharging path in response to the output signal for discharging the stored voltage of the EMI filter.

14. The discharge circuit as claimed in claim 13, wherein the delay circuit generates a discharging signal in response to the output signal, and the discharging signal drives the detection circuit to provide the discharging path for discharging the stored voltage of the EMI filter.

15. The discharge circuit as claimed in claim 14, wherein the delay circuit comprises at least one flip-flop, and the flip-flop receives a pulse signal and the output signal for generating the discharging signal.

16. The discharge circuit as claimed in claim 12, wherein the delay circuit further generates a power-on signal for turning on a PWM circuit in response to the output signal.

17. A method for discharging an EMI filter, comprising:

monitoring an AC power source;
detecting the AC power source being shut down for a period of time; and
generating a discharge path for discharging a stored voltage of the EMI filter.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the step of detecting the AC power source further comprises:

detecting the AC power source for generating a sample signal, wherein the discharging path is provided when the sample signal is still larger than a reference signal over the period.

19. The method as claimed in claim 18, further comprising:

rectifying the AC power source to generate a high-voltage signal; and
generating the sample signal in response to the high-voltage signal.

20. The method as claimed in claim 18, further comprising:

generating a reset signal to enable the discharging path in response to the sample signal for discharging the stored voltage of the EMI filter.

21. The method as claimed in claim 20, further comprising:

generating the reset signal in response to the sample signal and the reference signal.

22. The method as claimed in claim 21, further comprising:

generating an input signal in response to the sample signal; and
comparing the input signal with the reference signal for generating the reset signal.

23. A discharge circuit of an EMI filter, comprising:

a monitor circuit, coupled to the EMI filter and monitoring a power source, when an AC off mode is detected, a discharging path is provided for discharging a stored voltage of the EMI filter.

24. The discharge circuit as claimed in claim 23, wherein the power source is AC power, and the monitor circuit further comprises:

a detection circuit, coupled to the power source for detecting the AC power, and generating a sample signal; and
a sample circuit, coupled to the detection circuit for generating a reset signal in response to the sample signal;
wherein when the sample signal is still larger than a reference signal over a period, the AC off mode is detected.

25. The discharge circuit as claimed in claim 24, wherein the reset signal drives the detection circuit to provide the discharging path for discharging the stored voltage of the EMI filter.

26. A discharge circuit of an EMI filter, comprising:

a monitor circuit, monitoring a power source for discharging a stored voltage of the EMI filter, when the power source is reduced, the stored voltage of the EMI filter is discharged.

27. The discharge circuit as claimed in claim 26, wherein when the power source is shut down, the stored voltage of the EMI filter is discharged.

Patent History
Publication number: 20170019016
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 25, 2013
Publication Date: Jan 19, 2017
Patent Grant number: 10193435
Applicant: SYSTEM GENERAL CORP. (TAIPEI HSIEN)
Inventors: WEI-HSUAN HUANG (TAOYUAN COUNTY), MENG-JEN TSAI (HSINCHU CITY), CHIEN-YUAN LIN (TAIPEI COUNTY), MING-CHANG TSOU (YILAN COUNTRY), CHUAN-CHANG LI (HSINCHU COUNTY), GWO-HWA WANG (TAIPEI CITY)
Application Number: 13/870,177
Classifications
International Classification: H02M 1/14 (20060101);