Including An A.c.-d.c.-a.c. Converter Patents (Class 363/34)
  • Patent number: 11973335
    Abstract: A solid state circuit breaker has both solid state electronics and a physical switch. The solid state circuit breaker facilitates power measuring for end loads connected to a panel board circuit, e.g. receptacles, lighting, etc., over current protection, and disconnection all within one device. The solid state circuit breaker can be used at 100% of its rated capacity as opposed to 80% code-mandated limitation for thermal magnetic circuit breakers. The solid state circuit breaker also can provide power/current data (real-time) without the need of an additional device. The solid state circuit breaker further facilitates electronic, i.e. remote, opening, closing, and current limiting for demand response or load shedding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: RENU, INC.
    Inventors: Jumie Yuventi, Bahman Sharifipour, Liyang Zhang, Bruno Bambaren
  • Patent number: 11949341
    Abstract: A power converter including a diode converter, an inverter, a smoothing capacitor, a resistor; a current sensor; an estimation unit; and a control unit. The diode converter rectifies an alternating current from a power supply. The inverter is formed such that a DC side is connected to a DC output of the diode converter and an AC side is connected to an electric motor and includes a semiconductor switching element which converts DC power on the DC side into AC power and a reverse connection diode which is connected in antiparallel with the semiconductor switching element. The smoothing capacitor is provided in the DC output of the diode converter. The resistor is connected in parallel with the smoothing capacitor. The current sensor detects a load current flowing between the inverter and the electric motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: TOSHIBA MITSUBISHI-ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masashi Fukuda, Shunsuke Tobayashi
  • Patent number: 11811331
    Abstract: Provided is a system for an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) rectifier for charging ultra-capacitors. The system may include a power converter, which may receive power from a power source. A direct current (DC) bus may be connected to the power converter and may receive power from the power converter. At least one IGBT may be connected to the DC bus and may receive power from the DC bus. An array of ultra-capacitors may be connected to the at least one IGBT. At least one controller may control the at least one IGBT to charge the array of ultra-capacitors. A method and computer program product are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: Velocity Magnetics, Inc.
    Inventors: Domenic P. Marzano, Alex R. Rugh, Joseph L. Hake
  • Patent number: 11539285
    Abstract: A DC-to-DC converter includes a first DC side, a second DC side, a first capacitor, a first switch circuit, a magnetic element circuit, a second switch circuit, and a second capacitor. The DC-to-DC converter is adapted for converting between a first DC voltage and a second DC voltage. The magnetic element circuit is electrically coupled to the first switch circuit, and includes a plurality of magnetically coupled windings and an inductor. An oscillating current flowing in the first switch circuit is generated by controlling the first switch circuit and the second switch circuit, and an oscillating frequency of the oscillating current is determined by the capacitance of the first capacitor and the inductance of the inductor in the magnetic element circuit, and the first switch circuit and the second switch circuit are switched at a specific region of a wave trough of the oscillating current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: DELTA ELECTRONICS, INC.
    Inventors: Da Jin, Ya-Hong Xiong, Qing-Hua Su
  • Patent number: 11442115
    Abstract: A method for circuit monitoring includes detecting a waveform of first voltage at a DC-link capacitor in a power converter, the first voltage being generated by turning on a chopper circuit coupling in parallel to the DC-link; determining a phase angle shift of the waveform of first voltage with respect to a waveform of second voltage at a rectifier in the power converter or a power supply for the power converter; determining magnitude of the waveform of first voltage; and determining, based on at least one of the magnitude and the phase angle shift, a parameter indicative of a health condition of the DC-link capacitor. An apparatus is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: ABB SCHWEIZ AG
    Inventors: Jinlei Meng, Bo Wang, Haitao Deng
  • Patent number: 11418129
    Abstract: A method and a system sense at least one phase difference between at least two phases of a group of parallel connected three phase AC output terminals (e.g., a first phase AC output terminal, a second phase AC output terminal, or a third phase AC output terminal). The parallel connected AC output terminals may be three parallel connected DC to AC three phase inverters. Features of the parallel connected three phase AC output terminals enable wiring of conductors to one phase of an AC output terminal to be swapped with wiring of conductors of one phase of another phase AC output terminal. A sign of at least one phase difference is verified different from signs of other phase differences thereby the system determining the lateral position of the at least one three phase inverters relative to at least one other of the three phase inverters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: Solaredge Technologies Ltd.
    Inventors: Omer Aloni, Alon Zohar, Tzachi Glovinsky, Menashe Walsh
  • Patent number: 11271402
    Abstract: The presence of injected DC has harmful consequences for a power grid system. A piecewise sinusoidal ripple voltage wave at the line-frequency that rides on the main capacitor bank of the power converter is observed. This observation leads to a new DC detection elimination method. Three DC elimination methods for this ripple component are disclosed to allow dissipation of DC energy through heat and/or electromagnetic wave, or to allow transformation of this energy into usable power that is fed back into the power grid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: Smart Wires Inc.
    Inventors: Antonio Ginart, Shreesha Adiga Manoor, Mahsa Ghapandar Kashani, Hamed Khalilinia, Haroon Inam, Amrit Iyer, Govind Chavan, Niloofar Torabi
  • Patent number: 11258267
    Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed relating to smart Microgrids or off-grid solar systems with grid power integration supported by AC assisted off-grid power inverters that can (1) intelligently and selectively pull power from one or multiple DC sources including solar panels, wind generators, and batteries based on certain criteria; (2) invert DC power to AC power as generated AC power; (3) intelligently pull power from a connected AC source including grid AC, a gas generator, or a wind generator as input AC power; (4) combine the generated AC power with the input AC power; (5) supply the combined AC power, or the generated AC power, or the input AC power to an off-grid circuit to power various types of AC loads; (6) send no power to the connected AC source; (7) maximize DC power production; (8) minimize the consumption of input AC power; and (9) achieve good system performance under DC and AC power variations and load changes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: CyboEnergy, Inc.
    Inventors: George Shu-Xing Cheng, Steven L. Mulkey, Andrew J. Chow
  • Patent number: 11239664
    Abstract: An AC/DC converter and a DC/DC converter are disposed corresponding to a power generator. The AC/DC converter converts AC power generated by the power generator into a generated voltage, and outputs the generated voltage to a power line. The DC/DC converter converts the generated voltage on the power line into a collection voltage, and outputs the collection voltage to a collection line. DC power in a DC voltage grid formed of the collection line is transmitted through a DC/AC converter to an AC power grid. When a short-circuit fault occurs in the DC power grid or the AC power grid, a control command value for the AC/DC converter or the DC/DC converter is adjusted so as to suppress incoming electric power flowing from the power generator in accordance with fluctuations of a collection voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Miwako Tanaka, Toshiyuki Fujii
  • Patent number: 11207994
    Abstract: A mechano-electrical integrated power conversion device includes power drive unit and voltage converter that are housed within a single housing box and formed as a module. The box includes box body, upper lid member, and side lid member. The box body includes: a box body main portion disposed above a casing of an electric motor; and a box body remainder portion connected integrally to a side wall of the box body main portion and extending downwardly to a side of the casing. The upper lid member is mounted on the box body main portion, a first housing chamber being defined therebetween and housing the power drive unit. The side lid member is mounted on a side open end part of the box body remainder portion, a second housing chamber being defined between the box body remainder portion and the side lid member and housing the voltage converter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: Keihin Corporation
    Inventor: Masashi Ueda
  • Patent number: 11211929
    Abstract: The present application relates to electronics and in particular to switch drive circuits and more particularly to galvanically isolated switch circuits with power transfer from the switch driver input side to the switch side. More specifically, the present application provides a switch drive circuit using a single transformer to transfer control signals to a secondary side for control of the switch along with power to a secondary side circuit to drive the switch in response to the control signals. By detecting the control signal first before drawing current, the effects of leakage inductance in the transformer are reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: Heyday Integrated Circuits SAS
    Inventors: Karl Rinne, Joseph Duigan
  • Patent number: 11205968
    Abstract: A matrix converter control device includes a plurality of delay circuits which correspond to logic change timings of a plurality of input pulse width modulation (PWM) signals for controlling ON and OFF states of a plurality of switching elements included in a matrix converter. Specifically, the plurality of delay circuits are a first delay circuit, a second delay circuit, a third delay circuit, a fourth delay circuit, and a fifth delay circuit. Each of the plurality of delay circuits delays an input PWM signal by an amount of delay set for the delay circuit at a logic change timing corresponding to the delay circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2021
    Assignee: NUVOTON TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION JAPAN
    Inventor: Katsuyuki Imamura
  • Patent number: 11146165
    Abstract: For grid-connected power converter control, a method estimates a d-axis grid voltage from a d-axis reference current modified with a d-axis current and a q-axis current modified with a filter inductive reactance. The method generates a q-axis current error from a direct current (DC) voltage input and a DC bus voltage. The method estimates an observer q-axis grid voltage from a q-axis voltage output. The q-axis grid voltage observer estimates the q-axis grid voltage in a direct/quadrature (dq) reference frame equivalent to an ABC to DQ reference frame transform. The method determines a d-axis voltage output as a function of a d-axis current error and a q-axis current modified with a filter inductive reactance. The method determines a q-axis voltage output as a sum of the q-axis current controller output and the observer q-axis grid voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Lei Jin, Haihui Lu, Ahmed S. Mohamed Sayed Ahmed, Rob J Miklosovic
  • Patent number: 11128232
    Abstract: A driving device is provided with an output unit, an input unit, a rectifier circuit, a switching circuit and a controller. The input unit inputs an AC in put. The rectifier circuit has a smoothing capacitor and converts the AC input into a rectified output. The switching circuit switches between an ON-state in which input impedance is low and an OFF-state in which input impedance is higher than that in the ON-state. The controller sets a start timing such that, when controlling the switching circuit to switch between the ON-state and the OFF-state, at least a portion of a period, in which the start timing of a power supply period becomes a second timing, is included in a period from a time when an input current inputted to the smoothing capacitor is generated to a time when the voltage of the smoothing capacitor reaches a maximum value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: NIDEC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kotaro Kataoka, Hiroshi Iwata, Takamitsu Suzuki, Masaru Nomura
  • Patent number: 11088614
    Abstract: A conductive noise suppressor for suppressing worsening of noise due to the frequency of conductive common mode noise is suppressed is provided in an embodiment of the disclosure. The suppressor includes a first coil part for detecting a noise current in a common mode flowing through a power supply line for supplying an alternating current, coils serially inserted on the power supply line, a second coil part including a coupling coil magnetically coupled to the coils and a current supplier for supplying a noise current detected by the first coil part and a current set for a voltage generated across the coupling coil to the coupling coil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Seisaku Osako, Tatsuhisa Shimura, Yasuyuki Yamada
  • Patent number: 11050261
    Abstract: A fuel cell system includes fuel cell apparatuses and an external management apparatus. Each of the fuel cell apparatuses includes a controller that controls the fuel cell apparatus in any of multiple operating modes that include a master mode and a slave mode. The external management apparatus acquires the power consumption of the load, generates control information for controlling an operation state of the fuel cell apparatuses on the basis of the power consumption, and transmits the control information to a fuel cell apparatus operating in master mode. This apparatus controls its own operation state and the operation state of the other fuel cell apparatuses on the basis of the received control information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: KYOCERA Corporation
    Inventor: Takanobu Nishigai
  • Patent number: 11018598
    Abstract: A system for controlling a switching network of a power regulation circuit arranged to regulate power transfer between a first and second circuit connected with the power regulation circuit includes one or more controllers receiving one or more first signals indicative of power characteristics of the first circuit and one or more second signals indicative of power characteristics of the second circuit. The controllers determine, based on the received signals and reference signals, a required power output for regulating power transfer between the first and second circuit, and then select, dynamically, a switching scheme, from predetermined switching schemes, based on the determination result. The predetermined switching schemes represent unique switching schemea for controlling switching of respective switches of the switching network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2021
    Assignee: City University of Hong Kong
    Inventors: Shu Hung Henry Chung, Wing To John Fan, Shun Cheung Ryan Yeung
  • Patent number: 10989141
    Abstract: A Stirling engine feedback controller is provided that includes a Stirling engine having at least one piston, where the Stirling engine includes an Alpha-Stirling engine, and a Gamma-Stirling engine. The feedback controller includes a power sensor, a computer, and an electronic feedback loop. Here, the power sensor is configured to sense the power of the Stirling engine then output a power signal. In one aspect, the computer can be a central processing unit (CPU), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), where the computer operates a control algorithm. Further, the electronic feedback loop receives the output power signal and an output signal from the computer, where an output signal from the electronic feedback loop is configured to a control a position of the piston(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: Nirvana Energy Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Lambertus Hesselink, Rajesh Batra, George Pontis, Geoffrey A. Bruder
  • Patent number: 10957506
    Abstract: A controller 10 performs a first welding check and a second welding check in any order, and then performs a third welding check before a fourth welding check and also performs a fifth welding check before a sixth welding check. The first welding check is performed by turning on a first relay 18. The second welding check is performed by turning on a second relay 19. The third welding check is performed by turning on an in-phase relay, a third relay 20, and a fourth relay 21. The fourth welding check is performed by turning on an out-of-phase relay, the third relay 20, and the fourth relay 21. The fifth welding check is performed by turning on the in-phase relay, a fifth relay 22, and a sixth relay 23. The sixth welding check is performed by turning on the out-of-phase relay, the fifth relay 22, and the sixth relay 23.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: KYOCERA CORPORATION
    Inventor: Shusuke Nakayama
  • Patent number: 10958188
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a first DC bus, a second DC bus, a first converter circuit coupled to the first DC bus, and a second converter circuit coupled to the second DC bus. The apparatus further includes a limiter circuit coupled to the second DC bus, a first control circuit configured to sense a voltage on the first DC bus and to responsively control the first converter circuit to limit the voltage on the first DC bus, and a second control circuit configured to sense a voltage on the second DC bus and to responsively control the limiter circuit to limit the voltage on the second DC bus. The apparatus may include a modulation conversion circuit configured to provide a set of switch control signals to the converter circuits and implemented in a module that is also used to implement the second control circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Inventor: Stan Rex Simms
  • Patent number: 10886852
    Abstract: An electrical power converter includes a dual buck power stage with a first half bridge and second half bridge. Each of the half bridges is arranged between a first common node and a second common node. Each of the half bridges comprises an upper switching element and a lower switching element. The upper switching element is configured to switch a current between the first common node and a respective first or second bridge midpoint. The lower switching element is configured to switch a current between the respective first or second bridge midpoint and the second common node. The first and second bridge midpoints are connected to a summing node via respective first and second dual buck inductors. A main switching stage is arranged to supply, through a main stage inductor and through a main output line, a main stage current to the summing node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2021
    Assignee: ETEL S.A.
    Inventors: Johann Walter Kolar, Mario Mauerer
  • Patent number: 10873270
    Abstract: An apparatus, such as a variable frequency drive (VFD), includes a rectifier, a DC bus coupled to an output of the rectifier and at least one capacitor coupled to the DC bus. The apparatus further includes a normally-conducting switch coupled to the DC bus and configured to discharge the at least one capacitor in a conducting state and a control circuit configured to control the normally-conducting switch responsive to an input to the rectifier. The control circuit may be configured to control the normally-conducting switch responsive to a voltage at the input of the rectifier. The control circuit may include a regulator circuit having an input coupled to the input of the rectifier and a driver circuit coupled to an output of the regulator circuit and configured to drive a control terminal of the normally-conducting switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Inventors: Stan Rex Simms, John David Maurin, Thomas Arthur Farr
  • Patent number: 10862332
    Abstract: For grid-connected power converter control, a method estimates a d-axis grid voltage from a d-axis reference current modified with a d-axis current, and a q-axis current modified with a filter inductive reactance. The method generates a q-axis grid voltage from a direct current (DC) voltage input modified with the DC bus voltage modified with a notch filter to balance the voltage input and further reduced with the q-axis current. The method modifies the estimated d-axis grid voltage and the q-axis grid voltage by selectively removing second-order harmonics. The method further determines a d-axis voltage output and a q-axis voltage output as a function of the modified estimated d-axis grid voltage and the modified q-axis grid voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2020
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Lei Jin, Haihui Lu, Karthik Palaniappan, Ahmed S. Mohamed Sayed Ahmed
  • Patent number: 10855200
    Abstract: A line commutated converter (LCC) for a high voltage direct current power converter, the LCC comprising at least one LCC bridge circuit for connection to at least one terminal of a DC system, each bridge circuit comprising a plurality of arms, each associated with a respective phase of an AC system, each arm comprising: an upper thyristor valve or valves, and lower thyristor valve or valves connected in series; an associated branch extending from between the upper and lower thyristors; and at least one thyristor-based capacitor module for each phase, each module comprising a plurality of module thyristors, the or each capacitor module operable to insert a main capacitor into the respective arm of the bridge circuit by firing at least one or more of said module thyristors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Inventors: Xiao-Ping Zhang, Ying Xue
  • Patent number: 10797486
    Abstract: A system and method for controlling voltage of a DC link of a power converter of a wind turbine power system connected to a power grid includes operating the DC link to an optimum voltage set point that achieves steady state operation of the power converter. The method also includes monitoring a speed of the wind turbine power system. Upon detection of one or more speed conditions occurring in the wind turbine power system, the method includes selecting a first maximum voltage set point for the DC link or a second maximum voltage set point for the DC link. Moreover, the method includes increasing the optimum voltage set point to the selected first or second maximum voltage set point of the DC link. In addition, the method includes operating the DC link at the selected first or second maximum voltage set point until the one or more speed conditions passes so as to optimize voltage control of the DC link.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2020
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Robert Gregory Wagoner, David Smith
  • Patent number: 10666058
    Abstract: An electrical power system, including a fuel cell system having a plurality of fuel cell segments and an energy storage system electrically coupled to the fuel cell system. The energy storage system including a plurality of energy storage system technologies, an energy storage system direct current (DC) bus configured to electrically connect the plurality of energy storage system technologies to the fuel cell system, and an energy storage system technologies management system configured manage impedance of the energy storage system and electric coupling of the energy storage system and the fuel cell system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: BLOOM ENERGY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Arne Ballantine, Peter Gross, Ranganathan Gurunathan, Prasad Pmsvvsv, Carl Cottuli
  • Patent number: 10644612
    Abstract: A power converter with a modular, compact architecture with a reduced component count is disclosed. The power converter includes parallel power conversion sections and utilizes one or more mutual coupling input inductors with multiple windings. The windings are connected in pairs in a differential mode between a power source and the parallel power conversion sections. Each power conversion section receives the same input voltage and generates the same output voltage. As a result of the winding connections and the same input and output voltages, the input of the power converter exhibits current balancing and sharing between each branch of the parallel configuration, allowing a single current sensor to provide a measurement of the current and a single controller to control operation of each of the power conversion sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Guillermo Garcia Soto, Christophe Robert, Philippe Ernest
  • Patent number: 10602578
    Abstract: A horticulture facility includes a first set of LED luminaires disposed in a grow room of the horticulture facility, a second set of LED luminaires disposed in another grow room of the horticulture facility, a centralized power supply and power transfer switches. The power supply includes DC/DC power converters each having an output. The power transfer switches include a first power transfer switch coupled to the output of one respective DC/DC power converter of the DC/DC power converters. The first power transfer switch is configured to switch between a first position for coupling the output of the respective DC/DC power converter to the first set of LED luminaires, and a second position for coupling the output of the respective DC/DC power converter to the second set of LED luminaires. Other example horticulture facilities and electric power systems are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2020
    Assignee: Astec International Limited
    Inventors: Nathaniel Franco Neri, John Faustino Boqueo Begino, III, Christopher Alan Jones, An Kim Nguyen
  • Patent number: 10581338
    Abstract: A power supply system includes a plurality of AC output converters connected in parallel for supplying electric power to an AC load. Each of the plurality of AC output converters includes an output impedance connected to the AC load, a PWM converter configured to convert DC power into AC power, and a controller configured to output a voltage command value to the PWM converter. The controller includes a vector adder configured to perform vector addition of a part of a voltage drop occurring due to a current flowing through the output impedance and a voltage command value of the AC load, and a converter configured to output a voltage command value to the PWM converter based on a vector sum obtained through the vector addition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2020
    Assignees: National University Corporation YOKOHAMA National University, TOSHIBA MITSUBISHI-ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsuo Kawamura, Mohammad Bani Shamseh, Teruo Yoshino
  • Patent number: 10491107
    Abstract: A method for controlling a power factor correction circuit includes detecting a stability degree of an input voltage of the power factor correction circuit, wherein the stability degree is at least one of a frequency or an amplitude deviation of the input voltage from a predetermined trend, adjusting a current control parameter of PID or PI according to the stability degree of the input voltage of the power factor correction circuit, and controlling at least one of a voltage loop and a current loop using the adjusted control parameter of the PID or the PI to adjust a control signal of the at least one switching circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: MURATA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Hung Piu Poon
  • Patent number: 10483032
    Abstract: Unique systems, methods, techniques and apparatuses of a modular power transformer are disclosed. One exemplary embodiment is a matrix power transformer including a plurality of block assemblies each including a plurality of transformer modules, each transformer module including a primary winding coupled to an input and a secondary winding coupled to an output, the inputs of each transformer module in one block assembly being coupled together and the outputs of each transformer block being coupled together. One of the secondary windings includes a plurality of taps structured to be selectively coupled to the output of the associated transformer module assembly or another secondary winding of the associated module assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Alberto Prieto, Ion C. Radu, Nikolaus Zant, Sandeep Bala, Matthew Lee Henriksen, Parag Upadhyay
  • Patent number: 10468960
    Abstract: A code modulator includes: a code-modulation circuit that code-modulates input power with a modulation code to generate code-modulated power which is alternating-current power; and a terminal through which the code-modulated power is transmitted, the terminal being connected to a transmission path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Taiki Nishimoto, Atsushi Yamamoto, Shoichi Hara, Kohei Masuda, Akira Minegishi
  • Patent number: 10411614
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a method and a circuit for the improved use of a capacitance in an intermediate circuit. According to the disclosure, a change in a voltage in an intermediate circuit is detected and electrical energy is actively provided depending on the change in the electrical variable in order to compensate the change. According to the disclosure, a capacitance used in the intermediate circuit can end up significantly smaller if the electrical energy fed in is used, in that the voltage of the capacitance is supported by a current fed into the capacitance on the earth side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignees: Robert Bosch GmbH, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Stefan Butzmann
  • Patent number: 10389259
    Abstract: The power supply apparatus switches the capacitance of a resonance capacitor to a first value at the time of a continuous operation, and switches the capacitance of the resonance capacitor to a second value smaller than the first value at the time of an intermittent operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2019
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroki Asano, Yasuhiro Shimura
  • Patent number: 10333476
    Abstract: An electric power converter includes a first capacitor being located between an input terminal and an output terminal, and that connects a first terminal being located between the input terminal and a ground, a reactor that connects through electric contact between the first terminal and the output terminal, a switching element that connects through electric contact between the input terminal and the output terminal, and a control unit that executes a first PWM control process controlling a pulse width of the PWM waveform by on and off of the switching device according to the fluctuation of the output voltage, and that executes a second PWM control process widening a pulse width of the PWM and a duty cycle of a PWM than those of the previous cycle when a pulse width becomes a lower limit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignees: IKS CO., LTD., JGC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takashi Imai, Hiroaki Hasegawa, Nobuo Kakizaki, Kazutaka Hiraoka, Shinji Takahashi
  • Patent number: 10193324
    Abstract: A circuit including a source, a load, and an isolation circuit for controllably isolating the load from the source. The isolation circuit is disposed between the source and the load. The isolation circuit includes at least one insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and at least one gate turn-off thyristor (GTO) in parallel with the insulated-gate bipolar transistor. When no fault condition exists, the GTO is configured to be on to couple the load to the source. When a fault condition exists, the at least one IGBT is configured to turn on. After the at least one IGBT turns on, the at least one GTO is configured to turn off. After a predetermined amount of time after the at least one GTO turns off, the at least one IGBT is configured to turn off.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2019
    Assignee: Silicon Power Corporation
    Inventors: John E. Waldron, Kenneth Brandmier, James K. Azotea
  • Patent number: 10116238
    Abstract: A power grid frequency flexible operation system is provided. The system comprises a generating unit, which includes a base-load unit and a peak-load unit; a high voltage direct-current (HVDC) transmission unit, which transmits the power generated in the generating unit as direct current (DC) power; and a load, which is supplied with the power generated by the generating unit; wherein the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission unit comprises a converter, which transforms to direct current (DC) power, alternating current (AC) power generated in the generating unit and having a first frequency variation allowance range; an inverter, which is connected to the converter and transforms the direct current (DC) power to alternating current (AC) power having a second frequency variation allowance range, wherein the first frequency variation allowance range is larger than the second frequency variation allowance range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Assignee: Korea University Research and Business Foundation
    Inventors: Gilsoo Jang, Yunsung Cho, Jaewan Suh
  • Patent number: 10116163
    Abstract: A system includes an AC-DC converter configured to convert power from an AC supply to a DC bus to provide a first portion of power a medical imaging load. The system includes an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) coupled to the DC bus. The UPS comprises at least one battery cell and a DC-DC converter comprising one or more switches and coupled between the at least one battery cell and the DC bus. The system includes a control system comprising a processor configured to send one or more signals to control operation of the one or more switches to cause the DC-DC converter to control power discharged from the at least one battery cell to the DC bus to provide a second portion of power to the medical imaging load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Adel Nasiri, Seyed Ahmad Hamidi, Russell Wayne Hum, John Ferdinand Bopp
  • Patent number: 10051696
    Abstract: Provided is a switching power supply device having a very small switching loss, which includes a rectifier circuit for rectifying a commercial AC voltage, a full-bridge circuit having first to fourth switching element, a transformer having a single primary coil and an N number of secondary coils, an N number of rectifying and smoothing circuits, an output detecting circuit for detecting at least one of voltage and current output from each rectifying and smoothing circuit, and a control circuit. Each rectifying and smoothing circuit includes a rectifying unit, a secondary switching element for controlling an output of the rectified voltage, and a smoothing unit for smoothing the rectified voltage, and the control circuit turns on each secondary switching element during a predetermined time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2018
    Assignee: HOYA CANDEO OPTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Lisong Wu
  • Patent number: 10008952
    Abstract: Power conversion systems, discharge circuits and methods are disclosed for discharging a DC bus conditioner capacitor connected between a neutral node and a first reference node in a DC bus circuit of a power conversion system, in which a DC bus voltage of the power conversion system is monitored, and a discharge control DC power supply is activated in response to the DC bus voltage transitioning below a first threshold voltage to activate a switching circuit to connect a discharge resistor between the first reference node and a DC bus terminal of the DC bus circuit to at least partially discharge the conditioner capacitor through the discharge resistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jiangang Hu, Lixiang Wei, James A. Ulrich
  • Patent number: 9991779
    Abstract: A device comprises a switch network coupled to a power source, wherein the switch network comprises a plurality of power switches, a transmitter resonant tank coupled to the plurality of power switches, wherein the transmitter resonant tank comprises a primary resonant capacitor, a transmitter coil coupled to the transmitter resonant tank and a harmonic reduction apparatus coupled between the switch network and the transmitter coil, wherein the harmonic reduction apparatus is configured to attenuate at least one undesired frequency component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: NuVolta Technologies
    Inventor: Hengchun Mao
  • Patent number: 9985435
    Abstract: Techniques for power sharing in DC networks using virtual impedance frequency droop control are provided. In one aspect, a method for power sharing in a DC network having multiple electrical energy generation sources connected to at least one load includes the steps of, at each of the electrical energy generation sources: generating a controllable DC voltage; superimposing a controllable AC signal on top of the DC voltage; regulating the AC signal using virtual impedance frequency droop control; and determining a desired DC voltage output using the regulated AC signal. The DC voltage can then be regulated to match the desired DC voltage output. A system for power sharing in a DC network is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Julian de Hoog, Ramachandra R. Kolluri, Frank Suits
  • Patent number: 9966939
    Abstract: A converter includes: a terminal that receives code-modulated power into which first alternating-current power has been code-modulated with a modulation code; and a circuit that converts the code-modulated power with a conversion code to generate second alternating-current power. The conversion code is based on the modulation code. A frequency of the second alternating-current power is lower than a frequency of the first alternating-current power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masahiro Yamaoka, Junichi Kanou, Akira Minegishi, Atsushi Yamamoto, Kohei Masuda
  • Patent number: 9966841
    Abstract: A power supply includes a power factor correction module that is real-time adaptive based on the operating conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventor: Shamim A. Choudhury
  • Patent number: 9960699
    Abstract: A power converting device includes a first and a second power module electrically coupled in parallel, a loop current limiting circuit and a driving circuit. A first and a second terminal of the loop current limiting circuit are coupled to the first and the second power module respectively. A third and a fourth terminal of the loop current limiting circuit are coupled to each other. The loop current limiting circuit includes a coupled differential-mode inductor, a first inductive unit and a second inductive unit. A first winding and a second winding of the coupled differential-mode inductor are coupled to the first and the second power modules respectively. The first and the second inductive units are coupled to the first and the second power modules respectively. The driving circuit is configured to output a driving signal to the first and the second power module according to a current detecting signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: DELTA ELECTRONICS, INC.
    Inventors: Yi-Ping Hsieh, Hung-Chieh Lin, Chao-Lung Kuo, Jin-Zhong Huang, Po-Hsin Tseng
  • Patent number: 9935562
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices relating to a DC/AC inverter. The inverter has a full bridge converter and an output filter with an integrated magnetic subcircuit. The subcircuit has main and auxiliary inductors and is designed to steer the current ripple of the inverter's output to the power semiconductors in the full bridge converter. By doing so, zero voltage switching is achieved by the power semiconductors, thereby mitigating switching losses. At the same time the current ripple in the inverter's output is attenuated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: SPARQ SYSTEMS INC.
    Inventors: Suzan Eren, Majid Pahlevaninezhad, Shangzhi Pan, Praveen Jain
  • Patent number: 9906038
    Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed relating to smart renewable power generation systems with grid and DC source flexibility that can (1) intelligently and selectively pull power from one or multiple DC sources including solar panels, wind generators, and batteries based on certain criteria; (2) invert DC power to AC power; (3) supply the AC power to the electric grid or to an off-grid electric circuit to power AC loads; (4) supply DC power through one or multiple DC output ports to power DC loads; and (5) charge batteries. Various types of on-grid, off-grid, and on/off-grid DC flexible power inverters are described to demonstrate the innovation for delivering flexible, cost-effective, and user-friendly power generation systems to harvest any form of renewable energy available and convert it to usable electricity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: CyboEnergy, Inc.
    Inventors: George Shu-Xing Cheng, Steven L. Mulkey
  • Patent number: 9866142
    Abstract: Disclosed are a single-phase photovoltaic inverter and a control method thereof in which a small insulated transformer and an ordinary current transformer are used to measure a leakage current instead of a high-priced current transformer that is only used to measure a leakage current. The single-phase photovoltaic inverter that converts DC electric power supplied from a single-phase photovoltaic module into AC electric power includes an input terminal including a first input terminal connecting to a positive polarity of the single-phase photovoltaic module and a second input terminal connecting to a negative polarity of the single-phase photovoltaic module, an inverter unit configured to convert DC electric power supplied through the input terminal into AC electric power and supply the converted AC electric power to a grid, and a leakage current measuring unit connected in parallel with the inverter unit and configured to measure a leakage current delivered through the input terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: LSIS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Tae Bum Park
  • Patent number: 9853573
    Abstract: A grid-tie inverter (the “inverter”) may include a power converter that receives a direct current (DC) output voltage from a DC input power source, and generates an alternating current (AC) output voltage for transmission to a utility power grid. The inverter may also include a system controller that regulates the AC output voltage to efficiently transfer power to the utility power grid while a system AC load may be terminated across the output of the inverter. The inverter may also provide active power factor correction between the utility grid voltage and current. Furthermore, the inverter may also offer harmonic cancellation, which minimizes or eliminates the harmonic content out of the utility power grid voltage and current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2017
    Assignee: The Aerospace Corporation
    Inventor: Kasemsan Siri
  • Patent number: 9819192
    Abstract: A power system for an industrial facility includes a hybrid solid oxide fuel cell (HSOFC) system. The HSOFC system is coupled to at least one DC load and to at least one AC load. The at least one DC load defines a DC power demand value and the at least one AC load defines an AC power demand value. The DC power demand value and the AC power demand value define a power demand ratio. The HSOFC system is configured to generate DC power and generate AC power with a power generation ratio substantially complementary to the power demand ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2017
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Ralph Teichmann