초록 ▼

An isolated and soft-switched power converter is used for DC/DC and DC/DC/AC power conversion. The power converter includes two resonant tank circuits coupled back-to-back through an isolation transformer. Each resonant tank circuit includes a pair of resonant capacitors connected in series as a res

An isolated and soft-switched power converter is used for DC/DC and DC/DC/AC power conversion. The power converter includes two resonant tank circuits coupled back-to-back through an isolation transformer. Each resonant tank circuit includes a pair of resonant capacitors connected in series as a resonant leg, a pair of tank capacitors connected in series as a tank leg, and a pair of switching devices with anti-parallel clamping diodes coupled in series as resonant switches and clamping devices for the resonant leg. The power converter is well suited for DC/DC and DC/DC/AC power conversion applications in which high-voltage isolation, DC to DC voltage boost, bidirectional power flow, and a minimal number of conventional switching components are important design objectives. For example, the power converter is especially well suited to electric vehicle applications and load-side electric generation and storage systems, and other applications in which these objectives are important. The power converter may be used for many different applications, including electric vehicles, hybrid combustion/electric vehicles, fuel-cell powered vehicles with low-voltage starting, remote power sources utilizing low-voltage DC power sources, such as photovoltaics and others, electric power backup systems, and load-side electric storage and generation systems.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An isolated and soft-switched power converter comprising:an isolation transformer; primary and secondary resonant tank circuits coupled back-to-back through the isolation transformer; each resonant tank circuit comprising a pair of resonant capacitances present in series as a resonant leg, a pair

1. An isolated and soft-switched power converter comprising:an isolation transformer; primary and secondary resonant tank circuits coupled back-to-back through the isolation transformer; each resonant tank circuit comprising a pair of resonant capacitances present in series as a resonant leg, a pair of voltage sources connected in series as a tank leg, and a pair of switching devices coupled in series as resonant switches and voltage clamping devices for the resonant leg wherein each of the resonant leg, tank leg, and pair of switching devices and voltage clamping devices are connected in parallel to each other; and a switching controller operable for, gating off the switching devices to cause a resonant voltage to resonant in each resonant leg, the resonant voltage repeatedly obtaining zero-voltage periods for soft-switching a device powered by the converter, and gating on the switching devices during zero-current, zero-voltage conditions for soft-switching the switching devices of each resonant tank circuit.