Patent Application
20230155497
The present invention relates to an AC/DC power conversion module and a method of driving the same, in particular to a modularized power conversion module with current rectification and voltage transformation functions and a method of driving the same, which are especially suitable for a power supply or an electronic load.
With the continuous development of technology, an instrument such as a power supply or an electronic load has various powerful functions. However, the progress of the AC/DC power converter circuit included therein is quite limited, and the design and arrangement of the AC/DC power converter circuit remain unchanged. That is, the AC/DC power converter circuit of each instrument of each manufacturer is designed individually according to the characteristics and special requirements thereof and integrated into the main circuit board. In other words, it is not allowed to be separated from the main circuit board and shared among various instruments.
Furthermore, dual power inputs are required for an existing power source or load instrument, including the primary power input for the predetermined power output and the auxiliary power input to assist the operation of the instrument. Specifically, in the case of a power supply, in addition to a primary power source connected to the power supply, the entire activation operation requires an auxiliary circuit driven by another power input, i.e. the auxiliary power input, for detecting the primary power input and driving a processor.
Moreover, the AC/DC power converter circuit in the existing power source or load equipment does not have an early abnormality reporting and protection mechanism. Once an abnormality occurs, the AC/DC power converter circuit is incapable of stopping operating immediately and of reporting the abnormality. Detection of the abnormality relies on the power output conversion module at the downstream side, and then the main controller takes measures against the abnormality if the abnormality is detected. However, this existing abnormality reporting and protection mechanism is incapable of immediately deactivating the output module at an early stage, so it often causes serious damage to the equipment.
As can be seen from the above, an AC/DC power converter module, in which the AC/DC power converter circuit is modularized and which does not require an auxiliary circuit driven by an another power input and has an early abnormality reporting and protection mechanism, and a method of driving the same are indeed highly expected in the industry and the public.
One of the main objects of the present invention is to realize the modularization of AC/DC power converter circuit, which can be used as a power converter connected in parallel with the mains, and at the downstream side of which an output power conversion module having a DC current input, such as a power supply module or an electronic load module, can be arbitrarily arranged so that various types of bidirectional power supply apparatuses can share the achievements of modularization. Accordingly, the modular design of the present invention is beneficial to the maintenance of the apparatus upon failure, and is also convenient for the development and design of various power source/load instrument products.
Another main object of the present invention is to realize automatic activation and automatic operation after electricity is supplied, without the need to assist in activation operation through an additional auxiliary circuit driven by another external power input. Specifically, when an external power source is connected, the module itself automatically initiates the activation procedure and establish an input voltage required by the output power converter. Once the input voltage is established, the output power converter will be automatically activated, thereby realizing a consistent processing flow of single power input, and automatically processing output.
In order to achieve the aforementioned objects, an AC/DC power conversion module of the present invention mainly comprises an AC/DC converter, a DC/DC converter, a buck auxiliary circuit and a microprocessor. The AC/DC converter includes a first power element, which is electrically coupled to an external power source; the DC/DC converter includes a second power element and a third power element which are electrically coupled to each other, the second power element is electrically coupled to the AC/DC converter, and the third power element is electrically coupled to an output power conversion module; the buck auxiliary circuit is electrically coupled between the AC/DC converter and the DC/DC converter; the microprocessor is electrically coupled to the AC/DC converter, the DC/DC converter and the buck auxiliary circuit. When the AC/DC converter is electrically coupled to the external power source, the microprocessor is electrically powered by the buck auxiliary circuit; under the control of the microprocessor, the second power element and the third power element are activated for a certain time period, and then, the first power element is activated; an output voltage of the AC/DC converter is boosted, and an output voltage of the DC/DC converter is boosted accordingly.
In order to achieve the aforementioned objects, a method of driving an AC/DC power conversion module is provided, wherein the AC/DC power conversion module mainly includes an AC/DC converter, a DC/DC converter, a buck auxiliary circuit and a microprocessor; the buck auxiliary circuit is electrically coupled between the AC/DC converter and the DC/DC converter, the method comprising the steps of: providing an external power source to the AC/DC converter and the buck auxiliary circuit; modulating a voltage of the external power source received and electrically energizing the microprocessor by the buck auxiliary circuit; activating power elements in the DC/DC converter for a certain time period by the microprocessor and then activating power elements in the AC/DC converter by the microprocessor; and modulating a voltage of the external power source by the AC/DC converter so that an output voltage is generated by the DC/DC converter accordingly.
As such, the present invention provides the driving electric power to each main component (such as the microprocessor) by means of the buck auxiliary circuit so that each main component can be activated on. The buck auxiliary circuit is electrically coupled to the external power source. It means that once the external power source is connected, the buck auxiliary circuit will automatically reduce a voltage and supply electric power, allowing the module to automatically start to operate. It realizes that the module will autonomously operate after being electrically powered, without the need of additional circuits for supplying electric power or for control.
In addition, the present invention sets that the power elements in the downstream side DC/DC converter are activated first, and then the power element in the upstream side AC/DC converter is activated, thereby effectively suppressing an inrush current and avoiding damage of electronic elements at the primary side line of a transformer caused by the impact of the inrush current. Moreover, the AC/DC power conversion module of the present invention shares the same microprocessor. In addition to reducing costs, the overall operation can be smoother and more efficient.
The AC/DC power conversion module and the method of driving the same according to the present invention adopt a digital control manner so the protection value can be easily adjusted according to the requirements of different output stages. The AC/DC power conversion module of the present invention has an abnormality reporting and protection mechanism. When abnormality occurs, the output power conversion module at the downstream side will be notified of abnormality and stop operation, thereby avoiding a chain reaction and thus an irreparable consequence.
Before an AC/DC power conversion module and a method of driving the same according to the present invention are described in detail in embodiments, it should be noted that in the following description, similar components will be designated by the same reference numerals. Furthermore, the drawings of the present invention are for illustrative purposes only, they are not necessarily drawn to scale, and not all details are necessarily shown in the drawings.
Reference is made to
Reference is made to
The first power element 21 of this embodiment capable of effectively reducing the switching loss is formed with an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and a silicon carbide (SIC) power switch connected in parallel. One end of the first driving circuit 211 is electrically connected to the first power element 21, and the other end is electrically connected to the microprocessor 5 so that the first driving circuit 211 can be driven by the microprocessor 5 to control the operation of the first power element 21.
The input voltage-sensing circuit 22 and the input current-sensing circuit 23 in this embodiment are mainly used to detect the input voltage value V22 and the input current value V23 of the external power source Po respectively and to report them to the microprocessor 5. The passive elements 25 in the AC/DC converter 2 include electronic elements such as inductors, capacitors and resistors. The output voltage-sensing circuit 24 is mainly used to detect the output voltage of the AC/DC converter 2, that is, to detect the voltage of a DC bus (not shown in the figure). The AC/DC converter 2 of this embodiment also has a power factor correction (PFC) circuit so that the power source terminal can transmit energy to downstream modules most efficiently.
The DC/DC converter 3 of this embodiment mainly includes a second power element 31, a third power element 32, a second driving circuit 311, a third driving circuit 321, an isolation transformer 6 and a passive element 26. Each of the second power element 31 and the third power element 32 is a silicon carbide semiconductor power element. One ends of the second driving circuit 311 and the third driving circuit 321 are electrically connected to the second power element 31 and the third power element 32 respectively, and the other ends of the second driving circuit 311 and the third driving circuit 321 are electrically connected to the microprocessor 5. Consequently, the second driving circuit 311 and the third driving circuit 321 can be driven by the microprocessor 5 to control the operations of the second power element 31 and the third power element 32 respectively. The passive element 26 of this embodiment is a resonator for transferring energy from a primary side to a secondary side. Overall, the DC/DC converter 3 of this embodiment is a bidirectional LLC resonant DC power converter with isolated buck-boost technology.
On the other hand, the buck auxiliary circuit 4 is electrically coupled between the AC/DC converter 2 and the DC/DC converter 3 and electrically coupled to the microprocessor 5, the input voltage-sensing circuit 22, the input current-sensing circuit 23, the first driving circuit 211, the second driving circuit 311 and the third driving circuit 321. Substantially, the buck auxiliary circuit 4 of this embodiment has the characteristic of high buck conversion ratio and is capable of directly converting the input voltage of the external power source Po into the working voltages, such as 12V or 5V, for the microprocessor 5, the driving circuits and the sensing circuits and then electrically energizing these components.
Reference is made to
When the microprocessor 5 and the related sensing circuits are electrically energized, the microprocessor 5 outputs a control signal to the second driving circuit 311 and the third driving circuit 321 so as to activate the second power element 31 and the third power element 32, as shown in the step S120 of
After the step S120 of this embodiment, that is, after the second power element 31 and the third power element 32 are activated under control of the microprocessor 5, the system will maintain this activation for a certain time period, about tens of milliseconds, to ensure that the step S130 is performed, that is, the microprocessor 5 outputs a power control signal to the first driving circuit 211 to control the operation of the first power element 21, only after the DC/DC converter 3 has been completely activated. The way to generate the power control signal will be described in detail below.
Reference is made to
Next, the current control command Iac is compared with the input current value V23 detected by the input current-sensing circuit 23 (for example, addition or subtraction), and the compared current value is inputted to the current compensator Gi. The current compensator Gi compensates the current through function operation and steady-state error compensation and then generates an output control command Sout. The computing unit MCU obtains the voltage phase of the input voltage through phase-locked loop operation on the input voltage value V22 detected by the input voltage-sensing circuit 22, and the computing unit MCU generates a power control signal Vpwm through operation according to the aforementioned output control command Sout and the phase of the input voltage. In other words, the computing unit MCU calculates the conduction amount of the first power element 21, that is, the duty ratio of the semiconductor switching element, according to the aforementioned output control command Sout and the phase of the input voltage and outputs the PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) type power control signal Vpwm to the first driving circuit 211, thereby driving the first power element 21 to operate.
Reference is made to
It can be seen from this that the AC/DC power conversion module and the method of driving the same in this embodiment at least have the following advantages:
The preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrative only, and the claimed inventions are not limited to the details disclosed in the drawings and the specification. Accordingly, it is intended that it have the full scope permitted by the language of the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 110142512 | Nov 2021 | TW | national |
