The present disclosure relates to a capacitive isolation type power conversion device.
Patent Literature 1 discloses an isolation type power conversion device that performs power transmission between a primary side circuit and a secondary side circuit using a transformer. In an isolation type power conversion device as disclosed in Patent Literature 1, power is transmitted between the primary side circuit and the secondary side circuit via a transformer. Accordingly, even when an anomaly occurs, DC power is unlikely to be transmitted between the primary side circuit and the secondary side circuit. This improves safety.
When a transformer is used in the above-described manner, the size and the weight of the transformer may increase the size and the weight of the power conversion device.
In this regard, a capacitive isolation type power conversion device may be employed that transmits power between a primary side circuit and a secondary side circuit using a capacitor instead of a transformer. However, when capacitors are used, it is difficult to control output voltage, which is a voltage output from the secondary side circuit.
It is an objective of the present disclosure to provide a capacitive isolation type power conversion device that is capable of controlling output voltage.
In one general aspect of the present disclosure, a capacitive isolation type power conversion device includes a primary side circuit that includes a switching element, the primary side circuit being configured such that the switching element are alternately switched between an ON state and an OFF state at a specified switching frequency, so that an input power is converted to an AC power, a first connection line and a second connection line that are connected to the primary side circuit, a first capacitor provided on the first connection line, a second capacitor provided on the second connection line, a secondary side circuit that is connected to the primary side circuit by the first and second connection lines via the first and second capacitors, the secondary side circuit being configured to convert an AC power input from the first and second connection lines to a DC power, a third connection line that is provided closer to the secondary side circuit than the first capacitor and the second capacitor, the third connection line connecting the first connection line and the second connection line to each other, an excitation inductor provided on the third connection line, and a control unit configured to control the switching element. The control unit is configured to control an output voltage, which is a voltage of the DC power output from the secondary side circuit, by controlling the switching frequency, a duty cycle of the switching element, or a phase of the AC power flowing through the primary side circuit.
A capacitive isolation type power conversion device 10 according to one embodiment will now be described. The capacitive isolation type power conversion device described below is merely one example, and the present disclosure is not limited to the contents of the capacitive isolation type power conversion device 10 of the present embodiment.
As shown in
The capacitive isolation type power conversion device 10 is a DC/DC converter device that converts DC power of a discharge voltage Vb input to the input terminals 11, 12 from the power storage device 101 into DC power of a desired voltage and outputs the DC power to the load 102 via the output terminals 21, 22. In the present embodiment, the DC power of the discharge voltage Vb corresponds to input power.
The capacitive isolation type power conversion device 10 includes a primary side circuit 30, a secondary side circuit 40, a first connection line LN1, a second connection line LN2, a third connection line LN3, and a resonant circuit 50.
The primary side circuit 30 includes switching elements Q1 to Q4. The primary side circuit 30 converts the input power into AC power by alternately switching the switching elements Q1 to Q4 between an ON state and an OFF state at specified switching frequency f.
For example, the primary side circuit 30 includes a first upper arm switching element Q1 and a first lower arm switching element Q2, which are connected in series to each other by a first intermediate line 30a, and a second upper arm switching element Q3 and a second lower arm switching element Q4, which are connected in series to each other by a second intermediate line 30b.
The primary side circuit 30 is connected to the input terminals 11, 12. Specifically, the upper arm switching elements Q1, Q3 are connected to the input terminal 11, and the lower arm switching elements Q2, Q4 are connected to the second input terminal 12. The DC power of the discharge voltage Vb is input to the primary side circuit 30.
The secondary side circuit 40 converts the AC power input from the connection lines LN1, LN2 into DC power, in other words, rectifies the AC power. The secondary side circuit 40 is connected to the output terminals 21, 22, and the DC power converted by the secondary side circuit 40 is output from the output terminals 21, 22.
The secondary side circuit 40 includes, for example, a diode bridge. Specifically, the secondary side circuit 40 includes a first upper arm diode D1 and a first lower arm diode D2, which are connected to each other in the forward direction by a third intermediate line 40a, and a second upper arm diode D3 and a second lower arm diode D4, which are connected to each other in the forward direction by a fourth intermediate line 40b. The secondary side circuit 40 includes a smoothing capacitor 41, which smooths the DC power output from the diode bridge.
The connection lines LN1, LN2 connect the primary side circuit 30 and the secondary side circuit 40 to each other. In other words, the connection lines LN1, LN2 are connected to the primary side circuit 30, and the secondary side circuit 40 is connected to the primary side circuit 30 by the connection lines LN1, LN2. Specifically, the first connection line LN1 connects the first intermediate line 30a and the third intermediate line to each other, and the second connection line LN2 connects the second intermediate line 30b and the fourth intermediate line 40b to each other.
The resonant circuit 50 includes a first capacitor C1 provided on the first connection line LN1 and a second capacitor C2 provided on the second connection line LN2. The primary side circuit 30 and the secondary side circuit 40 are connected to each other via the capacitors C1, C2.
The capacitances of the two capacitors C1, C2 are, for example, identical. However, the capacitances of the capacitors C1, C2 may be different from each other.
The third connection line LN3 is closer to the secondary side circuit 40 than the capacitors C1, C2. In other words, the third connection line LN3 is located between the capacitors C1, C2 and the secondary side circuit 40. In this specification, terms indicating positional relationships, such as “closer to” or “between” refer to circuitry positional relationships rather than spatial relationships. The third connection line LN3 connects the connection lines LN1 and LN2 to each other. Specifically, a section of the first connection line LN1 that connects the first capacitor C1 to the secondary side circuit 40 and a section of the second connection line LN2 that connects the second capacitor C2 to the secondary side circuit 40 are connected to each other by the third connection line LN3. The resonant circuit 50 of the present embodiment includes an excitation inductor L1 and a resonant inductor L2.
The excitation inductor L1 is provided on the third connection line LN3. The excitation inductor L1 may be formed by a dedicated coil or by parasitic inductance in the third connection line LN3. The inductance of the excitation inductor L1 is, for example, higher than the inductance of the resonant inductor L2. For illustrative purposes, the current flowing through the excitation inductor L1 in the following description will also be referred to as an excitation current.
The resonant inductor L2 is provided, for example, on the first connection line LN1. The resonant inductor L2 may be formed by a dedicated coil or by parasitic inductance in the first connection line LN1.
In the present embodiment, the resonant inductor L2 is closer to the primary side circuit 30 than the excitation inductor L1. In other words, the resonant inductor L2 is provided between the excitation inductor L1 and the primary side circuit 30. Specifically, the resonant inductor L2 is provided in a section of the first connection line LN1 between a node with the first capacitor C1 and a node with the third connection line LN3. Thus, the excitation current also flows through the resonant inductor L2. This also generates a counter-electromotive force in the resonant inductor L2. That is, in the present embodiment, the inductors L1, L2 function as inductance components that are excited by switching operations of the switching elements Q1 to Q4.
The resonant circuit 50 of the present embodiment includes the capacitors C1, C2 and the inductors L1, L2. The primary side circuit 30 and the secondary side circuit 40 are connected to each other via the resonant circuit 50.
With the above-described configuration, the primary side circuit 30 and the secondary side circuit 40 are isolated from each other by the capacitors C1, C2. Specifically, the capacitors C1 and C2 block or restrict transmission of DC power between the primary side circuit 30 and the secondary side circuit 40. On the other hand, the capacitors C1, C2 allow transmission of AC power through them.
That is, in the present embodiment, the capacitive isolation type refers to a type in which the capacitors C1, C2 blocks transmission of DC power between the primary side circuit 30 and the secondary side circuit 40, while allowing transmission of AC power between the primary side circuit 30 and the secondary side circuit 40.
The resonant circuit 50 of the present embodiment has two resonance frequencies fm1 and fm2. The first resonance frequency fm1 is determined by the capacitances of the capacitors C1, C2 and the inductances of the inductors L1, L2. The second resonance frequency fm2 is determined by the capacitances of the capacitors C1, C2 and the inductance of the resonant inductor L2. The second resonance frequency fm2 is higher than the first resonance frequency fm1.
As shown in
The control circuit 60 may be, for example, processing circuitry that includes a memory and a central processing unit. The memory stores programs used to execute a control process for controlling the switching elements Q1 to Q4 and necessary information, and the central processing unit executes control processes based on the programs.
However, the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the control circuit 60 may be, for example, processing circuitry that includes a dedicated hardware circuit, or processing circuitry that includes a combination of one or more dedicated hardware circuits and a CPU that executes software processing. In other words, the specific configuration of the control circuit 60 is not particularly limited. The control circuit 60 may be processing circuitry that includes, for example, at least one of a set of one or more dedicated hardware circuits and a set of one or more processors that operate in accordance with a computer program (software).
The control circuit 60 alternately switches the switching elements Q1 to Q4 between an ON state and an OFF state according to a specified switching pattern.
For example, the first upper arm switching element Q1 and the second lower arm switching element Q4 may be in the ON state, while the first lower arm switching element Q2 and the second upper arm switching element Q3 are in the OFF state. This switching pattern is referred to as a first pattern. Also, the first upper arm switching element Q1 and the second lower arm switching element Q4 may be in the OFF state, while the first lower arm switching element Q2 and the second upper arm switching element Q3 are in the ON state. This switching pattern is referred to as a second pattern. The control circuit 60 alternately switches the switching pattern between a first pattern and a second pattern at the switching frequency f. This converts the DC power of the discharge voltage Vb to AC power.
The control circuit 60 of the present embodiment controls the switching frequency f to thereby control an output voltage Vout, which is the voltage of the DC power output from the secondary side circuit 40, in other words, the output terminals 21,22. This point will be described in detail below with reference to
As shown in
That is, if the switching frequency f is in a range of the first resonance frequency fm1 to the second resonance frequency fm2 (fm1≤f≤fm2), the conversion ratio R is greater than or equal to 1, and thus the output voltage Vout is greater than or equal to the discharge voltage Vb. In other words, when the switching frequency f is in the range of the first resonance frequency fm1 to the second resonance frequency fm2, the capacitive isolation type power conversion device 10 performs a step-up operation.
Under the condition of fm1≤f≤fm2, each of the switching elements Q1 to Q4 can perform switching with the voltage at 0V. That is, under the condition of fm1≤f≤fm2, the turn-on of each of the switching elements Q1 to Q4 is zero voltage switching (ZVS). In other words, the switching method when the switching elements Q1 to Q4 are turned on under the condition of fm1≤f≤fm2 is a soft switching method.
Under the condition of fm1≤f≤fm2, operation of each of the diodes D1 to D4 of the secondary side circuit 40 is zero current switching (ZCS). Accordingly, a recovery current is unlikely to be generated, and thus, a diode with a low forward voltage can be used. This reduces the loss.
On the other hand, when the switching frequency f is greater than the second resonance frequency fm2 (f>fm2), the conversion ratio R is less than 1, and thus the output voltage Vout is lower than the discharge voltage Vb. That is, when the switching frequency f is higher than the second resonance frequency fm2, the capacitive isolation type power conversion device 10 performs a step-down operation. The control circuit 60 controls the switching frequency f based on, for example, the discharge voltage Vb and the above-described frequency characteristics so that a desired output voltage Vout is output. Specifically, the control circuit 60 derives a target conversion ratio R based on the discharge voltage Vb and the target value of the output voltage Vout, and controls each of the switching elements Q1 to Q4 at the switching frequency f at which the target conversion ratio R is obtained.
For example, when performing a step-up operation, the control circuit 60 controls the switching frequency f within a range of the first resonance frequency fm1 to the second resonance frequency fm2. When performing a step-down operation, the control circuit 60 controls the switching frequency f to be higher than the second resonance frequency fm2.
Operation of the present embodiment will now be described.
The switching elements Q1 to Q4 are alternately switched between an ON state and an OFF state at the switching frequency f, whereby power conversion is performed. In the present embodiment, the primary side circuit 30 converts the DC power of the discharge voltage Vb into AC power, and the primary side circuit 30, the capacitors C1, C2, and the excitation inductor L1 perform voltage conversion. Then, the secondary side circuit 40 rectifies the voltage-converted AC power. In this case, the switching frequency f is changed, so that the conversion ratio R is changed and the output voltage Vout is changed.
The present embodiment, which has been described above, achieves the following advantages.
The above-described embodiment may be modified as follows. The above-described embodiment and the following modifications may be combined as long as the combined modifications remain technically consistent with each other.
As shown in
The resonant inductor L2 and the first capacitor C1 may be arranged in reverse order. Specifically, the resonant inductor L2 may be closer to the primary side circuit 30 than the first capacitor C1.
The specific circuit configuration of the primary side circuit 30 may be changed if the primary side circuit 30 is capable converting input power to AC power.
For example, as shown in
In this case, the first connection line LN1 connects the secondary side circuit 40 to a line that connects the first input terminal 11 and the series capacitor Cx to each other. The second connection line LN2 connects the secondary side circuit 40 to a line that connects the arm switching elements Qx and Qy to each other.
The specific circuit configuration of the resonant circuit 50 is not particularly limited. As shown in
The resonant circuit 50 includes a second excitation inductor L3 provided on the fourth connection line LN4 in addition to the first excitation inductor L1 provided on the third connection line LN3. In other words, the resonant circuit 50 of the present modification includes the capacitors C1, C2 and the inductors L1, L2, L3.
With this configuration, the output voltage Vout varies depending on the duty cycle of the arm switching elements Qx, Qy.″ Thus, the control circuit 60 controls the duty cycle of the arm switching elements Qx, Qy to control the output voltage Vout. As a result, it is possible to obtain the desired output voltage Vout while isolating the primary side circuit 30 and the secondary side circuit 40 from each other using capacitors C1, C2.
The control circuit 60 may be configured to control the output voltage Vout by controlling the phase of the AC power flowing through the primary side circuit 30. In other words, the capacitive isolation type power conversion device 10 may also be a phase-shift type DC/DC converter.
In essence, the capacitive isolation type power conversion device 10 may be configured to include the primary side circuit 30 with switching elements, the secondary side circuit 40, the connection lines LN1, LN2, the capacitors C1, C2, and the excitation inductor L1, such that the output voltage Vout varies depending on the switching frequency f, the duty cycle, or the phase. The control circuit 60 may be configured to control the output voltage Vout by controlling the switching frequency f, the duty cycle, or the phase.
The specific circuit configuration of the secondary side circuit 40 is not particularly limited if AC power input from the resonant circuit 50 can be converted into DC power. For example, the secondary side circuit 40 may include secondary side switching elements instead of diodes, and may be configured to perform power conversion by turning on and off the secondary side switching elements at the switching frequency f.
The secondary side circuit 40 may convert the AC power input from the resonant circuit 50 into DC power while stepping up or stepping down the voltage of the AC power. In this case, the output voltage Vout may be controlled by controlling the secondary side circuit 40 in addition to the switching frequency f, the duty cycle of the switching elements Q1 to Q4, or the phase of the AC power flowing through the primary side circuit 30. That is, the capacitive isolation type power conversion device 10 is not limited to controlling the output voltage Vout by using only the primary side circuit 30.
The resonant circuit 50 may include elements other than the capacitors C1, C2 and the inductors L1, L2. In essence, the resonant circuit 50 may include at least the capacitors C1, C2 and the inductors L1, L2.
The resonant inductor L2 may be provided on the second connection line LN2. The resonant inductor L2 may be provided on both the first connection line LN1 and the second connection line LN2.
The resonant inductor L2 may be omitted. Even in this case, the capacitive isolation type power conversion device 10 is capable of performing power conversion. However, considering the fact that soft-switching can be achieved when the switching elements Q1 to Q4 are turned on, the capacitive isolation type power conversion device 10 preferably includes the resonant inductor L2.
The capacitive isolation type power conversion device 10 may additionally include a DC/DC conversion circuit or a DC/AC conversion circuit provided between the secondary side circuit 40 and the output terminals 21, 22.
The capacitive isolation type power conversion device 10 does not necessarily need to be a DC/DC converter. For example, the capacitive isolation type power conversion device 10 may be an AC/DC converter that receives AC power as the input power and converts the AC power into DC power. In other words, the input power is not limited to the power of the power storage device 101, for example, it may be AC power. In this case, the capacitive isolation type power conversion device 10 may include a rectifier circuit that rectifies the input power and outputs the rectified power to the primary side circuit 30.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2020-175864 | Oct 2020 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2021/038384 | 10/18/2021 | WO |