# US 10,320,322 B2 · Switch actuation measurement circuit for voltage converter

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- Number: US 10,320,322 B2
- Document ID: US10320322B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/487,101
- Filed: 2017-04-13
- Published: 2017-10-19
- Granted: 2019-06-11
- Earliest claimed: 2016-04-15
- Assignees: Emerson Climate Technologies, Inc.
- Applicants: Emerson Climate Technologies, Inc.
- Inventors: Joseph G. Marcinkiewicz; Charles E. Green
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10320322B2

## CPC

- H02P 27/08: with pulse width modulation
- F04B 13/00: Pumps specially modified to deliver fixed or variable measured quantities
- F04B 17/03: driven by electric motors
- F04B 35/04: the means being electric
- F04B 49/06: Control using electricity (regulating by means of floats actuating electric switches F04B49/04)
- F04B 49/10: Other safety measures
- F04B 49/20: by changing the driving speed
- F04C 28/28: Safety arrangements; Monitoring
- F04C 29/0085: {Prime movers}
- F25B 31/02: of motor-compressor units
- F25B 49/025: {Motor control arrangements}
- H02M 1/34: Snubber circuits
- H02M 1/42: Circuits or arrangements for compensating for or adjusting power factor in converters or inverters
- H02M 1/4225: {using a non-isolated boost converter}
- H02M 1/44: Circuits or arrangements for compensating for electromagnetic interference in converters or inverters
- H02P 23/26: Power factor control [PFC]
- H02P 27/06: using DC to AC converters or inverters (H02P27/05 takes precedence)
- H03K 17/18: Modifications for indicating state of switch
- F04C 18/0215: {where only one member is moving}
- F04C 2240/40: Electric motor
- F25B 2600/021: Inverters therefor
- F25B 2700/21152: at the discharge side of the compressor
- H02M 1/344: {Active dissipative snubbers}
- H02M 1/346: {Passive non-dissipative snubbers}
- H02M 1/348: {Passive dissipative snubbers}
- H02M 1/4208: {Arrangements for improving power factor of AC input}
- H03K 2217/0027: Measuring means of, e.g. currents through or voltages across the switch
- Y02B 30/70: Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating
- Y02B 70/10: Technologies improving the efficiency by using switched-mode power supplies [SMPS], i.e. efficient power electronics conversion e.g. power factor correction or reduction of losses in power supplies or efficient standby modes
- H02P: CONTROL OR REGULATION OF ELECTRIC MOTORS, ELECTRIC GENERATORS OR DYNAMO-ELECTRIC CONVERTERS; CONTROLLING TRANSFORMERS, REACTORS OR CHOKE COILS
- F04B: POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS (machines for liquids, or pumps, of rotary-piston or oscillating-piston type F04C; non-positive-displacement pumps F04D; pumping of fluid by direct contact of another fluid or by using inertia of fluid to be pumped F04F)
- F04C: ROTARY-PISTON, OR OSCILLATING-PISTON, POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS (engines F03C); ROTARY-PISTON, OR OSCILLATING-PISTON, POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
- F25B: REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- H02M: APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC, OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUT POWER; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF (transformers H01F; dynamo-electric converters H02K47/00; controlling transformers, reactors or choke coils, control or regulation of electric motors, generators or dynamo-electric converters H02P)
- H03K: PULSE TECHNIQUE (measuring pulse characteristics G01R; modulating sinusoidal oscillations with pulses H03C; transmission of digital information H04L; discriminator circuits detecting phase difference between two signals by counting or integrating cycles of oscillation H03D3/04; automatic control, starting, synchronisation or stabilisation of generators of electronic oscillations or pulses where the type of generator is irrelevant or unspecified H03L; coding, decoding or code conversion, in general H03M)
- Y02B: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS

## Abstract

A drive includes an inverter power circuit that applies power to an electric motor of a compressor from a direct current (DC) voltage bus. A power factor correction (PFC) circuit outputs power to the DC voltage bus based on input alternating current (AC) power. The PFC circuit includes: (i) a switch having a first terminal, a second terminal, and a control terminal; (ii) a driver that switches the switch between open and closed states based on a control signal; (iii) an inductor that charges and discharges based on switching of the switch; and (iv) a circuit that outputs a signal indicating whether the switch is in the open state or the closed state based on a voltage across the first and second terminals of the switch.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A drive, comprising:
an inverter power circuit that applies power to an electric motor of a compressor from a direct current (DC) voltage bus;
a power factor correction (PFC) circuit that outputs power to the DC voltage bus based on input alternating current (AC) power, the PFC circuit including:
(i) a switch having a first terminal, a second terminal, and a control terminal;
(ii) a driver that switches the switch between open and closed states based on a control signal;
(iii) an inductor that charges and discharges based on switching of the switch;
(iv) a circuit that outputs a signal indicating whether the switch is in the open state or the closed state based on a voltage across the first and second terminals of the switch;
(v) a node that is connected to a first voltage at the first terminal of the switch when the switch is in the closed state and that is connected to a second voltage when the switch is in the open state;
(vi) a first voltage divider that generates a third voltage based on a fourth voltage at the node;
(vii) a second voltage divider that generates a fifth voltage based on a sixth voltage at the second terminal of the switch; and
(viii) a comparator that generates the signal indicating whether the switch is in the open state or the closed state based on a comparison of the third voltage and the fifth voltage.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The drive of claim 1 further comprising a control module that generates the control signal based on the signal indicating whether the switch is in the open state or the closed state.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The drive of claim 2 wherein the control module measures a period between:
(i) a first time when the control signal transitions from a first state for transitioning the switch one of:
(a) from the open state to the closed state; and
(b) from the closed state to the open state; and
(i) a second time, after the first time, when the signal transitions from a first state to a second indicating that the one of:
(a) the switch transitioned from the open state to the closed state; and
(b) the switch transitioned from the closed state to the open state,
wherein the control module generates the control signal based on the period.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The drive of claim 1 wherein the circuit generates the signal indicating that the switch is in the closed state when the voltage across the first and second terminals of the switch is less than a predetermined voltage.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The drive of claim 1 wherein the circuit generates the signal indicating that the switch is in the open state when the voltage across the first and second terminals is greater than a predetermined voltage.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The drive of claim 1 wherein the second terminal of the switch is connected to a ground potential.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The drive of claim 1 wherein the comparator generates the signal indicating that the switch is in the open state when the third voltage is greater than the fifth voltage.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The drive of claim 1 wherein the comparator generates the signal indicating that the switch is in the closed state when the third voltage is less than the fifth voltage.

### Claim 9

A method, comprising:
applying power to an electric motor of a compressor from a direct current (DC) voltage bus;
by a power factor correction (PFC) circuit, providing power to the DC voltage bus based on input alternating current (AC) power, the providing power to the DC bus voltage including switching a switch of the PFC circuit between open and closed states based on a control signal,
wherein the switch includes a first terminal, a second terminal, and a control terminal;
outputting a signal indicating whether the switch is in the open state or the closed state based on a voltage across the first and second terminals of the switch;
connecting a node to a first voltage at the first terminal of the switch when the switch is in the closed state;
connecting the node to a second voltage when the switch is in the open state;
by a first voltage divider, generating a third voltage based on a fourth voltage at the node; and
by a second voltage divider, generating a fifth voltage based on a sixth voltage at the second terminal of the switch,
wherein outputting the signal indicating whether the switch is in the open state or the closed state includes outputting the signal indicating whether the switch is in the open state or the closed state based on a comparison of the third voltage and the fifth voltage.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9 further comprising generating the control signal based on the signal indicating whether the switch is in the open state or the closed state.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10 further comprising measuring a period between:
(i) a first time when the control signal transitions from a first state for transitioning the switch one of:
(a) from the open state to the closed state; and
(b) from the closed state to the open state; and
(i) a second time, after the first time, when the signal transitions from a first state to a second indicating that the one of:
(a) the switch transitioned from the open state to the closed state; and
(b) the switch transitioned from the closed state to the open state,
wherein generating the control signal includes generating the control signal based on the period.

### Claim 12 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9 wherein outputting the signal indicating whether the switch is in the open state or the closed state includes generating the signal indicating that the switch is in the closed state when the voltage across the first and second terminals of the switch is less than a predetermined voltage.

### Claim 13 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9 wherein outputting the signal indicating whether the switch is in the open state or the closed state includes generating the signal indicating that the switch is in the open state when the voltage across the first and second terminals is greater than a predetermined voltage.

### Claim 14 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9 wherein the second terminal of the switch is connected to a ground potential.

### Claim 15 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9 wherein outputting the signal indicating whether the switch is in the open state or the closed state includes generating the signal indicating that the switch is in the open state when the third voltage is greater than the fifth voltage.

### Claim 16 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9 wherein outputting the signal indicating whether the switch is in the open state or the closed state includes generating the signal indicating that the switch is in the closed state when the third voltage is less than the fifth voltage.