# US 10,369,867 B2 · Apparatus and method for driving a switching element, and a vehicle air-conditioning apparatus > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,369,867 B2 - Document ID: US10369867B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/911,816 - Filed: 2014-09-03 - Published: 2016-07-14 - Granted: 2019-08-06 - Earliest claimed: 2013-10-25 - Assignees: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems, Ltd. - Applicants: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems, Ltd. - Inventors: Keiji Nagasaka; Hideo Nakamura; Koji Nakano; Masatoshi Morishita; Shunsuke Yakushiji - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10369867B2 ## CPC - B60H 1/22: the heat source being other than the propulsion plant {(B60H1/00492 takes precedence)} - B60H 1/00385: {for vehicles having an electrical drive, e.g. hybrid or fuel cell} - B60H 1/00907: {where the flow direction of the refrigerant changes and an evaporator becomes condenser} - B60H 1/00921: {where the flow direction of the refrigerant does not change and there is an extra subcondenser, e.g. in an air duct} - B60H 1/143: {the heat being derived from cooling an electric component, e.g. electric motors, electric circuits, fuel cells or batteries} - H02M 1/08: Circuits specially adapted for the generation of control voltages for semiconductor devices incorporated in static converters - H02P 27/06: using DC to AC converters or inverters (H02P27/05 takes precedence) - H02P 29/62: for raising the temperature of the motor - B60H 2001/00949: {comprising additional heating/cooling sources, e.g. second evaporator} - B60H 2001/2262: {related to the period of on/off time of the heater} - B60H: ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES - 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) - H02P: CONTROL OR REGULATION OF ELECTRIC MOTORS, ELECTRIC GENERATORS OR DYNAMO-ELECTRIC CONVERTERS; CONTROLLING TRANSFORMERS, REACTORS OR CHOKE COILS ## Abstract A drive apparatus providing a heat source and driving a switching element, along with a corresponding method of using the drive apparatus. The switching element includes a transistor having a high-heat resistant semiconductor including silicon carbide. The drive apparatus is provided with a voltage adjusting unit that varies a drive voltage to be applied to a conduction control terminal of the switching element in order to put the switching element in an ON state, and the voltage adjusting unit applies, as the drive voltage, a voltage in an active region of the transistor to the conduction control terminal. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A drive apparatus for driving a switching element, the switching element including a transistor having a high-heat resistant semiconductor including silicon carbide, the apparatus comprising: a voltage adjusting unit configured to vary a driving voltage, the driving voltage being applied to a conduction control terminal of the switching element in order to put the switching element in an ON state; a mode switching unit configured to switch between a normal mode and a heat generating mode; and a temperature sensing unit configured to detect an ambient temperature of the switching element; wherein, in the heat generating mode, when a temperature detected by the temperature sensing unit exceeds a predetermined threshold, the heat generating mode is switched to the normal mode by the mode switching unit, and wherein the voltage adjusting unit applies, as the driving voltage, a voltage in an active region of the transistor to the conduction control terminal in the heat generating mode, and applies, as the driving voltage, a voltage in a saturation region of the transistor to the conduction control terminal in the normal mode. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The drive apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a current sensing unit configured to detect a current flowing in the switching element; wherein, in the heat generating mode, the voltage adjusting unit obtains a voltage value corresponding to the current value detected by the current sensing unit from information associating a value of the current flowing in the switching element with the voltage value and applies a voltage corresponding to the obtained voltage value to the conduction control terminal. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) A vehicle air conditioning apparatus comprising: a heat pump cycle for heating operation, the heat pump cycle being formed by connecting an electric compressor that compresses a refrigerant, a vehicle cabin interior condenser, a throttling valve, and a vehicle cabin outside heat exchanger in that order via a refrigerant pipe; an inverter for driving a motor of the electric compressor, the inverter including a switching element, the switching element being constituted by a transistor that includes a high-heat resistant semiconductor including silicon carbide; and a drive apparatus of the inverter including the drive apparatus according to claim 1; wherein the inverter is installed in the electric compressor so that the refrigerant compressed by the electric compressor is heatable by heat generated by the switching element; and the mode switching unit sets the heat generating mode during the heating operation of the heat pump cycle. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The vehicle air conditioning apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the mode switching unit sets the heat generating mode when an outside air temperature has dropped to a temperature that necessitates defrosting of the vehicle cabin outside heat exchanger during the heating operation of the heat pump cycle. ### Claim 5 A drive method for driving a switching element, the switching element including a transistor having a high-heat resistant semiconductor including silicon carbide, the method comprising the step of; detecting an ambient temperature of the switching element; switching from a heat generating mode to a normal mode when the detected ambient temperature exceeds a predetermined threshold in the heat generating mode; applying, as a driving voltage, a voltage in an active region of the transistor to a conduction control terminal of the switching element in the heat generating, mode; and applying, as the driving voltage, a voltage in a saturation region of the transistor to the conduction control terminal in the normal mode.