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US 10,938,302 B2Granted
Elimination of power inductor thermistor with variable air gap
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorCraig Brian Rogers
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A power system comprises a converter including an inductor core defining a gap, and a separator spanning the gap and contacting the core. The power system also includes a controller programmed to, responsive to a decrease in current ripple amplitude output by the converter to less than a first threshold, decrease power supplied by the converter. The first threshold is indicative of an inductance change through the core due to a temperature driven decrease in size of the separator.
Claims20
A power system comprising:
- a converter including an inductor core defining a gap, and a separator spanning the gap and contacting the inductor core, the separator having a known thermal expansion coefficient;
- and
- a controller programmed to,
- responsive to a temperature driven decrease in size of the separator resulting in a known length change based on the thermal expansion coefficient,
- detect a decrease in current ripple amplitude output by the converter indicative of a change in inductance,
- determine the change in inductance based on the decrease in current ripple amplitude, measured voltage across the inductor core, and known current through the inductor core, and
- determine a temperature change based on the change in inductance and the known thermal expansion coefficient, and
- responsive to the decrease in current ripple amplitude being less than a first threshold indicative of the temperature change resulting in the temperature driven decrease in size of the separator, decrease power supplied by the converter.
5 more elements
A method of controlling a power system comprising:
- by a controller,
- measuring a change in current ripple amplitude output by a converter, including (i) an inductor core defining a gap and (ii) a separator spanning the gap and contacting the inductor core;
- determining an inductance change based on the change in current ripple amplitude, measured voltage across the inductor, and known current through the inductor core;
- comparing the inductance change to a known inductance change correlated to known changes in temperature which result in a change in size of the separator based on a known thermal expansion coefficient;
- and
- altering power supplied by the converter based on the known inductance change.
3 more elements
A power system comprising:
- a converter including an inductor core defining a gap, and a separator spanning the gap and contacting the inductor core, the separator having a known thermal expansion coefficient;
- and
- a controller programmed to,
- responsive to a temperature driven increase in the separator, resulting in a known length change based on the known thermal expansion coefficient,
- detect an increase in current ripple amplitude output by the converter indicative of a change in inductance,
- determine the change in inductance based on the increase in current ripple amplitude, measured voltage across the inductor core, and known current through the inductor core, and
- determine a temperature change based on the change in inductance and the known thermal expansion coefficient, and
- responsive to the increase being greater than a first threshold indicative of the temperature change resulting in the temperature driven increase in size of the separator, decrease power supplied to the converter.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.