# US 11,121,630 B2 · In-vehicle DC-DC converter > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,121,630 B2 - Document ID: US11121630B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/970,400 - Filed: 2019-02-01 - Published: 2021-04-22 - Granted: 2021-09-14 - Earliest claimed: 2018-02-22 - Assignees: Autonetworks Technologies, Ltd.; Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd.; Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. - Applicants: AutoNetworks Technologies, Ltd.; Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd.; Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. - Inventors: Takeshi Hasegawa - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11121630B2 ## CPC - H02M 3/158: including plural semiconductor devices as final control devices for a single load - H02M 3/1582: {Buck-boost converters (H02M3/1584 takes precedence)} - B60L 53/20: characterised by converters located in the vehicle - H02M 1/0025: {Arrangements for modifying reference values, feedback values or error values in the control loop of a converter} - H02M 1/08: Circuits specially adapted for the generation of control voltages for semiconductor devices incorporated in static converters - H02M 3/1566: {with means for compensating against rapid load changes, e.g. with auxiliary current source, with dual mode control or with inductance variation} - H02M 3/157: with digital control - B60L 2210/10: DC to DC converters - H02M 1/0009: {Devices or circuits for detecting current in a converter} - Y02T 10/70: Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries - Y02T 10/7072: Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors - Y02T 10/72: Electric energy management in electromobility - Y02T 90/14: Plug-in electric 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) - B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES - Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION ## Abstract An in-vehicle DC-DC converter includes a gain setting unit that sets a gain to be used for feedback computation, a duty ratio determination unit that determines a duty ratio, and a drive unit that outputs, to a switching element, a PWM signal that is based on the duty ratio to be used determined by the duty ratio determination unit. The duty ratio determination unit includes a computation unit that repeatedly performs feedback computation for calculating a duty ratio of a PWM signal, so as to approximate a voltage value of an output-side conductive path to a target voltage value, based on a voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit and the gain to be used set by the gain setting unit. The gain setting unit sets the gain to be used, based on a voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An in-vehicle DC-DC converter that is electrically connected to a first conductive path and a second conductive path, one of the first conductive path and the second conductive path being defined as an input-side conductive path and the other being defined as an output-side conductive path, steps up or down a voltage applied to the input-side conductive path, and outputs the voltage to the output-side conductive path, the in-vehicle DC-DC converter including: a voltage conversion unit that includes a switching element that performs an on/off operation in accordance with being supplied with a PWM signal, the voltage conversion unit stepping up or down a voltage applied to the input-side conductive path, through an on/off operation by the switching element, and outputting the voltage to the output-side conductive path; a voltage detection unit that detects a voltage value of the output-side conductive path; a gain setting unit that sets a gain to be used for feedback computation; a duty ratio determination unit that includes a computation unit that repeatedly performs feedback computation for calculating a duty ratio of the PWM signal so as to approximate a voltage value of the output-side conductive path to a target voltage value based on at least a voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit and the gain to be used set by the gain setting unit, and, every time the computation unit performs feedback computation, determines a duty ratio to be used, based on a calculated duty ratio calculated through the feedback computation; and a drive unit that outputs, to the switching element, a PWM signal that is based on the duty ratio to be used determined by the duty ratio determination unit, wherein the gain setting unit sets the gain to be used, based on a voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The in-vehicle DC-DC converter according to claim 1, wherein, when a difference between a voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit and the target voltage value is smaller than a predetermined threshold value, the gain setting unit sets a first gain as the gain to be used, and, when the difference between the voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit and the target voltage value is larger than or equal to the predetermined threshold value, sets a second gain that is larger than the first gain, as the gain to be used. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The in-vehicle DC-DC converter according to claim 2, wherein, when the computation unit performs feedback computation, if the difference between the voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit and the target voltage value is larger than or equal to a second threshold value that is larger than the predetermined threshold value, the duty ratio determination unit determines a duty ratio to be used, by adding an added value obtained through predetermined addition processing to the calculated duty ratio calculated through feedback computation that is based on the second gain, and if the difference between the voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit and the target voltage value is larger than or equal to the predetermined threshold value and smaller than the second threshold value, the duty ratio determination unit determines the calculated duty ratio calculated through feedback computation that is based on the second gain, as the duty ratio to be used.