Multiple-port bidirectional converter and control method thereof
AssigneeDelta Electronics, Inc.
InventorsMisha Kumar, Yungtaek Jang, Peter Barbosa, Minli Jia, Hao Sun
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Abstract
A bidirectional DC-DC converter with three or more ports is described along with a method of operation thereof. The converter utilizes a common transformer for all ports and allows for power transfer from any port to any or all of the remaining ports. The converter may utilize a controller which implements variable-frequency control, delay-time control, and/or phase-delay control to achieve power transfer as desired between the converter ports. In some cases, power transfer between ports can operate similar to a series-resonant converter or a dual active bridge converter.
Claims20
A multiple-port converter, comprising:
- a transformer having a primary winding, a secondary winding and a tertiary winding;
- a primary power stage having a first plurality of switches and electrically connected to a first energy source and the primary winding of the transformer;
- a secondary power stage having a second plurality of switches and at least a resonant capacitor and a resonant inductor connected in series, and electrically connected to a second energy source and the secondary winding of the transformer, the primary power stage and secondary power stage forming a series resonant converter with an associated resonance frequency determined by the resonant capacitor and the resonant inductor;
- a tertiary power stage having a third plurality of switches and at least an inductor and electrically connected to a third energy source and the tertiary winding of the transformer, the primary power stage and tertiary power stage forming a dual active bridge converter with an associated inductance between the primary power stage and the tertiary power stage;
- and
- a controller electrically connected to the primary, secondary, and tertiary power stages to measure operating conditions in the multiple-port converter and to provide control signals to the first, second and third plurality of switches;
- wherein the controller comprises control logic configured to send the control signals to the first, second, and third plurality of switches, the control logic of the controller is configured to vary a switching frequency of the first plurality of switches or the second plurality of switches to regulate current corresponding to the second energy source,
- wherein the secondary power stage and the tertiary power stage are controlled independently from each other.
A method of controlling a DC-DC converter having a plurality of stages including first, second and third stages, the method comprising acts of:
- measuring a plurality of electrical properties of the DC-DC converter;
- determining a switching frequency, phase delay, and phase shift based at least in part on the measured plurality of electrical properties;
- switching a first plurality of switches of the first stage at the switching frequency;
- switching at least two of a second plurality of switches of the second stage at the switching frequency, time shifted by the phase delay relative to switching of at least one of the first plurality of switches;
- switching at least two of a third plurality of switches of the third stage at the switching frequency, time shifted by the phase shift relative to switching of at least one of the first plurality of switches;
- and
- varying the switching frequency of the first plurality of switches or the second plurality of switches to regulate current corresponding to the second power stage,
- wherein the second power stage and the third power stage are controlled independently from each other.
A multiple-port converter, comprising:
- a transformer having a first winding, a second winding, and a third winding;
- a series resonant converter formed by a first power stage and a second power stage;
- a dual active bridge converter formed by the first power stage and a third power stage, wherein the first power stage is wired to the first winding, the second power stage is wired to the second winding, and the third power stage is wired to the third winding;
- and
- a controller to measure operating conditions of the multiple-port converter and to provide control signals to the first, second and third power stages, wherein the controller is configured to vary a switching frequency of switches of the first power stage or the third power stage to regulate current corresponding to the third power stage,
- wherein the second power stage and the third power stage are controlled independently from each other.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.