# US 11,909,311 B2 · Power converter, inductor element and control method of phase shedding

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- Number: US 11,909,311 B2
- Document ID: US11909311B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/015,154
- Filed: 2020-09-09
- Published: 2020-12-24
- Granted: 2024-02-20
- Earliest claimed: 2017-05-05
- Assignees: Delta Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Delta Electronics (Shanghai) CO., LTD
- Inventors: Jinping Zhou; Min Zhou; Zhangnan Xin; Xinjian Zou
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11909311B2

## CPC

- H02M 3/04: by static converters
- H01F 3/14: Constrictions; Gaps, e.g. air-gaps (in magnetic shunt paths H01F3/12)
- H01F 27/306: {Fastening or mounting coils or windings on core, casing or other support}
- H01F 27/38: Auxiliary core members; Auxiliary coils or windings
- H01F 37/00: Fixed inductances not covered by group H01F17/00
- H02M 3/1584: {with a plurality of power processing stages connected in parallel}
- H01F 27/24: Magnetic cores
- H01F 27/28: Coils; Windings; Conductive connections
- H02M 1/0038: {Circuits or arrangements for suppressing, e.g. by masking incorrect turn-on or turn-off signals, e.g. due to current spikes in current mode control}
- H02M 1/0048: {Circuits or arrangements for reducing losses (using snubbers H02M1/34)}
- H02M 1/0064: {Magnetic structures combining different functions, e.g. storage, filtering or transformation}
- H02M 1/14: Arrangements for reducing ripples from DC input or output
- H02M 3/003: {Constructional details, e.g. physical layout, assembly, wiring or busbar connections}
- H02M 3/1586: {switched with a phase shift, i.e. interleaved}
- 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
- 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)
- H01F: MAGNETS; INDUCTANCES; TRANSFORMERS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR MAGNETIC PROPERTIES
- Y02B: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS

## Abstract

An N-phase power converter has N phases with outputs connected in parallel and outputs connected in parallel. The converter comprises: N switch units, wherein each phase of the N-phase power converter comprises one of the N switch units; and an integrated inductor unit, comprising M inductor subunits, wherein M is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, each inductor subunit comprises i inductors, i is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, N>M×i or N=M×i, M×i of the inductors in the integrated inductor unit are respectively coupled to M×i of the N switch units, wherein: the i inductors of each of the inductor subunit are inverse-coupled to each other, the coupling coefficient between the M inductor subunits is less than the coupling coefficient between the i inductors in each of the inductor subunits.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An N-phase power converter, wherein N is a natural number greater than 3, inputs of each phase of the N-phase power converter are connected in parallel, outputs of each phase of the N-phase power converter are connected in parallel, and the N-phase power converter comprises:
N switch units, wherein each phase of the N-phase power converter comprises one of the N switch units; and
an integrated inductor unit, comprising M inductor subunits, wherein M is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, each of the M inductor subunits comprises i inductors, i is a natural number equal to 2, N>M×i or N=M×i, and the M×i inductors in the integrated inductor unit are respectively coupled to M×i of the N switch units,
wherein the i inductors of the same inductor subunit are inverse-coupled to each other, and a coupling coefficient between the M inductor subunits is less than a coupling coefficient between the i inductors in the same inductor subunit, and
wherein each of the M inductor subunits comprises a first magnetic column, a first winding and a second winding, the first magnetic column has an air gap, the first winding and the second winding are wound around the first magnetic column to form the i inductors in the inductor subunit, wherein i equals to 2, the first magnetic column of the M inductor subunits are arranged in parallel with each other, wherein the integrated inductor unit further comprises at least one decoupling magnetic column, the decoupling magnetic column has no air gap, the decoupling magnetic column does not have winding, the decoupling magnetic column is arranged in parallel with the first magnetic column, and the first magnetic column is coupled to the at least one of the decoupling magnetic column.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The N-phase power converter of claim 1, wherein the coupling coefficient between the M inductor subunits is less than 0.2.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The N-phase power converter of claim 1, wherein magnetic fluxes generated by the i inductors of any one of the inductor subunits do not flow through the i inductors of other inductor subunits.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The N-phase power converter of claim 1, wherein,
a direct current magnetic flux generated by an xth one of the i inductors of any one of the inductor subunits flows through other i−1 inductors of the same inductor subunit, a direction of the direct current flux flowing through the xth inductor generated by the xth one of the i inductors is opposite to a direction of direct current fluxes flowing through the xth inductor generated by the other i−1 inductors of the same inductor subunit, and a direct current flux generated by the xth inductor does not flow through other inductor subunits.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The N-phase power converter of claim 1, wherein the integrated inductor unit is composed of the M inductor subunits, each of the inductor subunits is composed of the i inductors, the M×i inductors of the integrated inductor unit are phase difference with each other by 360°/(M×i), and the i inductors of any one of the inductor subunits are phase difference with each other by 360°/i.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The N-phase power converter of claim 1, wherein a number of the integrated inductor units is k, wherein k is a natural number greater than 1, and N=k×m×i.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The N-phase power converter of claim 1, wherein the first magnetic column and the decoupling magnetic column are formed in a same plane.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

A control method of phase shedding for an N-phase power converter of claim 1, the control method of phase shedding comprising:
controlling y×i switch units coupled with y×i inductors of y inductor subunits in the M inductor subunits to be turned off, wherein 0<y<M, so as to shed the y inductor subunits; and
controlling (M−y)×i inductors of other M−y inductor subunits to have a phase difference of 360°/[(M−y)×i].

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The inductor cut control method of claim 8, further comprising:
when y=M−1, controlling s switch units coupled with s inductors which are not shed in the inductor subunit to be turned off, wherein 0<s<i; and
controlling the phase difference of other (i−s) inductors to be 360°/(i−s).

### Claim 10

An N-phase integrated inductor element, wherein N is a natural number greater than 3, the integrated inductor element comprises M inductor subunits, M is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, each of the M inductor subunit comprises at least i inductors, i is a natural number equal to 2, and N>M×i or N=M×i, wherein:
the i inductors of the same inductor subunit are coupled to each other, a coupling coefficient between the M inductor subunits is less than a coupling coefficient between the i inductors within the same inductor subunit,
wherein each of the M inductor subunits comprises a first magnetic column, a first winding and a second winding, the first magnetic column has an air gap, the first winding and the second winding are wound around the first magnetic column to form the i inductors in the inductor subunit, wherein i equals to 2, the first magnetic column of the M inductor subunits are arranged in parallel with each other, wherein the integrated inductor unit further comprises at least one decoupling magnetic column, the decoupling magnetic column has no air gap, the decoupling magnetic column does not have winding, the decoupling magnetic column is arranged in parallel with the first magnetic column, and the first magnetic column is coupled to the at least one of the decoupling magnetic column.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The N-phase integrated inductor element of claim 10, wherein the coupling coefficient between the M inductor subunits is less than 0.2.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The N-phase integrated inductor element of claim 10, wherein the first magnetic column and the decoupling magnetic column are formed in a same plane.