# US 12,224,657 B2 · Power converting device

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- Number: US 12,224,657 B2
- Document ID: US12224657B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/996,536
- Filed: 2020-06-17
- Published: 2023-07-13
- Granted: 2025-02-11
- Earliest claimed: 2020-06-17
- Assignees: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
- Applicants: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
- Inventors: Takayoshi Miki; Kohei Onda
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12224657B2

## CPC

- H02M 1/088: for the simultaneous control of series or parallel connected semiconductor devices
- H02M 1/38: Means for preventing simultaneous conduction of switches
- H02M 7/53871: {with automatic control of output voltage or current}
- H02M 7/5395: by pulse-width modulation
- H03K 17/6871: {the output circuit comprising more than one controlled field-effect transistor}
- 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)
- H03K: PULSE TECHNIQUE (measuring pulse characteristics G01R; modulating sinusoidal oscillations with pulses H03C; transmission of digital information H04L; discriminator circuits detecting phase difference between two signals by counting or integrating cycles of oscillation H03D3/04; automatic control, starting, synchronisation or stabilisation of generators of electronic oscillations or pulses where the type of generator is irrelevant or unspecified H03L; coding, decoding or code conversion, in general H03M)

## Abstract

A power converting device includes upper-arm and lower-arm gate drive circuits which respectively drive upper-arm and lower-arm semiconductor switching elements and which respectively include upper-arm and lower-arm time point detection circuits for detecting time points at which voltages between main terminals of the upper-arm and lower-arm semiconductor switching elements have crossed respective reference voltages, and a controller including a calculator which calculates a change time point of an inverter output voltage and a PWM command pulse generator which generates, on the basis of information about the time point calculated by the calculator, a PWM command pulse to be given to the upper-arm gate drive circuit and the lower-arm gate drive circuit.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A power converter comprising:
an upper-arm semiconductor switching element and a lower-arm semiconductor switching element connected in series between a positive-side input terminal and a negative-side input terminal;
an upper-arm gate drive circuit configured to drive the upper-arm semiconductor switching element and including an upper-arm time point detection circuit configured to detect a time point at which a voltage between main terminals of the upper-arm semiconductor switching element has crossed a first reference voltage;
a lower-arm gate drive circuit configured to drive the lower-arm semiconductor switching element and including a lower-arm time point detection circuit configured to detect a time point at which a voltage between main terminals of the lower-arm semiconductor switching element has crossed a second reference voltage; and
a controller including
a calculator configured to calculate a change time point of an output voltage outputted from a connection portion between the upper-arm semiconductor switching element and the lower-arm semiconductor switching element, and
a PWM command pulse generator configured to generate, on the basis of information about the time point calculated by the calculator, a PWM command pulse to be given to the upper-arm gate drive circuit and the lower-arm gate drive circuit, wherein
each of the upper-arm time point detection circuit and the lower-arm time point detection circuit includes
a voltage division circuit configured to divide or reduce the voltage between the main terminals of the respective semiconductor switching element,
a comparator configured to compare an output from the voltage division circuit with the corresponding one of the first reference voltage and the second reference voltage, and detect and output a time point at which the voltage between the main terminals of the semiconductor switching element has been changed, and
a filter disposed between the voltage division circuit and the comparator and having a time constant smaller than a change time period of the voltage between the main terminals of the semiconductor switching element.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The power converter according to claim 1, wherein a magnitude of each of the first reference voltage and the second reference voltage is set to be equal to or larger than a gate drive voltage to be applied at a time of turning on the semiconductor switching element.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The power converter according to claim 2, wherein
each of the upper-arm gate drive circuit and the lower-arm gate drive circuit further includes a short-circuit detection circuit configured to detect occurrence of a short-circuit fault of the semiconductor switching element,
the short-circuit detection circuit shares components with the upper-arm time point detection circuit and the lower-arm time point detection circuit, and
the shared components include at least the voltage division circuit.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

A power converting apparatus comprising
a plurality of power converters each of which is the power converter according to claim 3, wherein
the controller includes
a plurality of calculators configured to calculate time points at which output voltages of the plurality of respective power converters have been changed, and
a PWM command pulse generator configured to generate, on the basis of information about the time points calculated by the plurality of calculators, PWM command pulses to be given to the plurality of power converters.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

The power converter according to claim 2, wherein
each of the upper-arm gate drive circuit and the lower-arm gate drive circuit further includes a short-circuit detection circuit configured to detect occurrence of a short-circuit fault of the semiconductor switching element, and
the short-circuit detection circuit receives an output from the comparator via a short-circuit detection filter having a time constant not smaller than the change time period of the voltage between the main terminals of the semiconductor switching element.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

A power converting apparatus comprising
a plurality of power converters each of which is the power converter according to claim 5, wherein
the controller includes
a plurality of calculators configured to calculate time points at which output voltages of the plurality of respective power converters have been changed, and
a PWM command pulse generator configured to generate, on the basis of information about the time points calculated by the plurality of calculators, PWM command pulses to be given to the plurality of power converters.

### Claim 7 (depends on 2)

A power converting apparatus comprising
a plurality of power converters each of which is the power converter according to claim 2, wherein
the controller includes
a plurality of calculators configured to calculate time points at which output voltages of the plurality of respective power converters have been changed, and
a PWM command pulse generator configured to generate, on the basis of information about the time points calculated by the plurality of calculators, PWM command pulses to be given to the plurality of power converters.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The power converter according to claim 1, wherein
each of the upper-arm gate drive circuit and the lower-arm gate drive circuit further includes a short-circuit detection circuit configured to detect occurrence of a short-circuit fault of the semiconductor switching element,
the short-circuit detection circuit shares components with the upper-arm time point detection circuit and the lower-arm time point detection circuit, and
the shared components include at least the voltage division circuit.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

A power converting apparatus comprising
a plurality of power converters each of which is the power converter according to claim 8, wherein
the controller includes
a plurality of calculators configured to calculate time points at which output voltages of the plurality of respective power converters have been changed, and
a PWM command pulse generator configured to generate, on the basis of information about the time points calculated by the plurality of calculators, PWM command pulses to be given to the plurality of power converters.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The power converter according to claim 1, wherein
each of the upper-arm gate drive circuit and the lower-arm gate drive circuit further includes a short-circuit detection circuit configured to detect occurrence of a short-circuit fault of the semiconductor switching element, and
the short-circuit detection circuit receives an output from the comparator via a short-circuit detection filter having a time constant not smaller than the change time period of the voltage between the main terminals of the semiconductor switching element.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

A power converting apparatus comprising
a plurality of power converters each of which is the power converter according to claim 10, wherein
the controller includes
a plurality of calculators configured to calculate time points at which output voltages of the plurality of respective power converters have been changed, and
a PWM command pulse generator configured to generate, on the basis of information about the time points calculated by the plurality of calculators, PWM command pulses to be given to the plurality of power converters.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

A power converting apparatus comprising
a plurality of power converters each of which is the power converter according to claim 1, wherein
the controller includes
a plurality of calculators configured to calculate time points at which output voltages of the plurality of respective power converters have been changed, and
a PWM command pulse generator configured to generate, on the basis of information about the time points calculated by the plurality of calculators, PWM command pulses to be given to the plurality of power converters.