US 2015/0318791 A1Published application

Motor drive with silicon carbide mosfet switches

AssigneeRockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.

InventorsKevin Baumann, Richard Lukaszewski, Rangarajan Tallam, Lixiang Wei, Lee Gettelfinger, Garron Morris, Bruce Weiss, Neil Gollhardt, Navid R. Zargari, William Brumsickle, Robert Wright Reese, Stephen E. Denning

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Abstract

Motor drive power conversion systems are provided including a rectifier and a switching inverter, wherein the switching devices of the rectifier, the inverter and/or of a DC/DC converter are silicon carbide switches, such as silicon carbide MOSFETs. Driver circuits are provided for providing bipolar gate drive signals to the silicon carbide MOSFETs, including providing negative gate-source voltage for controlling the off state of enhancement mode low side drivers and positive gate-source voltage for controlling the off state of enhancement mode high side drivers.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A power conversion system, comprising:

an active rectifier comprising a plurality of rectifier switching devices coupled to receive AC input power from an external power source and operative to provide a DC output according to a plurality of rectifier switching control signals;
a switching inverter comprising a plurality of inverter switching devices coupled to receive DC input power and operative to provide an AC output to drive a load according to a plurality of inverter switching control signals;
and
a controller operative to generate the rectifier switching control signals to operate the rectifier switching devices, and to generate the inverter switching control signals to operate the inverter switching devices;
wherein at least some of the switching devices of at least one of the rectifier and the switching inverter are silicon carbide switches.

2 more elements

A power conversion system, comprising:

an inverter comprising a plurality of inverter switching devices coupled to receive DC input power and operative to provide an AC output to drive a load according to a plurality of inverter switching control signals;
a DC/DC converter receiving DC input power and comprising at least one silicon carbide converter switching device operative to provide a DC output according to at least one converter switching control signal, the at least one silicon carbide converter switching device operatively coupled with a DC bus connection;
and
a driver circuit operative to provide the at least one converter switching control signal to the at least one silicon carbide converter switching device in a first state at a first voltage above a voltage of the DC bus connection and in a second state at a second voltage below the voltage of the DC bus connection.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/698,925Filed 29 Apr 2015
Priority: 5 May 2014
Published: 5 Nov 2015
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

H02M 5/458
Using devices of a triode or transistor type requiring continuous application of a control signal: using semiconductor devices only
H02P 27/06
Using variable-frequency supply voltage, e.g. inverter or converter supply voltage: using DC to AC converters or inverters
H02M 1/08
Details of apparatus for conversion: circuits specially adapted for the generation of control voltages for semiconductor devices incorporated in…
H02M 5/4585
Using semiconductor devices only: having a rectifier with controlled elements