# US 2022/0045618 A1 · Multiple-port bidirectional converter and control method thereof

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- Number: US 2022/0045618 A1
- Document ID: US20220045618A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 17/124,175
- Filed: 2020-12-16
- Published: 2022-02-10
- Earliest claimed: 2020-08-04
- Assignees: Delta Electronics, Inc.
- Applicants: Delta Electronics, Inc.
- Inventors: Misha Kumar; Yungtaek Jang; Peter Mantovanelli Barbosa; Minli Jia; Hao Sun
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20220045618A1

## CPC

- H02M 3/33573: {Full-bridge at primary side of an isolation transformer}
- H02J 7/90: Regulation of charging or discharging current or voltage
- H02J 50/12: of the resonant type
- H02M 3/01: {Resonant DC/DC converters}
- H02M 3/015: {with means for adaptation of resonance frequency, e.g. by modification of capacitance or inductance of resonance circuit}
- H02M 3/33561: {having more than one ouput with independent control}
- H02M 3/33584: {Bidirectional converters}
- H02M 3/33592: {having a synchronous rectifier circuit or a synchronous freewheeling circuit at the secondary side of an isolation transformer}
- H02M 7/5387: in a bridge configuration
- H02M 1/0058: {by employing soft switching techniques, i.e. commutation of transistors when applied voltage is zero or when current flow is zero (using an auxiliary actively switched resonant commutation circuit connected to an intermediate DC voltage or between two push-pull branches of an inverter bridge H02M7/4811; in resonant inverters H02M7/4815; in inverters operating from a resonant DC source H02M7/4826)}
- H02M 1/008: {Plural converter units for generating at two or more independent and non-parallel outputs, e.g. systems with plural point of load switching regulators}
- 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)
- H02J: ELECTRIC POWER NETWORKS; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- Y02B: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS

## 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.

## Claims

### Claim 1

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 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;
a tertiary power stage having a third plurality of switches 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; 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.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The multiple-port converter of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises control logic configured to send the control signals to the first and second plurality of switches to transfer energy between the first energy source and the second energy source using phase delay control.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The multiple-port converter of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises control logic configured to send the control signals to the first and second plurality of switches to transfer energy between the first energy source and the second energy source using both phase delay control and delay time control.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The multiple-port converter of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises control logic configured to send the control signals to the first, second, and third plurality of switches to transfer energy from first energy source to the second energy source using phase delay control and to transfer energy from the first energy source to the third energy source using phase shift control.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The multiple-port converter of claim 4, wherein the control logic of the controller is configured to vary a switching frequency of the control signals to modulate an amount of energy transferred to the secondary stage, and wherein the phase shift control modulates an amount of energy transferred to the tertiary stage.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The multiple-port converter of claim 5, wherein the switching frequency is the same for the primary, secondary, and tertiary stages.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The multiple-port converter of claim 1, wherein
the controller has control logic configured to send first and second control signals to the first plurality of switches and to send third and fourth control signals to the second plurality of switches,
the third control signals are substantially identical to the first control signal with a phase delay, and
the fourth control signals are substantially identical to the second control signal with the phase delay.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The multiple-port converter of claim 1, wherein the secondary power stage has a first capacitor and first inductor in series with the secondary winding of the transformer.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The multiple-port converter of claim 8, wherein the tertiary power stage has a second inductor in series with the tertiary winding of the transformer.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The multiple-port converter of claim 9, wherein the primary stage has a second capacitor in series with the primary winding of the transformer, the tertiary stage has a third capacitor in series with the tertiary winding of the transformer.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The multiple-port converter of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises control logic configured to send the control signals to the first, second, and third plurality of switches to transfer energy from the second energy source to the first energy source using phase delay control and delay time control, and from the first energy source to the third energy source using phase shift control.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The multiple-port converter of claim 1, wherein the tertiary power stage is a first tertiary power stage among a plurality of tertiary power stages, each of the plurality of tertiary power stages connected to a respective winding of the transformer and to a respective energy source, each tertiary power stage forming a respective dual active bridge converter with the primary power stage.

### Claim 13

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; and
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.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, further comprising acts of:
determining a delay time based at least in part on the measured plurality of electrical properties; and
switching at least two other of the second plurality of switches of the second stage at the switching frequency, time shifted by the delay time relative to switching of the at least two second switches.

### Claim 15 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, wherein the measuring comprises measuring at least one of a group consisting of a voltage of an energy source connected to one of the plurality of stages and a current in one of the plurality of stages.

### Claim 16 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, further comprising an act of:
electrically coupling the plurality of stages through a transformer having a first winding wired to the first stage, a second winding wired to the second stage, and a third winding wired to the third stage.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein a resonance frequency of the second stage is determined substantially by a second stage inductor and a second stage capacitor which are in series with the second winding of the transformer.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the third stage has a third stage inductor in series with the third winding of the transformer.

### Claim 19

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; and
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.