System for balancing the voltage of series-connected semiconductor elements

A system comprising:

• a plurality of series-connected semiconductor elements, each of said plurality of series-connected semiconductor elements having terminals;
• a circuit coupled in parallel on each of said plurality of series-connected semiconductor elements, said circuit comprising
• a comparator configured to compare data representative of a voltage between the terminals with respect to a reference voltage representative of a voltage applied to the plurality of series-connected semiconductor elements divided by a number of the plurality of series-connected semiconductor elements,
• a resistive element having an adjustable value coupled to said comparator and configured to be controlled by said comparator, and
• a first resistive dividing bridge having a midpoint and coupled between the terminals of a given one of said plurality of series-connected semiconductor elements so that the data representative of the voltage between the terminals of the given series-connected semiconductor element is available from the midpoint.

A method of balancing a voltage across a semiconductor element series-connected with other semiconductor elements of a same type, the semiconductor elements having terminals, the method comprising:

• using a comparator to compare data representative of a voltage between the terminals with respect to a reference voltage representative of a voltage applied to the series-connected semiconductor element and other semiconductor elements divided by a number of semiconductor elements;
• controlling a value of a resistive element having an adjustable value based upon the comparator;
• and
• using a first resistive dividing bridge having a midpoint and to be coupled between the terminals of the semiconductor element to make available at the midpoint the data representative of the voltage between the terminals of the semiconductor element.

A circuit for balancing a voltage across a semiconductor element series-connected with other semiconductor elements of a same type, the semiconductor elements having terminals, the circuit comprising:

• a comparator configured to compare data representative of a voltage between the terminals with respect to a reference voltage, said comparator comprising a first operational amplifier having a first input receiving the data representative of the voltage across the semiconductor element and having a second input receiving the reference voltage;
• a second operational amplifier coupled to the first operational amplifier and configured as a subtractor and to generate the reference voltage;
• a resistive element having an adjustable value coupled to said comparator and configured to be controlled by said comparator;
• and
• a first resistive dividing bridge having a midpoint and configured to be coupled between the terminals of the semiconductor element so that the data representative of the voltage between the terminals of the semiconductor element is available at the midpoint.

A method of balancing a voltage across a semiconductor element series-connected with other semiconductor elements of a same type, the semiconductor elements having terminals, the method comprising:

• using a comparator to compare data representative of a voltage between the terminals with respect to a reference voltage, the comparator comprising a first operational amplifier having a first input receiving the data representative of the voltage across the semiconductor element and having a second input receiving the reference voltage;
• using a second operational amplifier coupled to the first operational amplifier as a subtractor to generate the reference voltage;
• controlling a value of a resistive element having an adjustable value based upon the comparator;
• and
• using a first resistive dividing bridge having a midpoint and to be coupled between the terminals of the semiconductor element to make available at the midpoint the data representative of the voltage between the terminals of the semiconductor element.