Direct Power Converter

Abstract

a DC power converter, comprising a transformer or autotransformer, connecting a primary port including a DC or AC energy source to a secondary port including a DC or AC load, a DPX, a first power switch between two nodes having two power terminals and a first control terminal, and a second power switch between two other different nodes having two power terminals, and a second control terminal configured to connect the primary port energy source to the secondary port load via a transformer or autotransformer, the first and second power switches configured to be operated simultaneously under the action of a logic control signal providing a conductive state, wherein all power switches are simultaneously in an on state or all power switches are simultaneously in an off state, simultaneously connecting or disconnecting the transformer to the primary port and the secondary port.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] In a first aspect, the present invention refers to an electric power converter including a transformer or autotransformer connecting a primary port and a secondary port, the primary port including a DC or AC energy source and the secondary port including a DC or AC load.

[0002] Thus, the present invention is in the field of power converters that process power from a DC or AC input energy source to a DC or AC load output, where power can flow in both directions simply by swapping the energy source and the load.

[0003] DC / DC power conversion cells may be used to implement DC / AC, AC / AC and AC / DC power converters. DISCLOSURE OF THEINVENTION [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In this document, the concept of figure of merit in power converters is used according to the following definition:

[0005] A typical figure of merit (FOM) for a high density power converter is power loss times volume. A more specific FOM for a high current converter is the conduction power loss in the power switch times the footprint of the power switch. Assuming all the power sources in the dc ports of a DC-DC converter are in the same area, a simple FOM is * port The form is as follows: port is normalized as TIFF0007637428000001.tif47169

[0006] Count j for each power switch in that DC port (either an inverting power switch or a rectifying power switch), and i j_rms is the RMS value (or effective value) of the current through each power switch, and I port is the average value flowing into or out of each DC port.

[0007] The present invention further refers in a second aspect to a three power terminal power switch device (3PTPS) suitable for multiple power converter topologies.

[0008] Although the present invention refers to a three power terminal power switch, additional power switch embodiments including four or more additional power terminals are also encompassed herein.

[0009] In 1966, E.T. Moore and T.G. Wilson published a foundational paper entitled "Fundamental Considerations for DC to DC Conversion Networks". In 1969, Dr. Dan Holden Wolaver of Massachusetts Institute of Technology made his doctoral dissertation "Fundamental Study of DC to DC Conversion Systems" available to the public. Both works show that in a switch mode DC-DC converter, it is known that there is at least one power switch that generates "ac" or "indirect" power and at least one power switch that rectifies the "ac" power back to "DC" power. At the time, the power switches were represented as variable resistors. "Rac" and "Rdc" refer to the inverting and rectifying power switches.

[0010] The power switches are alternately on and off, meaning that at least one of the power switches operates at a duty cycle of less than or equal to 50%.

[0011] Typical switched mode power topologies for power converters are Buck, Boost, Buck-Boost, Sepic / QUIC, Zeta, Flyback and Two Power Switch Flyback, Active Clamp / Single Power Switch / Two Power Switch Forward (or Forward), Push-Pull, Weinberg (or Weinberg), Half Bridge, Full Bridge, Phase Shifted Full Bridge, Resonant LLC, and many other state of the art and more sophisticated converters.

[0012] Due to the high power demanded by advanced loads such as microprocessors, CPUs, GPUs and XPUs in general including artificial intelligence integrated circuits, as well as service appliances, electric vehicles, communications and other electrical equipment, there is an increasing current need for small, high performance and efficient power converters.

[0013] Switching mode DC-DC power converters, including DC-AC, AC-DC and ac-ac power converters with quasi-static DC-DC cells, contain two or more power switches. The power switches are power transistors (controllable devices) and power diodes (non-controllable devices). One of the power switches (controllable devices) generates the "AC power" also called "indirect power" required to implement the voltage (or current) gain regulation. The second power switch (transistor or diode in a unidirectional power converter, or transistor in a bidirectional converter) is required to rectify the "AC" or "indirect" power and provide it to the output port.

[0014] The basic cells of a DC-DC power converter are Buck (or step-down), Boost (or step-up) and Buck-boost (or step-up / down), whose two power switches never conduct simultaneously.

[0015] The duty cycle "d" is defined as the percentage of time that the power switch is on (t o ) relative to the switching period (T), d=t o / T. Since both power switches are on alternately, but not simultaneously, the duty cycle of at least one of the power switches is less than or equal to 50%.

[0016] A wide variety of co-packaged two-power terminal power switches are commercially available that are independently powered and alternately powered by a power source.

[0017] In some cases, two alternate switches are driven with a single logic control signal, with their on and off states being determined by complementary logic.

[0018] In some other cases, two power switches are connected in parallel and implemented as a single two-power terminal power switch that has better performance (i.e., on-resistance) than a single power switch.

[0019] The present invention, in comparison with the three terminal power switch embodiment of the present invention, is not concerned with the known dual power switch configuration shown in Figure 2B, since this last all power switches of the power converter are arranged to be operated in simultaneously on and simultaneously off states under the action of a single logical control signal (100a), i.e. all the different power switches are either in an on state or an off state at the same time.

[0020] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003 / 090237, JP 2011-130552, EP 1115203 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013 / 181723 disclose three power terminal power switch devices in which all power switches are not operated in the on or off state simultaneously.

[0021] In US2003 / 090237, switches 128 and 130 (see FIG. 1) are operated out of phase, i.e. alternately, by one logic control signal, e.g. a single gate driver. This is possible because switches 128 and 130 are of different types (N-channel and P-channel) and one switch 128 is switched on with a high logic level and the other switch 130 is switched on with a low logic level.

[0022] In US Patent No. 4,561,046 and US Patent No. 5,521,807, strategies for "resonant reset" of the transformer are implemented. In both cases, additional circuitry is required for the circuit to work compared to the present invention. In US Patent No. 4,561,046, there is at least an LC output filter and diodes that store and deliver AC energy and facilitate voltage regulation. In US Patent No. 5,521,807, there is at least an auxiliary winding in a "flyback" connection that is responsible for demagnetizing the transformer.

[0023] Currently, d ac and d dc If is the duty cycle of the power switch of the alternate switch of the basic cell, then d ac +d dc ≦1 always applies because the power switches do not operate simultaneously but alternately.

[0024] Prior art power topologies use alternating power switches, and therefore the optimal FOM (lower is better) of the power switches in the input and output ports cannot be selected independently. Figure 3C shows that the best FOM is obtained for a high value of duty cycle (i.e., 90%) (point B). In prior art converters, when a high duty cycle is selected for one of the ports (input or output), the other port (output or input) is operated at a low duty cycle (i.e., 10%), which has a worse (higher) FOM (point A).

[0025] On the contrary, in the present invention, since both switches are simultaneously in the on state and simultaneously in the off state, the switches at the input and output ports can both operate with good FOM (d>50%, i.e., 90%).

[0026] In the present invention, the resonant reset demagnetization is performed between the magnetizing inductance and the parasitic (or additional) capacitance, without requiring any of the extra circuitry mentioned above. [Means for solving the problem]

[0027] The present invention relates to a power converter configured to connect a primary port to a secondary port, in which the primary port includes a DC or AC energy source and the secondary port includes a DC or AC load, and thus: a transformer or autotransformer and, optionally, a passive network of capacitors, inductors or resistors connected to multiple nodes of the power converter; a first power switch between two nodes of the plurality of nodes, the first power switch having two power terminals and at least one first control terminal; at least a second power switch between two other different nodes of the plurality of nodes, the at least second power switch having two power terminals and at least a second control terminal; Including, the first power switch and the at least second power switch are configured to interconnect the plurality of nodes; The at least first and second control terminals of the first and second power switches are different terminals or a single terminal.

[0028] According to the present invention, the first and at least second power switches connect an input DC or AC port, an energy source, to an output DC or AC load through a transformer or auto-transformer and provide power transfer only through a DC path without generation and non-storage of "AC power" to regulate power conversion, and these power switches are configured to operate under the action of logic control signals to simultaneously connect or disconnect the transformer or auto-transformer to the primary port and the secondary port with all power switches simultaneously in an ON state or with all power switches simultaneously in an OFF state, forming a direct power converter, DPX.

[0029] Under these conditions, during a given period when the power switches are activated simultaneously, the on-state times of all of the power switches provide a conduction duty cycle greater than 50 percent for all of the power switches, thereby reducing the RMS value of the current through the power switches for a given average converter input / output current.

[0030] In one embodiment, the referenced first power switch and at least one second power switch are integrated into a single structure of three power terminals, with the first power switch and the at least one second power switch being connected together at a common node. The referenced structure provides a three power terminal power switch device with a single control terminal of the three power terminal power switch device replacing the control terminals of the first power switch and the at least one second power switch. A logic control signal is applied to the single control terminal of the device.

[0031] There is a great diversity of circuit topologies for the power stage, which may include additional power switches, either transistors or diodes, and may include transformers. Common circuit topologies are "flyback", "forward", "push-pull", "half-bridge" and "full-bridge". There are also "current-fed" versions of these circuit topologies, and "resonant" versions of the same. There is also a variety of output filters, including C-filters, LC-filters, and "current doublers". To achieve soft switching (zero voltage switching or zero current switching), some additional active or passive networks may be added. In some cases, several elementary cells are interconnected and simplified by eliminating some redundant power switches, such as Sepic, Cuk or Zeta converters. They may also include transformers in their structure.

[0032] The common feature of all of them is that they do not operate all power switches with d>50%. Even if they do all minus-one switching with d>50%, there is at least one power switch that operates with d<50%. One limit case is to operate all power switches at 50%. There is no switched-mode power converter with d>50% for all power switches in the power topology.

[0033] In the proposed invention, there is no inverting and rectifying power switches, since no AC power is required to provide DC-DC conversion (see FIG. 3A).

[0034] In contrast, power flows directly from the input to the output through the magnetic components, and voltage conversion is performed by a transformer or autotransformer turns ratio connected simultaneously to the input and output ports through both power switches in the DC path of FIG. 3A, rather than the AC path (see FIG. 1).

[0035] In this way, all the simultaneously actuated power switches involved providing power transfer through the DC path can be operated with a duty cycle higher than 50%. The magnetization of the transformer or autotransformer during the on-state is reset during the off-state by means of resonance between the magnetizing inductance of the transformer or autotransformer and the parasitic (or parallel added) capacitance of the power switch.

[0036] In one embodiment, the power converter includes additional control means configured to provide additional timing control enabling physical drive signals to be advanced or delayed relative to the logic control signals applied to each of the power switches during power switch transitions between said on and off states to reduce switching losses.

[0037] In one embodiment, the first or at least the second power switch is inserted into a winding of the transformer or autotransformer or a portion thereof and is coupled to the same magnetic component.

[0038] The at least two referenced first and second power switches of the power converter may be all controlled switches implemented with transistors or may comprise at least one controlled switch implemented with a transistor and at least one uncontrolled switch implemented with a diode.

[0039] Alternatively, the at least two first and second power switches are implemented with electromechanical devices.

[0040] Furthermore, the on-state time of the power switch of the power converter must be long enough to provide for the current through the secondary winding of the transformer or autotransformer to reach a steady state, so that the converter gain is not dependent on a particular duration of this on-state time.

[0041] However, in alternative embodiments, the gain of the power converter may be adjusted by using the leakage inductance of the power transformer or autotransformer, or additional inductance in series, thereby changing the duty cycle and / or switching frequency of the power switch such that the on-time of the switch is not sufficient to reach a steady state of current flowing through the power switch within a switching cycle.

[0042] The power converters of the present invention and the three power terminal power switch devices referenced therein may include one or more of junction or heterojunction, heterostructures, piezoelectric structures, metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors, insulated gate bipolar transistors, bipolar junction transistors, gate turn off thyristors, or combinations thereof, and may be implemented using semiconductor technologies selected from among silicon, gallium nitride, silicon carbide, or other semiconductors. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0043] Other features of the present invention will be described in detail below. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a power transfer concept between a DC energy source and a load, more specifically, a conventional power converter with a switched mode power supply (SMPS) including two power switches, a first power switch acting as an inverting power switch and a second power switch acting as a rectifying power switch, where during operation, one power switch is in an ON state and the other is in an OFF state, or vice versa. [Figure 2A] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a prior art power device with two power switches. [Figure 2B] FIG. 2B illustrates an embodiment of a power device similar to the one in FIG. 2A having a dual power switch configuration. [Figure 3A]FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the concept of power transfer using a power converter of the present invention, i.e. a direct power converter DPX, with associated power switches simultaneously activated (or started) to provide power transfer only through a DC path, without the generation of AC power to achieve the power conversion. [Figure 3B] 4 shows the duty cycles of associated power switches that are activated simultaneously. [Figure 3C] FIG. 1 shows the figure of merit of inverting and rectifying combinations of power switches as a function of their duty cycle. [Figure 4] 1 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention in which the power switches are both on or both off at the same time, and the first and second power switches are integrated into a single structure that includes three power terminals to form a three power terminal power switch (3PTPS). [Figure 5A] FIG. 2 illustrates an electrical symbol for a three terminal power switch of the present invention. [Figure 5B] This electrical symbol is shown for a three terminal power switch in the on state. [Figure 5C] This electrical symbol is shown for a three terminal power switch in the off state. [Figure 6] 2 shows a circuit of a power converter according to the invention having a three power terminal power switch, shown in dotted lines, or including more power switches. [Figure 7A] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a power converter circuit with a transformer including two power switches configured to operate simultaneously, in accordance with the present invention. [Figure 7B] The power switch uses 3PTPS and is equivalent to Figure 7A. [Figure 8A] FIG. 1 illustrates a circuit diagram of an embodiment with an autotransformer including two power switches configured to operate simultaneously in accordance with the present invention. [Figure 8B] FIG. 8B shows the circuit of FIG. 8A in an alternative arrangement with an autotransformer. [Figure 8C]FIG. 8C corresponds to the circuit of FIG. 8B using a three terminal power switch device (3PTPS). [Figure 9] 1 is another embodiment of a circuit with an autotransformer including two power switches configured to operate simultaneously in accordance with the present invention. [Figure 10] An embodiment includes one controlled switch implemented as a transistor and one uncontrolled switch implemented as a diode. [Figure 11A] 1 illustrates another embodiment having an autotransformer including two power switches configured to operate simultaneously, with one power switch included between windings or portions of windings of the autotransformer coupled to the same magnetic structure, in accordance with the present invention. [Figure 11B] FIG. 11B shows the circuit of FIG. 11A with a transformer and isolation instead of the autotransformer. [Figure 12A] 10 shows the same embodiment of the circuit of FIG. 9, with the autotransformer configured to operate simultaneously in accordance with the present invention, but including two power switches with energy flowing in opposite directions, demonstrating the bidirectional nature of the power converter. [Figure 12B] 12B shows the circuit of FIG. 12A with a 3P TPS device. [Figure 13A] FIG. 1 illustrates a circuit having a transformer and multiple outputs, including two power switches configured to operate simultaneously, in accordance with the present invention. [Figure 13B] The circuit of FIG. 13A with a 3P TPS device. [Figure 14] 2 shows an equivalent circuit of a power converter of the present invention, including two power switches configured to operate simultaneously and parasitic or additional elements of the power converter. [Figure 15] 4 is a graph illustrating the behavior of the power converter of the present invention, detailing zero voltage switching (ZVS). [Figure 16] 4 is a graph illustrating the behavior of the power converter of the present invention, detailing zero current switching (ZCS). [Figure 17] 11 is the embodiment of FIG. 10 with the addition of a leakage inductance in series that allows the gain of the converter to be adjusted. [Figure 18] 4 is another equivalent circuit of an alternative embodiment. [Figure 19] 1 is a graph showing several curves of current versus time in a transformer or autotransformer depending on the effect of different values ​​of different parasitic capacitances, showing that the on-time can be long enough so that the voltage gain is not regulated or is short enough to provide charge control and therefore voltage regulation. Other curves can be obtained depending on the effect of different values ​​of parasitic inductance. [Figure 20] 1 shows a power converter including integrating a DPX converter of the present invention with a buck converter to form a three-port buck DPX regulating converter. [Figure 21] 1 shows a power converter including integrating a DPX converter of the present invention with a Buck converter to form a three port Buck-DPX regulated converter. [Figure 22] We show a three-port Buck-DPX converter operating as an "energy buffer type AC-DC power converter" where port 2 is an energy buffer, port 1 is a rectified AC voltage, and port 3 is a DC load. [Figure 23A] FIG. 23 shows a three-port power converter illustrating the power flow from the rectified AC voltage (DC Port 1) to the energy buffer (DC Port 2) and the DC load (DC Port 3). [Figure 23B] FIG. 23 shows the three-port power converter of FIG. 22, showing the flow of power from the rectified AC voltage (DC port 1) and the energy buffer (DC port 2) to the DC load (DC port 3). [Figure 23C] Figure 22 shows the three-port power converter, showing the power flow from the energy buffer (DC port 2) to the DC load (DC port 3). [Figure 24] FIG. 24 shows example waveforms of the voltage (dashed line) and input current in the rectified AC (DC Port 1), as well as the resulting pulsating input power (dashed line), which is buffered and converted to the constant DC power shown in DC Port 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0044] The present invention relates to a power converter configured to connect a primary port to a secondary port, the primary port including a DC or AC energy source and the secondary port including a DC or AC load, as known in the art. a transformer or autotransformer and, optionally, a passive network of capacitors, inductors or resistors connected to a number of nodes of the power converter; a first power switch between two nodes of the plurality of nodes, the first power switch having two power terminals and at least a first control terminal; at least a second power switch between two other different nodes of the plurality of nodes, the at least second power switch having two power terminals and at least one second control terminal; wherein the first power switch and the at least second power switch are configured to interconnect the plurality of nodes.

[0045] The present invention arises from several topologies and proposes a totally different approach to providing a power converter 2 in which the first and at least second power switches 31, 32 are configured to operate simultaneously under the action of a logic control signal 100a to provide a conductive state in which all power switches 31, 32 are simultaneously in the on state or all power switches are in the off state, simultaneously connecting or disconnecting the transformer or autotransformer to the primary port and to the secondary port, forming a direct power converter DPX.

[0046] In this way, during a given period during which the power switches 31, 32 are activated simultaneously, the on-state time of all of the power switches 31, 32 provides a conduction duty cycle greater than 50 percent in all of the power switches 31, 32, thereby reducing the RMS value of the current flowing through the power switches 31, 32 for a given average converter output current.

[0047] The proposed power converter 2 comprises two or more power switches 31, 32, which are connected in series, in parallel or in a combination of series and parallel between them.

[0048] In an embodiment, the first and second power switches 31, 32 are integrated into a single structure of three power terminals 11, 12, 13 (see FIG. 4), and a single control gate of the device 100 replaces the control gates of the first and second power switches 101, 102 (see prior art embodiments of FIGS. 2A and 2B) and operates both power switches 31, 32 simultaneously, so that the first and second power switches 31, 32 are turned on or off simultaneously by connecting or disconnecting different nodes under the action of a single logic control signal 100a applied to the single control gate of the device 100, resulting in a three power terminal power switch device 1.

[0049] The voltages and currents at the three power terminals are either positive or negative, which means that the voltages and currents are bidirectional, so power can flow from the input port to the output port of the device, or vice versa.

[0050] In the three power terminal power switch device 1 proposed by the present invention, at least two first and second power switches 31, 32 are connected together in a series or parallel connection, which are simultaneously turned on or off under the action of a single logic control signal 100A applied to a single control gate of the device 100.

[0051] In the disclosed embodiment of the three power terminal power switch device, at least two of the first and second power switches 31, 32 are not connected to each other.

[0052] The present invention is further characterized in that the three power terminal power switch arrangement 1 has a figure of merit optimized by the simultaneous action of turning on or off at least two first and second power switches 31,32.

[0053] As indicated above, the proposed power converter is provided with additional control means arranged to provide additional timing control making it possible to advance or delay the logic control signals applied to each of the power switches during the power switch transitions between said common on and off states in order to reduce switching losses.

[0054] The gain of the power converter 2 of the present invention is based on the energy transfer through a transformer or autotransformer (see FIG. 6), and the power converter 2 has voltage and current gain with or without regulation.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 3A, in the proposed power converter 2, power may flow directly from the input to the output via an auto-transformer.

[0056] Furthermore, the three power terminal power switch 1 according to the present invention is adapted to operate in a quasi-static manner consisting of a quasi-static DC-DC cell comprising two or more power switches.

[0057] The proposed power converter may further comprise control means adapted to: setting the off-times of all the power switches by adjusting the referenced logic control signal such that at least one of the at least two power switches is turned on when its own voltage approaches or is equal to zero; - setting the on-time of all the power switches by adjusting the referenced logic control signal such that the second power switch (32) is turned off when its own current approaches or is equal to zero (so that at least the second power switch (32) is turned off with some delay relative to the first power switch (31)); -Adjusting the duty cycle of the power switch to maintain a peak voltage of the power switch under given constraints.

[0058] In one embodiment, the stated control means further comprises a leakage inductance of a power transformer or an autotransformer or an additional inductance in series (see FIG. 17 ) configured to adapt the gain of the power converter to be adjusted by changing the duty cycle of the power switches and / or by switching frequency, such that the on-time of the switches is not sufficient to reach a steady state of the current flowing through the power switches (31, 32) within a switching cycle.

[0059] ZVS Zero Voltage Switching In the power converter of the present invention, the single logic control signal 100a is adjusted such that at least one power switch 31 of the at least two power switch devices 31, 32 is turned on (Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS)) when the voltage of the power switch 32 approaches or is equal to zero, where the voltage or current of the power switch 32 is sensed or calculated to implement a timing sequence, according to which the magnetizing current increases during the on-time of the power switch 31, resonance occurs during the off-time, and the energy stored in the magnetizing inductance is transferred to the capacitors C1 and C2, resonantly increasing their voltages to a maximum value and returning to zero, where the off-time of the first power switch 31 and the second power switch 32 is determined by "sensing" the voltage or calculating the voltage of the first power switch 31 and the second power switch 32 by other means. To implement this timing sequence, the voltage or current in the power switch or equivalent (or the voltage or current in the power switch or equivalent) can be sensed or calculated.

[0060] To understand how ZVS is achieved, let us simplify the circuit as seen in Figure 14. When the power switches are opened simultaneously, the transformer is resonantly demagnetized through the parasitic capacitors.

[0061] This resonance is caused by the magnetizing inductance and parasitic capacitance and can be expressed in terms of the capacitance of the power switch forming the secondary to the primary as:

[0062] The graph in Figure 15 allows us to see this ZVS timing in more detail. TIFF0007637428000002.tif26169

[0063] Resonance occurs between the magnetizing inductance of the magnetic component and a capacitance added in parallel, either parasitic or intentional, to the power switch, the equivalent circuit of which is shown in FIG. During the on-time of -S1 and S2, the magnetizing current increases. During the off-time, resonance occurs, where the energy of the magnetizing inductance is transferred to the capacitances C1 and C2, resonantly increasing their voltages to a maximum and then returning to zero.

[0064] Switches S1 and S2 are turned on when the voltage across their power terminals decreases to near zero, known in the literature as "zero voltage switching".

[0065] The off-time at S1 and S2 is determined by "sensing" the voltage or by "estimating" or calculating by other means the voltage at S1 and / or S2.

[0066] ZCS Zero Current Switching FIG. 16 illustrates this mode of operation of the power converter 2 of the present invention, where one power switch 31 is turned off with some delay relative to another power switch 32 in such a way that one power switch 32 is turned off when the current approaches or equals zero (Zero Current Switching (ZCS)), the voltage or current in the power switches 31 is sensed or calculated and a timing sequence is implemented according to which the first power switch 31 is brought to an OFF state and a certain delay time t until the current flowing through the second power switch 32 after the first power switch 31 is turned off decreases to near zero, known in the literature as Zero Current Switching (ZCS). delay The second power switch 32 is maintained in the on state during the time t delay is determined by sensing the current or calculating the current in the second power switch 32 by other means.

[0067] In other words, one power switch is turned off with some delay relative to the other in such a way that it is turned off when the current approaches or becomes zero (zero current switching (ZCS)), and this timing sequence may be enforced by sensing the voltage or current in the power switch or equivalent (or the voltage or current in the power switch or equivalent).

[0068] Zero current switching ZCS can be obtained by the simple method of turning off the primary power switch a little earlier than the secondary power switch.

[0069] As shown in FIG. 15, during this short period of time, current stops flowing to the secondary side, so the secondary side power switch does not turn off with the high output current passing through it.

[0070] When the logic control signal of S1 goes to the off state, the currents i1 and i2 start to decrease.

[0071] The logic control signal for S2 must wait some delay time t after S1 is turned off until the current through the power switch S2 decreases to near zero, known in the literature as zero current switching (ZCS). delay The switch is maintained in the on state for a period of time.

[0072] The time delay between when S1 turns off and when S2 turns off, t delay is determined by "sensing" the current or by other means "calculating" the current in S2.

[0073] Further details regarding the results in known topologies implemented according to the principles of the present invention are detailed below.

[0074] Table 1 shows the input port, FOM of the DC-DC converter. port , showing typical power topologies for a range of maximum voltages and duty cycles. TIFF0007637428000003.tif79169

[0075] Table 2 shows the output port of the DC-DC converter, FOM port , showing typical power topologies for a range of maximum voltages and duty cycles. TIFF0007637428000004.tif87169

[0076] In one embodiment of the present invention, the power converter 2, DPX, of the present invention further comprises an integration of a buck converter 3 (see FIG. 20) to obtain a 3-port buck-DPX4 regulated DC-DC-DC converter as shown in FIG. 21, where the magnetizing inductance of the DPX converter 2 acts as the inductance of the buck converter 3, the gain of the converter between the input and output ports is adjusted by changing the duty cycle and / or switching the frequency, and power can flow from at least one of the three ports to at least one of the other remaining ports.

[0077] In an alternative embodiment, the 3-port BUCK-DPX4 of FIG. 22 is a regulated AC-DC-DC converter.

[0078] With respect to the cited embodiments of Figures 21 and 22, the power switches 31 of DPX2 and the power switches 33 of the buck converter 3 are configured to operate the 3-port BUCK-DPX4 as a quasi-static DC-DC cell, with the first DC input port 201 receiving a DC quasi-static voltage from a rectified high power factor AC voltage source, the second DC output port 202 configured to act as an energy buffer and the third DC output port 203 configured to have tight (or strict / tight) DC voltage regulation.

[0079] Also, with respect to the cited embodiments of Figures 21 and 22, the present invention proposes means for controlling the switching frequency and duty cycle of the power switch 31 of DPX2 of the 3-port buck-DPX4 and the power switch 33 of the buck converter 3 to provide power flow according to three different operating power paths as follows: From the A AC input port 201, power flows through a first DC output port 202 and a second DC output port 203 (see FIG. 23A). B From the AC input port 201 and the first DC output port 202, power flows to the second DC output port 203 (see FIG. 23B). C. From the first DC output port 202, power flows to the second DC output port 203 (see FIG. 23C).

[0080] In a further embodiment of the 3-port buck-DPX4, the energy buffer includes one or more capacitors configured to be dynamically adjusted to minimize overhead power having a voltage average value relative to the RMS value of the input voltage. Figure 24 shows the AC line voltage for the high voltage range of the universal input voltage (85-264Vac). The following is an invention described at the beginning of the present application. <Claim 1> 1. A power converter (2) configured to connect a primary port and a secondary port, the primary port including a DC or AC energy source, the secondary port including a DC or AC load, the power converter comprising: a passive network of a transformer or autotransformer and optional capacitors, inductors or resistors connected to a number of nodes of the power converter; a first power switch (31) between two nodes (31a, 31b) of a plurality of nodes, said first power switch (31) having two power terminals and at least one first control terminal (101); at least one second power switch (32) between two other different nodes (32a, 32b) of the plurality of nodes, the at least one second power switch (32) having two power terminals and at least one second control terminal (102); Including, the first power switch (31) and the at least one second power switch (32) are configured to connect an energy source at the primary port to a load at the secondary port via the transformer or autotransformer; the at least first and second control terminals (101, 102) of the first and second power switches (31, 32) are different terminals or a single terminal (100); said first and said at least one second power switch (31, 32) are configured to operate simultaneously under the action of a logic control signal (100a) to provide a conductive state in which all said power switches (31, 32) are simultaneously in an on-state or an off-state, and to simultaneously connect or disconnect said transformer or auto-transformer to said primary port and said secondary port to form a direct power converter (DPX); 1. A power converter comprising: a power switch (31, 32) for controlling a current flow through the power switches (31, 32) at a predetermined time period during which the power switches (31, 32) are activated simultaneously, the power switch (31, 32) having an on-state time that is greater than 50%; and a power switch (31, 32) having an on-state time that is greater than 50%. <Claim 2> 2. The power converter (2) of claim 1, wherein the first power switch and at least one second power switch (31, 32) are integrated into a single structure of three power terminals (11, 12, 13), the first power switch and the at least one second power switch (31, 32) are connected together at a common node to provide a three power terminal power switch device (1), a single control terminal (100) of the three power terminal power switch device (1) replaces the control terminals (101, 102) of the first power switch and the at least one second power switch (31, 32), and the logic control signal (100a) is applied to the single control terminal (100) of the device (1). <Claim 3> 2. The power converter (2) of claim 1, further comprising control means configured to provide additional timing control enabling an advance or delay of a logic control signal (100a) applied to each of the power switches (31, 32) during a power switch transition between the on and off states to reduce switching losses. <Claim 4> 2. The power converter (2) of claim 1, wherein the at least two first and second power switches (31, 32) are all controlled switches implemented with transistors or have at least one controlled switch implemented with a transistor and at least one uncontrolled switch implemented with a diode. <Claim 5> 2. The power converter (2) of claim 1, wherein the on-time of the power switches (31, 32) is long enough to provide a current through a secondary winding of a transformer or autotransformer that reaches a steady state, whereby converter gain is not dependent on a particular duration of this on-time. <Claim 6> 3. The power conversion device (2) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the power conversion device (2) includes one or more of a junction or heterojunction, a heterostructure, a piezoelectric structure, a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor, an insulated gate bipolar transistor, a bipolar junction transistor, a gate turn-off thyristor, or a combination thereof, and is implemented using a semiconductor technology selected from silicon, gallium nitride, silicon carbide, or other semiconductors. <Claim 7> 2. The power converter (2) according to claim 1, wherein the first power switch or the at least one second power switch (31, 32) is inserted in a winding of a transformer or an autotransformer or a part thereof. <Claim 8> 7. A power converter (2) according to any of claims 1 to 6, comprising control means adapted to set the off-times of all at least two power switches (31, 32) by adjusting the logic control signal (100a) such that at least one power switch (31) of said at least two power switches (31, 32) is turned on when its own voltage approaches or is equal to zero. <Claim 9> 9. A power converter (2) according to any of claims 1 to 8, comprising control means adapted to set the on-times of all power switches by adjusting the logic control signal (100a) such that at least one second power switch (32) is turned off with some delay with respect to the first power switch (31) in such a way that the second power switch (32) is turned off when its own current approaches or is equal to zero. <Claim 10> 10. A power converter (2) according to any of the preceding claims, comprising control means adapted to adjust the duty cycle of the power switches to maintain a peak voltage of the power switches (31, 32) subject to predetermined constraints. <Claim 11> 11. A power converter (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the control means comprises a leakage inductance of the power transformer or auto-transformer or an additional inductance in series adapted to adjust the gain of the power converter by varying the duty cycle and / or switching frequency of the power switches, and wherein the on-time of the switches is not sufficient to reach a steady state of the current flowing through the power switches (31, 32) within a switching cycle. <Claim 12> 2. The power converter (2) of claim 1, further comprising an integration of a buck converter forming a 3-port buck-DPX (4) regulated DC-DC-DC converter, wherein a magnetizing inductance of the DPX converter acts as an inductance of the buck converter, a gain of the converter between input and output ports is regulated by changing the duty cycle and / or by switching the frequency, and power can flow from at least one of the three ports to at least one of the other remaining ports. <Claim 13> 2. The power converter (2) of claim 1, further comprising an integration of a buck converter including a power switch (33) forming a 3-port buck-DPX (4) regulated AC-DC-DC converter, wherein a magnetizing inductance of the DPX converter (2) acts as an inductance of the buck converter (3), a gain of the converter between input and output ports is adjusted by changing the duty cycle and / or by switching the frequency, and power can flow from at least one of the three ports to at least one of the other remaining ports. <Claim 14> 14. The power converter (2) of claim 13, wherein the power switch (31) of the DPX (2) and the power switch (33) of the buck converter (3) are configured to operate the three-port buck-DPX (4) as a quasi-static DC-DC cell, with a first DC input port (201) configured to receive a DC quasi-static voltage from a rectified high power factor AC voltage, a second DC output port (202) configured to act as an energy buffer, and a third DC output port (203) configured to have tight DC voltage regulation. <Claim 15> Power flows from an A AC input port (201) to the first DC output port (202) and the second DC output port (203); B. Power flows from the AC input port (201) and the first DC output port (202) through the second DC output port (203); C. Power flows from the first DC output port (202) to the second DC output port (203); 15. The power converter (2) of claim 14, comprising control means for controlling switching frequency and duty cycle of the power switches (31) of the DPX (2) of the 3-port buck-DPX (4) and the power switches (33) of the buck converter (3) to provide power flow according to three operational power paths: <Claim 16> 16. The power converter (2) of claim 14 or 15, wherein the energy buffer comprises at least one capacitor configured to be dynamically adjusted to minimize overhead power having a voltage average value related to an RMS value of the input voltage.

Claims

1. A power converter (2) configured to connect a primary port and a secondary port, the primary port including a DC or AC energy source and the secondary port including a DC load, the power converter comprising: a passive network of a transformer or autotransformer and optional capacitors, inductors or resistors connected to a number of nodes of the power converter; a first power switch (31) between two nodes (31a, 31b) of a plurality of nodes, said first power switch (31) having two power terminals and at least one first control terminal (101) and a capacitor in parallel; at least one second power switch (32) between two other different nodes (32a, 32b) of said plurality of nodes, said at least one second power switch (32) having two power terminals and at least one second control terminal (102) and a capacitor in parallel; Including, the first power switch (31) is arranged on a primary side of the transformer or the autotransformer, and the at least one second power switch (32) is arranged on a secondary side of the transformer or the autotransformer, the first and second power switches being configured to connect an energy source at the primary port to a load at the secondary port via the transformer or the autotransformer; the at least first and second control terminals (101, 102) of the first and second power switches (31, 32) are different terminals or a single terminal (100); said first and said at least one second power switch (31, 32) are configured to operate simultaneously under the action of a logic control signal (100a) to provide a conductive state in which all said power switches (31, 32) are simultaneously in an on-state or an off-state, and to simultaneously connect or disconnect said transformer or auto-transformer to said primary port and said secondary port to form a direct power converter (DPX); providing a direct power path from an energy source to a load through the transformer with a conduction duty cycle range of greater than 50% for the power switches (31, 32) during a given period during which the power switches (31, 32) are activated simultaneously, thereby reducing the RMS value of the current flowing through the power switches (31, 32) for a given average converter output current; the conduction duty cycles of all the power switches (31, 32) are adjusted to maintain a peak voltage of the power switches (31, 32) within a predetermined constraint; Thus, due to resonance between the magnetizing inductance of the transformer or the autotransformer and the parasitic or parallel-added capacitance of the power switch, the magnetization of the transformer or the autotransformer during the on-state is reset during the off-state.

2. 2. The power converter (2) of claim 1, wherein the first power switch and at least one second power switch (31, 32) are integrated into a single structure of three power terminals (11, 12, 13), the first power switch and the at least one second power switch (31, 32) are connected together at a common node to provide a three power terminal power switch device (1), a single control terminal (100) of the three power terminal power switch device (1) replaces the control terminals (101, 102) of the first power switch and the at least one second power switch (31, 32), and the logic control signal (100a) is applied to the single control terminal (100) of the device (1).

3. 2. The power converter (2) of claim 1, further comprising control means configured to provide additional timing control enabling an advance or delay of a logic control signal (100 a) applied to each of the power switches (31, 32) during a power switch transition between the on-state and the off-state to reduce switching losses.

4. 2. The power converter (2) of claim 1, wherein the at least two first and second power switches (31, 32) are all controlled switches implemented with transistors or have at least one controlled switch implemented with a transistor and at least one uncontrolled switch implemented with a diode.

5. 2. The power converter (2) of claim 1, wherein the on-time of the power switches (31, 32) is long enough to provide a current through a secondary winding of a transformer or autotransformer that reaches a steady state, whereby converter gain is not dependent on a particular duration of this on-time.

6. 3. The power converter (2) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the power converter (2) includes one or more of junction or heterojunction, heterostructure, piezoelectric structure, metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor, insulated gate bipolar transistor, bipolar junction transistor, gate turn-off thyristor, or combinations thereof, and is implemented using a semiconductor technology selected from silicon, gallium nitride, silicon carbide, or other semiconductors.

7. 2. The power converter (2) according to claim 1, wherein the first power switch or the at least one second power switch (31, 32) is inserted in a winding of a transformer or an autotransformer or a part thereof.

8. 2. The power converter (2) according to claim 1, comprising control means adapted to set the off-times of all at least two power switches (31, 32) by adjusting a logic control signal (100a) such that at least one power switch (31) of said at least two power switches (31, 32) is turned on when its own voltage approaches or is equal to zero.

9. 2. The power converter (2) according to claim 1, comprising control means adapted to set the on-times of all power switches by adjusting the logic control signals (100a) such that at least one second power switch (32) is turned off with some delay relative to a first power switch (31) in such a way that the second power switch (32) is turned off when its own current approaches or is equal to zero and / or turned on with some delay with respect to an indication of current being carried by the transformer.

10. 10. The power converter (2) of claim 9, further comprising an additional inductance in series with the power transformer or leakage inductance of the autotransformer, configured to dictate the current to be carried by the transformer by modifying the duty cycle of the power switch and / or its delay and / or switching frequency.

11. 2. The power converter (2) of claim 1, further comprising an integration of a buck converter forming a 3-port buck-DPX (4) regulated DC-DC-DC converter, wherein a magnetizing inductance of the DPX converter acts as an inductance of the buck converter, a gain of the converter between input and output ports is regulated by changing the duty cycle and / or by switching the frequency, and power can flow from at least one of the three ports to at least one of the other remaining ports.

12. 2. The power converter (2) of claim 1, further comprising an integration of a buck converter including a power switch (33) forming a 3-port buck-DPX (4) regulated AC-DC-DC converter, wherein a magnetizing inductance of the DPX converter (2) acts as an inductance of the buck converter (3), a gain of the converter between input and output ports is adjusted by changing the duty cycle and / or switching the frequency, and power can flow from at least one of the three ports to at least one of the other remaining ports.

13. 13. The power converter (2) of claim 12, wherein the power switch (31) of the DPX (2) and the power switch (33) of the buck converter (3) are configured to operate the three-port buck-DPX (4) as a quasi-static DC-DC cell, with a first DC input port (201) configured to receive a DC quasi-static voltage from a rectified high power factor AC voltage, a second DC output port (202) configured to act as an energy buffer, and a third DC output port (203) configured to have tight DC voltage regulation.

14. the power switch (31) of the DPX (2) and the power switch (33) of the buck converter (3) are configured to operate the 3-port buck-DPX (4) as a quasi-static DC-DC cell, with a first DC input port (201) receiving a DC quasi-static voltage from a rectified high power factor AC voltage, a second DC output port (202) configured to act as an energy buffer, and a third DC output port (203) configured to have tight DC voltage regulation; A. Power flows from an AC input port (201) to a first DC output port (202) and to the second DC output port (203); B. Power flows from the AC input port (201) and the first DC output port (202) through the second DC output port (203); C. Power flows from the first DC output port (202) to the second DC output port (203); 13. The power converter (2) of claim 12, comprising control means for controlling switching frequency and duty cycle of the power switches (31) of the DPX (2) and the power switches (33) of the buck converter (3) of the 3-port buck-DPX (4) to provide power flow according to three operational power paths:

15. 15. The power converter (2) of claim 13 or 14, wherein the energy buffer comprises at least one capacitor configured to be dynamically adjusted to minimize overhead power having a voltage average value related to an RMS value of an input voltage.

16. The power converter (2) of claim 13, wherein the DC energy source or the DC load is a quasi-static DC voltage forming an AC voltage energy source or an AC load.

17. 2. The power converter (2) of claim 1, further comprising a control means for regulating the peak voltage of the first and second power switches (31, 32) by active clamping, whereby power conversion is dynamically adjusted under variations in input voltage, output voltage scaling, and positive or negative load current steps by adjusting the duty cycle (31, 32) of the power switches to maintain variations in peak voltage, turn-on and turn-off delays, and switching frequency of the power switches (31, 32).

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