AC / DC converters, rotating machine drives, and refrigeration cycle application equipment

JPWO2024257408A5Active Publication Date: 2025-05-27MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORP
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2024560626
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2023-06-12
Filing Date
2024-02-21
Publication Date
2025-05-27
Estimated Expiration
2044-02-21

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Conventional AC/DC converters require numerous trial-and-error adjustments to comply with harmonic standards, and the design process is time-consuming due to unclear quantitative guidelines for control gain design.

Method used

An AC/DC converter with a rectifier circuit, capacitor, reactor, and control section that generates a switching signal to change the phase of the power supply current, using current and voltage detection to control the switching element, thereby reducing the need for trial-and-error adjustments and ensuring compliance with harmonic standards.

Benefits of technology

The AC/DC converter achieves compliance with harmonic standards efficiently by controlling the power supply current in a sinusoidal manner, improving input power factor without relying on repeated trials, and shortening the design time.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The AC-DC converter (2) includes a rectifier circuit (20) having a switching element (215) and rectifying a power supply voltage applied from an AC power supply (1), a capacitor (216) connected to DC buses (9a, 9b) and smoothing an output voltage of the rectifier circuit (20), a reactor (212) arranged closer to the AC power supply (1) than the capacitor (216), a current detector (211) detecting a power supply current flowing between the AC power supply (1) and the rectifier circuit (20), and a controller (6) generating a switching signal for controlling the switching element (215). The controller (6) generates the switching signal so as to change the phase of the power supply current.
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Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an AC / DC converter that converts AC power into desired DC power, and to a rotating machine drive device and a refrigeration cycle device that are provided with the AC / DC converter. [Background technology]

[0002] When obtaining DC voltage from an AC power source, it is common to use a power factor correction circuit. A power factor correction circuit has the functions of controlling the bus voltage to a constant value and controlling the power supply current so as to comply with harmonic standards. A power factor correction circuit and one of its control methods, the "simple switching method" (also called the "partial switching method"), is a method that performs switching at least once in a half cycle of the power supply voltage, which is the voltage of the AC power supply, and has the characteristic of being able to control the bus voltage to be lower than the peak value of the power supply voltage. However, when the bus voltage is set lower than the peak value of the AC power supply with the simple switching method, the operating circuit switches from a boost chopper to a capacitor-input type diode rectifier, which creates the problem of distorting the power supply current.

[0003] To address this issue, the conventional technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 below determines whether a combination of reactor capacity and switching timing complies with harmonic standards by repeating the design for each load power. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2000-125545 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the conventional technology described in Patent Document 1 is a method for checking whether or not compliance with harmonic standards can be achieved by repeated trials, which has the problem that the number of trials increases exponentially as the number of pulses increases. Also, with regard to control gain design, there is a problem that it takes a long time to complete the design because there is no clear guideline for quantitative and unique design.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to shorten the time required for design by obtaining an AC-DC conversion device that can comply with harmonic standards without relying on trial-and-error adjustments. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, an AC / DC converter according to the present disclosure includes a rectifier circuit, a capacitor, a reactor, a current detection unit, and a control unit. The rectifier circuit has at least one switching element and rectifies a power supply voltage applied from an AC power supply. The capacitor is connected to a DC bus and smoothes an output voltage of the rectifier circuit. The reactor is arranged closer to the AC power supply than the capacitor. The current detection unit detects a power supply current flowing between the AC power supply and the rectifier circuit. When generating a switching signal for controlling the switching element arranged closer to the AC power supply than the capacitor, the control unit generates the switching signal so as to change the phase of the power supply current. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the AC / DC converter of the present disclosure, it is possible to comply with harmonic standards without relying on trial-and-error adjustments, and therefore it is possible to reduce the time required for design. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a rotary machine driving device according to a first embodiment; [Diagram 2] A circuit diagram showing a configuration example of an AC-DC converter according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a control unit according to a first embodiment; [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a sine wave signal generator provided in a control unit according to a first embodiment; [Diagram 5] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of operating waveforms when the AC-DC converter shown in FIG. 2 is operated in a passive mode. [Figure 6] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of operating waveforms when the AC-DC converter shown in FIG. 2 is operated with a fundamental wave power factor of 1. [Figure 7] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of operational waveforms when phase shift control is performed on the AC-DC converter shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a refrigeration cycle application device according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an AC-DC converter, a rotary machine drive device, and a refrigeration cycle application device according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] Embodiment 1 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a rotating machine driving device 8 according to embodiment 1. The rotating machine driving device 8 is connected to an AC power source 1 and a load 4 including a motor 41. The rotating machine driving device 8 includes an AC-DC converter 2 and a DC-AC converter 3. When the rotating machine driving device 8 is used in an air conditioner, the load 4 is a compressor or a fan, and the motor 41 is a compressor motor or a fan motor.

[0012] 2 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration example of the AC-DC converter 2 according to the first embodiment. The AC-DC converter 2 according to the first embodiment includes, as main components, a control unit 6, a rectifier circuit 20, a reactor 212, and a capacitor 216. The AC-DC converter 2 also includes, as voltage or current detection means, a current detection unit 211 and voltage detection units 217a and 217b. In this document, when the voltage detection units 217a and 217b are to be distinguished from each other without reference numbers, the voltage detection unit 217b is referred to as a "first voltage detection unit" and the voltage detection unit 217a is referred to as a "second voltage detection unit."

[0013] The rectifier circuit 20 includes single-phase diode bridge cells 213a and 213b in which four diodes are bridge-connected, and a switching element 215 connected in parallel to both ends of the single-phase diode bridge cell 213b. The single-phase diode bridge cells 213a and 213b are connected in parallel to each other with the AC power source 1. The rectifier circuit 20 as shown in FIG. 2 is called a "simple switching circuit." The single-phase diode bridge cell 213b and the switching element 215 constitute a switching cell 225. The switching element 215 performs a switching operation at least once per half cycle of the power supply voltage.

[0014] The capacitor 216 is connected between the DC bus 9a and the DC bus 9b. The reactor 212 is arranged closer to the AC power source than the capacitor 216. The rectifier circuit 20 receives the power source voltage applied from the AC power source 1 via the reactor 212, and rectifies the received power source voltage. The capacitor 216 smoothes the output voltage of the rectifier circuit 20.

[0015] The voltage detector 217b detects a bus voltage, which is the voltage of a DC bus to which the capacitor is connected. The voltage detector 217a detects a power supply voltage. The current detector 211 detects a power supply current flowing between the AC power supply 1 and the rectifier circuit 20.

[0016] The control unit 6 receives detection values ​​from the voltage detection units 217a and 217b and the current detection unit 211. The control unit 6 generates a switching signal for controlling the on / off of the switching element 215 based on each detection value.

[0017] An example of the switching element 215 is an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) shown in the figure, but is not limited to an IGBT. Any element capable of switching operation may be used as the switching element 215. Another example of the switching element 215 is a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET).

[0018] 2 is configured as a closed loop using the detection values ​​of the voltage detection units 217a, 217b and the current detection unit 211, but may be configured as an open loop using a target value, an estimated value, etc. When the AC-DC conversion device 2 is configured as an open loop, it is also possible to control the switching element 215 without using the detection values ​​of the voltage detection units 217a, 217b and the current detection unit 211.

[0019] 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the control unit 6 according to embodiment 1. The control unit 6 includes a subtractor 611, a voltage controller 612, a multiplier 613, a subtractor 614, a current controller 615, a switching signal generator 616, and a sine wave signal generator 617.

[0020] The subtractor 611 generates a voltage deviation which is the difference between the first voltage command value and the detection value of the bus voltage detected by the voltage detection unit 217b. The first voltage command value is a command value of the bus voltage. The voltage controller 612 generates a first current command value using the voltage deviation output from the subtractor 611. The voltage controller 612 can be configured, for example, by a PI (Proportional Integral) controller.

[0021] The transfer function G when the voltage controller 612 is configured as a PI controller AVR(s) can be expressed by the following equation (1).

[0022]

number

[0023] Here, the transfer function G AVR(s) "AVR" in the above is an abbreviation for "Automatic Voltage Regulator." Also, in the above formula (1), K pAVR is the proportional gain, and K iAVR is the integral gain and s is the Laplace operator. In the PI controller, the proportional gain K pAVR and integral gain K iAVR can be determined arbitrarily. Note that the proportional gain K pAVR can be set to zero and configured as an I controller, or the integral gain K iAVR may be set to zero and configured as a P controller.

[0024] The sine wave signal generator 617 generates a sine wave signal as a vibration signal based on the first voltage command value and the detection value of the power supply voltage. The multiplier 613 multiplies the first current command value by the sine wave signal. The sine wave signal is a sine wave synchronized with the phase of the power supply voltage. The output of the multiplier 613 is input to the subtractor 614 as a second current command value. The subtractor 614 generates a current deviation that is the difference between the second current command value and the detection value of the power supply current detected by the current detection unit 211. The current controller 615 generates a second voltage command value using the current deviation output from the subtractor 614. The current controller 615 can be configured, for example, by a PI controller. The switching signal generator 616 generates a switching signal using the second voltage command value.

[0025] The transfer function G when the current controller 615 is configured as a PI controller ACR(s) can be expressed by the following equation (2).

[0026]

number

[0027] Here, the transfer function G ACR(s) "ACR" in the above is an abbreviation for "Automatic Current Regulator." Also, in the above formula (2), K pACR is the proportional gain, and K iACR is the integral gain and s is the Laplace operator. In the PI controller, the proportional gain K pACR and integral gain K iACR can be determined arbitrarily. Note that the proportional gain K pACR can be set to zero and configured as an I controller, or the integral gain K iACR may be set to zero and configured as a P controller.

[0028] 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a sine wave signal generator 617 provided in the control unit 6 according to the first embodiment. The sine wave signal generator 617 outputs a sine wave synchronized with the phase and frequency of a power supply voltage. To realize this function, the sine wave signal generator 617 includes a PLL (Phase Locked Loop) calculator 6171, a subtractor 6172, a sine wave calculator 6173, and a phase shift amount calculator 6174.

[0029] The PLL calculator 6171 generates and outputs a sine wave phase synchronized with the phase and frequency of the power supply voltage. The phase shift amount calculator 6174 calculates a phase shift amount based on the detected value of the power supply voltage and a first voltage command value which is a command value of the bus voltage. The subtractor 6172 calculates the difference between the output of the PLL calculator 6171 and the output of the phase shift amount calculator 6174. The sine wave calculator 6173 calculates a sine wave signal using the difference output from the subtractor 6172.

[0030] Next, a method for calculating the amount of phase shift will be described with reference to some drawings and formulas.

[0031] 5 is a diagram showing an example of operating waveforms when the AC-DC converter 2 shown in FIG. 2 is operated passively. Passive operation means operation in a passive mode. The passive mode is a mode in which the rectifier circuit 20 operates without switching the switching element 215. In the upper part of FIG. 5, the waveform of the absolute value of the power supply voltage is shown by a dashed line, and the waveform of the bus voltage is shown by a solid line. In the lower part of FIG. 5, the waveform of the power supply current is shown by a dashed line, and the waveform of the fundamental wave component of the power supply current is shown by a solid line. The power supply current shown in the lower part is the detected waveform of the power supply current detected by the current detection unit 211.

[0032] In the passive mode, when the power supply voltage exceeds the bus voltage, a current flows and excites the reactor 212. The current start phase γ, which is the phase at which this current starts to flow, is the intersection at which the power supply voltage increases and becomes equal to the bus voltage, and can be calculated by the following formula (3).

[0033]

number

[0034] In the above formula (3), V dc is the bus voltage, and v s is the effective value of the power supply voltage. The power supply current continues to increase until the power supply voltage and the bus voltage cross again, and this intersection point is the peak value of the power supply current. The current peak phase φ, which is the phase of the peak value of the power supply current, can be expressed by the following equation (4), assuming the peak value of the power supply voltage as the reference.

[0035]

number

[0036] When the power supply voltage falls below the bus voltage, the current decreases and eventually becomes zero. As a result of the above circuit operation, the power supply current becomes roughly as shown by the line in Figure 5.

[0037] In addition, during passive operation, the fundamental wave component of the power supply current has a waveform with a phase lag relative to the power supply voltage, as shown in FIG. 5. Due to this characteristic during passive operation, if you try to make the fundamental power factor 1 when the bus voltage is below the peak value of the power supply voltage, low-order harmonics will be superimposed on the power supply current. The reason is as follows. First, if you try to make the fundamental power factor 1 during passive operation, it becomes necessary to perform switching multiple times after the zero crossing of the power supply voltage. On the other hand, this switching control distorts the power supply current. Therefore, if you try to make the fundamental power factor 1 when the bus voltage is below the peak value of the power supply voltage, the power supply current will be distorted and low-order harmonics will be superimposed on the power supply current.

[0038] Therefore, in the control method of this paper, when the bus voltage is equal to or lower than the peak value of the power supply voltage, the fundamental power factor is not set to 1, but the phase of the sine wave signal that oscillates the first current command value is controlled to be synchronized with the fundamental phase of the power supply current during passive operation. In this way, it is possible to reduce the current distortion caused by the fundamental wave control of the power supply current, and therefore it is possible to suppress the harmonic components that may be included in the power supply current when the bus voltage is equal to or lower than the peak value of the power supply voltage.

[0039] To calculate the phase of the power supply current during passive operation, it is possible to use a Fourier series expansion that formulates the time equation of the power supply current during passive operation. However, with this method, the timing when the current becomes zero cannot be calculated by algebraic operations, so the calculation of the fundamental wave can only be performed analytically. Therefore, in this paper, the phase shift amount δ is determined approximately.

[0040] The lower part of FIG. 5 shows a phase shift amount δ. The phase shift amount δ is the phase of the peak value of the power supply current based on the peak value of the power supply voltage. Meanwhile, the upper part of FIG. 5 shows the current peak phase φ described above. The current peak phase φ is the phase of the peak value of the power supply current during passive operation. Both the phase shift amount δ and the current peak phase φ are based on the peak value of the power supply voltage. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, the two are close to each other and have similar values.

[0041] Therefore, in this paper, the phase shift amount δ is considered to be approximately equal to the current peak phase φ, and the phase shift amount δ is defined by the following equation (5).

[0042]

number

[0043] It should be noted that the above formula (5) is merely an example, and the phase shift amount δ in this paper is not limited to only the above formula (5).

[0044] The phase shift amount calculator 6174 outputs the phase shift amount δ generated based on the above equation (5) to the subtractor 6172. vs In this case, the sine wave calculator 6173 has a function of “θ vs −δ” is input. Therefore, the sine wave calculator 6173 outputs a sine wave signal f expressed by the following equation (6).

[0045]

number

[0046] The sinusoidal signal f is a signal that excites the first current command value, and the phase of the power supply current is shifted by shifting the phase of the sinusoidal signal f. In this paper, this control is appropriately called "phase shift control."

[0047] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of operating waveforms when the AC-DC converter 2 shown in Fig. 2 is operated with a fundamental power factor of 1. In the upper part of Fig. 6, the waveform of the absolute value of the power supply voltage is shown by a dashed line, and the waveform of the bus voltage is shown by a solid line. In the lower part of Fig. 6, the waveform of the power supply current is shown by a solid line, and the waveform of the fundamental wave component of the power supply current is shown by a dashed line.

[0048] 6, the switching control for the switching element 215 is concentrated in the period from when the power supply voltage passes the zero crossing point until the absolute value of the power supply voltage reaches the peak value. In other words, when the fundamental wave power factor of the power supply current is set to 1 without using phase shift control, the switching control for the switching element 215 is concentrated in a certain period, and as a result, the power supply current is distorted.

[0049] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of operational waveforms when phase shift control is performed on the AC-DC converter 2 shown in Fig. 2. In the upper part of Fig. 7, the waveform of the absolute value of the power supply voltage is shown by a dashed line, and the waveform of the bus voltage is shown by a solid line. In the lower part of Fig. 7, the waveform of the power supply current is shown by a solid line.

[0050] Looking at the waveform in the lower part of Figure 7, we can see that although there are slight changes in the current, the waveform of the power supply current itself changes in agreement with the waveform of the fundamental wave of the power supply current. Therefore, if the AC-DC converter 2 is operated using the phase shift control of this paper, the power supply current can be controlled to be sinusoidal. Therefore, if the phase shift control of this paper is used, it is possible to operate the AC-DC converter 2 in a manner that complies with the harmonic standards without relying on trial-and-error adjustments that are performed by repeated trials to confirm whether or not the converter complies with the harmonic standards.

[0051] As described above, the AC-DC converter according to the first embodiment includes a rectifier circuit that rectifies a power supply voltage applied from an AC power supply, a capacitor that smoothes an output voltage of the rectifier circuit, a reactor that is disposed closer to the AC power supply side than the capacitor, and a current detector that detects a power supply current flowing between the AC power supply and the rectifier circuit. The rectifier circuit has at least one switching element that is disposed closer to the AC power supply side than the capacitor. When generating a switching signal for controlling the switching element, the controller generates the switching signal so as to change the phase of the power supply current. According to the AC-DC converter according to the first embodiment, it is possible to control the power supply current to a sinusoidal wave shape. This allows the harmonic components contained in the power supply current flowing between the AC power supply and the rectifier circuit to comply with the harmonic standard without relying on trial-and-error adjustment. Moreover, according to the AC-DC converter according to the first embodiment, even under operating conditions in which the bus voltage is equal to or lower than the peak value of the absolute value of the power supply voltage, it is possible to comply with the harmonic standard while improving the input power factor.

[0052] In order to realize the above-mentioned functions, the AC-DC converter according to the first embodiment includes a current detector that detects the power supply current, and a controller that generates a switching signal so as to change the phase of the power supply current based on the fundamental wave of the power supply current detected when the switching element is turned off and the rectifier circuit is passively operated. By controlling the switching element of the rectifier circuit using the switching signal generated in this way, the power supply current can be controlled to a sinusoidal wave, so that even under operating conditions in which the bus voltage is equal to or lower than the peak value of the absolute value of the power supply voltage, it is possible to comply with the harmonic standard while improving the input power factor. Note that such a switching signal can be generated by changing the phase of the power supply current depending on the magnitude relationship between the bus voltage detected by the first voltage detector and the power supply voltage detected by the second voltage detector.

[0053] Embodiment 2 8 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a refrigeration cycle applied device 900 according to embodiment 2. The refrigeration cycle applied device 900 according to embodiment 2 includes the rotating machine drive device 8 described in embodiment 1. The refrigeration cycle applied device 900 according to embodiment 2 can be applied to products including a refrigeration cycle, such as air conditioners, refrigerators, freezers, and heat pump water heaters.

[0054] The refrigeration cycle device 900 includes a compressor 42 incorporating the motor 41 in the first embodiment, a four-way valve 902, an indoor heat exchanger 906, an expansion valve 908, and an outdoor heat exchanger 910 attached via refrigerant piping 912. A compression mechanism 904 that compresses the refrigerant, and a motor 41 that operates the compression mechanism 904 are provided inside the compressor 42. The refrigeration cycle device 900 can perform heating operation or cooling operation by switching the four-way valve 902.

[0055] The compression mechanism 904 is driven by a motor 41 that is variable speed controlled. During heating operation, as shown by solid arrows, the refrigerant is pressurized by the compression mechanism 904 and sent out, and passes through the four-way valve 902, the indoor heat exchanger 906, the expansion valve 908, the outdoor heat exchanger 910, and the four-way valve 902 to return to the compression mechanism 904. During cooling operation, as shown by dashed arrows, the refrigerant is pressurized by the compression mechanism 904 and sent out, and passes through the four-way valve 902, the outdoor heat exchanger 910, the expansion valve 908, the indoor heat exchanger 906, and the four-way valve 902 to return to the compression mechanism 904. During heating operation, the indoor heat exchanger 906 acts as a condenser to release heat, and the outdoor heat exchanger 910 acts as an evaporator to absorb heat. During cooling operation, the outdoor heat exchanger 910 acts as a condenser to release heat, and the indoor heat exchanger 906 acts as an evaporator to absorb heat. The expansion valve 908 reduces the pressure of the refrigerant and causes it to expand.

[0056] The configurations shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and may be combined with other known techniques, or the embodiments may be combined with each other, or a part of the configuration may be omitted or modified without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the above-mentioned control method may be applied to a DC-AC converter. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 1 AC power source, 2 AC / DC converter, 3 DC / AC converter, 4 load, 6 control unit, 8 rotating machine drive unit, 9a, 9b DC bus, 20 rectifier circuit, 41 motor, 42 compressor, 211 current detection unit, 212 reactor, 213a, 213b single-phase diode bridge cell, 215 switching element, 216 capacitor, 217a, 217b voltage detection unit, 225 switching cell, 611, 614, 6172 subtractor, 612 voltage controller, 613 multiplier, 615 current controller, 616 switching signal generator, 617 sine wave signal generator, 900 refrigeration cycle application device, 902 four-way valve, 904 compression mechanism, 906 indoor heat exchanger, 908 expansion valve, 910 outdoor heat exchanger, 912 Refrigerant piping, 6171 PLL calculator, 6173 sine wave calculator, 6174 phase shift calculator.

Claims

1. a rectifier circuit having at least one switching element and rectifying a power supply voltage applied from an AC power supply; a capacitor connected to a DC bus for smoothing an output voltage of the rectifier circuit; a reactor that is disposed closer to the AC power source than the capacitor; a current detection unit that detects a power supply current flowing between the AC power supply and the rectifier circuit; a control unit that generates a switching signal for controlling the switching element; Equipped with the switching element is disposed closer to the AC power supply than the capacitor; The control unit generates the switching signal so as to change the phase of the power supply current based on a fundamental wave of the power supply current detected when the switching element is turned off and the rectifier circuit is passively operated.

1. An AC / DC converter comprising:

2. A first voltage detection unit that detects a bus voltage, which is a voltage of the DC bus; a second voltage detection unit that detects the power supply voltage; Equipped with The control unit generates the switching signal so as to change the phase of the power supply current in accordance with a magnitude relationship between the detected value of the bus voltage and the detected value of the power supply voltage.

2. The AC / DC converter according to claim 1 .

3. A rotary machine drive device comprising the AC / DC converter according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A refrigeration cycle device comprising the AC / DC converter according to claim 1 or 2.