Surge protection circuit in inverter of electric compressor

Abstract

A surge protection circuit in an inverter of an electric compressor, according to one embodiment of the present invention, comprises; an arrester having a preset discharge initiation voltage value; a varistor connected in series with the arrester and having a preset operating voltage value; and a balancing resistor connected in parallel with the arrester and the varistor.

Description

Surge protection circuit in electric compressor inverter

[0001] The following examples relate to a surge protection circuit in an electric compressor inverter.

[0002] In general, a surge is a transient waveform of current, voltage, or power that travels along a wire or electrical circuit and has the characteristic of rapidly increasing and then slowly decreasing over a short period of time. It is the main cause of power outages, telephone outages, and destruction of sensitive semiconductors during lightning strikes.

[0003] Sudden overvoltages in electronic devices, especially strong or long-lasting surges, can cause insulation breakdown or damage electronic devices. Therefore, surge protectors or surge suppression devices should be installed between the power terminals and electronic devices such as electronic control units (ECUs) to suppress or minimize current changes.

[0004] Surges can include transient overvoltages and temporary overvoltages. Transient overvoltages contained in surges are extremely brief voltages, typically lasting ns to 1ms, and can be 3 to 5 times higher than the operating voltage, potentially damaging electronic components. Temporary overvoltages contained in surges are voltages lasting tens of milliseconds to several seconds, potentially damaging products.

[0005] In a conventional surge protection circuit where an arrester and a varistor are connected in series, when a temporary overvoltage is applied, the voltage applied to the arrester is higher than that of the varistor, exceeding the discharge initiation voltage of the arrester. If the temporary overvoltage applied to the arrester exceeds the discharge initiation voltage, the arrester becomes conductive and the temporary overvoltage is applied to the varistor. However, since the varistor does not have enough power to withstand the temporary overvoltage, it is damaged, causing a problem in which the surge protection circuit cannot operate properly.

[0006] The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a surge protection circuit in an electric compressor inverter that can operate even when a surge including transient overvoltage and temporary overvoltage is applied.

[0007] In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a surge protection circuit capable of preventing damage to a varistor even when a temporary overvoltage is applied.

[0008] In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a surge protection circuit capable of distributing different voltage values ​​between an arrestor and a varistor when a temporary overvoltage is applied.

[0009] In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a surge protection circuit capable of setting the resistance value of a balancing resistor based on the discharge initiation voltage value of an arrester.

[0010] According to one embodiment, a surge protection circuit in an electric compressor inverter includes: an arrester having a preset discharge initiation voltage value; a varistor connected in series with the arrester and having a preset operating voltage value; and a balancing resistor connected in parallel with the arrester and the varistor.

[0011] Additionally, the arrester may have one side connected to one side of the balancing resistor and the other side connected to a preset portion of the balancing resistor.

[0012] Additionally, the varistor may have one side connected to the preset portion of the balancing resistor and the other side connected to the other side of the balancing resistor.

[0013] Additionally, the position of the preset portion of the balancing resistor can be set so that the voltage value of the temporary overvoltage distributed to the arrester by the balancing resistor is lower than or equal to the preset discharge initiation voltage value.

[0014] Additionally, the arrester may be a gas discharge tube arrester.

[0015] Additionally, the balancing resistor may be a variable resistor.

[0016] According to one embodiment, there is an effect that can operate even when a surge including transient overvoltage and temporary overvoltage is applied.

[0017] Additionally, it has the effect of preventing damage to the varistor even when temporary overvoltage is applied.

[0018] Additionally, when a temporary overvoltage is applied, there is an effect of being able to distribute different voltage values ​​between the arrestor and the varistor.

[0019] Additionally, there is an effect that allows the resistance value of the balancing resistor to be set based on the discharge initiation voltage value of the arrester.

[0020] FIG. 1 is a drawing showing the operation of a surge protection circuit in an electric compressor inverter according to one embodiment.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a surge protection circuit in an electric compressor inverter according to one embodiment.

[0022] Any specific structural or functional descriptions of the embodiments disclosed herein are merely illustrative for the purpose of describing the embodiments, and the embodiments may be implemented in various forms and are not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0023] Since the embodiments may have various modifications and take various forms, the embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in this specification. However, this is not intended to limit the embodiments to specific disclosed forms, but rather to include all modifications, equivalents, or alternatives falling within the spirit and technical scope of the embodiments.

[0024] While terms such as "first" or "second" may be used to describe various components, these components should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only intended to distinguish one component from another; for example, without departing from the scope of the invention, a first component may be referred to as a "second component," and similarly, a second component may also be referred to as a "first component."

[0025] When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that it may be directly connected or connected to that other component, but that there may be other components in between. Conversely, when a component is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components in between. Other expressions that describe the relationship between components, such as "between" and "directly between" or "adjacent to" and "directly adjacent to", should be interpreted similarly.

[0026] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0027] In this specification, it should be understood that terms such as “comprise” or “have” are intended to specify the presence of a described feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof, but do not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0028] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs.

[0029] Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted to have a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly defined herein.

[0030] In the following description, identical identifiers indicate identical configurations, and unnecessary redundant descriptions and explanations of known technologies are omitted.

[0031] Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0032]

[0033] FIG. 1 is a drawing showing the operation of a surge protection circuit in an electric compressor inverter according to one embodiment.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 1, according to various embodiments, a surge protection circuit (100) may be connected in parallel between a power supply (110) and an electronic control unit (ECU) (120).

[0035] According to various embodiments, a surge protection circuit (100) may be installed to prevent a surge from being supplied to an electronic control unit (ECU) (120) and causing a problem or failure in the electronic control unit (120) when a surge exceeding a preset reference voltage is included in the normal voltage transmitted from the power supply (110).

[0036] Here, a surge can refer to an unintended overvoltage exceeding the withstanding voltage of any device or component. Furthermore, surges can include transient overvoltage and temporary overvoltage, but the types of overvoltage that can be included in a surge are not limited to these.

[0037] According to various embodiments, the power supply (110) may supply power to the surge protection circuit (100) and the electronic control unit (ECU) (120) to enable the electronic control unit (120) to operate.

[0038] According to various embodiments, the surge protection circuit (100) is connected in parallel with an electronic control unit (ECU) (120) and can protect the electronic control unit (120) from a surge when the voltage of the power supplied from the power supply (110) includes a surge.

[0039]

[0040] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a surge protection circuit in an electric compressor inverter according to one embodiment.

[0041] Referring to FIG. 2, according to various embodiments, a surge protection circuit (200) may be connected in parallel between a power supply (210) and an electronic control unit (ECU) (220).

[0042] According to various embodiments, the surge protection circuit (200) may include an arrester (201), a varistor (202), and a balancing resistor (203).

[0043] According to various embodiments, the arrester (201) included in the surge protection circuit (200) may have a preset discharge initiation voltage value. Here, the preset discharge initiation voltage value may vary depending on the type of the arrester (201).

[0044] According to various embodiments, the arrester (201) included in the surge protection circuit (200) may be a gas discharge tube arrester, but the arrester (201) included in the surge protection circuit (200) is not limited thereto.

[0045] According to various embodiments, the varistor (202) included in the surge protection circuit (200) may have a preset operating voltage value. Here, the preset operating voltage value may vary depending on the type of the varistor (202).

[0046] According to various embodiments, the varistor (202) included in the surge protection circuit (200) may be a nonlinear semiconductor resistor whose resistance value changes depending on the voltage applied to both ends, but the varistor (202) included in the surge protection circuit (200) is not limited thereto.

[0047] According to various embodiments, the varistor (202) included in the surge protection circuit (200) may be a metal oxide varistor (MOV) made of zinc oxide, but the varistor (202) included in the surge protection circuit (200) is not limited thereto.

[0048] According to various embodiments, the arrester (201) and varistor (202) included in the surge protection circuit (200) may be connected in series.

[0049] According to various embodiments, the serially connected arrester (201) and varistor (202) and balancing resistor (203) included in the surge protection circuit (200) may be connected in parallel.

[0050] According to various embodiments, when the serially connected arrester (201) and varistor (202) and the balancing resistor (203) included in the surge protection circuit (200) are connected in parallel, even when a surge including transient overvoltage and temporary overvoltage is applied to the surge protection circuit (200), the varistor (202) included in the surge protection circuit (200) can be prevented from being damaged, so that the surge protection circuit (200) can protect the electronic control unit (ECU) (220) from the applied surge.

[0051] According to various embodiments, the balancing resistor (203) included in the surge protection circuit (200) may be configured by connecting two resistors (204, 205) in series or may be configured as a variable resistor.

[0052] According to various embodiments, the arrester (201) included in the surge protection circuit (200) may have one side (201a) connected to one side (203a) of a balancing resistor (203), and the other side (201b) connected to a connection portion (203b) in which two resistors (204, 205) of the balancing resistor (203) are connected in series.

[0053] According to various embodiments, the varistor (202) included in the surge protection circuit (200) may have one side (202a) connected to a connection portion (203b) in which two resistors (204, 205) of the balancing resistor (203) are connected in series, and the other side (202b) may be connected to the other side (203c) of the balancing resistor (203).

[0054] Accordingly, the arrester (201) can be connected in parallel with the first resistor (204) of the balancing resistor (203), and the varistor (202) can be connected in parallel with the second resistor (205) of the balancing resistor (203).

[0055] According to various embodiments, the resistance values ​​of the two resistors (204, 205) of the balancing resistor (203) included in the surge protection circuit (200) can be set based on the preset discharge initiation voltage value of the arrester (201) included in the surge protection circuit (200).

[0056] According to various embodiments, the resistance values ​​of the two resistors (204, 205) of the balancing resistor (203) included in the surge protection circuit (200) can be set so that the voltage value distributed to the arrester (201) by the two resistors (204, 205) during a temporary overvoltage (= temporary overvoltage * first resistor (204) / (first resistor (204) + second resistor (205)) is lower than the preset discharge initiation voltage value of the arrester (201).

[0057] ⅰ) When only excessive overvoltage is applied

[0058] According to various embodiments, when a surge lower than a preset discharge initiation voltage value is applied to the arrester (201) included in the surge protection circuit (200), the arrester (201) may maintain an open state.

[0059] According to various embodiments, when a transient overvoltage (surge) exceeding a preset discharge initiation voltage value is applied to an arrester (201) included in a surge protection circuit (200), the arrester (201) may be momentarily turned on. Here, the transient overvoltage (surge) exceeding the preset discharge initiation voltage value may mean a voltage of a very short moment, typically 3 to 5 times higher than the operating voltage, within ns to 1 ms.

[0060] According to various embodiments, when a surge lower than a preset operating voltage value is applied to a varistor (202) included in a surge protection circuit (200), the impedance value of the varistor (202) may be maintained very high.

[0061] According to various embodiments, when an excessive overvoltage (surge) exceeding a preset operating voltage value is applied to a varistor (202) included in a surge protection circuit (200), the impedance value of the varistor (202) changes to a very low value so that the varistor (202) can clamp the surge voltage to a specific voltage.

[0062] Here, a transient overvoltage (surge) exceeding the preset operating voltage value can mean a voltage that is 3 to 5 times higher than the operating voltage, usually within ns to 1ms, for a very short time.

[0063] ⅱ) When only temporary overvoltage is applied

[0064] According to various embodiments, when a surge lower than a preset discharge initiation voltage value is applied to the arrester (201) included in the surge protection circuit (200), the arrester (201) may maintain an open state.

[0065] According to various embodiments, when a surge lower than a preset operating voltage value is applied to a varistor (202) included in a surge protection circuit (200), the impedance value of the varistor (202) may be maintained very high.

[0066] According to various embodiments, when a temporary overvoltage (surge) is applied to the surge protection circuit (200), the temporary overvoltage (surge) can be distributed to the arrester (201) and the varistor (202) included in the surge protection circuit (200) by the balancing resistor (203). In this way, when the temporary overvoltage (surge) applied to the surge protection circuit (200) is distributed to the arrester (201) and the varistor (202) by the balancing resistor (203), the arrester (201) is turned on by the temporary overvoltage, and all the temporary overvoltage is applied to the varistor (202), thereby preventing the varistor (202) from being damaged.

[0067] According to various embodiments, even if a temporary overvoltage (surge) is applied to the surge protection circuit (200), the temporary overvoltage can be distributed to the arrester (201) and the varistor (202) by the balancing resistor (203) so that the voltage value distributed to the arrester (201) becomes lower than the preset discharge initiation voltage value of the arrester (201).

[0068] ⅲ) When excessive overvoltage and temporary overvoltage are applied together

[0069] According to various embodiments, when both transient overvoltage and temporary overvoltage are applied to the surge protection circuit (200), the transient overvoltage applied to the surge protection circuit (200) causes the voltage applied to the arrester (201) to rise faster than the voltage distributed by the balancing resistor (203), so that the arrester (201) is turned on, and the transient overvoltage is clamped by the varistor (202) to stabilize the voltage.

[0070] According to various embodiments, when both transient overvoltage and temporary overvoltage are applied to the surge protection circuit (200), the temporary overvoltage applied to the surge protection circuit (200) can be distributed to the arrester (201) and the varistor (202) by the balancing resistor (203) so that the voltage value of the temporary overvoltage distributed to the arrester (201) becomes lower than or equal to the preset discharge initiation voltage value of the arrester (201). When the temporary overvoltage is distributed to the arrester (201) and the varistor (202) in this way, since only the temporary overvoltage that will not cause damage to the varistor (202) is applied to the varistor (202), damage to the varistor (202) due to the temporary overvoltage can be prevented.

[0071]

[0072] In the above, although all components constituting the embodiments have been described as being combined or operating in combination as one, this does not necessarily mean that the embodiments are limited to this embodiment. That is, within the scope of the purpose of the present embodiments, all of the components may be selectively combined and operated at least as one.

[0073] Additionally, while each of these components may be implemented as a single, independent piece of hardware, some or all of these components may be selectively combined and implemented as a computer program having program modules that perform some or all of the functions of one or more hardware components. The codes and code segments that constitute the computer program will be readily inferred by those skilled in the art.

[0074] These computer programs can be stored on computer-readable media and read and executed by a computer, thereby implementing embodiments of the present invention. Storage media for the computer program may include magnetic recording media, optical recording media, etc.

[0075] In addition, terms such as “include,” “comprise,” or “have” described above, unless specifically stated to the contrary, should be interpreted to mean that the corresponding component may be included, and thus should not be interpreted to exclude other components, but rather to include other components.

[0076] All terms, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains, unless otherwise defined. Commonly used terms, such as terms defined in dictionaries, should be interpreted in a way consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology, and shall not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined herein.

[0077] The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more operations or steps for achieving the described method. The method operations and / or steps may be interchanged without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order for the operations or steps is specified, the order and / or use of specific operations and / or steps may be modified without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0078] As used herein, the phrase "at least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to include a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as any combination of multiples of the same element (e.g., aa, aaa, aab, aac, abb, acc, bb, bbb, bbc, cc, and ccc or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

[0079] As used herein, the term "determining" encompasses a wide variety of actions. For example, "determining" may include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, database, or other data structure), verifying, and the like. "Determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and the like. "Determining" may also include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, and the like.

[0080] The above description is merely an example of the technical idea of ​​the present invention, and those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention.

[0081] Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are intended to illustrate, rather than limit, the technical concept of the present invention, and the scope of the technical concept of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical concepts within the scope equivalent thereto should be construed as being included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. In the surge protection circuit in the electric compressor inverter, Arrester having a preset discharge initiation voltage value; A varistor connected in series with the above arrestor and having a preset operating voltage value; and Balancing resistance connected in parallel with the above arrester and the above varistor Surge protection circuit including.

2. In paragraph 1, The above balancing resistor includes a first resistor and a second resistor connected in series, The above arrester, A surge protection circuit, one side of which is connected to one side of the balancing resistor, and the other side of which is connected to a connection portion to which the first resistor and the second resistor of the balancing resistor are connected.

3. In paragraph 2, The above barrister, A surge protection circuit, one side of which is connected to the connection portion of the balancing resistor, and the other side is connected to the other side of the balancing resistor.

4. In paragraph 2, The resistance values ​​of the first and second resistors are: A surge protection circuit in which the surge voltage value distributed to the arrester by the balancing resistor is set to be lower than the preset discharge initiation voltage value.

5. In paragraph 3, The location of the connection part where the first resistor and the second resistor of the above balancing resistor are connected is, A surge protection circuit determined based on the surge voltage applied to the above balancing resistor.

6. In paragraph 5, The above surge voltage is, A surge protection circuit comprising at least one of transient overvoltage and temporary overvoltage.

7. In paragraph 6, The above transient overvoltage is applied to the above arrester and the above varistor, a surge protection circuit.

8. In paragraph 6, The above temporary overvoltage is applied to the above balancing resistor, surge protection circuit.

9. In paragraph 8, The location of the connection part where the first resistor and the second resistor of the above balancing resistor are connected is, A surge protection circuit in which the voltage value of the temporary overvoltage distributed to the arrester by the balancing resistor is set to be lower than the preset discharge initiation voltage value.

10. In paragraph 1, The above balancing resistor is a surge protection circuit with a variable resistor.

11. In paragraph 1, The above arrester, Surge protection circuit with a gas discharge tube arrester.

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