Soft-switching cell for reducing switching losses in pulse-width-modulated converters
US6051961A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 11, 1999 |
| Grant date | Apr 18, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 11, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02B70/10
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A circuit technique substantially reduces the switching losses of a pulse-width-modulated (PWM) converter caused by the turning-on (closing) and turning-off (opening) characteristic of the switch and the reverse-recovery characteristic of the rectifier. The losses are reduced by using a new switch cell which includes a snubber inductor, a clamp diode, a clamp capacitor, a main switch, and an auxiliary switch. The reverse-recovery-related losses are reduced by the snubber inductor connected in series with the main switch and the rectifier to control the rate of change of rectifier current during its turn-off. In addition, the main switch operates with zero-current and zero-voltage switching, while the auxiliary switch operates with zero-voltage switching. A proper operation of the proposed circuit requires overlapping gate drives of the main and the auxiliary switches. The circuit technique can be applied to any member of the PWM converter family.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.