AU2018260980A1

AU2018260980A1 - A power converting arrangement and a method for converting power

Info

Publication number: AU2018260980A1
Application number: AU2018260980A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Stuart Reedman
Original assignee: Sensiotech Ltd
Current assignee: Sensiotech Ltd
Priority date: 2017-11-15
Filing date: 2018-11-13
Publication date: 2019-05-30
Anticipated expiration: 2038-11-13
Also published as: GB2568664B; GB2568664A; GB201718884D0; AU2018260980B2

Abstract

Abstract A system of one or more electrical power converting arrangements, a vehicle, and a method for converting power is disclosed. Each electrical power converting arrangement comprises an electrical power converter, a controller electrically coupled with the power converter and 5 arranged to receive a regulation input, wherein the controller comprises dynamically selectable regulation sources, dynamically programmable regulating means configured to drive the power converter to minimise a difference between the value of the regulation source selected and a reference value. Fig. 1 2fo& 190 191 1 -5 N112130415 10 % *v McrccccffIo Co I r -- -- 11Cowece Figuree Loa C3 R ne aonsRpgo013 Stg Paa-e --- Pararnete ReFt ulatinCombined 132 Er,:~ IIR PidD -- SW2 t o Filterz: Algorith ... ve Remote ICOIT1II¶U E Er eu"Wnm Micoota et A dapti" C o Fmuntos IVa ue a gorith Buse SW1 &t SW2MO MlcrocontController 190 19 1 9 L - ----- j. - ' nls j ~~ -(I8IL ---- --------j Figure 1 194e 4t13 regulationn 11SaeParameter Parameter Regulation] IRegulationk Valure I Z r 4 hR1 PIDI te Communications 0 Va ue BusSWI& SW2 [Controller Figure 2

Description

A power converting arrangement and a method for converting power

The invention relates generally to power converters. More specifically, the invention relates to a power converting arrangement and a method for converting power.

Typical power converters such as switching power converters have inherent limitations 5 when it comes to system wide deployment.

Traditional buck-boost converters operate by utilising the energy storage characteristics of a main power inductor. Energy is stored when two switches are switched on so as to allow current to flow from the input battery or power source, through the inductor to ground. When sufficient energy build up has occurred, the switches are switched off. Two diodes then conduct to allow the .0 electrical energy stored in the inductor to flow as current to the output battery or load. However in this arrangement, current can only pass in one direction and tuning of the error amplifiers, in terms of frequency stability and response speed, is fixed by the hardware components surrounding them and set at time of design.

To enable bi-directional flow of current, the above buck-boost converter has been modified .5 by replacing diodes with switches and providing a microcontroller which can select buck or boost operation and a direction of the flow of the current.

In prior art converters, including the above described, regulation inputs are defined during the design stage and cannot be changed or modified at a later stage to accommodate unexpected operating or installation conditions. Furthermore, operation of multiple power converters within 20 one system requires careful tuning of each converter to ensure oscillations or instabilities are avoided. System-wide self-tuning is generally not possible. In particular, in high-reliability systems where redundancy is required, each power converter would normally require a 'backup' should the primary converter fail, which doubles the number of power converters within the system.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a technical solution to the issues outlined 25 above: fixed tuning of error amplifiers, fixed regulation sources, inability to adapt regulation

2018260980 13 Nov 2018 algorithms to system wide deployment, and inability to adapt to changes in the system once deployed.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrical power converting arrangement comprising: an electrical power converter, a controller electrically 5 coupled with the power converter; a regulation input, wherein the controller comprises dynamically programmable regulating means configured to drive the power converter to minimise a difference between the regulation input and a reference value.

In an embodiment the regulation input may be representative of an analogue signal to be regulated by the power converting arrangement.

.0 In an embodiment, the regulating means may comprise an error determining block configured to generate an error signal representative of a difference between the regulation input and the reference value.

In an embodiment, the regulating means may further comprise a power converter driving control subsystem configured to translate the error signal into a driving control signal for controlling .5 the driving of the power converter.

In an embodiment, the electrical power converting arrangement may further comprise a plurality of regulation inputs, each being provided to a respective error determining block of a plurality of error determining blocks, wherein each error determining block is configured to generate a respective error signal representative of a difference between the respective regulation input and 20 a respective reference value.

In an embodiment, each error determining block of the plurality of error determining blocks can be dynamically assigned a regulation input of the plurality of regulation inputs, and a reference value of a plurality of reference values.

2018260980 13 Nov 2018

In an embodiment, the power converter driving control subsystem may further comprise a combining block having a plurality of combining block inputs, the combining block being configured to combine the plurality of combining block inputs to generate a single combined signal.

In an embodiment, each of the plurality of combining block inputs may be provided with the respective error signal of the plurality of error signals and wherein the power converter driving control subsystem comprises a regulating block configured to regulate the single combined signal to obtain the driving control signal.

In an embodiment, the power converter driving control subsystem may further comprise a plurality of regulating blocks, wherein each of the plurality of regulating blocks is configured to .0 regulate the respective error signal of the plurality of error signals to obtain a respective regulated signal, wherein each of the respective regulated signals is fed to the respective combining block input of the combining block, and wherein the single combined signal comprises the driving control signal.

In an embodiment, the combining block may be configured to operate according to a .5 combining algorithm.

In an embodiment, the single combined signal may be principally dependent on the combining block input having the greatest value.

In an embodiment, the single combined signal may be based on a sum of the combining block inputs.

In an embodiment, a weighting value may be assigned to each of a historical combined signal as a function of the respective combining block inputs, and wherein the single combined signal is selected based on the greatest weighted value.

2018260980 13 Nov 2018

In an embodiment, each regulating block may be configured to implement a regulation algorithm.

In an embodiment, each regulating block can be reconfigured independently from the other regulating blocks when the power converting arrangement is in use.

In an embodiment, the regulating means may further comprise a power converter drive block configured to implement a drive algorithm for driving the power converter responsive to the driving control signal.

In an embodiment, the combining algorithm and/or regulation algorithm and/or drive algorithm, when present, may be dynamically selected when the power converting arrangement is in .0 use.

In an embodiment, each reference value may be reconfigured by the controller when the power converting arrangement is in use.

In an embodiment, the power converter and controller may be embodied in a common printed circuit board.

.5 In an embodiment, the regulation input may represent a physical parameter which can be modulated by the output of the power converting arrangement.

In an embodiment, the physical parameter may comprise an electrical voltage and/or an electrical current.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle comprising the power converting arrangement according to the first aspect, wherein the power converting arrangement is couplable to a battery of the vehicle.

In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a power converting system comprising: at least one power converting arrangement according to the first

2018260980 13 Nov 2018 aspect, wherein the at least one regulation input is configured to receive a signal to be regulated, the signal being remotely monitored by a monitoring device relative to at least one power converting arrangement, the monitoring device being configured to communicate the signal to the at least one regulation input.

In an embodiment, a power converting system may comprise: a plurality of power converting arrangements according to the first aspect, wherein controllers of the plurality of power converting arrangements are communicatively coupled with each other such that a physical quantity at an input or output of a power converter of one of the power converting arrangements can be used as a regulation input at another power converting arrangement.

.0 In an embodiment, the power converting system may further comprise: a system monitor communicatively coupled with the controllers of the power converting arrangements, the system monitor being configured to reconfigure the plurality of power converting arrangements and monitor operation thereof.

In an embodiment, the system monitor may be configured to reassign at least one .5 regulation input to a different regulating block of the plurality of power converting arrangements.

In an embodiment, the system monitor may be configured to control an operation of the power converting system such that one power converting arrangement may be activated or deactivated in response to an operational status of another power converting arrangement of the plurality of power converting arrangements.

In an embodiment, the regulating block may comprise at least one regulating parameter adapted to control an operation of the regulating block, and the system monitor may be configured to reassign or adjust the regulating parameters or reference values for any regulating block.

In accordance with a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for converting power comprising the steps of: receiving a regulation input signal at a controller

2018260980 13 Nov 2018 electrically coupled with a power converter; dynamically programming the regulating means to drive the power converter to minimise a difference between the regulation input and a reference value.

Whilst the invention has been described above, it extends to any inventive combination of features set out above or in the following description. Although illustrative embodiments of the 5 invention are described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise embodiments.

Furthermore, it is contemplated that a particular feature described either individually or as part of an embodiment can be combined with other individually described features, or parts of other embodiments, even if the other features and embodiments make no mention of the particular .0 feature. Thus, the invention extends to such specific combinations not already described.

The invention may be performed in various ways, and, by way of example only, embodiments thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a circuit diagram of an electrical power converting arrangement according to an embodiment of the present invention;

.5 Figure 2 illustrates a circuit diagram of a first embodiment of a regulating block within the arrangement of figure 1;

Figure 3 illustrates a circuit diagram of a second embodiment of a regulating block within the arrangement of figure 1;

Figure 4 illustrates a circuit diagram of the controller within the arrangement of figure 1;

Figure 5 illustrates a circuit diagram of a first embodiment of a combining block within the arrangement of figure 1;

Figure 6 illustrates a circuit diagram of a second embodiment of a combining block within the arrangement of figure 1;

Figure 7 illustrates a circuit diagram of a third embodiment of a combining block within the arrangement of figure 1;

2018260980 13 Nov 2018

Figure 8 illustrates a power converting system according to an embodiment of the present invention; and,

Figure 9 is a block diagram illustrating steps of the method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 10 illustrates a controller with a regulating means of a power converting arrangement according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 11 illustrates an alternative configuration of a power converter driving control subsystem according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 12 illustrates a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention;

.0 Figure 13 illustrates a power generating device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The electrical power converting arrangement 100, illustrated in figure 1, may be embodied in a printed circuit board 110. A controller 120, which may be implemented on the board 110, is provided with a regulation input 130, which may encompass analogue signals being converted to .5 digital form by means of analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) 131 or equivalent. The regulation input 130 may comprise a plurality of measureable real-world signals to be used as regulation sources, such as voltage or current. The measurable physical quantity may also comprise a temperature, a distance, or a frequency. For example, the power converting arrangement may be used to heat water, so the temperature of the water may be the regulation source. The power converting 20 arrangement may also be used to drive a motor that is used to maintain the distance of a car from the car in front of it.

These signals can be measured locally on the printed circuit board 110 or can be measured remotely on another printed circuit board 190 which may comprise a microcontroller 191 for controlling the measurement. The analogue-to-digital converter 131 may sample the regulation 25 source signal a certain (but not necessarily fixed) number of times per second. This will be called the sampling speed. The analogue-to-digital converter 131 can be contained within the controller 120

2018260980 13 Nov 2018 and can use a communication bus 132 which may be internal to the controller 120 or can be local to the board 110. The communications bus 132 can be any means of communicating the output of the ADC 131 (the value that represents the regulation input parameter being measured) to one or more regulating blocks within the controller 120. The speed at which the communications bus 132 5 transmits the ADC output will be called the ADC sample transfer speed.

The controller 120 further comprises a dynamically programmable regulating means 180.

The regulating means 180 may comprise at least one regulating block 140 which may receive a single regulation input signal that is updated in time domain, via the communication bus 132 and which generates a regulating block output 147. An error signal 141 is then generated based on a difference .0 between the regulation input signal and a reference value 142, which may be determined in an error determining block 143, such as an adder-subtractor 143. The regulating means may comprise a power converter driving control subsystem 181 configured to translate the error signal 141 into a driving control signal 151 for controlling the driving of a power converter 160. One or more regulation algorithms 144 may be applied to the time varying signal 141 such as filters or differential .5 amplifiers, in discrete time increments to produce an output value which is updated in time domain at a regulating block processing speed. The algorithms 144 applied may be linear or non-linear in nature and can include, but are not limited to finite impulse response (FIR) filters, infinite impulse response (HR) filters 144a, proportional-integral-derivative (PID) algorithms 144b, stochastic proportional controllers or adaptive/self-learning algorithms 144c. At least one selectable control 20 algorithm 144 may be available within each regulating block 140, and each control algorithm 144 may have its own set 144d, 144e of parameters.

Figure 2 shows an example of a selectable algorithm and parameter table regulating block

140, where SW1 symbolises a change in PID parameters to adjust stability and response speed, while

SW2 symbolises the ability to change between control algorithms 144b, 144c. Both the algorithm

144, 144a, 144b, 144c and the parameter sets 144d, 144e may be selected at any time based upon a decision tree (not shown) which may be stored and set within the controller 120 or a system

2018260980 13 Nov 2018 monitor 205. A SW1 & SW2 controller 148 (which may be also included in the system monitor 205) may be provided to control SW1 and SW2 via a communications bus.

Figure 3 shows another example of a regulating block 140 having fully programmable algorithms 144 and parameters. In this example implementation, the entire section of code that defines the filter 144a and/or control algorithm 144 can be over-written in real time. An external algorithm controller 145 (which may be included in the system monitor 205) may communicate a new regulation algorithm 144 as required, which may be decoded and buffered during reception at an algorithm buffer 146, for example. Disconnecting means SW2 may be provided to disconnect the regulating block output during update of the algorithm 144 to prevent glitches. All the mentioned .0 changes can be made in real time and the algorithms 144 can be linear or nonlinear in nature.

Figure 4 shows a controller 120 wherein the entire regulating block 140 can be defined, implemented, re-defined or deleted in real time. A regulating block allocator 121 may be configured to reserve space 124 in a software code memory 123 for dynamic allocation of new regulating blocks 140. When a new regulating block 140 is defined, a regulation input 130 must also be routed to it. .5 This requires all physical regulation sources, connected at 130, that may be required at some point to be defined, measured (using ADC 131, for example) and made available to the controller 120 at time of hardware design. Additionally, regulation sources may be added to the system after commissioning of the system, by addition of a new PCB that electrically couples to the regulation source at 130, and which contains an ADC 131 connected to the communications bus 132. The 20 regulation inputs 130 can then be selected by a regulation input multiplexer 122 as required and routed, using the stack, dynamic memory access (DMA) or similar to the required regulating blocks 140. The regulating block allocator 121 may be adapted to define where each regulating block output 147 should be routed, such that a combining block 150 can accept the changes to inputs thereof. The regulating block allocator 121 can be commanded to perform changes by the system 25 monitor 205, in response to system instability. An update of the regulating block output 147 may be performed upon receipt of each new regulation input value 130.

2018260980 13 Nov 2018

Figure 5 shows a first example of a combining block 150 which combines the regulating block outputs 147 from each regulating block 140 to form a single time-varying combined regulating signal

151, using any of a number of algorithms described later. The combined regulating signal 151 is used to control the driving of a power converter 160, via a power converter drive block 170. Computer programs included in this module can be changed in real-time by the controller 120 or system monitor 205. Each regulating block 140 provides a single time varying regulating block output 147 which may be synchronous or asynchronous with the other regulating block outputs 147. The combining block 150 combines each of the regulating block outputs 147 and using a combining algorithm to form a single combined regulating signal 151 which is provided to a power converter .0 drive block 170. A first example combining algorithm involves providing each of the regulating block outputs 147 to an equivalent of an analogue OR gate such that the regulating block 140 most in positive error determines the combined regulating signal 151. In an example implementation, a first regulating block output 147a passes via a diode DI and second regulating block output 147b passes via a diode D2. The outputs 147a, 147b are then combined at a node 152. A ground branch may .5 further be provided comprising resistor Rl.

Figure 6 shows a second example of a combining block 150. In this example, all regulating block outputs 147a, 147b may be added together at an adder block 153 to form the combined regulating signal 151 such that each regulating block 140 contributes equally to the combined regulating signal 151.

Figure 7 shows another example of a combining block 150 wherein the combined regulating signal 151 may be selected based on the greatest weighted value, wherein a weighted value is assigned to each of the historical combined regulating signals 151 as a function of the respective regulating block signals 147. By using weighted inputs consensus decisions, the combined regulating signal 151 can be determined which may handle non-linear regulation inputs 130. The combining block 150 in this example may be configured to employ any number of learning algorithms or fuzzy logic arrangements, which can for example provide the combining algorithm as discussed with

2018260980 13 Nov 2018 reference to fig. 5 while all regulation inputs 130 are within allowable operating ranges, but switch to the historically most effective regulation input 130 for overcoming error conditions to bring all regulation inputs 130 back within range. One example implementation can involve regulation of a solar panel power stage, where reducing the combined regulating signal 151 slightly due to over5 temperature can increase power dissipation and output voltage, while increasing the combined regulating signal 151 to 100% due to learned behaviour, can eliminate power stage switching losses, reduce operating temperature and reduce output voltage. An exemplary system implementation can include a combining algorithm block 157 which is provided with the regulating block outputs 147a, 147b. A condition outcome memory 156 is maintained which cooperate with a decision matrix 155 .0 and an algorithm look-up table 154 in determining the combined regulating signal 151.

The combined regulating signal 151 may be fed to a power converter drive block 170 which is configured to convert the signal 151 into a usable drive block output signal(s) 171 which can drive the power converter 160. Examples include multiple pulse-width modulating (PWM) signals for direct driving of metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFET) of power converter .5 160, or 4-20mA for an industrial controller (not shown). A drive algorithm defined by the power converter drive block 170 may be selected from a plurality of available algorithms. The combined regulating signal 151 fed to the algorithm will directly map to a certain output value 171 such that the drive block 170 does not introduce non-linearities into the power converting arrangement 100 as a whole. In addition, the drive block output signal 171 need not necessarily be a single signal, as the 20 power converter 160 may require four or more synchronous power switch drive lines (not shown), with associated dead-time control (which could be either software or hardware implemented).

The power converter 160 controlled by the regulating means must produce a change in the regulation source, connected at 130, thus completing a feedback system. The power converter 160 may thus comprise a 'switch mode' or 'linear' power supply topology, or a non-power supply 25 topology such as a motor drive circuit - so long as an output from the power converter 160 affects the regulation input 130. As the power converter 160 is physical in nature, the design of the power

2018260980 13 Nov 2018 converter 160 determines the physical limitations of the power converting arrangement 100, so must be designed to handle all expected voltage, current and other real-world parameters that it may experience. The power converter 160 may for example comprise the earlier mentioned bidirectional buck-boost topology. The drive block output signal 171 may be communicated to a first 5 MOSFET driving block 161 and second MOSFET driving block 162 which can be configured to control MOSFET pairs QI, Q2 and Q3, Q4, respectively.

Figure 8 shows a power converting system 200 comprising a plurality of power converting arrangements 100a, 100b, 100c, which can serve as power supplies. The system 200 can be implemented as a high-reliability 'alternative energy' battery charger which utilises a number of .0 different power sources. Each power converting arrangement 100a, 100b, 100c can draw power from either of two separate sources VA or VC. Each source has its own characteristics, thus different parameters are required for regulation of local voltage and current regulation sources. Power converting arrangement 100a is configured to draw power from VA, power converting arrangement 100b from VC, and power converting arrangement 100c is disconnected from both power sources .5 and acts as a standby redundant module. Power converting arrangements 100a, 100b have a high speed regulation source sampling and processing speed for local current and voltage and have a slower sampling and processing speed for remote battery voltage and temperature. A current shunt amplifier U3 may be provided between the VB branch and the controller 120.

The operation of the system 200 can be described as follows. When a remote battery 201 is 20 in a discharged state, the power converting arrangements 100a, 100b start by regulating their internal 'B Current' to a maximum allowed value which can be software defined. As the remote battery 201 charges, a voltage of the battery 201 will be lower than that measured by each power converting arrangement at their internal point VB, due to the drop across resistance of a wiring loom 202. A unique maximum VB value may be specified for each power converting arrangement 100a, 25 100b, 100c dependent upon each wiring loom 202 for instance. As the remote battery 201 reaches a high level of charge, each power converting arrangement 100a, 100b, 100c may begin regulating

2018260980 13 Nov 2018 internal VB voltages thereof, due to the aforementioned voltage drop of the wiring loom 202. As the battery 201 charges, a battery voltage monitor 203 will communicate the actual battery voltage to each power converting arrangement 100a, 100b, 100c and when the full charge voltage is reached, regulation would switch from local VB or 'B current' across to remote battery voltage for every power converting arrangement. If the battery 201 reaches a high temperature, an output value of a battery temperature monitor 204 could become the dominant regulation input 130 in each power converting arrangement 100a, 100b, 100c. A system monitor 205 may at any point detect instability in the system 200, such as voltage oscillations, and can be configured to change a voltage feedback frequency response, current limit or any other regulation parameter of any individual power .0 converting arrangement 100a, 100b, 100c in order to suppress such instabilities - thus adjusting in real time for dynamic system level conditions such as corrosion build up on terminals, faulty batteries, etc. If either power converting arrangement 100a or 100b becomes faulty or overheats, the power converting arrangement 100c can be switched in to replace it. In this case, the system monitor 205 can be operated to configure regulation algorithms and parameters for the .5 replacement power converting arrangement 100c, to match which of 100a or 100b it is replacing.

The system monitor 205 may be communicatively coupled with the controllers 120 of power converting arrangements 100, 100a, 100b, 100c via a communications bus, for example, and may be configured to reconfigure the plurality of power converting arrangements 100, 100a, 100b, 100c and monitor operation thereof. The system monitor 205 can change the assignment of regulation inputs 20 130, change or reconfigure regulating blocks 140 and algorithms 144 or parameters, and can reconfigure and change power converter drive blocks 170 and algorithms and signal mappings in real time. It can be located within the controller 120, or can be a separate module within a larger system 200. The system monitor 205 may also measure performance of the overall system 200 of one or more power converting arrangements 100, 100a, 100b, 100c and associated controllers 160. A 25 decision tree (not shown) can allow the system monitor 205 to initiate changes to the performance of the entire system 200 as required to maintain system wide stability and optimal performance.

2018260980 13 Nov 2018

This can for example be implemented by sampling battery voltage and recording minimum and maximum values within a recurring fixed time period. If the difference between minimum and maximum battery voltages exceed a predetermined limit, then the system monitor may reduce the reference value 142 for one or more power converting arrangements 100a, 100b, 100c, until the 5 difference falls back under the predetermined limit. Additionally, the system monitor may select different corrective actions based upon the time between minimum and maximum values. A 'short' time difference, when the difference in voltage between minimum and maximum exceeds the predetermined limit, may result in the above mentioned reduction in regulation reference. A 'long' time difference may result in a restart of selected power converting arrangements 100a, 100b, 100c, .0 or selection of different regulation algorithms 144.

The system monitor 205 can define which regulation inputs 130 are provided to which regulating blocks 140, within the limitations of the hardware design. Local and remote regulation inputs 130 can be used, added or removed from each controller 120 within the system 200 in real time. Examples of remote regulation inputs 130 can include regulation sources such as the voltage of .5 batteries 201 at the end of long wiring looms 202, or combined system current from multiple charge sources. All local and remote regulation inputs 130 can be made available globally to all controllers 120 throughout the system 200 via a software-defined network (SDN). The system monitor 205 can also control the topology used in the final power converter 160 such as assigning of pin mappings and configuring power converter drive algorithms, such that different power sources and loads can 20 be connected to each power converter 160. The system monitor 205 can monitor overall system performance and detect instability, voltage droops, or failures and adjust regulation parameters for each power converter 160 as required in real-time.

A method 300 for converting power will now be described with reference to figure 9. At step 301, a regulation input signal is received which is then processed to generate, at step 302, an error 25 signal based on a difference between the regulation input signal and a reference value. The error signal is then subjected to regulation so as to obtain a regulated error signal which is then used to

2018260980 13 Nov 2018 drive, at step 303, power conversion so as to minimise the difference between the regulation input and the reference value. The regulated error signal is generated based on a dynamically programmable algorithm.

Figure 10 illustrates the regulating means 180 of a power converting arrangement 100.

Figure 11 illustrates an alternative configuration of a power converter driving control subsystem 181. Each of the plurality of combining block inputs may be provided with the respective error signal 141 of the plurality of error signals and wherein the power converter driving control subsystem 181 may comprise a regulating block 144 configured to regulate the single combined signal 150a to obtain the driving control signal 151.

.0 Figure 12 illustrates a vehicle 400 comprising the power converting arrangement 100, wherein the power converting arrangement 100 is couplable to a battery 401 of the vehicle 400.

Figure 13 illustrates a power generating device 500 comprising a power converting arrangement 100, wherein the power converting arrangement 100 may be electrically coupled to the power generating device 500 and a battery 501 and wherein the power converting arrangement .5 100 is configured to monitor an output voltage of the power generating device 500, compare the output voltage to a battery voltage and adjust an electrical current delivered to the battery 501 from the power generating device 500 so as to maximise a power provided to the battery 501.

Claims

1. An electrical power converting arrangement comprising:

an electrical power converter, a controller electrically coupled with the power converter;

a regulation input, wherein the controller comprises dynamically programmable regulating means configured to drive the power converter to minimise a difference between the regulation input and a reference value.

2. An electrical power converting arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the regulation input is representative of an analogue signal to be regulated by the power converting arrangement.

3. An electrical power converting arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the regulating means comprises an error determining block configured to generate an error .5 signal representative of a difference between the regulation input and the reference value.

4. An electrical power converting arrangement according to claim 3, wherein the regulating means comprises a power converter driving control subsystem configured to translate the error signal into a driving control signal for controlling the driving of the power converter.

5. An electrical power converting arrangement according to the claim 4, further comprising a

20 plurality of regulation inputs, each being provided to a respective error determining block of a plurality of error determining blocks, wherein each error determining block is configured to generate a respective error signal representative of a difference between the respective regulation input and a respective reference value.

6. An electrical power converting arrangement according to claim 5, wherein each error

25 determining block of the plurality of error determining blocks can be dynamically assigned a

2018260980 13 Nov 2018 regulation input of the plurality of regulation inputs, and a reference value of a plurality of reference values.

7. An electrical power converting arrangement according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the power converter driving control subsystem further comprises a combining block having a plurality

5 of combining block inputs, the combining block being configured to combine the plurality of combining block inputs to generate a single combined signal.

8. An electrical power converting arrangement according to claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of combining block inputs is provided with the respective error signal of the plurality of error signals and wherein the power converter driving control subsystem .0 comprises a regulating block configured to regulate the single combined signal to obtain the driving control signal.

9. An electrical power converting arrangement according to claim 7, wherein the power converter driving control subsystem further comprises a plurality of regulating blocks, wherein each of the plurality of regulating blocks is configured to regulate the respective .5 error signal of the plurality of error signals to obtain a respective regulated signal, wherein each of the respective regulated signals is fed to the respective combining block input of the combining block, and wherein the single combined signal comprises the driving control signal.

10. An electrical power converting arrangement according to any of the claims 7 to 9, wherein

20 the combining block is configured to operate according to a combining algorithm.

11. An electrical power converting arrangement according to any of the claims 7 to 10, wherein the single combined signal is principally dependent on the combining block input having the greatest value.

12. An electrical power converting arrangement according to any of the claims 7 to 10, wherein

25 the single combined signal is based on a sum of the combining block inputs.

2018260980 13 Nov 2018

13. An electrical power converting arrangement according to any of the claims 7 to 10, wherein a weighting value is assigned to each of a historical combined signal as a function of the respective combining block inputs, and wherein the single combined signal is selected based on the greatest weighted value.

14. An electrical power converting arrangement according to any of the claims 8 to 9, wherein each regulating block is configured to implement a regulation algorithm.

15. An electrical power converting arrangement according to claim 14, wherein each regulating block can be reconfigured independently from the other regulating blocks when the power converting arrangement is in use.

.0

16. An electrical power converting arrangement according to any of the claims 4 to 15, wherein the regulating means further comprises a power converter drive block configured to implement a drive algorithm for driving the power converter responsive to the driving control signal.

17. An electrical power converting arrangement according to any of the claims 10 to 16, wherein .5 the combining algorithm and/or regulation algorithm and/or drive algorithm, when present, may be dynamically selected when the power converting arrangement is in use.

18. An electrical power converting arrangement according to claim 6, wherein each reference value may be reconfigured by the controller when the power converting arrangement is in use.

20 19. An electrical power converting arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the power converter and controller are embodied in a common printed circuit board.

20. An electrical power converting arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the regulation input represents a physical quantity which can be modulated by the output of the power converting arrangement.

25

21. An electrical power converting arrangement according to claim 20, wherein the physical quantity comprises an electrical voltage and/or an electrical current.

2018260980 13 Nov 2018

22. A vehicle comprising the power converting arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the power converting arrangement is couplable to a battery of the vehicle.

23. A power converting system comprising:

at least one power converting arrangement according to any of the claims 1 to 21, wherein

5 the at least one regulation input is configured to receive a signal to be regulated, the signal being remotely monitored by a monitoring device relative to the at least one power converting arrangement, the monitoring device being configured to communicate the signal to the at least one regulation input.

24. A power converting system comprising:

.0 a plurality of power converting arrangements according to any of the claims 1 to 21, wherein controllers of the plurality of power converting arrangements are communicatively coupled with each other such that a physical quantity at an input or output of a power converter of one of the power converting arrangements can be used as a regulation input at another power converting arrangement.

.5

25. A power converting system according to claim 24, further comprising:

a system monitor communicatively coupled with the controllers of the power converting arrangements, the system monitor being configured to reconfigure the plurality of power converting arrangements and monitor operation thereof.

26. A power converting system according to claim 25, wherein the system monitor is configured to reassign at least one regulation input to a different regulating block of the plurality of power converting arrangements.

27. A power converting system according to any of the claims 25 to 26, wherein the system monitor is configured to control an operation of the power converting system such that one power converting arrangement may be activated or deactivated in response to an 25 operational status of another power converting arrangement of the plurality of power converting arrangements.

2018260980 13 Nov 2018

28. A power converting system according to any of the claims 25 to 27, wherein the regulating block may comprise at least one regulating parameter adapted to control an operation of the regulating block, and the system monitor is configured to reassign or adjust the at least one regulating parameter or the reference values for any regulating block.

5 29. A method for converting power comprising the steps of:

receiving a regulation input signal at a controller electrically coupled with a power converter;

dynamically programming the regulating means to drive the power converter to minimise a difference between the regulation input and a reference value.

.0

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