JP2006288110A - Power converter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power converter for reducing the number of regenerating series elements including inductors, SW elements and Di for composing the power converter, and having a compact constitution. <P>SOLUTION: Two or more series elements include H-side SW element HS and L-side SW element LS, and are connected in parallel between high-voltage and low-voltage terminals H, L. Series elements include a snubber capacitor SC and a snubber Di SD, and are connected to the H-side SW element HS and the L-side SW element LS in parallel. In two regenerating series elements, one end of the H-side or L-side regenerating diode, the regenerating inductor and the regenerating SW element is connected to a connection between the snubber capacitor SC and the snubber diode SD of the H-side SW element HS or L-side SW element LS, the other end of them is connected to a common connection, the H-side or L-side regenerating diode, the regenerating inductor and the regenerating SW element are connected in series, a terminal of the inductor is connected to the common connection of the H-side or L-side regenerating diode, and a terminal of the SW element is connected to the high-voltage or low-voltage terminal H, L. The SW elements in two regenerating series elements carry a current when the H-side SW element HS or L-side SW element LS carries the current. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a power converter that converts power from a DC voltage to an AC voltage, from an AC voltage to a DC voltage, and from a DC voltage to a DC voltage.

In the conventional power converter, in order to reduce surge voltage and surge energy loss caused by the parasitic inductance of the main circuit wiring, a series connection body of a snubber diode and a snubber capacitor is connected between the main terminals of the main circuit switching element. A series connection of a regenerative inductor, a regenerative switching element, and a regenerative diode connected between the connection point of the snubber diode and the snubber capacitor and the DC power supply, and the main circuit switching element is turned on. By turning on the regenerative switching element within the period, the surge energy accumulated in the snubber capacitor was regenerated to the DC power supply by utilizing the resonance phenomenon between the capacitor and the inductor. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-54279 A (paragraph 0036-0123)

  The conventional power converter is configured as described above, and each power conversion switching element requires a series connection body of a regenerative inductor, a regenerative switching element, and a regenerative diode, which increases the size of the apparatus. was there.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. Regardless of the number of main circuit switching elements, the series connection body of the regenerative inductor and the regenerative switching element is connected to the high voltage side and the low voltage side. An object of the present invention is to provide a power conversion device that can realize an energy regenerative operation only by providing two, and can downsize the device.

  In the power converter according to the present invention, a series connection body of a high voltage side main circuit switching element and a low voltage side main circuit switching element is provided between a DC high voltage terminal and a DC low voltage terminal connected to a DC power supply. In the power conversion device in which two or more are connected in parallel, and a series connection body of a snubber capacitor and a snubber diode is connected in parallel to each of the high voltage side main circuit switching elements and the low voltage side main circuit switching elements, A high voltage side regenerative diode having one end connected to the connection point between the snubber capacitor and the snubber diode of each high voltage side main circuit switching element, and the other end connected to the high voltage side common connection point. The regenerative inductor and the high voltage side regenerative switching element are connected in series, and the terminal of the high voltage side regenerative inductor is connected to the high voltage side common connection point. A high voltage side series connection body for regeneration in which the terminal of the high voltage side regeneration switching element is connected to the DC low voltage terminal, and a connection point between the snubber capacitor and the snubber diode of each of the low voltage side main circuit switching elements. A low-voltage side regenerative diode, one end of which is connected to the low-voltage side common connection point, and a low-voltage-side regenerative inductor and a low-voltage-side regenerative switching element connected in series. A terminal for the regenerative inductor is connected to the low-voltage side common connection point, and a terminal for the low-voltage side regenerative switching element is connected to the DC high-voltage terminal. And switching the side regeneration switching element within a period in which all the high voltage side main circuit switching elements are in a conductive state, and switching the low voltage side regeneration switching element to the low voltage side. By making all the circuit switching elements conductive during the period of conduction, the surge energy accumulated in the snubber capacitor when the high-voltage side or low-voltage main circuit switching element is non-conductive is increased with the capacity of the snubber capacitor. The DC power source is regenerated using a resonance phenomenon with the inductance of the voltage side or low voltage side regenerative inductor.

  Since the power converter according to the present invention is configured as described above, regardless of the number of main circuit switching elements, the series connection body of the regenerative inductor and the regenerative switching element is connected to the high voltage side and the low voltage side. Since the energy regeneration operation can be realized only by providing one, the power conversion device can be configured in a small size.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of the power conversion device according to the first embodiment. This figure shows an example of a power converter 1 that converts a DC voltage into a single-phase AC voltage (AC current). The power converter 1 has an input terminal VH (hereinafter referred to as an input terminal VH) constituting a DC high voltage terminal and an input terminal VL (hereinafter referred to as an input terminal VL) constituting a DC low voltage terminal. A DC power supply 2 is connected between them. The power converter has output terminals Out1 and Out2, and a load 4 is connected between the output terminals.

  Next, the configuration of the power conversion device 1 will be described. The power conversion device 1 includes a high voltage side main circuit switching element SH1 and a low voltage side main circuit switching element SL1 (hereinafter, both main circuit switching) that control connection between the input terminals VH and VL and the output terminals Out1 and Out2. Element series or simply a switching element) and a series connection body of a high-voltage side main circuit switching element SH2 and a low-voltage side main circuit switching element SL2 (hereinafter each referred to as a main circuit switching element or simply a switching element). Two series connection bodies, snubber circuits provided in each of the main circuit switching elements SH1, SH2, SL1, and SL2, and high power to regenerate surge energy on the main circuit switching element side arranged on the input terminal VH side Voltage side energy regeneration circuit (detailed later) and surge energy on the main circuit switching element side arranged on the input terminal VL side are recovered. And a control circuit 3 for forming a gate signal to be input to each switching element.

  Hereinafter, the connection configuration of each part will be described in detail. First, the configuration of a series connection body of main circuit switching elements SH1, SL1 and SH2, SL2 having a snubber circuit will be described. The drain terminals of the main circuit switching elements SH1 and SH2 composed of MOSFETs are connected in common and connected to the input terminal VH, SH1 is connected to one terminal of the snubber capacitor CsH1, and SH2 is connected to the snubber capacitor CsH2. Connected to one terminal, the gate terminal of SH1 is connected to one terminal of the gate resistor RgH1, and the gate terminal of SH2 is connected to the gate resistor RgH2.

  The source terminal of the main circuit switching element SH1 is connected to the output terminal Out1 and the cathode terminal of the snubber diode DsH1, and the source terminal of the main circuit switching element SH2 is connected to the output terminal Out2 and the cathode terminal of the snubber diode DsH2. Yes. Furthermore, the anode terminal of the diode DsH1 and the other terminal of the capacitor CsH1 are connected, and the anode terminal of the diode DsH2 and the other terminal of the capacitor CsH2 are connected.

  The drain terminals of the main circuit switching elements SL1 and SL2 composed of MOSFETs are connected to the output terminals Out1 and Out2, respectively, SL1 is the anode terminal of the snubber diode DsL1, and SL2 is the anode terminal of the snubber diode DsL2. The gate terminal of SL1 is connected to one terminal of the gate resistor RgL1, and the gate terminal of SL2 is connected to one terminal of the gate resistor RgL2.

  The source terminal of the main circuit switching element SL1 is connected to the input terminal VL and one terminal of the snubber capacitor CsL1, and the source terminal of the main circuit switching element SL2 is connected to the input terminal VL and one terminal of the snubber capacitor CsL2. Has been.

  Furthermore, the cathode terminal of the diode DsL1 and the other terminal of the capacitor CsL1 are connected, and the cathode terminal of the diode DsL2 and the other terminal of the capacitor CsL2 are connected. The other terminals of the gate resistors RgH1, RgH2, RgL1, and RgL2 are connected to the control circuit 3, respectively.

  Next, the configuration of the high voltage side energy regeneration circuit will be described. The cathode of the high voltage side regeneration diode DkH1 is connected to the connection point of the snubber diode DsH1 and the snubber capacitor CsH1, and the anode is connected to the high voltage side common connection point H. The high voltage side common connection point H is further connected to one terminal of the high voltage side regenerative inductor LkH and the anode terminal of the regenerative diode DkH2. The cathode terminal of the high voltage side regeneration diode DkH2 is connected to the connection point between the snubber capacitor CsH2 and the snubber diode DsH2. The other terminal of the high voltage side regenerative inductor LkH is connected to the drain terminal of the high voltage side regenerative switching element SkH made of MOSFET, its source terminal is connected to the input terminal VL, and its gate terminal is connected to the control circuit 3. LkH and SkH form a high voltage side series connection for regeneration.

  Next, the configuration of the low voltage side energy regeneration circuit will be described. The anode of the low voltage side regeneration diode DkL1 is connected to the connection point of the snubber diode DsL1 and the snubber capacitor CsL1, and the cathode is connected to the low voltage side common connection point L. The low voltage side common connection point L is further connected to one terminal of a low voltage side regenerative inductor LkL and a cathode terminal of a low voltage side regenerative diode DkL2. The anode terminal of the low voltage side regeneration diode DkL2 is connected to the connection point of the snubber capacitor CsL2 and the snubber diode DsL2. The other terminal of the low voltage side regenerative inductor LkL is connected to the drain terminal of the low voltage side regenerative switching element SkL made of MOSFET, its source terminal is connected to the input terminal VH, and its gate terminal is connected to the control circuit 3. LkL and SkL form a low-voltage series connection for regeneration.

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 shows the gate signal of each switching element. The gate signal high voltage in the figure means the ON state of the switching element. Further, Table 1 shows the flow of the main circuit current and the flow of the energy regenerative current for each period in FIG.

  A gate signal for controlling on / off of each switching element shown in FIG. 2 is formed in the control circuit 3 of FIG. 1, converted into a voltage capable of driving the switching element, and input to the gate of each switching element. As shown in FIG. 2A, the gate signals of the main circuit switching elements SH1, SH2, SL1, and SL2 are formed by comparing the sine wave fundamental wave and the triangular wave carrier wave, and are used to regenerate the high voltage side energy regeneration circuit. The gate signal of the switching element SkH is formed by obtaining the AND output of the gate signals of the main circuit switching elements SH1 and SH2. Similarly, the gate signal of the low voltage side regeneration switching element SkL is formed from the AND output of the gate signals of the main circuit switching elements SL1 and SL2.

  Next, the operation for each period will be described. In the following description, it is assumed that a parasitic inductance (parasitic L) exists between the input terminal VH and the drain terminals of the main circuit switching elements SH1 and SH2. Actually, the parasitic L exists at various locations of the main circuit wiring, but here, in order to simplify the explanation, the parasitic L is described at one location.

  In the period (1), as shown in FIGS. 2B and 2E, the main circuit switching elements SH1 and SL2 are turned on, and the current of the main circuit is: power supply 2 → parasitic L → SH1 → inductive load It flows in the order of 4 → SL2 → Power supply 2.

  In the period (2), as shown in FIGS. 2D and 2E, the main circuit switching element SL2 is turned off and SH2 is turned on. In a power converter that does not have a snubber circuit, when the main circuit switching element SL2 is turned off, the current flowing through the parasitic L is lost, and the surge energy is consumed in the process of turning off the main circuit switching element SL2. However, in the first embodiment, as shown in Table 1, the current due to surge energy flows from power source 2 → parasitic L → SH2 → DsL2 → CsL2 → power source 2, and a part of the energy is main circuit switching. Although consumed by the element SL2, the remaining surge energy is temporarily stored in the snubber capacitor CsL2. Since the inductive load 4 works to maintain the current, the main circuit current flows in the order of the inductive load 4 → SH2 → SH1 → inductive load 4 as shown in Table 1. The type of surge at this time is called off-surge.

  In the period (2), as shown in FIG. 2F, the regeneration switching element SkH is turned on. Through the operation described below, the energy temporarily stored in the snubber capacitors CsH1 and CsH2 is changed to CsH1‖CsH2 (‖ indicates parallel) → parasitic L → power supply 2 → SkH → LkH → DkH1 Regenerates to power supply 2 in the order of ‖DkH2 → CsH1‖CsH2.

At this time, the amount of energy that can be regenerated by a single energy transfer uses the LC resonance phenomenon, so if the voltage stored in the snubber capacitor is Vx and the power supply voltage is Vs, the maximum (regenerative current flows) When the resistance of the path is zero), voltage can be regenerated by 2 (Vx−Vs). When the capacitor capacity is Cs, energy of 0.5 Cs (Vx ² − (Vx−Vs) ² ) can be regenerated. For example, when a 400 A current is switched at high speed (with a gate resistance of almost zero) under the power supply conditions of a snubber capacitor of 0.1 μF and 650 V, the surge voltage is about 900 V. Surge energy up to 32.5mJ (900V → 400V) can be regenerated. Since the energy of the snubber capacitor is regenerated when the main circuit switching elements SH1 and SH2 are in the ON state, even if the voltage of the snubber capacitor becomes smaller than the power supply voltage Vs, the power supply from this period It will not charge the snubber capacitor again.

  In the period (3), as shown in FIGS. 2D and 2E, the main circuit switching element SH2 is turned off and SL2 is turned on. Even if the main circuit switching element SH2 is turned off, since the switching element has a parasitic diode, the current continues to flow from the output terminal Out2 to the input terminal VH. The main circuit switching element SL2 is turned on, the main circuit current is divided into SL2 and SH2, and the current flowing through SH2 decreases rapidly and becomes zero.

  When the current becomes zero, the drain-source voltage of the main circuit switching element SH2 increases. At this time, since the capacitance between the drain and source of the main circuit switching element SH2 is charged from the power supply 2 through the parasitic L, the voltage between the drain and source of the main circuit switching element SH2 is larger than the power supply voltage due to the LC resonance phenomenon. Jump up. As shown in Table 1, the current to the snubber capacitor CsH2 flows in the order of power supply 2 → parasitic L → CsH2 → DsH2 → SL2 → power supply 2 to charge the snubber capacitor CsH2. As shown in Table 1, the current flowing in the main circuit flows in the order of power source 2 → parasitic L → SH1 → inductive load 4 → SL2 → power source 2. The type of surge at this time is called on-surge.

  In the period (4), as shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, the main circuit switching element SH1 is turned off and SL1 is turned on. As shown in Table 1, the current due to surge energy accumulated in the parasitic L flows in the order of power source 2 → parasitic L → CsH1 → DsH1 → SL1 → power source 2, and some energy is consumed by the main circuit switching element SH1. However, the remaining surge energy is temporarily stored in the snubber capacitor CsH1. Since the inductive load 4 works to maintain the current, the main circuit current flows in the order of the inductive load 4 → SL2 → SL1 → inductive load 4 as shown in Table 1.

  In the period (4), as shown in FIG. 2 (g), the regeneration switching element SkL is turned on. As shown in Table 1, the energy temporarily stored in the snubber capacitors CsL1 and CsL2 is transferred to the power supply 2 in the order of CsL1‖CsL2 → DkL1‖DkL2 → LkL → SkL → parasitic L → power supply 2 → CsL1‖CsL2 Regenerate. The amount of energy to be regenerated is the same as described above, and there is no fear of recharging from the power source because the energy regeneration operation is performed when the main circuit switching elements SL1 and SL2 are in the on state.

  In the period (1), the main circuit switching element SL1 is turned off and the SH1 is turned on as described above. Similar to the period (3), the drain-source voltage of the main circuit switching element SL1 rises at the same time as the drain-source voltage of the main circuit switching element SH1 becomes zero. At this time, as in the period (3), the drain-source capacitance of the main circuit switching element SL1 is charged from the power supply 2 through the parasitic L, and therefore, between the drain and source of the main circuit switching element SL1 due to the LC resonance phenomenon. The voltage jumps larger than the power supply voltage. As shown in Table 1, the current to the snubber capacitor CsL1 of the main circuit switching element SL1 flows in the order of power supply 2 → parasitic L → SH1 → DsL1 → CsL1 → power supply 2 to charge the snubber capacitor CsL1. The current flowing through the main circuit is as described above.

  When the regenerative switching elements SkH and SkL are turned on, the surge energy temporarily stored in the snubber capacitor is regenerated to the power source. The time required for this energy regeneration is determined by the parasitic L << regenerative inductor and the resistance of the energy regeneration path is ignored, and is determined from the inductances of the regenerative inductors LkH and LkL and the capacitance value of the snubber capacitor. When the inductance of the regenerative inductor is Lk and the capacitance value of the snubber capacitor is Cs, the time t required for energy regeneration is

It becomes.

  In the first embodiment, the minimum pulse width of the gate signal of each main circuit switching element is set to be larger than this time t. Thus, energy regeneration can be reliably performed by restricting the drive conditions of the power converter. In other words, the inductance value Lk and the capacitance value Cs are set in accordance with the minimum pulse width of the drive signal of the power converter.

  When the gate signal is formed so as to obtain a sine wave output by the triangular wave comparison as in the first embodiment, the time when the main circuit switching elements on the respective voltage sides are all turned on and the corresponding main circuit switching Since the ON times of the narrower gate signal pulse widths of the element groups coincide with each other, the energy regeneration can be surely performed by setting the minimum pulse width as described above.

  In the above description, the case where the main circuit current is in the direction from the output terminal Out1 to Out2 has been described. However, even if the current direction is reversed, the current direction of the main circuit switching element is reversed, and the on surge and off surge Since the generated switching element is merely changed, the description when the direction of the main circuit current is reversed will be omitted.

Since the power conversion device according to the first embodiment is configured as described above, in order to regenerate the energy of the snubber capacitor, an energy regeneration circuit is not required for each main circuit switching element, and the device is configured in a small size. be able to.
Embodiment 2. FIG.
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of the power conversion device according to the second embodiment. In this figure, the power conversion device 10 converts a DC voltage into a three-phase AC voltage (AC current). The difference from the first embodiment is that the load is the three-phase AC motor 40, the output terminal Out3 is added, and the corresponding main circuit switching element SH3 having a snubber circuit having the same configuration as Out1 and Out2, This is the point where the series connection of SL3 is increased by one line. As with the output terminals Out1 and Out2, the output terminal Out3 is connected to the load 40.

  A connection configuration between the series connection body of the main circuit switching elements SH3 and SL3 including the third row of snubber circuits and the energy regeneration circuit will be described. The cathode terminal of the regenerative diode DkH3 is connected to the connection point between the snubber capacitor CsH3 and the diode DsH3, and the anode terminal is connected to the regenerative inductor LkH in the same manner as other high voltage side regenerative diodes. The anode terminal of the regenerative diode DkL3 is connected to the connection point between the snubber capacitor CsL3 and the diode DsL3, and the cathode terminal is connected to the regenerative inductor LkL in the same manner as other low voltage side regenerative diodes.

  Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described. As in the first embodiment, one regenerative switching element SkH is turned on during a period in which the main circuit switching elements SH1, SH2, and SH3 are simultaneously on, and the other regenerative switching element SkL is the main circuit. The switching elements SL1, SL2, and SL3 are turned on during a period in which the switching elements SL1, SL2, and SL3 are simultaneously turned on. The surge energy accumulated in the snubber capacitors CsH3 and CsL3 regenerates energy to the power source 20 when the regenerative switching elements SkH and SkL are on. The movement of the main circuit current and the regenerative current due to the switching operation is only the difference between the two-phase and the three-phase from the first embodiment, and the description is omitted.

  In the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the minimum pulse width of the gate signal of each main circuit switching element is set to a value larger than the time t required for energy regeneration. In the case of three-phase AC, as in the case of two-phase (Embodiment 1), the total on-time of each main circuit switching element on each voltage side and the gate of the corresponding three phases of the main circuit switching element group Since the on-time with the narrowest signal pulse width is substantially the same, by setting the minimum pulse width of the gate signal as described above, reliable energy regeneration can be realized.

  Since the power conversion device of the second embodiment is configured as described above, an energy regeneration circuit is required for each main circuit switching element in order to regenerate the energy of the snubber capacitor as in the first embodiment. Instead, the device can be made compact.

  In the above description, the example in which the main circuit switching element is configured by the MOSFET is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is needless to say that the same effect can be obtained even if it is configured by the IGBT and the diode.

It is a circuit diagram which shows the structure of the power converter device by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the gate signal waveform of the switching element which comprises the power converter device of Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a circuit diagram which shows the structure of the power converter device by Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1, 10 Power converter, 2, 20 power supply, 3, 30 control circuit, 4, 40 load,
VH, VL input terminal, Out1, Out2, Out3 output terminal,
SH1, SH2, SH3, SL1, SL2, SL3 Main circuit switching element,
RgH1, RgH2, RgH3, RgL1, RgL2, RgL3 Gate resistance,
CsH1, CsH2, CsH3, CsL1, CsL2, CsL3 Snubber capacitors,
DsH1, DsH2, DsH3, DsL1, DsL2, DsL3 Snubber diode,
DkH1, DkH2, DkH3, DkL1, DkL2, DkL3 Regenerative diode,
LkH, LkL Regenerative inductor, SkH, SkL Switch element for regeneration.

Claims (2)

  Two or more series connection bodies of a high voltage side main circuit switching element and a low voltage side main circuit switching element are connected in parallel between a DC high voltage terminal and a DC low voltage terminal connected to a DC power source, and In each of the high voltage side main circuit switching elements and the low voltage side main circuit switching elements, the high voltage side main circuit switching elements are connected to each other in series connection bodies of a snubber capacitor and a snubber diode. High voltage side regenerative diode, one end connected to the connection point of the snubber capacitor and snubber diode, and the other end connected to the high voltage side common connection point, high voltage side regenerative inductor and high voltage side regenerative A switching element is connected in series, and the high voltage side regenerative inductor terminal is connected to the high voltage side common connection point. One end is connected to the connection point between the snubber capacitor and the snubber diode of each of the low voltage side main circuit switching elements, and the other terminal is connected to the DC low voltage terminal. A low voltage side regenerative diode whose end is connected to the low voltage side common connection point, and a low voltage side regenerative inductor and a low voltage side regenerative switching element are connected in series, and the terminal of the low voltage side regenerative inductor is the above A low-voltage-side regenerative switching element connected to a low-voltage-side common connection point and having a low-voltage-side regenerative switching element connected to the DC high-voltage terminal is provided. The high-voltage side main circuit switching elements are all turned on during the conductive period, and the low-voltage side main circuit switching elements are all conducted by the low-voltage side main circuit switching elements. By conducting during the period of the state, the surge energy accumulated in the snubber capacitor when the high-voltage side or low-voltage side main circuit switching element is non-conducting respectively and the capacity of the snubber capacitor and the high-voltage side or low-voltage side A power converter that regenerates the DC power supply utilizing a resonance phenomenon with the inductance of a regenerative inductor. The minimum conduction time τ of the high voltage side or low voltage side main circuit switching element is Cs as the capacitance value of the snubber capacitor and Lk as the inductance value of the high voltage side or low voltage side regenerative inductor.

The power conversion device according to claim 1, wherein:

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