JPH0851770A - Gate drive circuit for semiconductor switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a gate drive circuit for semiconductor switch, e.g. thyristor, in the efficiency is enhanced by allowing power supply to the gate drive circuits of a plurality of semiconductor switches connected in series thereby reducing power loss. CONSTITUTION:The gate drive circuit for semiconductor switch comprises a series circuit of capacitors 6, 7 connected in parallel with the snubber capacitor 4 of a semiconductor switch 1, and an energy collection circuit 9 for charging a storage capacitor 8, serving as a power supply for a gate drive circuit 10 comprising the series circuit of the capacitors 6, 7, with a low voltage.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gate drive circuit for driving a self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element in an inverter device using a self-extinguishing semiconductor element such as a gate turn-off thyristor as a switching element, or in a three-level inverter device. In particular, it is suitable for use in a high withstand voltage inverter in which self-extinguishing type semiconductor elements are connected in series.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 19 is a circuit diagram showing, for example, a power supply system of a conventional gate drive circuit. Such a power feeding method is described, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 61-138390.

FIG. 19 shows one phase of the inverter device, in which 29A is a transistor forming the upper arm of the inverter and 29B is a transistor forming the lower arm. 30A and 30B are the base drive circuits of the transistors 29A and 29B, 8 is a storage capacitor that performs the power supply function of the base drive circuit 30A, 19 is an auxiliary power supply for the base drive circuit, and 20 is 1 from the auxiliary power supply 19 to the storage capacitor 8. It is a diode for supplying energy in the direction. The operation of FIG. 19 includes the lower arm transistor 29B.
When is turned on, the auxiliary power supply 19 charges the storage capacitor 8 via the supply diode 20 and the transistor 29B, and the storage capacitor 8 serves as a base current supply source for establishing the ON state of the transistor 29A after the transistor 29B is turned off. It is supposed to work. Note that P is a positive side of the DC bus of the inverter device, N is a negative side of the DC bus, and O is an output terminal of the inverter device.

FIG. 20 is a circuit diagram showing another conventional gate drive circuit power supply system. Such a power feeding method is described in, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 2-22087.

FIG. 20 shows one GTO having a series-connected GTO thyristor (hereinafter referred to as GTO), 1 is a GTO, 10 is a gate drive circuit, and 8A.
Is a storage capacitor that performs the power supply function for the gate drive circuit, especially for the GTO turn-on circuit, and 8B is especially GT
Storage capacitors that perform a power supply function for the O turn-off circuit, and 31A and 31B are optical energy supply circuits for supplying energy to the storage capacitors 8A and 8B when the GTO 1 is in the no-voltage and no-current state. The operation of FIG. 20 is as follows. First, when the GTO1 is off and the voltage E is applied between the anode and cathode of the GTO1, the resistance 3
2, storage capacitor for turn-on 8 via diode 33
A is charged. In this state, the turn-on storage capacitor 8A is charged to the anode-cathode voltage E of the GTO 1, but the zener diode 34 clamps the turn-on storage capacitor 8A to the low voltage e. Therefore, the resistor 32 bears the difference voltage (E-e). Next, when the GTO1 is turned on, energy is supplied from the on-current of the GTO1 to the turn-off storage capacitor 8B via the transformer 35 and the diode 36. Furthermore, GTO1
In the no-voltage, no-current state, the light energy supply circuit 31A,
The power source for the gate drive circuit 10 can be established by supplying light energy from the low voltage side power source 37 to the storage capacitors 8A, 8B using the 31B via the optical fiber or the like.
Reference numeral 38 is a control circuit for the gate drive circuit 10.

[0006]

A conventional gate drive circuit power supply system is, for example, in FIG. 19, one auxiliary device provided in the lower arm by using the operation of the lower arm of a pair of upper and lower arms constituting the inverter device. Energy is supplied from the power supply to the storage capacitor in the upper arm. Therefore, if this method is applied to an inverter device composed of a series connection body of high-voltage thyristor elements, it will be
In the ON operation of the lower arm consisting of the series connection of thyristor elements, the thyristor element closest to the output terminal in the upper arm consisting of the series connection of thyristor elements
Only the storage capacitor for 29B can supply energy, and the thyristor element 29A does not operate.
Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to increase the breakdown voltage of the device.

Further, in FIG. 20, a zener diode 34 is used in order to clamp the charging voltage of the storage capacitor for turn-on to a low voltage as compared with the high voltage between the anode and cathode of the GTO 1, and the difference voltage is Since a current corresponding to that applied to the resistor 32 flows through the resistor, the steady loss of electric power increases, and the loss surely increases due to an increase in the voltage between the anode and the cathode and an increase in the number of series connections. There is a problem that the efficiency of the connected inverter device is reduced.

Further, in FIG. 20, all GTOs are additionally used as a charging means for the storage capacitor 8B for turn-off.
The transformer 35 must be used for No. 1, and there is a problem in that the number of parts increases and eventually the size of the inverter device configured by connecting the GTOs 1 in series increases.

Further, in FIG. 20, when there is no voltage applied to the GTO 1 or when there is no current flowing in the GTO 1, power is supplied to the gate drive circuit 10 using the optical energy supply circuits 31A and 31B. Therefore, there is a problem that the number of components of the light energy supply circuits 31A and 31B increases and the reliability of the inverter device configured by connecting the GTO 1 in series is deteriorated.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to obtain a power supply system for a gate drive circuit capable of charging a storage capacitor to a low voltage without causing power loss. To aim.

A second object of the present invention is, when the inverter device is composed of upper and lower arms in which high breakdown voltage self-extinguishing type semiconductor elements are connected in series, without depending on the switching operation of one arm, The purpose is to obtain a method that enables power supply from an auxiliary power supply to a storage capacitor that serves as a power supply for a gate drive circuit.

A third object of the present invention is, when the inverter device is composed of upper and lower arms formed by connecting high breakdown voltage self-extinguishing type semiconductor elements in series, without depending on the switching operation of one arm, It is to obtain a method that enables supply from a reactor to a storage capacitor that serves as a power supply for a gate drive circuit.

A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a method for enabling power supply from a supplemental power supply to a storage capacitor serving as a power supply of a gate drive circuit in a three-level inverter device.

A fifth object of the present invention is to supply electric power to the storage capacitor at the time of starting the inverter device, which makes it possible to supply electric power to the storage capacitor serving as the power source of the gate drive circuit without providing a light energy supply circuit. Is to get.

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Claims 1 to 3 of the present invention
The gate drive circuit power supply method according to the invention is a capacitor series body connected in parallel with a snubber capacitor in a snubber circuit connected in parallel with a self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor device, and a gate terminal and a cathode terminal of the self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor device. A gate drive circuit that is connected between the switch and the switch to operate the self-extinguishing semiconductor element, an energy recovery circuit that extracts energy from one of the capacitors that form the capacitor series body, and the energy that is extracted by the energy recovery circuit. And a storage capacitor for storing, and the storage capacitor is used as a power source of a gate drive circuit for switching the self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element.

Further, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gate drive power supply system in which a plurality of self-extinguishing type semiconductor elements connected in series which simultaneously perform switching operation are connected between a gate terminal and a cathode terminal. A gate drive circuit for switching each of the self-extinguishing semiconductor devices, a storage capacitor for storing energy for driving the gate drive circuit, and an auxiliary for supplying energy to each of the storage capacitors. A power source; and a plurality of diodes connecting the respective storage capacitors to the auxiliary power source, wherein the plurality of series-connected self-extinguishing semiconductor elements are turned on to turn the auxiliary power source into the respective storage capacitors. Energy is provided through a plurality of diodes to connect each of the storage capacitors to each of the gated It is an power of Eve circuit.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gate drive power supply system in which a plurality of series-connected self-extinguishing type semiconductor devices which simultaneously perform a switching operation are connected between a gate terminal and a cathode terminal. A gate drive circuit for switching each of the self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor elements, two storage capacitors each storing positive and negative polar energy for driving each of the gate drive circuits, and each storage Two auxiliary power supplies for supplying energy to the capacitors, and a plurality of diodes for connecting the respective storage capacitors and the two auxiliary power supplies are provided, and the plurality of series-connected self-extinguishing semiconductor elements are turned on. Energy is supplied to the respective storage capacitors from the two auxiliary power sources, and the respective storage capacitors are supplied to the respective storage capacitors. It is an of the two power of the positive and negative gate drive circuit.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gate drive power supply system in which a plurality of self-extinguishing type semiconductor elements connected in series which simultaneously perform a switching operation are connected between a gate terminal and a cathode terminal. A gate drive circuit for switching each of the self-extinguishing semiconductor devices, a storage capacitor for storing energy for driving the gate drive circuit, and supplying energy to each of the storage capacitors. Of auxiliary capacitors, a plurality of diodes connecting the storage capacitors to the auxiliary capacitors, and a reactor connected in series with the plurality of self-extinguishing type semiconductor devices connected in series. From the reactor to the auxiliary capacitor by the switching operation of the self-extinguishing type semiconductor device Energy is supplied and energy is supplied from the auxiliary capacitor to each of the storage capacitors by the ON operation of the plurality of self-extinguishing type semiconductor elements connected in series, and each of the storage capacitors is connected to each of the gate drive circuits. It is used as a power source.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gate drive power supply system in which a plurality of series-connected self-extinguishing type semiconductor devices which simultaneously perform a switching operation are connected between the gate terminal and the cathode terminal. A gate drive circuit for switching each of the self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor elements, two storage capacitors each storing positive and negative polar energy for driving each of the gate drive circuits, and each storage Two auxiliary capacitors for supplying energy to the capacitors, a plurality of diodes connecting the respective storage capacitors and the respective auxiliary capacitors, and a series body of a plurality of self-extinguishing semiconductor elements connected in series. Of two self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor devices connected in series at both ends of Energy is supplied to each of the two auxiliary capacitors from the two reactors by an switch operation, and the two auxiliary capacitors are supplied to each of the storage capacitors by an ON operation of the plurality of self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor elements connected in series. Supply energy,
The respective storage capacitors are used as two positive and negative power supplies of the respective gate drive circuits.

According to a eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gate drive power supply system in which a first, a second, a third and a fourth series connected between positive and negative buses of a DC power supply having an intermediate potential point are connected in series.
Self-extinguishing type semiconductor device, the intermediate potential point and the first
A first clamp diode connected between a connection point between the self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element and the second self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element, the third self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element, and the fourth self-extinguishing element. A second clamp diode connected between a connection point with the arc-type semiconductor element and the intermediate potential point, and a connection point between the second self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element and the third self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element. A three-level inverter having an output terminal provided in the first, second, third, and fourth self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor elements, each of which is connected to a gate terminal and a cathode terminal,
To drive the first, second, third, and fourth gate drive circuits that switch each of the self-extinguishing semiconductor devices, and to drive the first, second, third, and fourth gate drive circuits 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th which store the energy of
Storage capacitor, an auxiliary power supply for supplying energy to the fourth storage capacitor regardless of the switching operation of the self-extinguishing semiconductor element, and the first, second, third,
A fourth storage capacitor and a plurality of diodes for connecting the auxiliary power supply are provided, and the third, fourth self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor elements are turned on to turn the auxiliary power supply to the second, third, and fourth diodes. Energy is supplied to each of the four storage capacitors, and energy is supplied from the second and third storage capacitors to the first storage capacitor by the ON operation of the second and third self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor elements. , The first,
The second, third, and fourth storage capacitors are used as power sources for the first, second, third, and fourth gate drive circuits, respectively.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gate drive power supply system in which the first, second, third and fourth serially connected positive and negative buses of a DC power supply having an intermediate potential point are connected.
Self-extinguishing type semiconductor device, the intermediate potential point and the first
A first clamp diode connected between a connection point between the self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element and the second self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element, the third self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element, and the fourth self-extinguishing element. A second clamp diode connected between a connection point with the arc-type semiconductor element and the intermediate potential point, and a connection point between the second self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element and the third self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element. A three-level inverter having an output terminal provided in the first, second, third, and fourth self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor elements, each of which is connected to a gate terminal and a cathode terminal,
To drive the first, second, third, and fourth gate drive circuits that switch each of the self-extinguishing semiconductor devices, and to drive the first, second, third, and fourth gate drive circuits 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th which store the energy of
Storage capacitor, a first auxiliary power supply for supplying energy to the third storage capacitor regardless of the switching operation of the self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element, and the switching operation of the self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element. A second auxiliary power supply for supplying energy to a fourth storage capacitor, a diode for connecting the first and third storage capacitors to the first auxiliary power supply, and the second and fourth storage capacitors And a diode for connecting the second auxiliary power supply, and energy is supplied from the first auxiliary power supply to the first storage capacitor by the ON operation of the second and third self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor devices. And supplying energy from the second auxiliary power source to the second storage capacitor by turning on the third and fourth self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor elements,
The first, second, third, and fourth storage capacitors are used as power sources of the first, second, third, and fourth gate drive circuits, respectively.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the power supply system for the gate drive power source, initial charging of each of the storage capacitors is performed from a high voltage power source through a resistor having high impedance.

[0023]

According to the present invention, the voltage of the storage capacitor serving as the power source of the gate drive circuit of the self-extinguishing type semiconductor device is reduced to a low voltage by using the series body of capacitors and the energy recovery circuit. Since it is configured to be charged, an auxiliary power source and an initial charging circuit are not required, power loss does not occur, and high efficiency of the power conversion device can be realized.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor element is configured to obtain energy from the auxiliary power supply to the storage capacitor serving as the power source of the gate drive circuit when the self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor element is turned on. A large capacity inverter device in which a plurality of elements are connected in series can be realized.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since two storage capacitors serving as a power supply for the gate drive circuit are provided and two types of positive and negative power supplies are supplied to the gate drive circuit, the self-driving circuit is provided inside the gate drive circuit. It is not necessary to generate two kinds of voltages for turning on and off the arc-extinguishing semiconductor element, and the gate drive circuit can be simplified and downsized.

According to the invention of claim 6, the energy can be taken out from the reactor connected in series to the self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor element and the energy can be supplied to the storage capacitor serving as the power source of the gate drive circuit. It is possible to obtain a power converter that does not require a power source, suppresses the energy consumption of the reactor, and realizes high efficiency of the power converter.

According to the invention of claim 7, energy can be taken out from the two reactors connected in series to the self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor device, and the energy can be supplied to the two storage capacitors serving as the power source of the gate drive circuit. Since the gate drive circuit is configured to supply two types of power source, positive and negative, there is no need for an auxiliary power source, the energy consumption of the reactor can be suppressed, and the efficiency of the power converter can be improved. Furthermore, inside the gate drive circuit It is not necessary to generate two kinds of voltages for turning on and off the self-extinguishing semiconductor element, and the gate drive circuit can be simplified and downsized.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, one auxiliary power source is provided for each storage capacitor serving as a power source for each gate drive circuit of the three-level inverter device in which one phase is composed of four self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor elements. Since the energy is supplied from the device, it is possible to reduce the number of components related to the power supply of the gate drive circuit, and to obtain a device that can be downsized.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, a storage capacitor serving as a power source of each gate drive circuit of a three-level inverter device in which one phase is composed of four self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor devices has two auxiliary power sources. Since the energy is supplied from the storage capacitor, the capacitance of the storage capacitor can be reduced,
It is possible to obtain a device that can be downsized.

[0030]

【Example】

Example 1. An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor element, and here GTO is taken as an example. 2 is a freewheel diode connected in anti-parallel to GTO1,
In recent years, a reverse conduction type self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element in which a self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element and a freewheel diode are integrated has also been developed, and when it is applied, the freewheel diode 2 is omitted. 3 is a snubber diode, 4 is a snubber capacitor, 5 is a snubber resistor, and these constitute a snubber circuit, and when the GTO 1 cuts off the current, the GTO
Suppressing a steep voltage rise of 1 is suppressed. Reference numerals 6 and 7 denote capacitors, which are connected in parallel to the snubber capacitor 4. Reference numeral 8 is a storage capacitor, 9 is an energy recovery circuit, and a diode is applied here. Diode 9
The a and 9b have a function of supplying energy from the capacitors 6 and 7 to the storage capacitor 8. The diodes 9a and 9b constitute a so-called diode pump circuit together with the capacitors 6, 7 and 8. Reference numeral 10 denotes a gate drive circuit for switching on and off the GTO 1, which is connected to the gate terminal G and the cathode terminal K of the GTO 1. Therefore, the gate drive circuit 10 is driven by using the storage capacitor 8 as a power source. Although not shown, the gate drive circuit 10 is driven by receiving a switching signal of the GTO 1 from an external control circuit. A is an anode terminal of GTO1.

Next, the operation will be described. First GTO
When 1 is in the OFF state and the voltage E is applied between A and K, the snubber capacitor 4 is charged with the voltage E, and the capacitors 6 and 7 share the voltage E. Further, the capacitor 7 and the storage capacitor 8 are charged to the same voltage by the diode 9. Snubber capacitor 4
Is C1, the capacitance of the capacitor 6 is C2, the capacitance of the capacitor 7 is C3, and the storage capacitor 8 is
If the electrostatic capacitance of is C4, the voltage V1 of the capacitor 6 is
The equation (1) is obtained, and the voltage V2 of the capacitor 7 and the storage capacitor 8 is obtained by the equation (2).

[0032]

[Equation 1]

[0033]

[Equation 2]

Therefore, if the combined electrostatic capacitance (C3 + C4) of the capacitor 7 and the storage capacitor 8 is set larger than the electrostatic capacitance C2 of the capacitor 6, the charging voltage of the capacitor 7 and the storage capacitor 8 can be lowered. Therefore, the voltage of the diode 9 and the gate drive circuit 10, which are the energy recovery circuit, can be lowered.

In the conventional example shown in FIG. 20, since a low voltage is obtained by using the Zener diode 34 and the resistor 32, power loss is constantly generated when there is an applied voltage to the GTO. Since a low voltage is obtained by connecting 6 and 7 in series, such power loss does not occur.

When the ON signal of GTO1 is applied to the gate drive circuit 10, the gate drive circuit 10 supplies an ON current to the gate terminal G. In this case, the storage capacitor 8 and the capacitor 7 are connected to the gate drive circuit 10. It will function as a power source for the GTO 1 and can turn on the GTO 1. When the GTO 1 is turned on, the energy stored in the snubber capacitor 4, the capacitors 6 and 7 is completely discharged by the snubber resistor 5, and the charging voltage becomes zero. However, even if the voltage of the capacitor 7 becomes zero, the energy of the storage capacitor 8 is not discharged through the snubber resistor 5. This is because the reverse voltage is applied to the diode 9a and the discharge path of the storage capacitor 8 is cut off. It goes without saying that the energy consumed by the snubber resistor 5 when the GTO 1 is turned on can be suppressed by setting the combined capacitance of the capacitors 6 and 7 smaller than the capacitance of the snubber capacitor 4.

When the gate drive circuit 10 is supplied with the GTO1 off signal, the gate drive circuit 10 supplies the off current to the gate terminal G in reverse. In that case, the storage capacitor 8 supplies the power to the gate drive circuit 10. The GTO1 can be turned off. When GTO1 turns off and cuts off the current,
The current flowing in the GTO 1 is bypassed to the snubber diode 3 and is shunted to the snubber capacitor 4, capacitors 6 and 7, and storage capacitor 8. Let I be the current that was flowing to GTO1 immediately before it was turned off.
The current I1 shunted into the capacitor 6 is given by the equation (3), and the current I2 shunted into the capacitor 6 is given by the equation (4).

[0038]

(Equation 3)

[0039]

[Equation 4]

Therefore, if the combined capacitance of the capacitors 6 and 7 and the storage capacitor 8 is set smaller than the capacitance of the snubber capacitor 4, the shunt ratio of the bypassed current I to the snubber capacitor 4 can be increased. . Therefore, since the current flowing through the capacitor 6 can be reduced, the capacitors 6, 7 and the storage capacitor 8 having a relatively small rated current can be applied.

Since the storage capacitor 8 supplies energy to the gate drive circuit 10 when the GTO 1 is turned on in a state where energy is not supplied via the diode 9a, the charging voltage always decreases, but when the GTO 1 is turned off, a predetermined voltage is again applied. Since it is charged to a value, it is possible to fulfill the function as the power supply of the gate drive circuit 10 by providing an electrostatic capacity that can secure the required voltage even when the charging voltage of the storage capacitor 8 is expected to decrease.

A normally-off type high-breakdown-voltage self-extinguishing type semiconductor device used in series connection is selected. For example, the GTO 1 maintains the off state when no voltage is applied between the gate and the cathode terminal. When a series-connected body of self-extinguishing semiconductor elements is applied to a power converter, the main circuit voltage of the power converter is established at the time of starting the power converter, and at the same time, the self-extinguishing semiconductors connected in series. A voltage is applied to each of the elements. As long as this condition is satisfied, the storage capacitor 8 is configured to be charged via the diode 9a, so that the initial charging circuit for the storage capacitor 8 is unnecessary.

If the capacitor 7 is removed and the capacitance value of the capacitor 8 is made equal to the sum of the capacitances of the capacitors 7 and 8 in the configuration of FIG. 1, the same operation as described above can be obtained.
The same operation can be obtained by removing the capacitor 4 and making the series capacitance value of the capacitors 6 and 7 equal to the capacitance value of C4.

Example 2. FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. 1 is different from FIG.
The flyback type DC / DC converter is applied to the energy recovery circuit 9 for supplying energy from the storage capacitor 8 to the storage capacitor 8. The flyback DC / DC converter includes a switch 11, a reactor 12, and a diode 13.

Here, an energy recovery operation from the capacitors 6 and 7 to the storage capacitor 8 will be described. While the charging voltage is present in the capacitor 7, energy can be transferred from the capacitor 7 to the reactor 12 by the ON operation of the switch 11 and energy of the reactor 12 can be transferred to the storage capacitor 8 via the diode 13 by the OFF operation. After all, the capacitor 7 is turned on and off by the switch 11.
Since this energy can be recovered by the storage capacitor 8, the storage capacitor 8 can function as a power source of the gate drive circuit 10.

Example 3. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention. The difference from FIG. 1 is that a forward type DC / DC converter is applied to an energy recovery circuit 9 for supplying energy from the capacitor 7 to the storage capacitor 8. The forward type DC / DC converter is composed of a switch 14, a reactor 15 and a diode 16.

Here, the energy recovery operation from the capacitors 6 and 7 to the storage capacitor 8 will be described. While the charging voltage is present in the capacitor 7, energy is transferred from the capacitor 7 to the storage capacitor 8 via the reactor 15 by the ON operation of the switch 14, and energy of the reactor 15 is transferred to the storage capacitor 8 via the diode 16 by the OFF operation. be able to. Eventually, the energy of the capacitor 7 can be recovered to the storage capacitor 8 by the on / off operation of the switch 14, so that the storage capacitor 8
Can function as a power source for the gate drive circuit 10.

Example 4. FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The difference from FIG. 1 is that a forward type DC / DC is provided in the energy recovery circuits 9A and 9B for supplying energy from the capacitor 7 to the storage capacitors 8A and 8B, respectively.
This is the point where the converter and the flyback DC / DC converter are applied. As a result, the gate drive circuit 10 can be supplied with two positive and negative power supplies, that is, the power supply for supplying the ON current of the GTO 1 by the storage capacitor 8A and the power supply for supplying the OFF current of the GTO 1 by the storage capacitor 8B. Since the gate drive circuit 10 shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 can supply only a positive or negative unipolar current, when the self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor device requires two positive and negative power supplies to turn on and off. Although not shown, a circuit for forming two positive and negative power supplies for supplying an on-current and an off-current from a single power supply by the storage capacitor 8 is required, and the circuit configuration becomes complicated. Therefore, as compared with FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the configuration of the gate drive circuit 10 is simplified in the embodiment of FIG. Note that the operation of FIG. 4 does not deviate from the range described in the second and third embodiments with reference to FIGS. Also,
Regarding the energy supply circuit, not only the energy supply circuits shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 are applicable,
It goes without saying that it is applicable as long as it is a circuit capable of supplying energy from one of the capacitor series bodies to the storage capacitor.

Example 5. FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention. When the main circuit voltage is divided by connecting the self-extinguishing semiconductor devices in series, the self-extinguishing is usually performed in order to compensate the non-uniformity of the voltage division due to the non-uniformity of the leakage current when the self-extinguishing semiconductor devices are off. An element voltage dividing compensation resistor is connected in parallel with the arc-type semiconductor element. Now, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, two GTOs 1A and 1B connected in series are used in the embodiment of FIG.
In order to compensate the steady-state balance of capacitors 6A, 7A or capacitors 6B, 7B, the capacitor voltage balancing resistors 17A, 18A and 17B, 18
It is preferable to connect B in parallel. At this time, for example, GT
As for O1A, a resistor series body including a snubber resistor 5A and capacitor voltage balance resistors 17A and 18A is connected in parallel to GTO1A. Therefore, if the combined resistance of the resistor series body is set so as to match the resistance value of the element voltage division compensation resistor, the resistor series body has both the capacitor voltage balancing function and the element voltage division compensation function. It is not necessary to additionally connect a resistor for compensating the element voltage division. It is obvious that this idea can be applied to FIG. 2, FIG. 3 or FIG. The anode terminals of GTO1A and 1B are A1 and A2, and the cathode terminals are K1 and K.
2. The gate terminals are shown as G1 and G2.

Example 6. FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1
Reference numerals D, 1E, and 1F are self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor elements that constitute one phase with an inverter device, and here, GTO is taken as an example. GTO1A, 1B and 1C form the upper arm of the inverter device, and GTO1D, 1E and 1F form the lower arm. Focusing on the upper arm, 8A, 8B and 8C are storage capacitors, 10A and 10C.
B and 10C are gate drive circuits connected to the gate terminals G and cathode terminals K of the GTOs 1A, 1B and 1C, respectively. Therefore, the gate drive circuits of 10A, 10B, and 10C are driven by the storage capacitors 8A, 8B, and 8C connected in parallel, respectively, as a power source. Although the gate drive circuits 10A, 10B, and 10C are not shown, they are not shown in the drawing.
It is driven by receiving switching signals A, 1B, and 1C from an external control circuit. 19A is auxiliary power supply, 20A, 20B, 20C,
20D is a diode. Lower arm GTO 1D, 1E, 1F
The same applies to. Also, 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D
, 21E is an initial charging resistor, P is a positive side DC bus of the DC power source of the inverter, N is a negative side DC bus thereof, and O is an output terminal of the inverter. The free wheel diode and the protection circuit (snubber circuit, etc.) for the self-extinguishing type semiconductor device are not shown.

Next, the operation will be described. First, at the time of starting the inverter device, if all the GTOs are in the off state and the voltage is established between the DC bus lines P and N,
Initial charging resistors 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D, and 21E combined resistance values and storage capacitors 8A, 8B, 8D, 8E according to the time constant determined by the combined capacitance, gradually charge each storage capacitor from the inverter DC power supply To be done. In this case, by setting the resistance value of the initial charging resistance to be particularly large, it is possible to suppress the steady loss generated in the initial charging resistance during the operation of the inverter device. The minimum energy required for initial charging is GT
It is the energy for passing the ON current of O once. Due to the circuit configuration, the storage capacitors 8C and 8F are directly charged by the auxiliary power sources 19A and 19B, respectively.

Now, the gate drive circuits 10A, 10B, 10
When C receives the turn-on signals of the upper arm GTOs 1A, 1B and 1C, the storage capacitors 8A, 8B and 8C are used as power sources to supply ON currents to the gate terminals of the respective GTOs. When the GTO1A, 1B and 1C are turned on, energy is supplied to the storage capacitor 8A from the auxiliary power supply 19A through the route of diode 20B-diode 20A-storage capacitor 8A-GTO1B-GTO1C, and is charged to a voltage equal to the voltage of the auxiliary power supply 19A. It Energy is supplied to the storage capacitor 8B from the auxiliary power supply 19A through a path of diode 20B-diode 20C-storage capacitor 8B-GTO1C,
It is charged to a voltage equal to that of the auxiliary power supply 19A. Further, the storage capacitor 8C is always connected via the diode 20D to the auxiliary power supply 19 regardless of the switch state of GTO 1A, 1B and 1C.
Charged to a voltage equal to A's voltage. Auxiliary power supply 19A
The minimum required energy supplied from the storage capacitors 8A, 8B, and 8C to the storage capacitors 8A, 8B, and 8C is the energy required to flow the ON current and the OFF current of the GTO once. Therefore the next GTO
If the GTO 1A, 1B, 1C can complete the ON operation after the OFF operation of 1A, 1B, 1C, the charge voltage decrease amount of the storage capacitors 8A, 8B, 8C will be supplied again from the auxiliary power supply 19A.
Thus, in FIG. 6, the upper arm storage capacitors 8A, 8B,
Energy supply from the auxiliary power supply 19A of 8C is the lower arm G
This can be done regardless of the TO switching operation.

The diode 20B, the diode 20C, and the storage capacitor 8C are redundant components in the normal operation, but the voltage value of the auxiliary power supply 19A abnormally drops and the auxiliary power supply 19A
Even if energy cannot be supplied from A and 19B, it may be required to continue operating the device for some time and wait for the recovery of the auxiliary power supply 19A. In this case, for example, if the storage capacitor 8C and the diode 20D are not connected, the power source of the gate drive circuit 10C of the GTO 1C is lost, and the GTO 1C cannot be normally driven. Without the diode 20B, a resonance phenomenon may occur depending on the voltages of the storage capacitors 8A and 8B and stray inductance existing in the connecting means for connecting them, and the charging voltage of the storage capacitor 8B may be abnormally lowered.
Therefore, it is necessary to secure the energy necessary for switching the GTO for a certain period of time even when the voltage of the auxiliary power supplies 19A and 19B drops, and to improve the reliability of the inverter device. The configuration of the diodes 20A to 20H does not necessarily have to be the configuration shown in Fig. 6, and it is possible to supply energy to each storage capacitor from the auxiliary power supply and to secure the stored energy of the storage capacitor even when the auxiliary power supply is abnormal. Needless to say, if so.

The GTOs 1D, 1E, which form the lower arm,
The operation of 1F is the same as the operation of the upper arm described above, and will be omitted.

Embodiment 7 FIG. FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing a seventh embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows the case where the auxiliary power supply 19A is connected to the cathode side of the GTO1C, while FIG. 7 shows the circuit configuration for the upper arm when the auxiliary power supply 19A is connected to the anode side of the GTO1A. The explanation of the operation of FIG. 7 is the same as that of FIG. 6 in principle, and therefore the explanation is omitted.

Example 8. FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing an eighth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a combination of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. Specifically, the circuit configuration in which the auxiliary power supply 19A is connected to the cathode side of GTO1C and the auxiliary power supply 19B is connected to the anode side of GTO1A is limited to the upper arm. Is shown. During the ON period of GTO 1A, 1B, 1C, auxiliary power supply 19A supplies storage capacitors 8A, 8B, 8C, and auxiliary power supply 19B supplies storage capacitors 8D, 8E, 8F. Therefore, the storage capacitors 8A, 8B, 8C are the gate drive circuit 10A,
The storage capacitors 8D, 8E, and 8F perform the power supply function when the positive on-current output of 10B and 10C is output, and the storage capacitors 8D, 8E, and 8F also perform the power supply function when the negative off-current output. 6 and 7
In the gate drive circuit shown in (1), depending on the self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor element, a circuit for creating two positive and negative power supplies for supplying an on-current and an off-current from a single power supply by a storage capacitor is required although not shown. Therefore, as compared with FIGS. 6 and 7, the configuration of the gate drive circuit is simplified in the embodiment of FIG. The explanation of the operation of FIG. 8 is the same as that of FIGS. 6 and 7 in principle, and therefore the explanation is omitted.

Example 9. FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram showing a ninth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 shows an example in which the present invention is applied to the case where the DC power supply of the inverter device shown in FIG. 6 is further increased in voltage. FIG. 9 shows a part of one of the upper and lower arms constituting the inverter device. When several tens of high-voltage self-extinguishing type semiconductor elements are connected in series, a module consisting of several series connections is set as one unit, and the modules are further connected in series.
FIG. 9 shows a case where two modules in which three GTOs are connected in series are connected in series. Auxiliary power source 19
By arranging A and 19B for each module, it is possible to reduce the size by distributing the capacity of the auxiliary power supply, or to reduce the cost by designing and manufacturing only one type of module. Since the operation of FIG. 9 is the same as that of the sixth embodiment described above, the description thereof will be omitted.

Needless to say, the number of series-connected self-extinguishing semiconductor elements in the module is arbitrarily determined. Further, the concept of this module configuration can be applied to the seventh and eighth embodiments.

Example 10. FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram showing a tenth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 10, 1A, 1B, and 1C are self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor elements that form part of one of the upper and lower arms that form the inverter device, and here, GTO is taken as an example. 8A, 8B and 8C are storage capacitors, and 10A, 10B and 10C are gate drive circuits connected to the gate terminals and cathode terminals of GTOs 1A, 1B and 1C, respectively. Therefore, the gate drive circuit drives with the storage capacitors connected in parallel as power sources. Although not shown, the gate drive circuits 10A, 10B and 10C are driven by receiving the switching signals of the GTOs 1A, 1B and 1C from an external control circuit. 20A, 2
0B, 20C, 20D and 20E are diodes, 21A, 21B and 21C
, 21D is an initial charging resistor, 22 is an auxiliary capacitor, 23 is a reactor, and 24 is a freewheeling diode.

Next, the operation will be described. First, when the inverter device is started, but when all the GTOs are in the OFF state and the voltage is established on the DC bus, the combined resistance value of the initial charging resistors 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D and the storage capacitor 8A. , 8B, 8C, etc., the storage capacitors are gradually charged from the DC bus according to the time constant determined by the combined capacitance. In this case, by setting the resistance value of the initial charging resistance to be particularly large, it is possible to suppress the steady loss generated in the initial charging resistance during the operation of the inverter device. The minimum energy required for the initial charge is the energy for passing the ON current once for the GTO.

Now, the gate drive circuits 10A, 10B, 10
When C receives the turn-on signals of GTOs 1A, 1B and 1C, the storage capacitors 8A, 8B and 8C are used as power sources to supply ON currents to the gate terminals of the respective GTOs. GTO1
When A, 1B, and 1C turn on, GT is displayed just before turn-on.
The voltage applied to O1A, 1B, 1C is applied to the reactor 23, and the steep rise of the current flowing into GTO 1A, 1B, 1C is suppressed. Usually, in an inverter device composed of a high breakdown voltage self-extinguishing type semiconductor element, a snubber circuit having a snubber capacitor is connected to each self-extinguishing type semiconductor element. The charging current of the snubber capacitor of the arm composed of series-connected self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor elements that maintain the OFF state is composed of series-connecting self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor elements that maintain the ON state from the DC busbar. Since it is necessary to supply it via the arm, the current of the reactor 23 becomes equal to or higher than the output current of the inverter device. When the charging operation of the snubber capacitor is completed, the energy accumulated by the charging current of the snubber capacitor, which is stored in the reactor 23, is recovered by the auxiliary capacitor 22 via the return diode 24. This recovered energy is shunted to the auxiliary capacitor 22 and the storage capacitors 8A, 8B, and 8C. Since the shunt ratio is proportional to the capacitance of each capacitor, the capacitance of the auxiliary capacitor 22 is set to each storage capacitor. Storage capacitors 8A, 8B, 8C
Capacitors applied to B and 8C may have relatively small current ratings. Storage capacitors 8A, 8B, 8C are GTO1A, 1
Since the ON current for keeping B and 1C in the ON state is supplied through the gate drive circuits 10A, 10B and 10C,
The amount of energy reduction is supplied from the auxiliary capacitor 22.
The minimum required energy to be stored in the storage capacitors 8A, 8B and 8C is the energy required to flow the ON current and the OFF current of the GTO once each. This is GTO 1A, 1B,
This is because when 1C is turned off by the gate drive circuits 10A, 10B and 10C, the storage capacitors 8A, 8B and 8C are cut off from the path for supplementing the consumed energy from the auxiliary capacitor 22.

By the turn-off operation of the next GTO 1A, 1B, 1C, the energy due to the output current of the inverter device accumulated in the reactor 23 is recovered in the auxiliary capacitor 22 via the diode 24. Furthermore, if the turn-on operation of the next GTO 1A, 1B, 1C can be completed, the charging voltage decrease amount of the storage capacitors 8A, 8B, 8C can be supplied from the auxiliary capacitor 22.

The energy stored in the auxiliary capacitor 22 when the GTOs 1A, 1B and 1C are turned off depends on the output current of the inverter device. Therefore, when the output current is excessive, the charging voltage of the auxiliary capacitor 22 is Rises sharply. Therefore, for example, the charging voltage of the auxiliary capacitor 22 can be lowered by having the charging voltage adjusting circuit 25 including a switch and a resistor for clamping the charging voltage of the auxiliary capacitor 22 to a certain constant value. Can be applied, and the rated voltage of all capacitors can be set low.

It goes without saying that the diodes 20A to 20E do not necessarily have to have the configuration shown in FIG. 10 and may have a connection configuration capable of supplying energy to each storage capacitor from the auxiliary capacitor.

Example 11. FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram showing an eleventh embodiment of the present invention. Figure 10 shows reactor 23 as GTO1C
It shows the case of connecting in series to the cathode side of
Reference numeral 11 shows the circuit configuration when the reactor 23 is connected in series to the anode side of the GTO 1A. The explanation of the operation of FIG. 11 is the same as that of FIG. 10 in principle, and therefore its explanation is omitted. It is needless to say that the configuration of the diodes 20A to 20E does not necessarily have to be the configuration shown in FIG. 11 and may be a connection configuration capable of supplying energy to each storage capacitor from the auxiliary capacitor.

Example 12 FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram showing a twelfth embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 10 shows the case where the reactor 23 is provided with the energy supply function of the auxiliary capacitor 22 and the current rise suppression function at the time of turn-on of GTO 1A, 1B, 1C, but as shown in Fig. 12, the current rise mainly at turn-on is shown. The reactor 26 that controls the suppression function may be additionally connected. The same applies to the circuit of FIG. The explanation of the operation of FIG. 12 is the same as that of FIG. 10 in principle, and therefore the explanation is omitted. The configuration of diodes 20A to 20E is not
It is needless to say that the configuration shown in 12 is not necessary, and any connection configuration in which energy can be supplied to each storage capacitor from the auxiliary capacitor. Also, the reactor 26
Although not shown, the stored energy can be processed by absorbing it in a snubber capacitor or by additionally connecting an energy processing circuit.

Example 13 FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram showing a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a combination of FIG. 10 and FIG. 11. Specifically, the auxiliary capacitor 22A is connected to the cathode side of the GTO1C, and the auxiliary capacitor 22B is connected to the GT.
The circuit configuration when connected to the anode side of O1A is shown. The auxiliary capacitor 22A is the storage capacitor 8A, 8
B and 8C are supplied, auxiliary capacitor 22B is storage capacitor 8
Supply power to D, 8E and 8F. Therefore storage capacitors 8A, 8B, 8
C functions as a power supply when the gate drive circuits 10A, 10B, and 10C output an on-current, and the storage capacitors 8D, 8E, and 8F function when a off-current is output. Figure 10,
In the gate drive circuit shown in FIG. 11, when the self-extinguishing type semiconductor device requires two positive and negative power supplies to turn on and off,
Although not shown, a circuit for producing two power supplies for supplying an on-current and an off-current from a single power supply using a storage capacitor is required. Therefore, as compared with FIGS. 10 and 11, the configuration of the gate drive circuit is simplified in FIG. The description of the operation in FIG. 13 is the same as that in FIG. 10 in principle, and therefore the description is omitted. It is needless to say that the configuration of the diodes 20A to 20J does not necessarily have to be the configuration shown in FIG. 13 and may be a connection configuration capable of supplying energy to each storage capacitor from the auxiliary capacitor.

Example 14 Incidentally, Example 10, Example 11,
It is easily conceivable that the concept of the module configuration shown in the ninth embodiment can be applied to the twelfth or thirteenth embodiment.

Example 15 15th Embodiment of the present invention
Shown in 4, 15 and 16. FIG. 14 is a circuit configuration diagram when the present invention is applied to a three-level inverter device capable of outputting three voltage levels to the output terminal O. 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D are self-extinguishing type semiconductor elements, and in FIG.
Applying TO. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D are GTO 1A, 1B,
Freewheeling diodes connected in anti-parallel to each of 1C and 1D, 8A, 8B, 8C and 8D are storage capacitors, 10A, 10B,
10C and 10D are gate drive circuits, 19 is auxiliary power supply, 20A
, 20B, 20C, 20D are diodes, 21A, 21B, 21C,
21D is an initial charging resistance, 27 is a DC power source having an intermediate potential point C, 28A is a clamp diode which connects the intermediate potential point C and the connection point of GTO1A and GTO1B, 28B is GTO1C and G
It is a clamp diode that connects the connection point of TO1D and the intermediate potential point C. P is a positive side DC bus, N is a negative side DC bus, and O is an output terminal of the three-level inverter device.

FIG. 15 shows the relationship between the switch states of the GTOs 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D constituting the 3-level inverter device and the output terminal voltage. The output terminal voltage is P.
Normalized by the voltage between N.

Next, the operation will be described. First, at the time of starting the three-level inverter device, when all the GTOs are in the OFF state and the voltage is established in the DC power supply 27, the combined resistance value of the initial charging resistors 21A, 21B, 21C and 21D Each storage capacitor is gradually charged from the DC power supply 27 according to the time constant determined by the combined capacitance of the storage capacitors 8A, 8B, and 8C. In this case, by setting the resistance value of the initial charging resistance to be particularly large, the steady loss generated in the initial charging resistance during the operation of the three-level inverter device can be suppressed.

Now, the case where the output terminal voltage is set to 0 after the initial charging of each storage capacitor is completed will be described.
The gate drive circuit 10B receives the OFF signal of GTO1B,
When the gate drive circuits 10C and 10D receive the ON signals of GTO1C and 1D, the GTs are operated by the storage capacitors 8C and 8D as power sources.
On-current is supplied to the gate terminals of O1C and 1D. GTO
When 1C and 1D are turned on, the storage capacitor 8B is an auxiliary power supply.
From 19, auxiliary power supply 19-diode 20C-storage capacitor
Energy is supplied through the route of 8B-GTO1C-GTO1D and is charged to a voltage equal to the voltage of the auxiliary power supply 19. In addition, the storage capacitor 8C is connected from the auxiliary power source 19 to the auxiliary power source 19-
Energy is supplied through the path of the diode 20D-storage capacitor 8C-GTO1D and is charged to a voltage equal to the voltage of the auxiliary power supply 19. Also, the storage capacitor 8D is GTO1A,
Power is supplied from the auxiliary power supply 19 through the diode 20E regardless of the switch states of 1B, 1C and 1D.

Next, the case where the output terminal voltage becomes 0 to 1/2 will be described. The gate drive circuits 10B and 10C receive the ON signals of the GTOs 1B and 1C, and the gate drive circuit 10B
When A and 10D receive the OFF signal of GTO1A and 1D, the gate drive circuit 10B uses the storage capacitors 8B and 8C as a power source,
10C supplies ON currents to the gate terminals of GTO1B and GTO1C, respectively, and the gate drive circuit 10D reversely supplies OFF currents to the gate terminals of GTO1D using the storage capacitor 8D as a power source. If GTO1B and 1C are on, GTO1
Storage capacitor 8 because A and GTO1D are off
B and 8C are cut off from the path through which energy is directly supplied from the auxiliary power supply 19. However, the storage capacitor 8A is connected to the diode 20B-storage capacitor 8A-G from the storage capacitor 8C.
In the path of TO1B-GTO1C, further storage capacitor 8B
Energy is supplied from the diode 20A-storage capacitor 8A-GTO1B.

Now, the case where the output terminal voltage changes from 1/2 to 1 will be described. The gate drive circuits 10A and 10B receive the ON signals of the GTOs 1A and 1B, and the gate drive circuit 10A
When C receives the OFF signal of GTO1C, the storage capacitor 8
Gate drive circuits 10A and 10B use A and 8B as power supplies to supply ON currents to the gate terminals of GTO1A and GTO1B, respectively, and storage capacitor 8C supply power to gate drive circuits 10C that supply reverse current to the gate terminals of GTO1C. . At this time, storage capacitors 8 other than storage capacitor 8D
A, 8B and 8C have no energy supply route.

FIG. 16 shows a summary of the above operations.
This shows the switch state of each GTO according to the output terminal voltage and the energy supply source for the storage capacitor that functions as the power supply of the gate drive circuit that switches each GTO. As is clear from this figure, all storage capacitors can be directly or indirectly
Energy can be supplied from two auxiliary power sources 19. Therefore, all the storage capacitors can function as a power source for the gate drive circuit that switches the GTO connected to each of them. However, since the storage capacitors 8B and 8C have a role of supplying energy to the storage capacitor 8A, it is desirable to use capacitors having a relatively large capacitance. Also, GTO 1A-1D are shown in Figs.
If they are connected in series as shown in (3), a high breakdown voltage 3-level inverter can be constructed.

Example 16 17th Embodiment of the present invention
And 18 are shown. FIG. 17 is a circuit configuration diagram when the present invention is applied to a three-level inverter device capable of outputting three voltage levels to the output terminal O. Reference numerals 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D are self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor elements, and GTO is applied as an example in FIG. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D are GTO 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D
A freewheel diode connected in anti-parallel to each of the
8A, 8B, 8C and 8D are storage capacitors. The storage capacitors 8C and 8D are charged to voltages equal to the voltages of the auxiliary power supplies 19A and 19B, respectively, regardless of the switch states of the GTOs 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D. 10A, 10B, 10C and 10D are gate drive circuits, 19A and 19B are auxiliary power supplies, 20A, 20B and 20
C and 20D are diodes, 21A, 21B and 21C are resistors for initial charging, 27 is a DC power source having an intermediate potential point C, 28A is a clamp diode which connects the intermediate potential point C and the connection point of GTO1A and GTO1B, and 28B is It is a clamp diode that connects the connection point between GTO1C and GTO1D and the intermediate potential point C. P is a positive side DC bus, N is a negative side DC bus, and O is an output terminal of the three-level inverter device. GTO 1A, 1B, 1
The relationship between the switch states of C and 1D and the output terminal voltage is the same as in FIG. 15 described above.

Next, the operation will be described. First, when the three-level inverter is started, but when all the GTOs are in the off state and the voltage is established in the DC power supply 27, the combined resistance value of the initial charging resistors 21A, 21B, and 21C and the storage capacitor. Each storage capacitor is gradually charged from the DC power supply 27 according to the time constant determined by the combined electrostatic capacitance of 8A and 8B. In this case, by setting the resistance value of the initial charging resistance to be particularly large, the steady loss generated in the initial charging resistance during the operation of the three-level inverter device can be suppressed.

Now, the case where the output terminal voltage is set to 0 after the initial charging of each storage capacitor is completed will be described.
The gate drive circuit 10B receives the OFF signal of GTO1B,
When the gate drive circuits 10C and 10D receive the ON signals of GTO1C and 1D, the GTs are operated by the storage capacitors 8C and 8D as power sources.
On-current is supplied to the gate terminals of O1C and 1D. GTO
When 1C and 1D are turned on, the storage capacitor 8B is an auxiliary power supply.
19B-Diode 20B-Storage capacitor 8B-GTO1C-
Energy is supplied from the auxiliary power supply 19B through the GTO1D path and is charged to a voltage equal to the voltage of the auxiliary power supply 19B.

Next, the case where the output terminal voltage becomes 0 to 1/2 will be described. The gate drive circuits 10B and 10C receive the ON signals of the GTOs 1B and 1C, and the gate drive circuit 10B
When A and 10D receive the OFF signal of GTO1A and 1D, the gate drive circuit 10B uses the storage capacitors 8B and 8C as a power source,
10C supplies ON currents to the gate terminals of GTO1B and GTO1C, respectively, and the gate drive circuit 10D reversely supplies OFF currents to the gate terminals of GTO1D using the storage capacitor 8D as a power source. When the GTO1B and 1C are turned on, the storage capacitor 8A is supplied with energy from the auxiliary power supply 19A through the route of auxiliary power supply 19A-diode 20A-storage capacitor 8A-GTO1B-GTO1C and is charged to a voltage equal to the voltage of the auxiliary power supply 19A. .

Now, the case where the output terminal voltage changes from 1/2 to 1 will be described. The gate drive circuits 10A and 10B receive the ON signals of the GTOs 1A and 1B, and the gate drive circuit 10A
When C receives the OFF signal of GTO1C, the storage capacitor 8
The gate drive circuits 10A and 10B supply the ON currents to the gate terminals of GTO1A and GTO1B, respectively, using A and 8B as the power supply, and the gate drive circuits 10C supply the OFF current to the gate terminals of the GTO1C reversely, using the storage capacitor 8C as the power supply. At this time, the storage capacitors 8A and 8B other than the storage capacitors 8C and 8D have no energy supply path.

FIG. 18 shows a summary of the above operations.
This shows the switch state of each GTO according to the output terminal voltage and the energy supply source of the storage capacitor that functions as the power source of the gate drive circuit that switches each GTO. As is clear from this figure, two auxiliary power supplies 19A, 19A directly connected to all storage capacitors.
Energy can be supplied from B. Therefore, all the storage capacitors can function as a power source for the gate drive circuit that switches the GTO connected to each of them. Further, since the storage capacitors 8A and 8B can be directly supplied with energy from the auxiliary power sources 19A and 19B and the energy transfer operation between the storage capacitors is eliminated, the electrostatic capacitances of those capacitors are the same as those in the case of Example 16. It can be smaller than that. Although the negative electrode of the auxiliary power supply 19A is connected to the anode side of the clamp diode 28B, it may be connected to the connection point of the clamp diodes 28A and 28B, that is, the intermediate potential point C, and the same function is achieved. It is possible.

Further, the diode 20C, the diode 20D,
The storage capacitors 8C and 8D are redundant parts in normal operation, but even if the voltage values of the auxiliary power supplies 19A and 19B are abnormally lowered and energy cannot be supplied from the auxiliary power supplies 19A and 19B, the storage capacitors 8C and 8D can be operated for some time. It may be required to continue the operation and wait for the recovery of the auxiliary power supply. In this case, for example, if the storage capacitor 8C and the diode 20C are not connected, the power supply of the gate drive circuit 10C of the GTO 1C will be lost, and the GTO 1C cannot be driven normally. The same applies to GTO1D.
Therefore, even when the voltage of the auxiliary power supplies 19A and 19B drops, it is necessary to secure the energy required for switching the GTO for a certain period of time and improve the reliability of the inverter device.

[0083]

As described above, according to the inventions of claims 1 to 3, the voltage of the storage capacitor serving as the power source of the gate drive circuit of the self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor device is controlled by the series body of capacitors and the energy recovery circuit. Since the storage capacitor is charged to a low voltage, an auxiliary power source and an initial charging circuit are not required, power loss does not occur, and high efficiency of the power conversion device can be realized.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor element is configured to obtain energy from the auxiliary power supply to the storage capacitor serving as the power source of the gate drive circuit when the self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor element is turned on. There is an effect that a large-capacity inverter device in which a plurality of elements are connected in series can be realized.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since two storage capacitors serving as a power source for the gate drive circuit are provided and two types of positive and negative power sources are supplied to the gate drive circuit, the self-driving circuit is provided inside the gate drive circuit. There is no need to create two kinds of voltages for turning on and off the arc-extinguishing semiconductor element, and the gate drive circuit can be simplified and downsized.

According to the invention of claim 6, the energy can be taken out from the reactor connected in series with the self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor device, and the energy can be supplied to the storage capacitor serving as the power source of the gate drive circuit. There is an effect that a power source is not required, the energy consumption of the reactor is suppressed, and the efficiency of the power converter can be improved.

According to the invention of claim 7, energy can be taken out from two reactors connected in series to the self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor device, and energy can be supplied to two storage capacitors serving as a power source of the gate drive circuit. Since the gate drive circuit is configured to supply two types of power source, positive and negative, there is no need for an auxiliary power source, the energy consumption of the reactor can be suppressed, and the efficiency of the power converter can be improved. Furthermore, inside the gate drive circuit There is no need to make two kinds of voltages for turning on and off the self-extinguishing type semiconductor element, and the gate drive circuit can be simplified and downsized.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, one auxiliary power supply is provided for each storage capacitor serving as a power supply for each gate drive circuit of a three-level inverter device in which one phase is composed of four self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor devices. Since the energy is supplied from the device, there are effects that the components related to the power supply of the gate drive circuit can be reduced and the device can be downsized.

According to the ninth aspect of the invention, a storage capacitor serving as a power source for each gate drive circuit of a three-level inverter device in which one phase is composed of four self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor devices has two auxiliary power sources. Since the energy is supplied from the storage capacitor, the capacitance of the storage capacitor can be reduced,
There is an effect that a device that can be downsized can be obtained.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, even when the power converter using the self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor elements connected in series is started, the power supply to the gate drive circuit is surely performed through the high impedance resistor. Since the configuration is possible, there is an effect that a highly reliable device can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply system of a gate drive circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply system of a gate drive circuit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply system of a gate drive circuit according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply system of a gate drive circuit according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply system of a gate drive circuit according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply system of a gate drive circuit according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply system of a gate drive circuit according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply system of a gate drive circuit according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply system of a gate drive circuit according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply system of a gate drive circuit according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply system of a gate drive circuit according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply system of a gate drive circuit according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply system of a gate drive circuit according to a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply system of a gate drive circuit according to a fifteenth embodiment of the present invention.

15 is an explanatory diagram showing an output terminal voltage with respect to a switch state of the self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor device in FIG.

16 is an explanatory diagram showing an energy supply source of a storage capacitor with respect to a switch state of the self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor device in FIG.

FIG. 17 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply system of a gate drive circuit according to a sixteenth embodiment of the present invention.

18 is an explanatory diagram showing an energy supply source of a storage capacitor with respect to a switch state of the self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor device in FIG.

FIG. 19 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply system of a gate drive circuit according to a conventional example.

FIG. 20 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply system of a gate drive circuit according to a conventional example.

FIG. 21 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply system of a gate drive circuit according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 self-extinguishing type semiconductor device, 2 freewheel diode, 3 snubber diode, 4 snubber capacitor, 5 snubber resistor 6 capacitor, 7 capacitor,
8 storage capacitors, 9 energy recovery circuit, 10
Gate drive circuit, A anode terminal, K cathode terminal, G gate terminal.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A capacitor series body connected in parallel to a snubber capacitor in a snubber circuit connected in parallel to a self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element, and connected between a gate terminal and a cathode terminal of the self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element. A gate drive circuit for switching the self-extinguishing semiconductor device, an energy recovery circuit for extracting energy from a capacitor forming the capacitor series body, and a storage capacitor for storing the energy extracted by the energy recovery circuit A gate drive circuit for a semiconductor switch, wherein the storage capacitor is used as a power source of a gate drive circuit for switching the self-extinguishing semiconductor element. 2. The gate drive circuit for a semiconductor switch according to claim 1, wherein the energy recovery circuit includes a diode and constitutes a diode pump circuit together with the capacitor series body and the storage capacitor. 3. The semiconductor according to claim 1, wherein the energy recovery circuit includes a reactor and a switch, and constitutes a flyback type or forward type DC / DC converter together with the capacitor series body and the storage capacitor. Switch gate drive circuit. 4. A gate, which is connected between each gate terminal and cathode terminal of a plurality of self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor elements connected in series, which switch simultaneously, and which switches each of the self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor elements. A drive circuit, a storage capacitor that stores energy for driving each of the gate drive circuits, an auxiliary power supply that supplies energy to each of the storage capacitors, and a plurality of connecting the storage capacitors and the auxiliary power supply. Of the self-extinguishing type semiconductor devices connected in series, the auxiliary power supply supplies energy to the respective storage capacitors via the plurality of diodes, and the respective storage capacitors are connected. Is used as a power source for each of the gate drive circuits. Live circuit. 5. A gate, which is connected between each gate terminal and cathode terminal of a plurality of self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor elements connected in series, which switch simultaneously, and which switches each of the self-extinguishing semiconductor elements. Drive circuits, two storage capacitors each storing positive and negative polar energy for driving the respective gate drive circuits, two auxiliary power supplies supplying energy to each storage capacitor, and each storage Capacitor and above 2
A plurality of diodes for connecting one auxiliary power source, and by supplying energy to the respective storage capacitors from the two auxiliary power sources by the ON operation of the plurality of self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor elements connected in series, A gate drive circuit for a semiconductor switch, characterized in that a storage capacitor is used as two positive and negative power supplies for each of the gate drive circuits. 6. A gate, which is connected between each gate terminal and cathode terminal of a plurality of self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor elements connected in series, which switch simultaneously, and which switches each of the self-extinguishing semiconductor elements. A drive circuit, a storage capacitor for storing energy for driving each of the gate drive circuits, and an auxiliary capacitor for supplying energy to each of the storage capacitors,
A plurality of diodes connecting the storage capacitors and the auxiliary capacitors, and a reactor connected in series to the plurality of self-extinguishing semiconductor elements connected in series, and the plurality of self-extinguishing arcs connected in series. Energy is supplied from the reactor to the auxiliary capacitor by a switching operation of a semiconductor device, and energy is supplied from the auxiliary capacitor to each of the storage capacitors by turning on the self-extinguishing semiconductor devices connected in series. A gate drive circuit for a semiconductor switch, wherein each of the storage capacitors is used as a power source of each of the gate drive circuits. 7. A gate, which is connected between each gate terminal and cathode terminal of a plurality of series-connected self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor elements that simultaneously perform a switching operation, to switch each of the self-extinguishing semiconductor elements. A drive circuit, two storage capacitors each for storing positive and negative polar energy for driving each of the gate drive circuits, two auxiliary capacitors for supplying energy to each storage capacitor, and A plurality of diodes that connect the storage capacitor and each of the auxiliary capacitors, and two reactors that are serially connected to both ends of a series body of the self-extinguishing type semiconductor devices that are serially connected to each other. The self-extinguishing type semiconductor devices connected in series are switched from the two reactors to the two auxiliary capacitors by a switching operation. Energy is supplied to each of the storage capacitors, and energy is supplied to each of the storage capacitors from the two auxiliary capacitors by turning on the plurality of self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor elements connected in series. A gate drive circuit for a semiconductor switch, characterized by using two positive and negative power supplies for each gate drive circuit. 8. A first, a second, a third, and a fourth self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor elements respectively connected in series between positive and negative buses of a DC power supply having an intermediate potential point, the intermediate potential point and the first. A first clamp diode connected between a connection point between the self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element and the second self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element, the third self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element, and the fourth self-extinguishing element. A second clamp diode connected between a connection point with the arc-type semiconductor element and the intermediate potential point, and a connection point between the second self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element and the third self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element. A three-level inverter having an output terminal provided in the self-extinguishing circuit, the self-extinguishing circuit being connected to the gate terminal and the cathode terminal of each of the first, second, third, and fourth self-extinguishing semiconductor devices. First, second, third, and fourth switch elements that switch each of the semiconductor devices A gate drive circuit, first, second, third, and fourth storage capacitors that store energy for driving the first, second, third, and fourth gate drive circuits, and the self-extinction. For connecting the auxiliary power supply for supplying energy to the fourth storage capacitor and the first, second, third, and fourth storage capacitors to the auxiliary power supply regardless of the switch operation of the semiconductor device of the type A plurality of diodes, energy is supplied from the auxiliary power supply to each of the second and third storage capacitors by the ON operation of the third and fourth self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor elements, and the second and third storage capacitors are supplied. Energy is supplied from the second and third storage capacitors to the first storage capacitor by the ON operation of the self-extinguishing type semiconductor device of No. 3, and the first, second, third and fourth storage capacitors are Before each First,
A gate drive circuit for a semiconductor switch, which is used as a power supply for the second, third, and fourth gate drive circuits. 9. A first, a second, a third, and a fourth self-arc-extinguishing type semiconductor device connected in series between positive and negative buses of a DC power supply having an intermediate potential point, said intermediate potential point and said first. A first clamp diode connected between a connection point between the self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element and the second self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element, the third self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element, and the fourth self-arc-extinguishing element. Second clamp diode connected between the connection point with the semiconductor device and the intermediate potential point, and the connection point between the second self-extinguishing semiconductor device and the third self-extinguishing semiconductor device. A three-level inverter having an output terminal provided, wherein the self-extinguishing inverter is connected to the gate terminal and cathode terminal of each of the first, second, third, and fourth self-extinguishing semiconductor elements. The first, second, third, and fourth gates that switch each of the semiconductor elements are operated. Drive circuit, first, second, third, and fourth storage capacitors that store energy for driving the first, second, third, and fourth gate drive circuits, and the self-extinguishing circuit. A first auxiliary power source for supplying energy to the third storage capacitor regardless of the switching operation of the semiconductor device and a supply of energy to the fourth storage capacitor regardless of the switching operation of the self-extinguishing semiconductor device. A second auxiliary power source, and the first and third
The storage capacitor and the diode for connecting the first auxiliary power supply, and the diode for connecting the second and fourth storage capacitors and the second auxiliary power supply, the second, the third Energy is supplied from the first auxiliary power source to the first storage capacitor by the ON operation of the self-arc-extinguishing semiconductor element of Energy is supplied from the auxiliary power source to the second storage capacitor, and the first, second, third, and fourth storage capacitors are respectively connected to the first, second, third, and fourth gate drive circuits. Gate drive circuit for semiconductor switches, characterized by being used as a power supply. 10. The initial charging of the storage capacitor comprises:
The gate drive circuit for a semiconductor switch according to any one of claims 4 to 9, wherein the main circuit power supply is operated through a resistor having a high impedance.