Coupled inductor structure

Abstract

A system comprises a first inverter and a second inverter connected in parallel, a coupled inductor connected to outputs of the first inverter and the second inverter, wherein the coupled inductor comprises a plurality of windings formed by a single winding wire and an output filter coupled to an output of the coupled inductor.

Claims

1. A system comprising: a first inverter and a second inverter connected in parallel; a coupled inductor having two inputs connected to a single node, and two outputs connected to a single node, wherein the outputs of the first inverter and the second inverter are connected to each other and further connected to the two inputs of the coupled inductor, and wherein the coupled inductor comprises a plurality of windings formed by a single winding wire, and the plurality of windings of the coupled inductor is magnetically coupled to each other through a magnetic core; and an output filter coupled to an output of the coupled inductor, wherein the output filter comprises a low impedance path formed by a capacitor and a high impedance path formed by an inductor, and wherein the capacitor is connected between a common node of the coupled inductor and the inductor, and the inductor is connected between the coupled inductor and a load.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the coupled inductor comprises: the magnetic core comprising a first side and a second side; a first winding comprising a first portion wound around the first side and a third portion wound around the second side; and a second winding comprising a second portion wound around the first side and a fourth portion wound around the second side, and wherein the first portion and the second portion are wound around the first side in a same direction, and the third portion and the fourth portion are wound around the second side in a same direction.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the single winding wire is configured to: wrap a plurality of first turns around the first side of the magnetic core; extend from the first side of the magnetic core to the second side of the magnetic core; wrap a plurality of third turns around the second side of the magnetic core; extend from one end to the other end of the second side of the magnetic core; wrap a plurality of fourth turns around the second side of the magnetic core; extend from the second side of the magnetic core to the first side of the magnetic core; and wrap a plurality of second turns around the first side of the magnetic core.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein: a center point of the plurality of first turns is vertically aligned with a center point of the plurality of second turns; and a center point of the plurality of third turns is vertically aligned with a center point of the plurality of fourth turns.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein: the first inverter comprises a first switch and a second switch connected in series between two terminals of a power source, and an isolation switch.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein: the isolation switch comprises two back-to-back connected transistors connected between a common node of the first switch and the second switch, and ground.

7. A system comprising: a first inverter and a second inverter connected in parallel; a coupled inductor having a first input and a second input connected together at a single node, wherein outputs of the first inverter and the second inverter are connected to each other at the single node, and wherein the coupled inductor comprises a first winding, a second winding and a magnetic core comprising a first side and a second side opposite the first side, wherein: the first winding comprises a first portion wound around the first side and a second portion wound around the second side; and the second winding comprises a third portion wound around the first side and a fourth portion wound around the second side, wherein the first winding is magnetically coupled to the second winding through the magnetic core; and an output filter coupled to an output of the coupled inductor, wherein the output filter comprises a low impedance path formed by a capacitor and a high impedance path formed by an inductor, and wherein the capacitor is connected between a common node of the coupled inductor and the inductor, and the inductor is connected between the coupled inductor and a load.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein: a first terminal of the first winding and a first terminal of the second winding form the first input and the second input of the coupled inductor, respectively.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein: a second terminal of the first winding and a second terminal of the second winding are coupled together to form the output of the coupled inductor.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the magnetic core comprises ferrite.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the first inverter comprises: a first switching element and a second switching element connected in series; and a first isolation switch comprising two back-to-back connected switching elements, wherein the first isolation switch is connected between an output of the first inverter and ground.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein: a common node of the first switching element and the second switching element is an output of the first inverter, and wherein the output of the first inverter is connected to the first input of the coupled inductor.

13. The system of claim 7, wherein the second inverter comprises: a third switching element and a fourth switching element connected in series, wherein a common node of the third switching element and the fourth switching element is an output of the second inverter; and a second isolation switch comprising two back-to-back connected switching elements, and wherein the second isolation switch is coupled between the output of the second inverter and ground.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein: the output of the second inverter is connected to the second input of the coupled inductor.

15. A system comprising: a first inverter and a second inverter connected in parallel, wherein two outputs of the first inverter and the second inverter are connected together; a coupled inductor having two outputs connected together and two inputs connected together, wherein the two inputs of the coupled inductor are further connected to the two outputs of the first inverter and the second inverter, wherein the coupled inductor comprises a first winding, a second winding and a magnetic core comprising a first side and a second side opposite the first side, wherein: the first winding and the second winding of the coupled inductor are formed by a single winding wire; the first winding comprises a first portion wound around the first side and a second portion wound around the second side; and the second winding comprises a third portion wound around the first side and a fourth portion wound around the second side; and an output filter coupled to the two outputs of the coupled inductor, wherein the output filter comprises a capacitor and an inductor, the capacitor being coupled to a common node of the inductor and the coupled inductor.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein: the first inverter comprises a first switch and a second switch connected in series between two terminals of a power source, and a first isolation switch, and wherein the first isolation switch comprises two back-to-back connected transistors connected between a common node of the first switch and the second switch, and ground; and the second inverter comprises a third switch and a fourth switch connected in series between the two terminals of the power source, and a second isolation switch, and wherein the second isolation switch comprises two back-to-back connected transistors connected between a common node of the third switch and the fourth switch, and ground.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein: a first vertical bar having a first terminal connected to a plurality of first turns around the first side of the magnetic core through a first curved connection element, and a second terminal connected to a plurality of second turns around the first side of the magnetic core through a second curved connection element; and a second vertical bar having a first terminal connected to a plurality of third turns around the second side of the magnetic core through a first straight connection element, and a second terminal connected to a plurality of fourth turns around the second side of the magnetic core through a second straight connection element.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein: the first vertical bar is in parallel with the second vertical bar.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram a DC/AC power system having a plurality of inverters connected in parallel in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure;

(3) FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of the DC/AC power system shown in FIG. 1 in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure;

(4) FIG. 3 illustrates an electrical equivalent circuit and an implementation of the coupled inductor in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure;

(5) FIG. 4 illustrates an implementation of the winding coils of the coupled inductor in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure;

(6) FIG. 5 illustrates an electrical equivalent circuit and another implementation of the coupled inductor in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure;

(7) FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram another DC/AC power system having a plurality of inverters connected in parallel in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure; and

(8) FIG. 7 illustrates an implementation of the winding coils of the coupled inductor shown in FIG. 6 in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure.

(9) Corresponding numerals and symbols in the different figures generally refer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The figures are drawn to clearly illustrate the relevant aspects of the various embodiments and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

(10) The making and using of the presently preferred embodiments are discussed in detail below. It should be appreciated, however, that the present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that can be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussed are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention, and do not limit the scope of the invention.

(11) The present invention will be described with respect to preferred embodiments in a specific context, namely a coupled inductor structure for load current sharing in a direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC) power system having multiple inverters connected in parallel. The invention may also be applied, however, to a variety of DC/AC power systems. Furthermore, the invention may also be applied to a variety of current sharing applications. Hereinafter, various embodiments will be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(12) FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram a DC/AC power system having a plurality of inverters connected in parallel in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The DC/AC power system 100 comprises an input DC power source 112, a first inverter 102, a second inverter 104, a coupled inductor 110, an output filter 116 and an AC power source 114. As shown in FIG. 1, the first inverter 102 and the second inverter 104 are connected in parallel. Equal current sharing may be achieved through the coupled inductor 110, which has two inputs connected to the outputs of the first inverter 102 and the second inverter 104 respectively and an output connected to the output filter 116. The current sharing mechanism will be described in detail below with respect to FIG. 2.

(13) The first inverter 102 and the second inverter 104 inverts a DC waveform received from the input DC power source 112 to an AC waveform. In some embodiments, the first inverter 102 and the second inverter 104 may comprise a plurality of switching elements such as insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) devices. Alternatively, the first inverter 102 and the second inverter 104 may include other types of controllable devices such as metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) devices, bipolar junction transistor (BJT) devices, super junction transistor (SJT) devices, bipolar transistors and/or the like. The detailed operation and structure of the first inverter 102 and the second inverter 104 will be described below with respect to FIG. 2.

(14) The coupled inductor 110 may comprise two inductors magnetically coupled to each other. As shown in FIG. 1, the dots denote the polarity of two mutually coupled magnetic elements. The detailed operation of the coupled inductor 110 will be discussed below with respect to FIG. 2. The structure of the coupled inductor 110 will be described below with respect to FIGS. 3-5.

(15) It should be noted that the inverters 102 and 104 and the coupled inductor 110 shown in FIG. 1 are merely examples, one person skilled in the art will realize that the inverters (e.g., inverters 102 and 104) as well as its corresponding coupled inductor 110 may be implemented in many different ways. For example, the DC/AC power system may accommodate more than two inverters connected in parallel. Accordingly, the coupled inductor 110 may comprise multiple windings, each of which is connected to one output of a corresponding inverter.

(16) The output filter 116 may comprise an inductor L1 coupled between the coupled inductor 110 and the output AC source 114. The output filter 116 may further comprise a plurality of output capacitors coupled between the common node of the coupled inductor 110 and the inductor L1 and ground. The plurality of output capacitors are collectively shown as a capacitor C1 in FIG. 1.

(17) The inductor L1 provides high impedance when high frequency noise tries to flow out of the inverters 102 and 104. At the same time, the capacitor C1 shunts the input of the output power source 114 and provides a low impedance channel for the high frequency noise generated from the inverters 102 and 104. As a result, the high frequency noise of the inverters 102 and 104 may be prevented from passing through the output filter 116.

(18) It should further be noted that the inverter topologies, the output filter 116, the input DC power source 112 and the output AC power source 114 shown in FIG. 1 are provided for illustrative purposes only, and are provided only as examples of various embodiments. Such examples should not unduly limit the scope of the claims One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize many variations, alternatives, and modifications.

(19) FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of the DC/AC power system shown in FIG. 1 in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. An input DC voltage source 112 is coupled to the inputs of the first inverter 102 and the second inverter 104 respectively. In order to filter input noise, a plurality of input capacitors are coupled between the two output terminals of the input DC voltage source 112. More particularly, the input capacitors may comprise a first input capacitor CIN1 and a second input capacitor CIN2. The first input capacitor CIN1 and the second input capacitor CIN2 are connected in series. The common node of the first input capacitor CIN1 and the second input capacitor CIN2 is connected to ground as shown in FIG. 1.

(20) In some embodiments, the first inverter 102 may be of the same structure as the second inverter 104. For simplicity, only the detailed structure of the first inverter 102 will be described below.

(21) The first inverter 102 comprises a pair of switching elements Q1 and Q2 connected in series. The common node of the switching elements Q1 and Q2 are coupled to ground through an isolation device formed by back-to-back connected switching elements Q5 and Q6. The back-to-back connected switching elements Q5 and Q6 are capable of completely isolating the common node of the switching elements Q1 and Q2 from ground. According to some embodiments, switching elements Q1, Q2, Q5 and Q6 are IGBT or IGBTs connected in parallel, series and any combinations thereof.

(22) Switching elements Q1, Q2, Q5 and Q6 are so controlled that the output of the first inverter 102 generates a three level waveform. In particular, when switching element Q1 is turned on, the output of the first inverter 102 generates a positive voltage equal to one half of the voltage of the input DC power source 112. Likewise, when switching element Q2 is turned on, the output of the first inverter 102 generates a negative voltage equal to one half of the voltage of the input DC power source 112. When both switching elements Q1 and Q2 are turned off and switching elements Q5 and Q6 are turned on, the output of the first inverter 102 is coupled to ground. As such, the output of the first inverter 102 is a three-level voltage waveform. The frequency of the three-level voltage waveform is approximately 60 HZ according to an embodiment.

(23) The first inverter 102 and the second inverter 104 shown in FIG. 2 are commonly known as T-type three-level inverters. It should be noted that while FIG. 2 shows the first inverter 102 and the second inverter 104 are T-type three-level power inverters, it is within the scope and spirit of the invention for the DC/AC power system 100 to comprise other inverters, such as, but no limited to two-level inverters, three-level inverters, resonant inverters, any combinations thereof and/or the like.

(24) The equivalent circuit of the coupled inductor 110 is shown in FIG. 2. The equivalent circuit of the coupled inductor 110 includes a transformer T1, a magnetizing inductor L.sub.M, a first leakage inductor L.sub.lk1, a second leakage inductor L.sub.lk2, a first resistor R1 and a second resistor R2. The magnetizing inductor L.sub.M represents the magnetizing inductance through which the magnetizing flux of the coupled inductor 110 is created. The definition and the operation principle of the magnetizing inductance are well known in the art, and hence are not discussed herein to avoid repetition.

(25) The first resistor R1 represents the winding resistance of the first winding of the coupled inductor 110. Likewise, the second resistor R2 represents the winding resistance of the second winding of the coupled inductor 110.

(26) The magnetic material of the magnetic core may be of a magnetic permeability greater than that of a surrounding medium (e.g., air). However, the coupling between two inductors of the coupled inductor 110 may be not perfect. The coupling between the winding and the surrounding medium may generate leakage magnetic flux. Both inductors of the coupled inductor 110 may generate leakage inductance through the coupling with the surrounding medium such as air. The leakage generated by the first inductor winding is defined as L.sub.lk1 and the leakage generated by the second inductor winding is defined as L.sub.lk2.

(27) As shown in FIG. 2, the magnetizing inductor L.sub.M is connected in parallel with one side of the transformer T1. The first leakage inductor L.sub.lk1 and the first resistor R1 are connected in series and further connected to a first side of the transformer T1. The second leakage inductor L.sub.lk2 and the second resistor R2 are connected in series and further connected to a second side of the transformer T1.

(28) FIG. 2 further shows the first side of the transformer T1 is coupled to the output of the first inverter 102 and the second side of the transformer T1 is coupled to the output of the second inverter 104. The first inverter 102 and the second inverter 104 are connected in parallel. In order to force the load current of the DC/AC power system to distribute evenly between the first inverter 102 and the second inverter 104, the coupled inductor 110 is employed to achieve both static current sharing and dynamic current sharing.

(29) According to some embodiments, the first leakage inductor L.sub.lk1 and second leakage inductor L.sub.lk2 help to achieve dynamic current sharing between the first inventor 102 and the second inverter 104. During a transition (e.g., from one output voltage level to another output voltage level), the impedance of the leakage inductors may become significant because the transition frequency is much higher than the normal operating frequency, which is about 60 Hz according to an embodiment. Such higher impedance can correct the unbalanced currents flowing through two sides of the transformer T1.

(30) On the other hand, during normal operation mode or a static current sharing process, the resistors R1 and R2 may create a higher voltage drop in the conductive channel of the inverter, which is heavily loaded. In addition, the winding resistance is of a positive temperature coefficient. In other words, the winding resistance of highly loaded winding increases with increasing temperature caused by a higher load current. As a result, the load current is steered from the heavily loaded inverter to the lightly loaded inverter. Accordingly, static current sharing can be achieved. Both the dynamic current sharing and the static current share are well known in the art, and hence are not discussed in further detail herein.

(31) It should be noted during a static current sharing process, the first leakage inductor L.sub.lk1 and second leakage inductor L.sub.lk2 may help to balance the load currents flowing through the first inventor 102 and the second inverter 104.

(32) FIG. 3 illustrates an electrical equivalent circuit and an implementation of the coupled inductor in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The equivalent circuit 302 of the coupled inductor 110 has been described above with respect to FIG. 2, and hence is not discussed again herein.

(33) The coupled inductor may be wound around a magnetic core as shown in FIG. 3. In accordance with an embodiment, the magnetic core is made of a magnetic material having high permeability such as ferrite, powder iron, other power suitable materials, any combinations thereof and/or the like.

(34) The view 304 shows the coupled inductor comprises two winding coils 312 and 314 wound around a rectangular magnetic core. The first winding coil 312 is split into two portions N1 and N3. Likewise, the second winding coil 314 is split into two portions N2 and N4. As shown in FIG. 3, the portion N1 and portion N2 are coupled to input terminals Term A and Term B respectively and wound around a first long side of the rectangular magnetic core. The terminals of the portions N3 and N4 are connected together and further connected to the terminal Term C. The portions N3 and N4 are wound around a second long side of the rectangular magnetic core.

(35) It should be noted that while FIG. 3 illustrates a rectangular magnetic core, one having ordinary skill in the art will recognize, the magnetic core described above is merely an exemplary core and is not meant to limit the current embodiments. Other magnetic cores, such as toroidal magnetic cores, two U-cores, may alternatively be used. Any suitable magnetic cores may be used, and all such magnetic cores are fully intended to be included within the scope of the embodiments discussed herein.

(36) One advantageous feature of having multiple windings wound around the same magnetic core as shown in FIG. 3 is that in comparison with a plurality of windings wound around separate magnetic cores, the structure shown in FIG. 3 may occupy less space. As a result, the cost as well as the reliability of the DC/AC power system shown in FIG. 2 may be improved.

(37) FIG. 4 illustrates an implementation of the winding coils of the coupled inductor in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The view 402 shows the coupled inductor 110 is formed by two inductors L1 and L2, wherein L1 and L2 are magnetically coupled to each other. As shown in FIG. 4, the first inductor L1 has an input Term A. The second inductor L2 has an input Term B. FIG. 4 further shows that an output of the first inductor L1 is connected to an output of the second inductor L2 to form an output Term C of the coupled inductor 110.

(38) The winding of first inductor L1 is split between a first side of the rectangular magnetic core and a second side of the rectangular magnetic core. In particular, there may be N1 turns located at the first side of the magnetic core and N3 turns at the second side of the magnetic core. Likewise, the winding of first inductor L2 is split between a first side of the rectangular magnetic core and a second side of the magnetic core. In particular, there may be N2 turns located at the first side of the magnetic core and N4 turns at the second side of the magnetic core. In some embodiments, N1, N2, N3 and N4 are equal.

(39) FIG. 4 further illustrates a perspective view of the windings of the coupled inductor without the magnetic core for clarity. The perspective view 404 shows an implementation of the windings of the coupled inductor through a single wire winding structure. The windings of the coupled inductor 110 may be formed by a single wire. As shown in FIG. 4, the wire has a first terminal Term A. The wire may wrap N1 turns around a first side of a magnetic core (not shown) and then extend from the first side of the magnetic core to a second side of the magnetic core. The wire wraps N3 turns around the second side of the magnetic core to form a first group of winding turns at the second side of the magnetic core. As shown in FIG. 4, the wire may extend along the second side to a far end of the second side. Furthermore, the wire may wrap N4 turns around the second side of the magnetic core to form a second group of winding turns. The common node between the first group of winding turns and the second group of winding turns may function as the output Term C of the coupled inductor 110.

(40) Once the wire wraps N4 turns around the second side, the wire extends from the second side of the magnetic core to the first side of the magnetic core. The wire may wrap N2 turns around the first side and finish at Term B. It should be noted that N1, N2, N3 and N4 are wound in the same direction. In other words, the magnetic fields generated by windings N1, N2, N3 and N4 are in the same direction.

(41) One advantageous feature of having a single wire winding structure shown in FIG. 4 is that the single wire winding structure may simplify the manufacture process of the coupled inductor. As a result, the cost as well as the reliability of the coupled inductor shown in FIG. 4 may be reduced. In a conventional coupled inductor, two winding wires are employed and the terminals of the two winding wires may be connected together through a bolt. Such a bolt may cause a reliability issue if it is not assembled correctly.

(42) It should be noted the windings N1, N2, N3 and N4 may be implemented by a single wire as described above. Alternatively, the winding N1, N2, N3 and N4 may be implemented by two wires. In particular, a first wire is employed to form windings N1 and N3. A second wire is employed to form windings N2 and N4. A first terminal of the first wire is a first input Term A of the coupled inductor. A first terminal of the second wire is a second input Term B of the coupled inductor. The second terminal of the first wire and the second terminal of the second wire are coupled together to form the output Term C of the coupled inductor.

(43) FIG. 5 illustrates an electrical equivalent circuit and another implementation of the coupled inductor in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The winding coil arrangement shown in FIG. 5 is similar to that shown in FIG. 3 except that the split-winding structure shown in FIG. 3 is replaced by a single winding shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5, the first winding coil is wound around a first long side of a rectangular magnetic core and the second winding coil is would around a second long side of a rectangular magnetic core. The first winding coil is coupled between Term A and Term C and the second winding coil is coupled between Term B and Term C.

(44) FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram another DC/AC power system having a plurality of inverters connected in parallel in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The configuration of the DC/AC power system 600 shown in FIG. 6 is similar to the DC/AC power system 100 shown in FIG. 1 except that the two input terminals of the coupled inductor are connected to each other and then connected to the output of the first inverter 102 and the output of the second inverter 104. The detailed operation of a DC/AC power system having a plurality of inverters connected in parallel has been described above with respect to FIG. 1, and hence is not discussed again herein.

(45) FIG. 7 illustrates an implementation of the winding coils of the coupled inductor shown in FIG. 6 in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The winding coils shown in FIG. 7 are similar to the winding coils shown in FIG. 4 except that the two input terminals are connected together to form a single input Term A. The windings N1, N2, N3 and N4 are similar to those shown in FIG. 4, and hence not described herein to avoid repetition.

(46) Although embodiments of the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

(47) Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed, that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.