General Electric Company

Donald D Bock

Herbert J Brown

Philip R Cooke

Kurt K Hedel

A power supply for a gate drive voltage supply system for a power inverter is coupled to receive a variable DC voltage and operable to produce a regulated DC output voltage to each of a plurality of distributed electronic switching devices. The system includes a plurality of linear voltage regulators with each respective one of the regulators having a power input terminal coupled to a common DC link. Each of the regulators is separately connected to a ground reference at a ground reference power terminal of a corresponding one of the switching devices so as to eliminate ground loops and voltage drops over a common ground bus.

Gate drive power supply operable from a source of unregulated DC

A modular arrangement of DC to DC Power conversion units which permits variation of power handling capability without changing the power control system. The conversion units of the stagger-mode type including two pulse width modulated converter sub-units are separated into two individually powered and controlled units. First units of all converters are connected in one series string across a power source and similarly the second units of all converters are connected in a second series string across the power source. Each unit has a capacitor connected across its power input terminals so that the source voltage is evenly divided between converters. With this configuration only one converter need have its current monitored in order to balance the current between the two strings of converter units. The system includes current and voltage protection features appropriate to a high current and high voltage environment.

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Erie, PA, United States of America

Donald D Bock