Astec International Limited

University of Central Florida Research Foundation Inc

Hong Mao

Issa E Batarseh

Jaber A Abu Qahouq

Jaber A Abu-Qahouq

Geoffrey Potter

Vijay Gangadhar Phadke

Arlaindo Vitug Asuncion

Gordon Currie

Wenkai Wu

Wei Gu

Geof Potter

A DC-DC switching cell module includes a switch, a rectifier, an output filter coupled to the rectifier, and an input port for receiving an external PWM control signal from a controller. The switching cell module is configured to control the switch in response to the external PWM control signal to generate a DC output voltage from a DC input voltage. The switching cell module is configured for attachment to a circuit board as a discrete component.

DC-DC switching cell modules for on-board power systems

A controller for controlling a plurality of DC-DC switching cells each configured to generate an output voltage in response to receiving a PWM control signal from the controller. The controller includes a plurality of output ports for outputting a plurality of PWM control signals, and at least one input port for receiving a plurality of output voltages from the plurality of switching cells. The controller is configured to sample the plurality of output voltages one at a time via a multiplexer and to regulate the output voltages in response to the sampling.

Centralized controller and power manager for on-board power systems

A switching power converter has at least one electronic power switch. To minimize switching losses and optimize efficiency, the gate drive voltage level used to drive the electronic power switch is optimized. In an aspect, a digital controller generates optimizes the gate drive voltage using efficiency optimization algorithms, which in an aspect are programmed in the digital controller. In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the switching power supply has at least two electronic power switches coupled in parallel. Optimization algorithms are used to determine the optimum number of switched electronic power switches that are actively being switched at a given time in order to achieve optimized efficiency for condition changes, such as input voltage variation, load and environmental temperature changes. In an aspect, the algorithms are programmed in a digital controller chip. In an aspect, both gate drive voltage level and the number of electronic power switches being actively switched at a given time are optimized.

Switching power converter with reduced switching losses

A DC-DC converter includes an inductor, a synchronous rectifier (SR) connected to the inductor, and an active switch connected to the inductor and the SR. An active resonant tank (ART) cell is connected to the SR or a transformer in parallel such that a resonant capacitor of the ART cell is charged through the active switch and discharged through the synchronous rectifier so that during a switch transition period energy is pumped out of the resonant capacitor by activating the ART cell to eliminate reverse recovery switching loss and achieve Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS).

Zero-voltage-switching DC-DC converters with synchronous rectifiers

Apparatus, methods system and devices for using alternated duty cycle control to achieve soft-switching for at least one switch of the two half-bridge switches. When soft-switching can be only achieved for one switch, alternated duty cycle control alternates the soft-switching between the two switches so that each switch is soft-switched during half of the time and hard-switched during the other half, keeping equal power losses distribution between the switches. When alternated duty cycle control is used, any asymmetry in the duty cycle does not cause asymmetric components stresses or transformer DC bias.

Alternated duty cycle control method for half-bridge DC-DC converter

A power converter includes a first transformer that has a primary winding and a secondary winding. The secondary winding is coupled to a first secondary side. A second transformer has a primary winding and a secondary winding. The secondary winding is coupled to a second secondary side. The primary windings of the first and second transformers are coupled in parallel to a primary side through respective windings of a transformer that has inverse coupled windings. The secondary windings of the first and second transformer are coupled in parallel. The second secondary side is interleaved with the first secondary side.

Power converter with interleaved topology

A coupled-inductor current-doubler topology for a power converter has first and second rectifiers and first and second coupled inductors. Each coupled inductor has a main inductor inductively coupled with a secondary inductor. The secondary inductor of the first coupled inductor is coupled in series with one of the first and second rectifiers and the secondary inductor of the second coupled inductor coupled in series with the other one of the first and second rectifiers.

DC-DC converter with coupled-inductors current-doubler

A duty-cycle-shifted pulse-width modulation controlled half-bridge zero-voltage switching DC&#x2014;DC converter has a primary side, a secondary side and a transformer coupling the primary side to the secondary side. The primary side has first and second primary switches coupled to a primary winding of the transformer and an auxiliary branch having one side coupled to a junction of the first and second primary switches and a second side coupled to common. The auxiliary branch includes a grounded auxiliary switch that is switched on when one of the first and second primary switches is on to trap leakage inductance energy of the transformer when that primary switch is turned off and thereafter switched off to release the trapped leakage inductance energy to provide a zero voltage switching condition for the other primary switch. The one of the first and second primary switches that is on when the auxiliary switch is switched on may be controlled with duty-cycle-shifted pulse width modulation to provide a zero current switching condition for that primary switch.

Zero-voltage switching half-bridge DC-DC converter topology by utilizing the transformer leakage inductance trapped energy

A method and system of controlling half-bridge DC&mdash;DC converters to achieve Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS) for at least one of the switches. The soft-switching half-bridge DC&mdash;DC converter system includes soft-switching for all switches by adding an additional branch with a switch and a diode across the primary side of an isolation transformer and by applying a Duty-Cycle Shifted PWM Control.

PWM half-bridge converter with dual-equally adjustable control signal dead-time

A multiphase DC/DC converter with voltage-mode hysteretic control and instantaneous current sharing functionality method and circuit. The disclosed method and circuit provides independent output voltage regulation and phases current regulation for the converter in two separate loops; one of which is concerned with voltage regulation preferably hysteretic regulation and the other which is concerned with phase current regulation. In one embodiment, each phase in the DC/DC converter is driven by a frequency divided signal derived directly from the output voltage ripple so that each phase has a switching frequency equal to the output voltage ripple frequency divided by the number of paralleled phase. In another embodiment, only the phase that carries the smallest current among a set of phases will be turned ON in each switching cycle to supply power to the output, avoiding multiple switching. Current sharing and regulation is achieved without shortening the ON time and with no multiple switching in any cycle.

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Orlando, FL, United States of America

Hong Mao