Eaton Corporation

Eaton Intelligent Power Limited

Eaton Capital Unlimited Company

Eaton Capital

Tiefu Zhao

Birger Pahl

Vijay Bhavaraju

Jun Xu

Mengbin Yang

Yahan Hua

Jiangbiao He

Peter J Theisen

Yakov Lvovich Familiant

Tangshun Wu, Jr

Prasanna S Nirantare

Jonathan Michael Schaar

Yilei Gu

Jack Gu

Christopher Scott Thompson

Gerald Zheng

Bruce Wu

Milind Suresh Kothekar

Qingjie Zheng

Mengbin Ben Yang

Milind Kothekar

An apparatus for a load tap changer includes a first primary winding electrically connected to a first contact, the first contact configured to connect to one of a plurality of taps in a load tap changer; a second contact, the second contact configured to connect to one of the plurality of taps in the load tap changer; a magnetic core; and a control circuit including: a secondary winding configured to magnetically couple to the first primary winding and the magnetic core; and an electrical network electrically connected to the secondary winding, the electrical network being configured to prevent magnetic saturation of the magnetic core during switching of the first or second contact.

Current control apparatus

Electrical network configured to magnetically couple to a winding and to control magnetic saturation in a magnetic core

The present invention provides a receiving circuit for magnetic coupling resonant wireless power transmission comprising: a resonant circuit, which comprises a resonant coil and a resonant capacitor; a rectifying circuit, the input of which is electrically connected to the two terminals of the resonant capacitor; a storage capacitor, the two terminals of which are electrically connected to the output of rectifying circuit; and a DC-DC converter, the input of which is electrically connected to the two terminals of the storage capacitor and the output of which is electrically connected to a rechargeable battery. The receiving circuit for magnetic coupling resonant wireless power transmission of the present invention can save energy and has high charge efficiency.

Receiving circuit for magnetic coupling resonant wireless power transmission

A method of operating an AC to DC converter circuit can be provided by changing a configuration of a DC output filter circuit to reshape a current waveform in a rectifier circuit, included in the AC to DC converter circuit, based on an operating efficiency of the AC to DC converter circuit. Related circuits and articles of manufacture are also disclosed.

Methods, circuits and articles of manufacture for configuring DC output filter circuits

A wireless power transfer circuit can include an input port that can be configured to couple to a power source, an ac excitation circuit having a port coupled to the input port, a resonant circuit coupled to the ac excitation circuit, and a controller circuit that can be configured to operate the ac excitation circuit. The wireless power transfer circuit can operate to inductively transfer power from the resonant circuit and the controller circuit can be configured to change an operating frequency of the ac excitation circuit and change a configuration of the resonant circuit responsive a change in indicated efficiency of the wireless power transfer.

Methods, circuits and articles of manufacture for controlling wireless power transfer responsive to controller circuit states

An integrated circuit is provided with an MCU, which is configured to generate a PWM control signal that is free of switching pattern information therein. A current-estimating gate driver is provided, which is responsive to the PWM signal. This gate driver is configured to drive first and second gate terminals of first and second parallel switching devices (within a hybrid switch) with gate signals that establish a second switching pattern within the hybrid switch. These gate driving operations are performed in response to measuring a first voltage associated with a terminal of the hybrid switch when being driven by gate signals that establish a first switching pattern within the hybrid switch that is different from the second switching pattern. The duty cycles of the gate signals associated with the second switching pattern are unequal and the duty cycles of the gate signals associated with the first switching pattern are unequal.

Methods and systems for operating hybrid power devices using driver circuits that perform indirect instantaneous load current sensing using stored I-V characteristics

Methods and systems for operating hybrid power devices using driver circuits that perform indirect instantaneous load current sensing

An integrated circuit includes a hybrid switch having first and second switching devices of different type therein. A control circuit is provided, which is configured to drive the first and second devices with respective first and second control signals having first and second unequal duty cycles, respectively, when the first and second devices are supporting a forward current in a first current range. The control circuit is further configured to drive the first and second devices with respective third and fourth control signals having third and fourth unequal duty cycles, respectively, when the first and second devices are supporting a forward current in a second current range outside the first current range. The first duty cycle may be greater than the second duty cycle and the third duty cycle may be less than the fourth duty cycle.

Methods and systems for operating hybrid power devices using multiple current-dependent switching patterns

A system and method for selectively connecting photovoltaic (PV) arrays of a PV power system in series and parallel arrangements is disclosed. A DC-to-AC power inverter in the PV power system is electrically coupled to a plurality of PV arrays to receive a DC output therefrom and invert the DC output to an AC output, with the DC-to-AC power inverter including a DC link that receives the DC output from the plurality of PV arrays. A contactor arrangement is positioned between the plurality of PV arrays and the DC-to-AC power inverter, with the contactor arrangement including a plurality of contactors that are switchable between an on state and an off state to selectively connect the plurality of PV arrays to the DC-to-AC power inverter in a specified arrangement, so as to control a level of DC voltage received by the DC-to-AC power inverter from the plurality of PV arrays.

System and method for connection of photovoltaic arrays in series and parallel arrangements

Wireless power transfer systems include at least one foil-type transmitter/receiver coil with a plurality of turns, which is configured to reduce eddy current losses therein when energized to conduct an alternating current that supports inductive power transfer including coil-to-coil power electrical transfer, inductive heating, etc. The plurality of turns includes at least an outermost turn with a first arcuate-shaped corner having a concave inner surface, which faces an immediately adjacent one of the plurality of turns. The immediately adjacent one of the plurality of turns may also have a second arcuate-shaped corner with a concave inner surface facing an innermost one of the plurality of turns. The first arcuate-shaped corner may have a non-uniform radius of curvature and/or an innermost one of the plurality of turns may have an arcuate-shaped corner, which is a mirror image of the first arcuate-shaped corner when the coil is view in transverse cross-section.

Wireless power transfer systems containing foil-type transmitter and receiver coils

A hybrid DC contactor includes contacts that provide a first current path between a DC power source and a load, an electromagnetic coil to position the contacts, a semiconductor switch in parallel with contacts that, when turned on, provides a second parallel current path that diverts current away from the contacts when the main contacts are being opened in either direction. A controller is provided to terminate power to the electromagnetic coil to open the contacts, detect an arc voltage across the contacts as the contacts open, provide a gate signal to the semiconductor switch to pulse the switch on for a pre-determined period of time to route current to the semiconductor switch, measure a current through the contacts and, if current is present through the contacts, then provide another gate signal to the semiconductor switch to pulse the switch on again so as to route current thereto.

Hybrid bi-directional DC contactor and method of controlling thereof

A photovoltaic (PV) power system is disclosed that includes hybrid DC contactors corresponding to each of a plurality of PV strings, with each hybrid DC contactor having main contacts, a solid state switching unit positioned in parallel with the main contacts, and sensors configured to measure a voltage and current on respective PV strings. A controller is provided in the PV power system that is configured to receive voltage and current data on the PV strings, detect a fault condition on a respective PV string based on the voltage and current data, cause the main contacts of a respective hybrid DC contactor to remain closed on each PV string for which a fault condition is detected, and cause the main contacts of a respective hybrid DC contactor to open on each PV string for which no fault condition is detected, so as to clear the fault condition.

Growing community of inventors

Fox Point, WI, United States of America

Tiefu Zhao