The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 09, 1996
Filed:
Jun. 05, 1995
Akira Horie, Katsuta, JP;
Yoshio Tsutsui, Katsuta, JP;
Takeshi Ando, Katsuta, JP;
Takayuki Matsui, Hitachi, JP;
Eiichi Toyota, Katsuta, JP;
Syuuji Saitoo, Katsuta, JP;
Hitachi, Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A power converter including a snubber circuit which is smaller and regenerates more energy than a conventional snubber circuit. A plurality of self-quenching semiconductor switching elements are connected in series across a power supply. A capacitive element is connected to the switching elements, and is charged to more than the voltage of the power supply by a snubber action due to operation of any of the switching elements. The charge stored in the capacitive element is then regenerated to the power supply. The capacitance of the capacitive element can be almost as small as a minimum required capacitance, and can be as small as one-tenth of the capacitance required in a conventional snubber circuit, thereby providing a power converter which is smaller and has a smaller snubber loss than a conventional power converter.