Electric power conversion systems – Current conversion – Including d.c.-a.c.-d.c. converter
Reexamination Certificate
2002-08-29
2004-02-10
Vu, Bao Q. (Department: 2838)
Electric power conversion systems
Current conversion
Including d.c.-a.c.-d.c. converter
C363S071000, C363S097000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06690585
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to power conversion and, more particularly, to a bi-directional direct current power converter for providing power to and obtaining power from electrical components.
2. Related Art
An electrical device may contain a variety of electrical components, each having different power requirements. Referring to
FIG. 1
, for example, consider an electrical device
100
powered by a DC power source
102
. The device
100
contains a plurality of electrical components
106
a-c
coupled to and powered by a main DC power bus
104
. Each of the components
106
a-c
may have different power requirements. The main power bus
104
has a higher voltage than that required to power any of the components
106
a-c.
Each of the components
106
a-c
typically draws DC power from the main power bus
104
using an internal step-down converter. For example, component
106
a
includes a step-down converter
108
, which draws power from the main power bus
104
and converts it into DC power at a lower voltage suitable for an internal power bus
112
of the component
106
a
. The internal power bus
112
powers additional sub-components (not shown) within the component
106
a
. Although only the step-down converter
108
and internal power bus
112
of the component
106
a
are shown in
FIG. 1
for ease of illustration, it should be appreciated that each of the other components
106
b-c
typically contains a similar step-down converter and internal power bus to draw appropriate amounts of power from the main power bus
104
.
The main power bus
104
shown in
FIG. 1
is a bi-directional power bus which not only provides power to the components
106
a-c
but which also allows the components
106
a-c
to provide power to the main power bus
104
. In this way, power drawn from one of the components
106
a-c
may be distributed to one or more of the other components
106
a-c
over the main power bus
104
. For example, as shown in
FIG. 1
, component
106
a
may include a step-up converter
110
to draw power from the internal power bus
112
, convert it into the higher voltage power of the main power bus
104
, and provide the converted power to the main power bus
104
. Although only the step-up converter
110
of the component
106
a
is shown in
FIG. 1
for ease of illustration, it should be appreciated that each of the other components
106
b-c
may contain a similar step-up converter to provide power to the main power bus
104
.
The kind of design just described typically requires each of the components
106
a-c
to include both a step-down converter for drawing power from the main power bus
104
and a step-up converter for providing power to the main power bus
104
. What is needed is a single bi-directional DC-to-DC power converter that can be used by components in an electrical device to efficiently draw DC power from the device's main power bus and provide power to the device's main power bus.
SUMMARY
A bi-directional DC-to-DC power converter is provided. The power converter has three modes of operation: (1) a step-down mode, in which the power converter converts power in a first direction (such as from a high-voltage power bus to a low-voltage power bus), and (2) a step-up mode, in which the power converter converts power in the opposite direction (such as from the low-voltage power bus to the high-voltage power bus), and (3) an off mode, in which no power is transferred. A single power converter may therefore be used to replace both a conventional step-down converter and a conventional step-up converter. The power converter may provide a battery charge-control functionality, and may be used to charge a battery that may, for example, provide a source of power to a component of an electrical device.
Other features and advantages of various aspects and embodiments of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and from the claims.
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OQO, Inc.
Robert Plotkin, P.C.
Vu Bao Q.
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