Electric power conversion systems – Current conversion – Using semiconductor-type converter
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-10
2004-02-10
Nguyen, Matthew (Department: 2838)
Electric power conversion systems
Current conversion
Using semiconductor-type converter
Reexamination Certificate
active
06690594
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates AC electrical power which provides energy to homes and businesses. More particularly, it relates to a device and method for creating micro interruptions or micro pulsing of current in an alternating current power supply which provides the current and RMS voltage to an attached inductive or resistive or combination load being energized by the power supply. The device and method herein, by interrupting the current flow in a plurality of micro second interruptions yielding substantially equal total interrupted durations on both sides of an AC duty cycle effectively lowers the actual amount of power consumed by household and business electrical devices, while concurrently being invisible to such devices and allowing them operate within normal parameters and without damage thereto. The disclosed device in some current preferred embodiments also provides the ability to monitor and maintain individual power circuits of a home or business using individual breakers communicating with a central monitoring system. In such an embodiment the device allows for the customization of the power on individual circuits to match the load and to reduce power consumption individually on each circuit as well as monitor that circuit for malfunctions.
2. Prior Art
The United States and the industrialized world operate in this modern era through the use of a plethora of electrical devices which provide both controllable living environments and machines and devices which enhance and multiply the work output of the average person. Such electrical devices are conventionally powered by alternating current (AC) electrical through a building electrical system communicating electrical power from a local power grid supplying power from a generating utility device through wires, junction boxes, and electrical sockets conveniently located in the various rooms and on the external structure of businesses and homes.
In homes using conventional AC power, devices such as computers, televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, heating devices, and untold numbers of other electrical devices, increase comfort levels and productivity. Businesses, in the same fashion, use AC power for computers, machinery, pumps, lighting, motors, and environmental heating and cooling devices as well as thousands of other devices powered by alternating current to increase the productivity of workers as well as provide a controlled environment in which workers operate.
Most such businesses and residences provide the electrical current to power the various electrical consuming devices through a plurality of circuits formed of wires which extend from a main junction box which communicates AC power from a connection to a utility grid through a plurality of circuit breakers to the individual circuits. Connection to the electrical devices to the circuit is conventionally achieved by a plug on the electrical device being inserted into a socket communicating with the individual electrical circuit. In the case of devices with a large current draw, such as air conditioners and electrical motors and other appliances requiring substantial electrical current, a permanent wired connection through a junction box may be required. The majority of electrical devices powered by alternating current from a central power grid are connected in this fashion and operate very well.
Commonly, electrical power provided by power generating companies is in the form of alternating current which in the United States alternates at a rate of 120 cycles per second or 60 Hz and in many foreign countries at the rate of 100 cycles per second or at a rate of 50 Hz. Unlike a direct current(DC) flow of electricity through a circuit that has a constant current directional flow and a constant magnitude of that current flow, an alternating current has neither a constant direction nor constant magnitude. Since alternating current flows back and forth in a circuit it has no direction, but the number of oscillations of current flow in the circuit does produce a frequency which is a component of determining the effective current in the circuit. The current(I) available in an AC circuit to provide power to run a component is generally determined as I=Imax Sin 2&pgr; FT where F equals the frequency and T equals time.
For a 60 Hz supply, used in the United States and many countries, the current builds up to a maximum in one direction and then drops to zero in the first {fraction (1/20)}th of a second. The current then builds up to a peak in the opposite direction and again drops to zero in the next {fraction (1/20)}th of a second, making {fraction (1/60)}th of a second for the entire cycle. A light bulb or an electric heating element being a resistive load works equally well whichever way the current is flowing, and so do AC electric motors. Many foreign countries use a 50 Hz timing of the oscillations.
Most appliances and electronic devices used in home and business of industrialized nations have come to depend on a this constant frequency of the electrical current and use this alternation for timing purposes of the device itself or in the case of motors to actually produce the magnetic fields that turn the motor itself. This is especially true in the case of appliances and machinery using induction electrical motors which depend on the AC current being constant during cycles and oscillating at an appropriate rate. Consequently, any electrical power conservation device and method that is to be used in conjunction with AC power in conventional home and business electric devices must be invisible to the device using the provided timing or frequency of the electrical current such that the electrical device “sees” a properly timed oscillation of the provided current and therefor operate in normal parameters based on the current alternation.
Conventionally used “dimmers” frequently are not actually saving any energy as many simply use a resistor which is placed in the circuit with the light being dimmed to absorb current that would otherwise be available to the light. Newer style dimmers and power conservation devices function to chop or create a single timed large void or interruption in the current flow for a single defined period of time during one of the current cycles of an oscillation. What is effectively accomplished by this large void in current is that the maximum current available is lowered for the single duration in once cycle of each oscillation thereby lowering the current available to the device in the circuit. The output frequency is thus quite different from the input frequency. The longer the void created in the current cycle, the less current is available to the attached device, however the greater the interruption in the timing and the greater the difference between the output frequency and input frequency.
However, such devices in chopping a single segment from one side of the current cycle play havoc with electrically powered devices which depend upon the continuing and constant oscillation of the current cycle providing a timer to the attached device. Computers and induction motors and similar devices seeking the constant 60 Hz or 50 Hz cycles of line current are seriously impaired for function when a large portion of one cycle is void of electrical current. Some devices may even falsely sense that the current is reversing if the segment of current void for a sufficient time increment, thus disabling the device or even causing damage to the circuits when the current restarts.
Another serious problem arises in the use of induction style AC electric motors which are major energy consumers and thus a major target for electrical energy conservation. Such motors function by positioning windings about the armature that are spaced to take advantage of the constant timed 60 Hz or 50 Hz oscillation of the AC current supplied and the substantially equal output frequency and input frequency of the circuit. While many such motors use an auxiliary stationary winding to start the armature turning, onc
Amarillas Sal G.
Asbury Jimmie
Harms Donn K.
Nguyen Matthew
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