Power converter for electric locomotive

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10141858-B2
Application number	US-201415030021-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 26, 2014
Priority date	Oct 25, 2013
Publication date	Nov 27, 2018
Grant date	Nov 27, 2018

Abstract

A power converter for an electric locomotive includes an insulating transformer, an AC/DC converter, an inverter, a PWM controller, and a voltage controller. The insulating transformer is supplied with high-voltage AC power from an AC overhead wire to convert a high voltage to a low voltage and output low-voltage AC power. The AC/DC converter receives the low-voltage AC power and performs AC/DC conversion. The inverter receives an output from the AC/DC converter and performs DC/AC conversion for supply to a load. The PWM controller outputs a PWM control signal having a predetermined pattern, the pattern for removing specific harmonic components from an output of the inverter or attenuating the specific harmonic components to at most a predetermined level. The voltage controller controls a DC output voltage of the AC/DC converter to control an output voltage of the inverter.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A power converter for an electric locomotive comprising:
an insulating transformer supplied with high-voltage AC power from an AC overhead wire to convert a high voltage to a low voltage and output low-voltage AC power;
an AC/DC converter that receives the low-voltage AC power and performs AC/DC conversion;
an inverter that receives an output from the AC/DC converter and performs DC/AC conversion for supply to a load;
a PWM controller that outputs a PWM control signal having a predetermined pattern for removing specific harmonic components from an output of the inverter or attenuating the specific harmonic components to a predetermined level or lower; and
a voltage controller that controls an output voltage of the inverter to be an intended output voltage by controlling a DC output voltage of the AC/DC converter.

2. The power converter for an electric locomotive according to claim 1 , wherein the voltage controller controls the DC output voltage of the AC/DC converter according to the output voltage of the inverter.

3. The power converter for an electric locomotive according to claim 1 , wherein the voltage controller controls the DC output voltage of the AC/DC converter according to an input current of the low-voltage AC power.

4. The power converter for an electric locomotive according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a filter provided at a stage subsequent to the inverter, which inhibits output of a component of the specific harmonic components to the load, the component having a frequency higher than a highest central frequency of a harmonic component of the specific harmonic components.

5. The power converter for an electric locomotive according to claim 4 , wherein the filter comprises an LC filter having a reactor and a capacitor.

6. The power converter for an electric locomotive according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a reactor provided at a stage subsequent to the inverter to smoothen the output of the inverter.

7. The power converter for an electric locomotive according to claim 1 , wherein the specific harmonic components are third to thirteenth-order harmonic components.

8. The power converter for an electric locomotive according to claim 1 , wherein the PWM controller generates and outputs the PWM control signal, the PWM control signal including n pulses in one period of a fundamental wave, for removing harmonic components or attenuating the harmonic components to a predetermined level or lower, the harmonic components corresponding to n central frequencies corresponding to switch firing angles of the pulses, n being a natural number.

9. The power converter for an electric locomotive according to claim 1 , wherein:
the load includes a three-phase AC motor, and
the specific harmonic components are fifth, seventh, eleventh, and thirteenth harmonic components.

Assignees

• Toshiba Kk

Inventors

• Toda Shinichi
• Yasuoka Ikuo
• Souma Saburou

Classifications

• B60L15/007

  Physical arrangements or structures of drive train converters specially adapted for the propulsion motors of electric vehicles · CPC title

• B60L9/28

  polyphase motors · CPC title

• Y02T10/7241

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• B60L2210/30

  AC to DC converters · CPC title

• H02M2001/0009

  Electricity · mapped topic