Inductor and DC converter including same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12068096-B2
Application number	US-202017624032-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 2, 2020
Priority date	Jul 9, 2019
Publication date	Aug 20, 2024
Grant date	Aug 20, 2024

Abstract

An inductor according to an embodiment of the present invention may include: a plurality of first E-type cores, each of which has a base unit and a center leg extending in a first direction from the base unit; a first I-type core arranged in the first direction from the plurality of first E-type cores; and a coil wound around the center leg of each of the plurality of first E-type cores. Here, the plurality of E-type cores may be arranged in a line along the first direction.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An inductor comprising:
a plurality of first E-type cores, each of which has a base and a center leg extending in a first direction from the base;
a coil wound around the center leg of each of the plurality of first E-type cores; and
a first I-type core arranged to face a center leg of any one of the plurality of first E-type cores,
wherein the plurality of first E-type cores and the first I-type core are arranged in a line in the first direction,
wherein a first thickness of the base of at least one of the plurality of first E-type cores is smaller than a second thickness of the I-type core in the first direction, and
wherein the second thickness is equal to or greater than 120% of the first thickness and less than 150% of the first thickness.

2. The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein the base of at least one of the plurality of first E-type cores is connected to the center leg, and has a side shape corresponding to the I-type core.

3. The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of first E-type cores are in contact with each other.

4. The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein the first I-type core is disposed at a distal end in the first direction.

5. The inductor according to claim 4 , further comprising:
a second I-type core disposed between first E-type cores that are adjacent to each other, among the plurality of first E-type cores.

6. The inductor according to claim 1 , further comprising:
at least one second E-type core arranged symmetrically with the plurality of first E-type cores with respect to the first I-type core.

7. The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein the coil uses a core adjacent to the plurality of first E-type cores, in which the coil is wound, as a magnetic flux path.

8. The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of first E-type cores is an EPC-type core.

9. A multi-phase converter comprising:
a plurality of switching elements; and
at least one inductor,
wherein each of the at least one inductor comprises:
a plurality of first E-type cores, each of which has a base and a center leg extending in a first direction from the base;
a coil wound around the center leg of each of the plurality of first E-type cores; and
a first I-type core arranged to face a center leg of any one of the plurality of first E-type cores,
wherein the plurality of first E-type cores and the first I-type core are arranged in a line in the first direction,
wherein a first thickness of the base of at least one of the plurality of first E-type cores is smaller than a second thickness of the I-type core in the first direction, and
wherein the second thickness is equal to or greater than 120% of the first thickness and less than 150% of the first thickness.

10. The multi-phase converter according to claim 9 , wherein each of the coils corresponds to one phase, and
wherein the plurality of switching elements is controlled to allow current to flow through only one coil at a time.

11. The multi-phase converter according to claim 9 , wherein the first I-type core is disposed at a distal end in the first direction.

12. The multi-phase converter according to claim 11 , further comprising:
a second I-type core disposed between first E-type cores adjacent to each other among the plurality of first E-type cores.

13. The multi-phase converter according to claim 9 , further comprising:
at least one second E-type core arranged symmetrically with the plurality of first E-type cores with respect to the first I-type core.

14. The multi-phase converter according to claim 9 , wherein the base of at least one of the plurality of first E-type cores is connected to the center leg and has a side shape corresponding to the I-type core.

15. The multi-phase converter according to claim 9 , wherein the center legs of the plurality of first E-type cores are disposed with a gap therebetween, which is a target separation distance.

16. The multi-phase converter according to claim 9 , wherein the coil uses a core adjacent to the plurality of first E-type cores, in which the coil is wound, as a magnetic flux path.

Assignees

• Lg Innotek Co Ltd

Inventors

• Bae Seok
• Yeom Jai Hoon
• Choi Jung Hwan

Classifications

• H01F27/28

  Coils; Windings; Conductive connections · CPC title

• H02M3/1586

  switched with a phase shift, i.e. interleaved · CPC title

• H02M3/156

  with automatic control of output voltage or current, e.g. switching regulators · CPC title

• H01F27/24 Primary

  Magnetic cores · CPC title

• H01F27/40

  Structural association with built-in electric component, e.g. fuse · CPC title