Rectifier circuit with AC side short-circuiting function and synchronized switch harvesting on inductor converter

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9450504-B2
Application number	US-201414246303-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 7, 2014
Priority date	Oct 7, 2011
Publication date	Sep 20, 2016
Grant date	Sep 20, 2016

Abstract

Rectifier circuit including a pair of input terminals, a pair of output terminals, and a first circuit interconnecting the pair of input terminals. The first circuit includes an energy storing element and a rectifier bridge, wherein the rectifier bridge includes at least one controllable switching element per bridge branch. An output of the rectifier bridge supplies the pair of output terminals and wherein the at least one controllable switching element per bridge branch is configured to provide a temporary conducting path via the rectifier bridge which bypasses the pair of output terminals and which short-circuits a series connection of the energy storing element and an energy source connectable to the pair of input terminals. A converter for synchronized switch harvesting on inductor including such a rectifier circuit and a method for rectifying an electrical current generated by an energy source are also described.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A rectifier circuit comprising
a pair of input terminals;
a pair of output terminals;
a first circuit interconnecting the pair of input terminals, the first circuit comprising an energy storing element and a rectifier bridge, wherein the rectifier bridge comprises at least one controllable switching element per bridge branch, wherein an output of the rectifier bridge supplies the pair of output terminals and wherein the at least one controllable switching element per bridge branch is configured to provide a temporary conducting path via the rectifier bridge which bypasses the pair of output terminals and which short-circuits a second circuit comprising the energy storing element, the pair of input terminals, and an energy source connectable to the pair of input terminals.

2. The rectifier circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the energy storing element and the rectifier bridge are connected in series.

3. The rectifier circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the rectifier bridge is configured to function both as an energy transferring component from the pair of input terminals to the pair of output terminals and as a voltage inverter for the pair of input terminals.

4. The rectifier circuit according to claim 1 , wherein each bridge branch comprises a diode component and the at least one controllable switching element.

5. The rectifier circuit according to claim 1 , further comprising a controller configured to generate at least one control signal for the at least one controllable switching element per bridge branch on the basis of a sense signal indicating a state of the energy source.

6. The rectifier circuit according to claim 5 , wherein the controller is configured to cause a switching of the at least one controllable switching element from a conducting state to a non-conducting state, or vice versa, upon a detection of a peak in the sense signal.

7. The rectifier circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the energy storing element forms a resonant circuit with the energy source while the second circuit is short-circuited via the rectifier bridge.

8. The rectifier circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the energy storing element is connectable in parallel to the energy source while the second circuit is short-circuited via the rectifier bridge.

9. The rectifier circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the energy source is a piezoelectric element.

10. A converter for synchronized switch harvesting on inductor, the converter comprising a rectifier circuit according to claim 1 .

11. A method for rectifying an electrical current generated by an energy source, the method comprising:
applying the electrical current to a first circuit comprising a rectifier bridge and an energy storing element so that the rectifier bridge conducts the electrical current to an output of the rectifier bridge along a first rectification path associated with a first current flow direction of the electrical current;
detecting a first specific pattern in a sense signal associated with the electrical current;
reconfiguring the rectifier bridge, in response to detecting the first specific pattern, by switching a controllable switching element of the rectifier bridge from a non-conducting state to a conducting state so that the electrical current is conducted within the rectifier bridge along a first inversion path that short-circuits a second circuit comprising the energy storing element and the energy source and bypasses an output of the rectifier bridge; and
reconfiguring the rectifier bridge or allowing the rectifier bridge to perform a self-reconfiguration in response to a change of the current flow direction from the first current flow direction to a second current flow direction so that the rectifier bridge conducts the electrical current to the output of the rectifier bridge along a second rectification path associated with the second current flow direction.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the self-reconfiguration of the rectifier bridge is caused by at least one diode element of the rectifier bridge changing from a non-conducting state to a conducting state, or vice versa.

13. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the rectifier bridge comprises two bridge branches connected in parallel between a first bridge input terminal and a second bridge input terminal, wherein a first bridge branch of the two bridge branches coincides with the inversion path and a second bridge branch of the two bridge branches coincides with the second inversion path.

14. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the rectifier bridge comprises a second controllable switching element, a third controllable switching element, and a fourth controllable switching element and wherein the method further comprises controlling the first, second, third, and fourth controllable switching elements individually in response to specific patterns in the sense signal.

15. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the sense signal is based on a voltage between two input terminals of the rectifier circuit connected to the energy source.

16. A rectifier circuit comprising
a pair of input terminals;
a pair of output terminals;
a first circuit interconnecting the pair of input terminals, the first circuit comprising an energy storing element and a rectifier bridge, wherein the rectifier bridge comprises at least one controllable switching element per bridge branch, wherein an output of the rectifier bridge supplies the pair of output terminals and wherein the at least one controllable switching element per bridge branch is configured to provide a temporary conducting path via the rectifier bridge which bypasses the pair of output terminals and which short-circuits a series connection of the energy storing element and an energy source connectable to the pair of input terminals.

17. The rectifier circuit according to claim 16 , wherein the energy storing element and the rectifier bridge are connected in series.

18. The rectifier circuit according to claim 16 , wherein the rectifier bridge is configured to function both as an energy transferring component from the pair of input terminals to the pair of output terminals and as a voltage inverter for the pair of input terminals.

19. The rectifier circuit according to claim 16 , wherein each bridge branch comprises a diode component and the at least one controllable switching element.

20. The rectifier circuit according to claim 16 , further comprising a controller configured to generate at least one control signal for the at least one controllable switching element per bridge branch on the basis of a sense signal indicating a state of the energy source.

21. The rectifier circuit according to claim 20 , wherein the controller is configured to cause a switching of the at least one controllable switching element from a conducting state to a non-conducting state, or vice versa, upon a detection of a peak in the sense signal.

22. The rectifier circuit according to claim 16 , wherein the energy storing element forms a resonant circuit with the energy source while the series connection of the energy storing element and the energy source is short-circuited via the rectifier bridge.

23. The rectifier circuit according to claim 16 , wherein the energy storing element is connectable in parallel to the energy source while the series connection of the energy storing element and the energy source is short-circuited via the rectifier bridge.

Assignees

• Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forschung E V

Inventors

• Mateu Sáez Maria Loreto
• Zessin Henrik
• Luehmann Lars
• Spies Peter

Classifications

• H02M7/06 Primary

  using discharge tubes without control electrode or semiconductor devices without control electrode · CPC title

• H02H7/125

  for rectifiers · CPC title

• H02N2/181 Primary

  Circuits; Control arrangements or methods · CPC title

• G01R19/04

  Measuring peak values {or amplitude or envelope} of AC or of pulses · CPC title