Protection circuit, resonant converter including the protection circuit, and protecting method of the resonant converter

1. A protection circuit that detects zero voltage switching of a resonance converter including first and second switches, comprising:

a width measurement comparator comparing a sense voltage corresponding to a first current flowing through the first switch and a first reference voltage to generate a detection signal corresponding to a width of a negative part of the first current;

a timer generating a width detection voltage corresponding to the width of the negative part of the first current by using the detection signal; and

a zero voltage switching (ZVS) determination comparator comparing the width detection voltage and a second reference voltage when the first switch is turned off to determine a zero voltage switching failure according to the comparison result.

2. The protection circuit of claim 1 , further comprising a ZVS detection controller detecting turn-on/off of the first switch, controlling the ZVS determination comparator to compare the width detection voltage and the second reference voltage when the first switch is turned off, and resetting the width detection voltage after a predetermined delay period.

3. The protection circuit of claim 2 , wherein the timer comprises:

a charge switch being turned on/off according to the detection signal;

a current source connected to a first end of the charge switch;

a capacitor having a first end connected to a second end of the charge switch; and

a discharge switch connected in parallel with the capacitor,

wherein a voltage at the first end of the capacitor is the width detection voltage.

4. The protection circuit of claim 3 , wherein the ZVS detection controller turns on the discharge switch after the delay period.

5. The protection circuit of claim 2 , wherein the ZVS determination comparator comprises:

a first input terminal;

a second input terminal to which the second reference voltage is input; and

a switch having a first end connected to the first input terminal, transmitting the width detection voltage to the first input terminal during a predetermined comparison period from a turn-off time of the first switch, and transmitting a source voltage to the first input terminal.

6. The protection circuit of claim 1 , further comprising a protection signal generator receiving a zero voltage switching failure signal from the ZVS determination comparator and generating a protection signal to stop switching of the first and second switches.

7. A resonance converter having first and second switches, comprising:

a sense resistor having a first end connected to a first end of the first switch and a ground; and

a protection circuit connected to a second end of the sense resistor, measuring a width of a negative part of a first current flowing through the first switch by using a sense voltage of the sense resistor, and stopping switching of the first and second switches when the width of the negative part of the first current is smaller than a predetermined reference value,

wherein the protection circuit further comprises: a width measurement comparator comparing the sense voltage and a first reference voltage to generate a detection voltage corresponding to the width of the negative part of the first current, a timer generating a width detection voltage corresponding to the width of the negative part of the first current by using the detection signal, and a ZVS determination comparator comparing the width detection voltage and a second reference voltage when the first switch is turned off to determine a zero voltage switching failure according to the comparison result.

8. The resonance converter of claim 7 , wherein the protection circuit further comprises a ZVS detection controller detecting turn-on/off of the first switch, controlling the ZVS determination comparator to compare the width detection voltage and the second reference voltage when the first switch is turned off, and resetting the width detection voltage after a predetermined delay period from a turn-off time of the first switch.

9. The resonance converter of claim 8 , wherein the timer comprises:

a charge switch being turned on/off according to the detection signal;

a current source connected to a first end of the charge switch;

a capacitor having a first end connected to a second end of the charge switch; and

a discharge switch connected in parallel with the capacitor,

wherein a voltage at the first end of the capacitor is the width detection voltage.

10. The resonance converter of claim 9 , wherein the ZVS detection controller turns on the discharge switch after the delay period.

11. The resonance converter of claim 10 , wherein the ZVS determination comparator comprises:

a first input terminal;

a second input terminal to which the second reference voltage is input; and

a switch having a first end connected to the first input terminal, transmitting the width detection voltage to the first input terminal during a predetermined comparison period from the turn-off time of the first switch, and transmitting a source voltage to the first input terminal during a turn-on period of the first switch.

12. The resonance converter of claim 7 , wherein the protection circuit further comprises a protection signal generator receiving a zero voltage switching failure signal from the ZVS determination comparator and generating a protection signal to stop switching of the first and second switches, and

the resonance converter further comprises a gate driver that stops switching of the first and second switches according to the protection signal.

13. The resonance converter of claim 7 , wherein the protection circuit further comprises a protection signal generator receiving a zero voltage switching failure signal from the ZVS determination comparator and generating a protection signal for increasing switching frequencies of the first and second switches, and

the resonance converter further comprises a gate driver to increase the switching frequencies of the first and second switches according to the protection signal.

14. A protection method of a resonance converter having first and second switches, comprising:

generating a sense voltage corresponding to a first current flowing through the first switch;

measuring a width of a negative part of the first current by using the sense voltage; and

determining whether the width of the negative part of the first current is smaller than a predetermined reference value;

wherein the measuring the width of the negative part of the first current by using the sense voltage comprises: generating a detection signal corresponding to the width of the negative part of the first current by comparing the sense voltage and a predetermined first reference voltage; and generating a width detection voltage corresponding to the width of the negative part of the first current by using the detection signal, wherein the width detection voltage corresponds to the width of the negative part of the first current;

wherein the determining compares the width detection voltage and a second reference voltage when the first switch is turned off to determine whether the width of the negative part of the first current is smaller than a predetermined reference value according to the comparison result.

15. The protection method of claim 14 , further comprising turning off the first and second switches by force when the width of the negative part of the first current is smaller than a predetermined reference.

16. The protection method of claim 14 , further comprising increasing operation frequencies of the first and second switches by force when the width of the negative part of the first current is smaller than a predetermined reference value.