System and method for zero volt switching of half bridge converters during startup and short circuit conditions

1. A power converter comprising:

an oscillating open loop half-bridge inverter circuit further comprising a plurality of switching devices coupled to a load circuit;

an inverter drive circuit effective to provide driver signals to the inverter circuit; and

a control circuit for providing control pulses to the drive circuit, the control circuit configured to

detect the presence of a predetermined condition,

in conjunction with a normal operation of the converter, to maintain a nominal switching frequency of the switching devices,

in conjunction with an operation associated with the predetermined condition, to adjust the switching frequency between the nominal frequency and a predetermined condition operating frequency, and

in each operation of the converter, to maintain a constant pulse width, a full duty cycle, and zero-volt switching for the switching devices.

2. The converter of claim 1 , the control circuit configured to gradually increase the switching frequency from a nominal operating frequency to a maximum operating frequency in response to the predetermined condition.

3. The converter of claim 2 , the nominal operating frequency being approximately 130 kHz, the maximum operating frequency further being approximately 500 kHz.

4. The converter of claim 1 , the predetermined condition comprising a short circuit condition.

5. The converter of claim 4 , the control circuit further effective to enter a pulse skipping mode in response to the short circuit condition, wherein zero-volt switching is further maintained during the short circuit condition.

6. The converter of claim 1 , the predetermined condition comprising a startup condition.

7. A power converter comprising:

a pair of switching devices arranged in a half bridge configuration between positive and negative converter input terminals;

a load circuit coupled to an output terminal between the pair of switching devices;

a resonant circuit coupled to the pair of switching devices and the load circuit;

a detection circuit coupled to the switching devices and configured to detect a predetermined operating condition of the pair of switching devices; and

a switching device driver circuit effective to provide driver signals and control oscillation of each of the pair of switching devices in response to control signals provided from an open loop control circuit,

wherein the control circuit is configured

to provide control signals associated with a variable operating frequency in a first operating mode associated with detection of the predetermined operating condition by the detection circuit, and

to provide control signals associated with a fixed operating frequency in a second operating mode,

wherein a full duty cycle and zero volt switching of the pair of switching devices is maintained during both of the first and second operating modes, and a constant pulse width for the driver signals is maintained during both of the first and second operating modes.

8. The power converter of claim 7 , the predetermined operating condition further comprising a short circuit condition.

9. The power converter of claim 8 , the control circuit further effective to enter a pulse skipping operating mode in response to detection of the short circuit condition, wherein zero-volt switching is further maintained during the short circuit condition.

10. The power converter of claim 7 , the predetermined operating condition further comprising a soft start condition.

11. The power converter of claim 7 , wherein the variable operating frequency in the first operating mode ranges from the fixed operating frequency associated with the second operating mode to a maximum operating frequency.

12. A method of maintaining zero-volt switching in an open loop half-bridge power converter having an inverter circuit with a pair of oscillating switches, the method comprising:

detecting in a microcontroller an input signal having a value representative of an operating condition of the power converter;

comparing the input signal value to a predetermined threshold value;

providing control signals from the microcontroller to a switch driver, the driver signals maintaining a constant pulse width and a constant duty cycle throughout operation of the converter; and

providing driver signals to the inverter switches responsive to the control signals, wherein

in a first mode associated with the input signal value being above the threshold, a switching frequency of the oscillating switches is fixed, and

in a second mode associated with the input signal value being less than the threshold, the switching frequency of the switches is variable between the fixed frequency and a maximum frequency.