SURGE BLOCKING INDUCTOR
A surge blocking inductor. In one embodiment, the surge blocking inductor comprises a core; a first winding wound about the core in a first direction; and a second winding wound about the core in a second direction, wherein the first winding and the second winding are magnetically independent when the core is in a non-saturated state, and wherein the first winding and the second winding are coupled magnetically when the core is in a saturated state.
1 . A surge blocking inductor comprising:
a core formed from at least one ferromagnetic component;
a first winding wound about the core in a first direction; and
a second winding wound about the core in a second direction, wherein the first winding and the second winding are magnetically independent when the core is in a non-saturated state, and wherein the first winding and the second winding are coupled magnetically when the core is in a saturated state.
2 . The surge blocking inductor of claim 1 , wherein the first direction and the second direction are opposite to one another.
3 . The surge blocking inductor of claim 1 , wherein the first winding comprises a first plurality of turns and a first plurality of layers, and the second winding comprises a second plurality of turns and a second plurality of layers.
4 . The surge blocking inductor of claim 3 , wherein each of the first plurality of layers and the second plurality of layers is between 3-10 layers with a number of turns per layer less than its number of layers.
5 . The surge blocking inductor of claim 1 , wherein, when the core is in a saturated state, the first winding and the second winding both block and dissipate energy.
6 . The surge blocking inductor of claim 1 , wherein the first winding and the second winding obtain an inductive value in a non-saturated state for electromagnetic interference (EMI) filtering.
7 . The surge blocking inductor of claim 1 , wherein coupling between fields of the first winding and the second winding is optimized when the core is in the saturated state.
8 . The surge blocking inductor of claim 1 , wherein winding losses of the first winding and the second winding are optimized at frequencies greater than 10 kHz.
9 . The surge blocking inductor of claim 1 , wherein the core has a center diameter on the order of 15 mm, and the first winding and the second winding each comprises between 3-10 layers with a number of turns per layer less than its number of layers.
10 . A system for blocking surges to a power converter, comprising:
an inverter; and
a surge blocking inductor, coupled to the inverter, comprising (i) a core formed from at least one ferromagnetic component; (ii) a first winding wound about the core in a first direction; and (iii) a second winding wound about the core in a second direction, wherein the first winding and the second winding are magnetically independent when the core is in a non-saturated state, and wherein the first winding and the second winding are coupled magnetically when the core is in a saturated state.
11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the first direction and the second direction are opposite to one another.
12 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the first winding comprises a first plurality of turns and a first plurality of layers, and the second winding comprises a second plurality of turns and a second plurality of layers.
13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein each of the first plurality of layers and the second plurality of layers is between 3-10 layers with a number of turns per layer less than its number of layers.
14 . The system of claim 10 , wherein, when the core is in a saturated state, the first winding and the second winding both block and dissipate energy.
15 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the first winding and the second winding obtain an inductive value in a non-saturated state for electromagnetic interference (EMI) filtering.
16 . The system of claim 10 , wherein coupling between fields of the first winding and the second winding is optimized when the core is in the saturated state.
17 . The system of claim 10 , wherein winding losses of the first winding and the second winding are optimized at frequencies greater than 10 kHz.
18 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the core has a center diameter on the order of 15 mm, and the first winding and the second winding each comprises between 3-10 layers with a number of turns per layer less than its number of layers.
19 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the inverter comprises the surge blocking inductor.
20 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the surge blocking inductor is coupled between the inverter and an AC line.