Systems and methods for extension of power supply hold-up time
View Patent ↗In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, a voltage rectifier may include an alternating-current-to-direct-current (AC/DC) converter configured to convert an alternating current (AC) source voltage to a first direct current (DC) voltage and a direct-current-to-direct-current (DC/DC) converter configured to convert the first DC voltage to a second DC voltage for delivery to a load of the voltage rectifier, wherein the DC/DC converter is configured to operate in a plurality of operating modes in response to a failure of the AC source voltage. The plurality of operating modes may include a first hold-up mode in which a gain of the DC/DC converter is a first gain and a second hold-up mode in which the gain of the DC/DC converter is a second gain.
1. A voltage rectifier comprising:
an alternating-current-to-direct-current (AC/DC) converter configured to convert an alternating current (AC) source voltage to a first direct current (DC) voltage;
a direct-current-to-direct-current (DC/DC) converter configured to convert the first DC voltage to a second DC voltage for delivery to a load of the voltage rectifier, wherein the DC/DC converter includes a variable inductor and is configured to, in response to a single failure of the AC source voltage, operate in a plurality of operating modes by:
operating in a first hold-up mode in which a gain of the DC/DC converter is a first gain, and in which an inductance of the variable inductor is approximately equal to the inductance of the variable inductor in the absence of a failure of the AC source voltage; and
in response to the load throttling its power consumption to reduce an amount of current drawn by the load, transitioning to a second hold-up mode by decreasing the inductance of the variable inductor to increase the gain of the DC/DC converter to a second gain.
2. The voltage rectifier of claim 1 , wherein the first gain is approximately equal to the gain of the DC/DC converter in the absence of the failure of the AC source voltage.
3. The voltage rectifier of claim 1 , wherein the DC/DC converter is configured to increase its gain from the first gain to the second gain by reducing an amount of power delivered from the voltage rectifier to the load.
4. The voltage rectifier of claim 3 , wherein the amount of power delivered from the voltage rectifier to the load during the first hold-up mode is approximately equal to the amount of power delivered from the voltage rectifier to the load in the absence of the failure of the AC source voltage.
5. The voltage rectifier of claim 1 , wherein the DC/DC converter is further configured to increase its gain from the first gain to the second gain by reducing an amount of power delivered from the voltage rectifier to the load.
6. The voltage rectifier of claim 5 , wherein the amount of power delivered from the voltage rectifier to the load during the first hold-up mode is approximately equal to the amount of power delivered from the voltage rectifier to the load in the absence of the failure of the AC source voltage.
7. The voltage rectifier of claim 1 , wherein in the first hold-up mode, the inductance of the variable inductor is equal to the inductance of the variable inductor in the absence of the failure of the AC source voltage.
8. The voltage rectifier of claim 1 , wherein the first gain is equal to the gain of the DC/DC converter in the absence of the failure of the AC source voltage.
9. A method comprising:
determining an occurrence of a single failure of an alternating current (AC) source voltage to an alternating-current-to-direct-current (AC/DC) converter configured to convert the AC source voltage to a first direct current (DC) voltage; and
responsive to the single failure of the AC source voltage, operating a direct-current-to-direct-current (DC/DC) converter that includes a variable inductor and is configured to convert the first DC voltage to a second DC voltage for delivery to a load in a plurality of operating modes by:
operating in a first hold-up mode in which a gain of the DC/DC converter is a first gain, and in which an inductance of the variable inductor is approximately equal to the inductance of the variable inductor in the absence of a failure of the AC source voltage; and
in response to the load throttling its power consumption to reduce an amount of current drawn by the load, transitioning to a second hold-up mode by decreasing the inductance of the variable inductor to increase the gain of the DC/DC converter to a second gain.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first gain is approximately equal to the gain of the DC/DC converter in the absence of the failure of the AC source voltage.
11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising increasing the gain of the DC/DC converter from the first gain to the second gain by reducing an amount of power delivered to the load.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the amount of power delivered to the load during the first hold-up mode is approximately equal to the amount of power delivered to the load in the absence of the failure of the AC source voltage.
13. The method of claim 9 , further comprising further increasing the gain of the DC/DC converter from the first gain to the second gain by reducing an amount of power delivered to the load.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the amount of power delivered to the load during the first hold-up mode is approximately equal to the amount of power delivered to the load in the absence of the failure of the AC source voltage.
15. A voltage rectifier comprising:
an alternating-current-to-direct-current (AC/DC) converter configured to convert an alternating current (AC) source voltage to a first direct current (DC) voltage;
a direct-current-to-direct-current (DC/DC) converter configured to convert the first DC voltage to a second DC voltage for delivery to a load of the voltage rectifier, wherein the DC/DC converter includes a variable inductor and is configured to, in response to a single failure of the AC source voltage, operate in a plurality of operating modes by:
operating in a first hold-up mode in which a gain of the DC/DC converter is a first gain; and
in response to the load throttling its power consumption to reduce an amount of current drawn by the load, transitioning to a second hold-up mode in which the gain of the DC/DC converter is a second gain, wherein the transitioning includes changing an inductance of the variable inductor, and wherein the transitioning further includes increasing the gain from the first gain to the second gain by reducing an amount of power delivered from the voltage rectifier to the load.
16. The voltage rectifier of claim 15 , wherein the first gain is approximately equal to the gain of the DC/DC converter in the absence of a failure of the AC source voltage.
17. The voltage rectifier of claim 15 , wherein the amount of power delivered from the voltage rectifier to the load during the first hold-up mode is approximately equal to the amount of power delivered from the voltage rectifier to the load in the absence of a failure of the AC source voltage.
18. The voltage rectifier of claim 15 , wherein in the first hold-up mode, the inductance of the variable inductor is equal to the inductance of the variable inductor in the absence of the failure of the AC source voltage.
19. The voltage rectifier of claim 15 , wherein the first gain is equal to the gain of the DC/DC converter in the absence of the failure of the AC source voltage.