IP Library Granted Patent US 11,632,055
Granted Patent B2
US 11,632,055 · App. 17/359,135 · Granted Apr 18, 2023

ACF converter, voltage conversion method, and electronic device

Inventors: Qinglei Wang (Dongguan, CN); Qinghui Hou (Dongguan, CN); Chenghao Sun (Dongguan, CN); Wei Liu (Shenzhen, CN)
Assignee: Huawei Digital Power Technologies Co., Ltd.
H02M3/33592H02M1/0058
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,632,055
App. No.
17/359,135
Granted
Apr 18, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

An Active Clamp Flyback (ACF) converter includes a transformer module, a clamping module, and a controller. The controller is configured to: after the transformer module starts secondary side discharging, control the clamping module to start receiving leakage inductance power from the transformer module; and after controlling the clamping module to stop receiving the leakage inductance power from the transformer module, control the clamping module to release the leakage inductance power to the transformer module. The leakage inductance power released by the clamping module to the transformer module is used by the transformer module to restore a soft switching state based on the leakage inductance power. In a process of transferring the leakage inductance power to a clamping capacitor, the clamping module is in an enabled state. This reduces a loss caused by the clamping module to the leakage inductance power, and helps reduce overall loss caused by the ACF converter.

Claims (65)

1. An Active Clamp Flyback (ACF) converter, wherein the ACF converter comprises a transformer circuit, a clamping circuit, and a first controller, wherein:

the first controller is configured to:

after the transformer circuit starts secondary side discharging, control the clamping circuit to start receiving leakage inductance power from the transformer circuit; and

after controlling the clamping circuit to stop receiving the leakage inductance power from the transformer circuit, control the clamping circuit to release the leakage inductance power to the transformer circuit, wherein the leakage inductance power released by the clamping circuit to the transformer circuit is used by the transformer circuit to restore a soft switching state based on the leakage inductance power;

the ACF converter further comprises a first power supply terminal and a second power supply terminal, wherein the first power supply terminal and the second power supply terminal are configured to connect to an electrode of a power supply circuit, the transformer circuit comprises a main switching transistor and a transformer, a first electrode of the main switching transistor is connected to the first power supply terminal, a second electrode is connected to one end of a primary side of the transformer, a gate electrode is connected to the first controller, and the other end of the primary side of the transformer is connected to the second power supply terminal;

when controlling the clamping module to release the leakage inductance power to the transformer module, the first controller is specifically configured to:

after a duration for which the clamping circuit is controlled to release the leakage inductance power to the transformer circuit reaches a first duration, control the clamping circuit to stop releasing the leakage inductance power; and

wherein the first controller is further configured to:

obtain a voltage difference between a voltage of the first electrode and a voltage of the second electrode, and adjust the first duration based on the voltage difference.

2. The ACF converter according to claim 1 , wherein when adjusting the first duration based on the voltage difference, the first controller is specifically configured to:

shorten the first duration if the voltage difference is less than a second preset threshold; and/or

extend the first duration if the voltage difference is greater than the second preset threshold.

3. The ACF converter according to claim 1 , wherein before the transformer circuit starts the secondary side discharging, the first controller is further configured to:

control the transformer circuit to start primary side charging, and after duration of the primary side charging reaches second duration, control the transformer circuit to stop the primary side charging and to start the secondary side discharging; and

wherein the first controller is further configured to:

adjust the second duration based on the voltage difference.

4. The ACF converter according to claim 3 , wherein when adjusting the second duration based on the voltage difference, the first controller is specifically configured to:

shorten the second duration if the voltage difference is reduced to a value less than a first preset threshold within a third duration after the clamping circuit is controlled to stop releasing the leakage inductance power; and/or

extend the second duration if the voltage difference is not reduced to the value less than the first preset threshold within the third duration after the clamping circuit is controlled to stop releasing the leakage inductance power.

5. The ACF converter according to claim 3 , wherein when controlling the clamping circuit to start receiving the leakage inductance power from the transformer circuit, the first controller is specifically configured to:

after a duration for which the transformer circuit stops the primary side charging and starts the secondary side discharging reaches a fourth duration, control the clamping circuit to start receiving the leakage inductance power from the transformer circuit, wherein the fourth duration is not less than a switching delay of the main switching transistor.

6. The ACF converter according to claim 1 , wherein after controlling the clamping circuit to start receiving the leakage inductance power from the transformer module, the first controller is further configured to:

after a duration for which the clamping circuit starts receiving the leakage inductance power from the transformer circuit reaches a fifth duration, control the clamping circuit to stop receiving the leakage inductance power from the transformer circuit, wherein the fifth duration is determined based on a clamping current flowing through the clamping circuit.

7. The ACF converter according to claim 1 , wherein the ACF converter further comprises a rectification circuit, one end of the rectification circuit is connected to the second electrode of the main switching transistor, and the other end is connected to a load circuit; and

wherein the rectification circuit is configured to control a direction of an output current of the transformer circuit.

8. The ACF converter according to claim 7 , wherein the ACF converter further comprises a second controller, and the rectification circuit comprises a secondary side transistor;

wherein a first electrode of the secondary side transistor is connected to a secondary side of the transformer, a second electrode is connected to the first output terminal or a second output terminal, and a control electrode is connected to the second controller; and

wherein the second controller is separately connected to the first electrode and the second electrode of the secondary side transistor, and is configured to:

obtain a voltage of the first electrode and a voltage of the second electrode of the secondary side transistor, and conduct the first electrode and the second electrode of the secondary side transistor when the voltage of the first electrode and the voltage of the second electrode meet a preset forward relationship, wherein the forward relationship is a relative value relationship between a voltage value of the first electrode and a voltage value of the second electrode when the transformer circuit starts the secondary side discharging and power released by the transformer circuit flows between the first electrode and the second electrode.

9. A voltage conversion method performed by an Active Clamp Flyback (ACF) converter, wherein the ACF converter comprises a transformer circuit, a clamping circuit, and a first controller, and the method is applied to the first controller and comprises:

after the transformer circuit starts secondary side discharging, controlling the clamping circuit to start receiving leakage inductance power from the transformer circuit; and

after controlling the clamping circuit to stop receiving the leakage inductance power from the transformer circuit, controlling the clamping circuit to release the leakage inductance power to the transformer circuit, wherein the leakage inductance power released by the clamping module to the transformer circuit is used by the transformer circuit to restore a soft switching state based on the leakage inductance power;

wherein the ACF converter further comprises a first power supply terminal and a second power supply terminal, the first power supply terminal and the second power supply terminal are configured to connect to an electrode of a power supply circuit, the transformer circuit comprises a main switching transistor and a transformer, a first electrode of the main switching transistor is connected to the first power supply terminal, a second electrode is connected to one end of a primary side of the transformer, a gate electrode is connected to the first controller, and the other end of the primary side of the transformer is connected to the second power supply terminal;

wherein the controlling the clamping circuit to release the leakage inductance power to the transformer circuit comprises:

after a duration for which the clamping circuit is controlled to release the leakage inductance power to the transformer circuit reaches a first duration, controlling the clamping circuit to stop releasing the leakage inductance power; and

wherein the method further comprises:

obtaining a voltage difference between a voltage of the first electrode and a voltage of the second electrode, and adjusting the first duration based on the voltage difference.

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the adjusting the first duration based on the voltage difference comprises:

shortening the first duration if the voltage difference is less than a second preset threshold; and/or

extending the first duration if the voltage difference is greater than the second preset threshold.

11. The method according to claim 9 , wherein before the transformer circuit starts the secondary side discharging, the method further comprises:

controlling the transformer circuit to start primary side charging, and after a duration of the primary side charging reaches a second duration, controlling the transformer circuit to stop the primary side charging and to start the secondary side discharging; and

wherein the method further comprises:

adjusting the second duration based on the voltage difference.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the adjusting the second duration based on the voltage difference comprises:

shortening the second duration if the voltage difference is reduced to a value less than a first preset threshold within a third duration after the clamping circuit is controlled to stop releasing the leakage inductance power; and/or

extending the second duration if the voltage difference is not reduced to the value less than the first preset threshold within the third duration after the clamping circuit is controlled to stop releasing the leakage inductance power.

13. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the controlling the clamping circuit to start receiving leakage inductance power from the transformer circuit comprises:

after a duration for which the transformer circuit stops the primary side charging and starts the secondary side discharging reaches a fourth duration, controlling the clamping module to start receiving the leakage inductance power from the transformer circuit, wherein the fourth duration is not less than a switching delay of the main switching transistor.

14. The method according to claim 9 , wherein after the controlling the clamping circuit to start receiving leakage inductance power from the transformer circuit, the method further comprises:

after duration for which the clamping circuit starts receiving the leakage inductance power from the transformer circuit reaches a fifth duration, controlling the clamping circuit to stop receiving the leakage inductance power from the transformer circuit, wherein the fifth duration is determined based on a clamping current flowing through the clamping circuit.

15. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the ACF converter further comprises a rectification circuit, one end of the rectification circuit is connected to the second electrode of the main switching transistor, and the other end is connected to a load circuit; and

wherein the rectification circuit is configured to control a direction of an output current of the transformer circuit.

16. An electronic device, comprising a power supply circuit, a load circuit, and an Active Clamp Flyback (ACF) converter that is separately connected to the power supply circuit and the load circuit, wherein the ACF converter comprises a transformer circuit, a clamping circuit, and a first controller, wherein:

the first controller is configured to:

after the transformer circuit starts secondary side discharging, control the clamping circuit to start receiving leakage inductance power from the transformer circuit; and

after controlling the clamping circuit to stop receiving the leakage inductance power from the transformer circuit, control the clamping circuit to release the leakage inductance power to the transformer circuit, wherein the leakage inductance power released by the clamping circuit to the transformer circuit is used by the transformer circuit to restore a soft switching state based on the leakage inductance power;

the ACF converter further comprises a first power supply terminal and a second power supply terminal, wherein the first power supply terminal and the second power supply terminal are configured to connect to an electrode of a power supply circuit, the transformer circuit comprises a main switching transistor and a transformer, a first electrode of the main switching transistor is connected to the first power supply terminal, a second electrode is connected to one end of a primary side of the transformer, a gate electrode is connected to the first controller, and the other end of the primary side of the transformer is connected to the second power supply terminal;

when controlling the clamping module to release the leakage inductance power to the transformer module, the first controller is specifically configured to:

after a duration for which the clamping circuit is controlled to release the leakage inductance power to the transformer circuit reaches a first duration, control the clamping circuit to stop releasing the leakage inductance power; and

the first controller is further configured to:

obtain a voltage difference between a voltage of the first electrode and a voltage of the second electrode, and adjust the first duration based on the voltage difference.

17. The electronic device according to claim 16 , wherein when adjusting the first duration based on the voltage difference, the first controller is specifically configured to:

shorten the first duration if the voltage difference is less than a second preset threshold; and/or

extend the first duration if the voltage difference is greater than the second preset threshold.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 31, 2021
From: HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
To: HUAWEI DIGITAL POWER TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 058601/0734 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 17, 2021
From: WANG, QINGLEI; HOU, QINGHUI; SUN, CHENGHAO; LIU, WEI
To: HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 057518/0583 →
Priority Claims (1)
CN 201811600788.4 · Dec 26, 2018 · national
Continuity (2)
Continuation PCTCN2019118173 · Nov 13, 2019
Related Publication 20210328520A1 · Oct 21, 2021