Granted Patent B2

US 12,249,915 · App. 18/515,390 · Granted Mar 11, 2025

Inventor: David Giuliano (Bedford, NH)

Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

H02M3/158H02M1/0058H02M3/07

Abstract

Claims (57)

1. A method for controlling a switched-capacitor power converter for converting voltage between first and second nodes to voltage between third and fourth nodes for use with a first plurality of switches, a second plurality of switches, a plurality of capacitors, and a plurality of resonance modules comprising four resonance modules, comprising:

controlling the first plurality of switches to be closed and the second plurality of switches to be open to electrically connect the first node to the third node through a first one of the plurality of capacitors in series with a first one of the plurality of resonance modules.

2. A switched-capacitor power converter for converting voltage between first and second nodes to voltage between third and fourth nodes, comprising:

a first plurality of switches;

a second plurality of switches; a plurality of capacitors; and

a plurality of resonance modules comprising four resonance modules;

wherein:

when the first plurality of switches are closed and the second plurality of switches are open, the first node is electrically connected to the third node through a first one of the plurality of capacitors in series with a first one of the plurality of resonance modules.

3. An integrated circuit (IC) for controlling a switched-capacitor power converter for converting voltage between first and second nodes to voltage between third and second nodes for use with a first plurality of switches, a second plurality of switches, a plurality of capacitors, and a plurality of resonance modules, comprising:

a controller configured to control the first plurality of switches to be closed and the second plurality of switches to be open to electrically connect the first node to the third node through a first one of the plurality of resonance modules;

wherein:

a ratio of a voltage across the first and second nodes to a voltage across the third and second nodes is an even ratio; and

the power converter is multi-resonant, and

each of the plurality of resonance modules comprises a first capacitor, a second capacitor, and an inductor connected to each other.

4. The integrated circuit of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of resonance modules are third-order resonant tanks.

5. The integrated circuit of claim 3 , wherein the first capacitor is in series with the second capacitor, and the inductor is electrically connected in parallel with the first capacitor.

6. The integrated circuit of claim 3 , wherein the first capacitor is in series with the inductor, and the second capacitor is electrically connected in parallel with the first capacitor and the inductor.

7. The integrated circuit of claim 3 , wherein the power converter enables zero-current switching.

8. The integrated circuit of claim 3 , wherein the ratio of the voltage across the first and second nodes to the voltage across the third and second nodes is a 4:1 ratio.

9. The integrated circuit of claim 3 , wherein:

the plurality of capacitors comprises two capacitors; and

the plurality of resonance modules comprises four resonance modules.

10. The integrated circuit of claim 3 , wherein a number of the resonance modules is greater than a number of the plurality of capacitors.

11. The integrated circuit of claim 3 , wherein:

controlling the first plurality of switches to be closed and the second plurality of switches to be open comprises electrically connecting the second node to a fourth node through a second one of the plurality of resonance modules.

12. A method for controlling a switched-capacitor power converter for converting voltage between first and second nodes to voltage between third and fourth nodes for use with a first plurality of switches, a second plurality of switches, a plurality of capacitors, and a plurality of resonance modules, comprising:

controlling the first plurality of switches to be closed and the second plurality of switches to be open to electrically connect the first node to the third node through a first one of the plurality of resonance modules;

wherein:

a ratio of a voltage across the first and second nodes to a voltage across the third and fourth nodes is an even ratio; and

the power converter is multi-resonant, and

each of the plurality of resonance modules comprises a first capacitor, a second capacitor, and an inductor connected to each other.

13. A switched-capacitor power converter for converting voltage between first and second nodes to voltage between third and fourth nodes, comprising:

a first plurality of switches;

a second plurality of switches; a plurality of capacitors; and

a plurality of resonance modules;

wherein:

when the first plurality of switches are closed and the second plurality of switches are open, the first node is electrically connected to the third node through a first one of the plurality of capacitors in series with a first one of the plurality of resonance modules;

wherein

a ratio of an input voltage across the input nodes to an output voltage across the output nodes is an even ratio; and

the power converter is multi-resonant, and

each of the plurality of resonance modules comprises a first capacitor, a second capacitor, and an inductor connected to each other.

14. An integrated circuit (IC) for controlling a switched-capacitor power converter for converting voltage between first and second nodes to voltage between third and fourth nodes for use with a first plurality of switches, a second plurality of switches, and a plurality of resonance modules, comprising:

a control configured to control the first plurality of switches to be closed and the second plurality of switches to be open to electrically connect the first node to the third node through a first one of the plurality of resonance modules;

wherein the power converter is multi-resonant, and

each of the plurality of resonance modules comprises a first capacitor, a second capacitor, and an inductor connected to each other.

15. The integrated circuit of claim 14 , wherein the first capacitor is in series with the second capacitor, and the inductor is electrically connected in parallel with the first capacitor.

16. The integrated circuit of claim 14 , where the first capacitor is in series with the inductor, and the second capacitor is electrically connected in parallel with the first capacitor and the inductor.

17. The integrated circuit of claim 14 , wherein the power converter enables zero-current switching.

18. The integrated circuit of claim 14 , wherein a ratio of the voltage at the input nodes to a voltage at the output nodes is an even ratio.

19. The integrated circuit of claim 18 , wherein the ratio of the voltage at the input nodes to a voltage at the output nodes is a 4:1 ratio.

20. The integrated circuit of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of resonance modules comprises eight resonance modules.

21. The integrated circuit of claim 14 , wherein

controlling the first plurality of switches to be closed and the second plurality of switches to be open comprises electrically connecting the second node to the fourth node through a second one of the plurality of resonance modules.

22. A method for controlling a switched-capacitor power converter for converting voltage between first and second nodes to voltage between third and fourth nodes for use with a first plurality of switches, a second plurality of switches, and a plurality of resonance modules, comprising:

controlling the first plurality of switches to be closed and the second plurality of switches to be open to electrically connect the first node to the third node through a first one of the plurality of resonance modules;

wherein the power converter is multi-resonant, and

each of the plurality of resonance modules comprises a first capacitor, a second capacitor, and an inductor connected to each other.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (42)