Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100308873 | SWITCHING DEVICE DRIVING APPARATUS - An IGBT drive circuit is provided with a series regulator and a drive circuit. The series regulator includes a transistor and a control circuit. The control circuit and the drive circuit are integrated as an IC. The transistor is connected to the IC as an external component. Since the control circuit and the drive circuit are integrated, the number of components necessary for the IGBT drive circuit can be reduced. Further, the transistor is excluded from the IC so that radiant heat by the IC can be suppressed whereby an IC package having high heat-radiation characteristics is not necessarily used so that increasing size of the IC is avoided. | 12-09-2010 |
20110012542 | DRIVE SYSTEM FOR POWER SWITCHING ELEMENTS - A drive system has a low voltage system, a high voltage system, and a transformer. The high voltage system has drive units which correspond to power switching elements. A capacitance in the high voltage system serves as a flouting power source which supplies electric power to each of the drive units. An output voltage of a secondary side coil of the transformer is supplied to the capacitance. A comparator compares the output voltage at the secondary side coil of the transformer with a threshold value. A switching speed change part changes the switching speed of each of the power switching element based on the comparison result of the comparator. | 01-20-2011 |
20110029722 | ELECTRONIC CONTROL APPARATUS INCLUDING ELECTRICALLY REWRITABLE NON-VOLATILE MEMORY - The electronic control apparatus includes an electrically rewritable non-volatile memory, a writing voltage there of being larger in absolute value than a reading voltage thereof, and a control section configured to access the non-volatile memory to perform data writing or data reading. The non-volatile memory includes a first terminal to receive the writing voltage generated by a voltage generating means disposed outside the electronic control apparatus, the first terminal being electrically isolated from the external voltage generating means. | 02-03-2011 |
20110058400 | POWER CONVERSION APPARATUS - The power conversion apparatus includes a power conversion circuit including parallel-connected pairs of a high-side switching element and a low-side switching element connected in series, high-side driver circuits to drive the high-side switching elements, low-side driver circuits to drive the low-side switching elements, and a transformer to supply voltages to drive the high-side switching and low-side switching elements to the high-side and low-side driver circuits. The high-side switching elements are mounted in a row along a first direction on a wiring board, and the low-side switching elements are mounted in a row along the first direction on the wiring board side by side with the row of the high-side switching elements. The transformer is mounted on the wiring board on the side of the row of the high-side switching elements opposite to the row of the low-side switching elements. | 03-10-2011 |
20110080149 | POWER CONVERSION CONTROL APPARATUS - The power conversion control apparatus is for controlling a power conversion circuit in which a plurality of pairs each including a high-side switching element and a low-side switching element connected in series to each other are connected in parallel to a capacitor, and an external battery is connected to the capacitor through a relay. To discharge the capacitor, the power conversion control apparatus turns on both the high-side and low-side switching elements of at least one of the pairs to make a short circuit between both electrodes of the capacitor on condition that the relay is open. | 04-07-2011 |
20110122917 | PHYSICAL QUANTITY DETECTING APPARATUS - A physical quantity detecting apparatus includes a plurality of physical quantity conversion circuits, an output selection circuit and a signal conversion circuit. Each of the plurality of physical quantity conversion circuits converts a physical quantity to be detected into a voltage corresponding to the physical quantity and outputs the voltage. The output selection circuit is electrically connected to the plurality of physical quantity conversion circuits to select a maximum voltage from among the voltages outputted from the plurality of physical quantity conversion circuits. The signal conversion circuit is electrically connected to the output selection circuit to convert the voltage outputted from the output selection circuit into a pulse signal having a pulse width or frequency corresponding to the voltage and output the pulse signal. | 05-26-2011 |
20110133790 | DEVICE FOR DRIVING SWITCHING ELEMENTS - A drive unit controls the operation of a corresponding power switching element such as IGBT which forms an inverter and a converter. The drive unit controls the operation of the corresponding power switching element to supply an operation current to a motor generator. First and second switching elements in the drive unit are simultaneously turned on when an operation signal transferred from a control device is switched to a turning-on instruction operation signal. The voltage at the gate terminal of the power switching element is shifted to a divided voltage obtained by dividing a voltage of the power source by first and second resistances connected in series in the drive unit. When a mirror time period of the power switching element is elapsed, the second switching element only is turned off in order to shift the gate voltage of the power switching element to the voltage of the power source. | 06-09-2011 |
20110156811 | VOLTAGE DETECTION DEVICE - A voltage detection circuit includes operational amplifiers, a battery, and a voltage circuit. The voltage circuit offsets the inverting input terminals and non-inverting input terminals of the operational amplifiers to the positive side with reference to a ground GND. | 06-30-2011 |
20110163706 | DRIVE DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC POWER CONVERSION CIRCUIT - A drive device has a break circuit. The break circuit inputs phase-current values transferred from phase-current sensors mounted on an electrical path of a motor generator. A power switching element is equipped with a freewheel diode connected in parallel with each other. An inverter has pairs of the power switching elements. In each pair, the power switching element in a high voltage side and the power switching element in a low voltage side are connected in series. It is detected for the freewheel diode to be in a freewheel mode when a forward current flows in the freewheel diode. The break circuit detects the freewheel mode when the phase-current value is not less than a predetermined threshold value. The break circuit detects the freewheel mode where the current flows in the freewheel diode in an upper arm when the phase-current value is not more than the threshold current value. | 07-07-2011 |
20110221370 | DISCHARGE CONTROL DEVICE FOR POWER CONVERSION SYSTEM - The discharge control device for a power conversion system performs discharge control to discharge a capacitor parallel-connected to the input side of the power conversion system including a plurality of pairs of high-side and low-side switching elements connected in series and each controlled by a drive unit, by turning on the high-side and low-side switching elements of one of the pairs at the same time. At this time, the discharge control device inhibits an ON command from being inputted to the drive units for the high-side and low side switching elements of the other pairs. | 09-15-2011 |
20110221374 | DISCHARGING CONTROL DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC POWER CONVERSION SYSTEM - A discharge control device in an electric power conversion system mounted to a motor vehicle turns off a relay in order to instruct an electric power conversion circuit to supply a reactive current into a motor generator, and thereby to decrease a capacitor voltage to a diagnostic voltage. After this process, the discharge control device outputs an emergency discharging instruction signal dis in order to turn on both power switching elements at high voltage side and a low voltage side in the electric power conversion circuit. This makes a short circuit between the electrodes of the capacitor in order to discharge the capacitor, and executes a discharging control to detect whether or not an emergency discharging control is correctly executed and completed. The discharge control device detects whether or not the electric power stored in the capacitor is discharged on the basis of the voltage of a voltage sensor. | 09-15-2011 |
20110278918 | DISCHARGE CONTROL APPARATUS ARRANGED IN POWER CONVERSION SYSTEM - A discharge control apparatus arranged in a power conversion system having high-side switching element and low-side switching element to convert the DC power from the battery to a predetermined type of power. The discharge control is performed to discharge a capacitor connected in parallel to the switching elements when an abnormal event occurs. The discharge control apparatus is configured to simulate the operation of the switching elements assuming occurrence of the abnormal event, and transmits a plurality of signals representing the simulation result to a control device via a common photocoupler that isolates the switching elements side and the control device side. The control device diagnoses whether or not a fault occurs in the discharge control or the like by the simulation result. | 11-17-2011 |
20120025875 | APPARATUS FOR DRIVING VOLTAGE CONTROLLED SWITCHING ELEMENTS - An apparatus is provided to drive a voltage controlled switching element having a conduction control terminal. In the apparatus, it is determined whether or not voltage at the conduction control terminal is at a first voltage which is lower than a second voltage and which is equal to or more than a threshold voltage. The second voltage is a voltage provided when the switching element is in a normal on-state thereof. The threshold voltage is voltage at which the switching element is switched on. When it is determined that the voltage at the conduction control terminal is at the first voltage, the switching element is forcibly switched off. | 02-02-2012 |
20120075753 | ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR CONVERTING DC VOLTAGE INTO AC VOLTAGE - An electronic system has IGBT, on driving FET and off driving FET connected with the gate of the IGBT, and a control circuit. The on driving FET in an on state supplies electric charge to the IGBT gate. The off driving FET in an on state releases the charge from the GET gate. The control circuit controls each of the on FETs according to a driving signal to be set in the on and off states every switching period of time and to control the voltage at the IGBT gate. When on-failure occurs in the on driving FET set in the on state so as to keep the on driving FET in the on state in spite of control of the control circuit, the control circuit controls a controlled element other than the off driving FET to set the IGBT in the off state. | 03-29-2012 |
20120086496 | ELECTRONIC DEVICE WITH SWITCHING ELEMENT DRIVEN BY CONTROL VOLTAGE - In an electronic device with a switching element, a control circuit controls the voltage at the control terminal of the switching element and drives the switching element, by controlling an ON-drive switching element and an OFF-drive switching element based on an inputted drive signal to the control circuit. The control circuit is configured to turn OFF a switching element using a switching circuit other than the OFF-drive switching element after an elapse of a predetermined period of time from a timing at which the drive signal switches from an ON instruction thereof to an OFF instruction thereof, the ON instruction giving an instruction to turn ON the switching element, the OFF instruction giving an instruction to turn OFF the switching element. | 04-12-2012 |
20120112530 | DRIVING APPARATUS FOR A POWER CONVERSION CIRCUIT - A driving apparatus is provided which drives a power conversion circuit including series-connected units of high-potential-side and low-potential-side switching elements. The apparatus includes driving circuits provided to the respective switching elements. The power conversion circuit configures a high-voltage system insulated from a low-voltage system. Each of the driving circuits outputs a fail signal indicating abnormality of at least one of the switching elements, which is driven by the driving circuit, and the driving circuit itself, to the primary side of a fail insulating unit. The secondary sides of the fail insulating units, to which the fail signal is outputted by the respective driving circuits, are connected to each other in series. The switching elements are arranged on a substrate in two rows. The fail insulating units connected to each other in series are arranged between the switching elements arranged in the two rows on the substrate. | 05-10-2012 |
20120146613 | INTEGRATED CIRCUIT-BASED DRIVE CIRCUIT FOR DRIVING VOLTAGE-CONTROLLED SWITCHING DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE DRIVE CIRCUIT - A drive circuit supplies a charging current via a charging path to drive the control terminal of a voltage-controlled switching device, with a resistor and a switching device being connected in series in the charging path. A control circuit in an integrated circuit of the drive circuit operates an internal switching device such as to selectively enable/interrupt the charging current and to regulate the voltage drop across the resistor to a fixed value. The switching device connected in the charging path can be readily changed from the internal switching device to an external switching device, in accordance with the operating requirements of the driven switching device. | 06-14-2012 |
20120176117 | ELECTRONIC CONTROL APPARATUS HAVING SWITCHING ELEMENT AND DRIVE CIRCUIT - An electronic control apparatus includes a switching element; an ON-drive constant-current circuit supplying a constant current to the control terminal of the switching element thereby charging the control terminal of the switching element; an OFF-drive switching element discharging electrical charge from the control terminal of the switching element by being turned ON; and a control circuit adapted to control the ON-drive constant-current circuit and the OFF-drive switching element in response to a drive signal being inputted, thereby controlling the voltage of the control terminal of the switching element so as to drive the switching element. The control circuit controls the current control transistor based on the voltage of the current detection resistor and supplies the constant current to the control terminal of the switching element, and detects an abnormality in the ON-drive constant-current circuit based on the voltage of the current detection resistor. | 07-12-2012 |
20120188001 | ELECTRONIC CONTROL APPARATUS HAVING SWITCHING ELEMENT AND DRIVE CIRCUIT - An electronic control apparatus includes a switching element having a control terminal; an ON-drive constant-current circuit for supplying a constant current to the control terminal, thereby charging the control terminal of the switching element with electrical charge; an OFF-drive switching element for discharging electrical charge from the control terminal of the switching element by being turned ON; and a control circuit adapted to control the ON-drive constant-current circuit and the OFF-drive switching element in response to a drive signal being inputted, thereby controlling the voltage of the control terminal of the switching element to drive the switching element. The ON-drive constant-current circuit includes a current control transistor and a current detection element. The control circuit controls the current control transistor based on the voltage of the current detection resistor and detects abnormality in the ON-drive constant-current circuit based on a source-drain voltage of the current control transistor. | 07-26-2012 |
20120194226 | SWITCHING ELEMENT CONTROL APPARATUS - A switching element control apparatus capable of controlling a switching element that is driven by controlling a voltage on its control terminal properly in response to characteristic information of the switching element. The apparatus includes a constant current circuit that applies a constant current to the control terminal, a voltage-limiting circuit that limits the voltage on the control terminal so as not to exceed a limiting voltage, and a control circuit that controls the constant current circuit to apply the constant current to the control terminal when having received a drive signal for turning on the switching element, and controls the voltage-limiting circuit to limit the voltage on the control terminal for a voltage-limiting time period. The control circuit includes a memory storing the characteristic information and variably sets at least one of the limiting voltage, the voltage-limiting time period, and the constant current in response to the characteristic information. | 08-02-2012 |
20120212160 | DISCHARGE CONTROL DEVICE OF ELECTRIC POWER CONVERSION SYSTEM - In an electric power conversion system having a discharge control device capable of discharging a voltage charged in a capacitor to a voltage of not more than a predetermined voltage, a linear regulator decreases a voltage of the capacitor and outputs the decreased voltage to a drive unit at a bottom arm in a U phase. A flyback converter for discharging use inputs an output of the linear regulator, and outputs electric power to a drive unit at an upper arm in the U phase. When detecting that own vehicle collides with an obstacle, the discharge control device starts to execute discharge control of the capacitor by turning off a photo coupler and turning on the linear regulator. | 08-23-2012 |
20120217906 | FAILURE INFORMATION TRANSMISSION APPARATUS - A failure information transmission apparatus includes a transmission circuit and a reception circuit. The transmission circuit transmits a plurality of pieces of failure information related to a plurality of failures as pulse signals different from one another via the same transmission path. The reception circuit receives the pulse signals transmitted by the transmission circuit via the same transmission path and identifies the failure information based on the pulse signal received. If the plurality of failures occurs at the same time, the transmission circuit transmits preferentially transmits failure information with higher priority of transmission. | 08-30-2012 |
20120217937 | DRIVE CIRCUIT FOR SWITCHING ELEMENT - A drive circuit is used for driving a switching element. The drive circuit includes a detection unit and an integrated circuit. The detection unit detects a state of a controlled switching element and outputs a voltage signal corresponding to a detection result of the state. The integrated circuit receives the voltage signal via an input terminal for the detection result and controls the switching element based on the received voltage signal. The input terminal includes at least two input terminals that are connected to each other so as to receive the same voltage signal from the detection unit. | 08-30-2012 |
20120219033 | APPARATUS FOR DETECTING TEMPERATURE OF SWITCHING ELEMENTS - A temperature detecting apparatus includes an integrated circuit that integrates an overheating detecting circuit, a breakage detecting circuit and a disabling circuit, and an element connection terminal connecting a temperature sensing element. The disabling circuit disables the breakage detecting circuit from detecting a breakage of wire when a voltage at the element connection exceeds a disabling threshold which is set higher than an overheating detection threshold and a breakage detection threshold. A predetermined voltage higher than the disabling threshold is applied to the element connection terminal when the temperature sensing element is not connected to the element connection terminal. | 08-30-2012 |
20120235488 | POWER CONVERTER - A power converter includes a backup power source Eb provided separately from a power source Es and designed to supply power during a discharge period, and a discharging driver Mb that turns on/off an upper-arm (one) switching element in series-connected switching elements Qu and Qd based on a drive signal that has at least one of a voltage and a frequency, and drives a lower-arm (the other) switching element Qd such that it is always on, the at least one of the voltage and the frequency of the drive signal being within a predetermined range lower than a drive signal outputted from a normal driver Mu, Md. | 09-20-2012 |
20120249020 | DRIVE CIRCUIT FOR SWITCHING ELEMENT - A drive circuit for a switching element includes a constant-current control unit and a restriction unit. The constant-current control unit performs a constant-current control for charging an open/close control terminal of a switching element to be driven which is a voltage-controlled switching element with electric charge for turning on the switching element. The restriction unit restricts, to a reference voltage, a voltage between the open/close control terminal and a first end of a pair of ends of a current flow path of the switching element for a predetermined period following a start of the constant-current control within a charging process period during which the open/close control terminal is charged with the electric charge such that the switching element is turned on. | 10-04-2012 |
20120249021 | INFORMATION TRANSMISSION APPARATUS - A transmission circuit transmits a header pulse signal which has signal length being equal to or more than twice as long as reference time, pulse period having predetermined ratio thereof to the signal length, and pulse stop period being successive and longer than the reference time via transmission path. The transmission circuit subsequently and successively transmits a plurality of data pulse signals which have signal length being the same as the reference time, pulse period having predetermined ratio thereof to the signal length associated with data, and pulse stop period being located before and after the pulse period via the transmission path. A reception circuit receives pulse signals via the transmission path, detects the header pulse signal based on the pulse stop period of the received pulse signal, and obtains a plurality of pieces of data based on the pulse period of pulse signals following the header pulse signal. | 10-04-2012 |
20120286717 | POWER CONVERSION APPARATUS PROVIDED WITH SUBSTRATE HAVING INSULATING AREA - A power conversion apparatus includes: a high-voltage circuit; a low-voltage circuit operating with an operating voltage lower than that of the high-voltage circuit; and a substrate. The substrate includes an edge section, portions corresponding to the low-voltage circuit and the high-voltage circuit formed thereon and a voltage conversion circuit converting a voltage range of the high-voltage to be capable of operating by the low-voltage circuit. The substrate is provided with an insulating area in a periphery of the high-voltage circuit, and the voltage conversion circuit being provided with an insulating area in a periphery thereof. The insulating area provided in the periphery of the voltage conversion circuit shares an area with at least either of the insulating area provided in the periphery of the high-voltage circuit and the edge section of the substrate. | 11-15-2012 |
20120307468 | ELECTRONIC APPARATUS - An electronic apparatus includes a circuit board on which a plurality of electronic components are mounted, and a housing that is provided on the circuit board. The housing includes a mounting member that mounts the housing on the circuit board. The circuit board includes a plurality of circuit regions, an insulating region, and a mounting region. The plurality of electronic components is included in the plurality of circuit regions. The plurality of circuit regions are spaced from one another. The insulating region is located between adjacent circuit regions of the plurality of circuit regions to insulate between the adjacent circuit regions. In the mounting region, the mounting member is mounted on the circuit board. The mounting region is provided in the insulating region located between the adjacent circuit regions in a state where the housing is mounted on the circuit board. | 12-06-2012 |
20120320649 | DISCHARGE CONTROL APPARATUS FOR POWER CONVERTING SYSTEM WITH CAPACITOR - A discharge controller carries out discharge control by determining a voltage to be applied to a conduction control terminal of each of switching elements such that a current in a non-saturation region of one of the switching elements is lower than a current in a non-saturation region of the other thereof, and applying the voltage to the conduction control terminal of each switching element with an opening-closing member opening an electrical path to turn on the switching elements, resulting in short-circuit of both electrodes of a capacitor so that a discharge current is outputted from the capacitor based on the discharge control. A manipulator manipulates, based on a value of the discharge current, how to apply the voltage to the conduction control terminal of the one of the switching elements, thus controlling an amount of heat to be generated in the one of the switching elements. | 12-20-2012 |
20130039097 | POWER CONVERSION APPARATUS - A power conversion apparatus capable of suppressing adverse effects of noise caused by crossing of wiring patterns on a wiring board mounting the apparatus thereon. The apparatus includes a transformer, a switching element connected to the transformer, a feedback rectification circuit, and a control circuit operable to control the switching element in response to a DC voltage from the feedback rectification circuit. A first wiring pattern electrically connecting the feedback rectification circuit and the control circuit is formed in one of two surface regions of the wiring board separated by an imaginary line running through a junction of the first wiring pattern and the feedback rectification circuit and a junction of the first wiring pattern and the control circuit, and a second wiring pattern electrically connecting the control circuit and the switching element is formed outside an area enclosed by the imaginary line and the first wiring pattern. | 02-14-2013 |
20130039108 | CAPACITOR DISCHARGER FOR POWER CONVERSION SYSTEM - A capacitor discharger applied to a power conversion system including a DC voltage source, a power conversion circuit having a pair of input terminals via which the DC voltage source is electrically connected to the power conversion circuit, and a capacitor electrically connected between the pair of input terminals of the power conversion circuit. The capacitor discharger includes a first series connection of resistive elements and a second series connection of resistive elements. In the capacitor discharger, a parallel connection of the first and second series connections of resistive elements is electrically connected between the pair of input terminals of the power conversion circuit. This can ensure a discharge path for discharging the capacitor even in the presence of an abnormality in a portion of the parallel connection of the first and second series connections of resistive elements. | 02-14-2013 |
20130070502 | POWER CONVERTER DESIGNED TO ENHANCE STABILITY IN OPERATION - A power converter equipped with a plurality of semiconductor modules, a cooling device, a control circuit board, a smoothing capacitor, and a discharging resistor. The discharging resistor mounted on the control circuit board in parallel connection to the smoothing capacitor. The control circuit board has fabricated thereon a timing controller working to control timings of on/off operations of the semiconductor modules, a driver coupled to control terminals of the semiconductor modules to control voltage applied to the control terminals, and a power supply circuit working to transform a voltage input to the control circuit board into operating voltages for the timing controller and the driver. The driver is disposed between at least one of the timing controller and the power supply circuit and the discharging resistor, thereby protecting the timing controller and/or the power supply circuit mounted on the control circuit board from thermal energy radiating from the discharging resistor. | 03-21-2013 |
20130175959 | DRIVER FOR SWITCHING ELEMENT AND CONTROL SYSTEM FOR ROTARY MACHINE USING THE SAME - In a driver, a charging module stores negative charge on the gate of a switching element via a normal electrical path to charge the switching element upon a drive signal representing change of an on state to an off state. This shifts the on state of the switching element to the off state. An adjusting module changes a value of a parameter correlating with a charging rate of the switching element through the normal electrical path as a function of an input signal to the driver. The input signal represents a current flowing through the conductive path, a voltage across both ends of the conductive path, or a voltage at the gate. A disabling module disables the adjusting module from changing the value of the parameter if the drive signal represents the on state of the switching element. | 07-11-2013 |
20130181640 | DRIVER FOR SWITCHING ELEMENT AND CONTROL SYSTEM FOR ROTARY MACHINE USING THE SAME - In a driver, a changing module changes a rate of discharging the control terminal of a switch at least between a first value and a second value lower than the first value. A measuring module measures a value of a parameter as a function of a current flowing through the conductive path of the switch during a drive signal being in an on state. A control module controls the changing module, as a function of the value of the parameter, to select the first value or the second value as the rate of discharging the control terminal of the switch upon the drive signal directing a change from the on state of the switch to an off state thereof. The control module discharges the control terminal of the switch using the selected value as the rate of discharging the control terminal of the switch. | 07-18-2013 |
20130229209 | DRIVE UNIT FOR SWITCHING ELEMENT - A drive unit includes a charging unit which charges an opening/closing control terminal of a switching element to switch a drive state. The switching element includes a sensing terminal which outputs a minute current having a correlation with current flowing between input and output terminals of the switching element. The sensing terminal and either of the output terminal or a member having a potential equal to that of the output terminal are connected via a sensing resistor. The drive unit further includes an active gate control unit which changes a charge rate based on comparison of sensing voltage, which is a potential difference across the sensing resistor, or a rate of change of the sensing voltage with a specified value. The specified value is set based on individual-difference information of the switching element which indicates a characteristic, which affects the sensing voltage, when the drive state is switched. | 09-05-2013 |
20130242438 | DRIVER FOR SWITCHING ELEMENT AND CONTROL SYSTEM FOR ROTARY MACHINE USING THE SAME - In a driver, a dissipating unit dissipates, upon a potential difference between input and output terminals of a switching element being lower than a predetermined potential, electrical charge for overcurrent detection between the input and output terminals. The dissipating unit includes a rectifier having a pair of first and second conductive terminals. The first conductive terminal is connected to the input terminal of the switching element. An overcurrent determiner determines that an overcurrent flows between the input and output terminals of the switching element upon determination that electrical charge has not been dissipated by the dissipating unit despite the change of the switching element from the off state to the on state. A failure determiner determines whether there is a failure in the dissipating unit as a function of a potential at a point on the first electrical path from the failure determiner to the second conductive terminal. | 09-19-2013 |
20130301318 | DRIVE UNIT FOR SWITCHING ELEMENT AND METHOD THEREOF - The present application provides a drive unit for a switching element, the driving unit having a function that is capable of promptly detecting the flow of excess current. The unit is usable for an electrical rotating machine. A drive unit for a switching element, comprising: a sense terminal output current detecting means for detecting an output current of a sense terminal that outputs a minute current having correlation with a current flowing between an input terminal and an output terminal of a switching element; a switching element drive control means for restricting the driving of the switching element when the output current detected by the sense terminal output current detecting means exceeds a predetermined threshold value; and a threshold changing means for changing the threshold value on the basis of a difference of electric potential between the input terminal and the output terminal of the switching element. | 11-14-2013 |
20130307593 | DRIVE UNIT FOR SWITCHING ELEMENT - In a drive unit for a switching element, a drive circuit changes the switching element between an on-state and an off-state, by controlling a potential difference between a reference terminal, which is one of a pair of ends of a current path of the switching element, and an opening-closing control terminal of the switching element. A determination section determines, if an on-operation command or an off-operation command is inputted as an operation signal for the switching element, whether or not the potential difference has reached a specific value toward which the potential difference shifts, in response to one of the operation commands, with respect to a threshold value by which the switching element is turned on. A forcible processing section removes charge for turning on the switching element from the opening-closing control terminal, if the determination section determines that the potential difference has not reached the specific value. | 11-21-2013 |
20130314132 | DRIVING SYSTEM FOR SWITCHING ELEMENT - In a driving system for driving a switching element, a controller controls the switching element. A temperature measuring module measures a temperature of the switching element, and output a first signal representing the measured temperature of the switching element as first information. A state determining module determines whether the switching element is in a specified temperature state based on the first signal, and outputs a second signal representing a result of the determination as second information. A communication medium communicably connects between the controller and the state determining module, and the second signal output from the state determining module being transferred to the controller via the communication medium. The controller determines how to drive the switching element based on the second information in the second signal transferred thereto via the communication medium. | 11-28-2013 |
20130322487 | TEMPERATURE DETECTING DEVICE AND METHOD - A temperature detecting device for a power conversion device is provided in which the number of components can be reduced. An exemplary embodiment of the temperature detecting device includes: a plurality of temperature detecting elements that are provided in correspondence with a plurality of temperature detection objects, each temperature detecting element outputting a signal having a correlation with the temperature of the temperature detection object by being supplied power by a common power source; and a temperature detector that detects the temperatures of the temperature detection objects based on the signals having correlation with the temperatures of the temperature detection objects outputted from the temperature detecting elements. The temperature detector detects an average temperature of at least two temperature detection objects among the plurality of temperature detection objects or respective temperatures of the plurality of temperature detection objects based on the output signals. | 12-05-2013 |
20130338871 | BATTERY CONDITION MONITORING DEVICE - A battery condition monitoring device has a control section for monitoring conditions of a high voltage battery on the basis of detection signals detected and transmitted by monitoring ICs. The control section has a main control section and a sub control section. When the main control section is in an abnormal condition, the sub control section detects the conditions of the high voltage battery, and instructs SMRs to turn on and off an electrical connection between the high voltage battery and a vehicle driving electric motor. The SMRs are arranged on connection lines through which the high voltage battery is connected to the vehicle driving electric motor. | 12-19-2013 |
20130342939 | CIRCUIT PROTECTOR - A circuit protector includes a plurality of detection lines that connect between a battery pack and a monitoring circuit, an overvoltage protection element connected between the detection lines that keeps the voltage applied to the monitoring circuit at a fixed voltage, and a circuit protection element disposed in each detection line that disconnects an electrical link between the monitoring circuit to and the battery pack when a current beyond a predetermined current value flows into the detection line. When the excess voltage occurs in the battery pack, the overvoltage protection element maintains between each detection line in a short circuit state, and the circuit protection element disconnects the electrical link between the battery pack and the monitoring circuit by a short-circuit current that flows between the detection lines via the overvoltage protection element. | 12-26-2013 |
20140002096 | INSULATION DETERIORATION DETECTION APPARATUS | 01-02-2014 |
20140021893 | DRIVER FOR SWITCHING ELEMENT AND CONTROL SYSTEM FOR ROTARY MACHINE USING THE SAME - In a driver, a clamping module executes a clamping task that clamps an on-off control terminal voltage to be equal to or lower than a clamp voltage for a predetermined time during charging of the on-off control terminal of the switching element. The clamp voltage is lower than an upper limit of the voltage at the on-off control terminal of the switching element. A measuring module measures a parameter value correlated with a sense current correlated with a current flowing between input and output terminals of the switching element. A limiting module discharges the on-off control terminal to limit flow of the current between the input and output terminals if the value of the parameter exceeds a threshold. A setting module variably sets a length of the predetermined time as a function of the parameter value during charging of the switching element's on-off control terminal. | 01-23-2014 |
20140023110 | TEMPERATURE MEASURING APPARATUS WITH SENSOR ASSEMBLY OF SENSING DEVICES CONNECTED TOGETHER - A temperature measuring apparatus is provided which includes a sensor assembly made up of sensing devices which are connected together to produce an output signal correlated with the temperature of a target object. The temperature measuring apparatus determines the number of the sensing devices of the sensor assembly and corrects the output signal so as to compensate for an error in determining the temperature of the target object which depends upon the number of the sensing devices. | 01-23-2014 |
20140035629 | DRIVER APPARATUS FOR SWITCHING ELEMENTS - In a driver apparatus for driving a voltage-controlled switching element, an absolute value of a voltage difference between a voltage at a reference terminal that is one of terminals of a current path of the switching element and a voltage at the switching control terminal of the switching element is clamped at a clamping voltage greater than a threshold voltage. A voltage greater than the threshold voltage applied to the switching control terminal allows the switching element to be turned on. When the current flowing through the switching element becomes equal to or greater than a clamp threshold after the switching element transitions from an off-state to an on-state, a voltage-drop-rate at which the absolute value is decreased to the clamping voltage is decreased. | 02-06-2014 |
20140077846 | SWITCHING ELEMENT DRIVER IC AND SWITCHING ELEMENT DRIVER DEVICE EQUIPPED WITH THE SAME - A switching element driver IC has one or more photocouplers, a driver circuit, a detection circuit and a setting circuit. The photocoupler receives setting data transmitted from a microcomputer, and transmits the received setting data to the setting circuit, wherein an input side as a high voltage side is electrically insulated from an output side as a low voltage side in the photocoupler. The setting circuit transmits the setting data to the driver circuit and the detection circuit. The driver circuit and the detection circuit operate on the basis of the received setting data. The setting data can be provided to the driver circuit and the detection circuit through the photocoupler and the setting circuit. This structure makes it possible to suppress increasing the number of terminals at the high voltage side of the switching element driver IC, and decrease the entire size of the switching element driver IC. | 03-20-2014 |
20140092653 | ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT OPERATING BASED ON ISOLATED SWITCHING POWER SOURCE - In an electronic circuit, a first circuit region is electrically connected to an input circuit region of an isolated switching power source, and a second circuit region is electrically connected to an output circuit region thereof. A driver of an IC is located in the second circuit region and drives a target device based on output power supplied to the second circuit region via the output circuit region from the isolated switching power source. A transferring module of the IC transfers a value of a parameter indicative of the output power from the second circuit region to the first circuit region while maintaining electrical isolation between the first and second circuit regions. An operating module of the IC performs on-off operations of a switching element to perform feedback control of the value of the parameter indicative of the output power to a target value. | 04-03-2014 |
20140111253 | DRIVER FOR SWITCHING ELEMENT AND CONTROL SYSTEM FOR MACHINE USING THE SAME - In a driver, a charging module electrically charges the on-off control terminal of the switching element for turning on the switching element, and a limiting module performs a task of limiting a voltage at the on-off control terminal of the switching element by a predetermined voltage to thereby limit an increase of a current flowing between the input and output terminals of the switching element. A determining module determines whether the voltage at the on-off control terminal of the switching element deviates from the predetermined voltage while the limiting module is performing the limiting task. A correcting module corrects the voltage at the on-off control terminal of the switching element to be close to the predetermined voltage when it is determined that the voltage at the on-off control terminal of the switching element deviates from the predetermined voltage. | 04-24-2014 |
20140147713 | BATTERY MONITORING APPARATUS - A battery monitoring apparatus monitors a battery pack configured by a plurality of battery cells. The battery monitoring apparatus includes a main monitoring unit, a sub monitoring unit and a control unit. The main monitoring unit monitors a plurality of physical quantities indicating a battery state of the battery pack. The sub monitoring unit monitors a part of the physical quantities separately from the main monitoring unit. The control unit detects malfunction of the battery pack on the basis of at least one of a monitoring result of the main monitoring unit and a monitoring result of the sub monitoring unit. | 05-29-2014 |
20140197869 | CIRCUIT CONTROL DEVICE - A circuit control device controlling a switching circuit which has a semiconductor switching element, having a main controller, a drive signal output portion and an obtaining portion. The main controller outputs a drive control signal. The drive signal output portion receives the drive control signal and outputs a drive signal to the switching element, the switching element acting on the basis of the drive signal. The obtaining portion obtains circuit information on status of the switching circuit in synchronization with the drive control signal. | 07-17-2014 |
20140203848 | ELECTRONIC APPARATUS - An electronic apparatus includes a switching element which has a control terminal and is driven by controlling voltage of the control terminal, a driving power supply circuit which supplies voltage required for driving the switching element, an on-driving circuit which is connected to the driving power supply circuit and the control terminal of the switching element and is supplied with voltage from the driving power supply circuit, and which applies a constant current to the control terminal of the switching element to charge the control terminal, thereby turning on the switching element, and at least one diode which is connected between the on-driving circuit and the control terminal of the switching element. The on-driving circuit applies a constant current to the control terminal of the switching element through the diode. | 07-24-2014 |
20140217942 | DRIVING SYSTEM FOR DRIVING SWITCHING ELEMENT - In a driving system, an applying module apples, in response to an input of an on or off command as a switching command, a switch signal to a target switching element as a high- or low-side switching element to switch the target switching element to be an on or off state. A measuring module measures a delay period defined as a time interval from a first time to a second time. The first time represents a time at which the switching command is switched from one of the on command and the off command to the other. The second time represents a time at which the target switching element is actually switched to be the on or off state. An adjusting module adjusts, based on the delay period, an input timing of a next switch signal applied from the applying module to the target switching element. | 08-07-2014 |
20140218074 | CIRCUIT CONTROL DEVICE - In the invention, a circuit control device controlling a semiconductor switching element having a control terminal and driven by voltage inputted to the control terminal, has an input voltage detector, a desired voltage setting portion and a control input generation portion. The input voltage detector detects inputted voltage to the switching element. The desired voltage setting portion sets a desired value of the voltage to be inputted to the switching element. The control input generation portion is connected to the control terminal of the switching element, the control input generation portion generating control input to the switching element such that the value to be detected by the input voltage detector closes to the set desired value. The desired voltage setting portion sets the desired value of the voltage on the basis of predetermined characteristics information and operating parameters of the switching element. The operating parameters include temperature of the switching element, Vce, Ice etc. | 08-07-2014 |
20140218099 | ELECTRONIC APPARATUS - An electronic apparatus is provided which includes switching elements, resonance suppression resistors which have first ends connected to control terminals of the switching elements and second ends having a common connection, an on-drive circuit which has an on-drive resistor and is connected to a drive power circuit, and which is supplied with voltage from the drive power circuit and applies electric charge to the control terminals of the switching elements via the on-drive resistor to turn on the switching elements, and an off-drive circuit which has an off-drive resistor and releases electric charge from the control terminals of the switching elements via the off-drive resistor to turn off the switching elements. A resistance of the off-drive resistor is set to be smaller than a resistance of the resonance suppression resistors. The off-drive circuit releases electric charge from the control terminals of the switching elements not via the resonance suppression resistors. | 08-07-2014 |
20140307495 | DRIVER FOR TARGET SWITCHING ELEMENT AND CONTROL SYSTEM FOR MACHINE USING THE SAME - In a driver having a reference point with a reference potential for driving a target switching element having an on-off control terminal, a charging path electrically connects the on-off control terminal of the target switching element and a driving power source for charging the on-off control terminal of the target switching element. A bypass path electrically connects the on-off control terminal of the target switching element and the driving power source. A storage has a first conductive end electrically connected to the bypass path and a second conductive end electrically connected to the reference point of the target switching element, and is configured for storing therein charge sent through the bypass path. | 10-16-2014 |
20140361720 | APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING ROTATING MACHINE BASED ON OUTPUT SIGNAL OF RESOLVER - A control apparatus controlling a rotating machine includes a signal output unit that outputs an excitation signal to a resolver used for detecting a rotational angle of the rotating machine; a demodulation unit that demodulate a signal related to the rotational angle based on a detection of a modulated signal and the excitation signal so as to output a demodulated signal; a filter that eliminates higher harmonics in the demodulated signal outputted by the demodulation unit so as to output a calculated angle of the rotational angle; and an operating unit that controls a switching element included in a DC-AC conversion circuit to be ON and OFF based on the calculated angle of the rotational angle outputted by the filter, so as to control the rotating machine with an output voltage of the DC-AC conversion circuit supplied to the rotating machine. | 12-11-2014 |
20140368145 | ELECTRIC POWER CONVERSION CIRCUIT - In a three phase inverter device, a smoothing capacitor, a bus bar at a positive electrode side and a bus bar at a negative electrode side are formed on a first surface of the circuit substrate. Electronic s components containing a microcomputer, etc., a differential wiring pattern, a single wiring pattern and a current wiring pattern are formed on a second surface of the circuit substrate. A ground pattern is formed in the inside of the circuit substrate in order to separate the electronic components, the differential wiring pattern, the single wiring pattern and the current wiring pattern from the smoothing capacitor, the bus bar at the positive electrode side and the bus bar at the negative electrode side. | 12-18-2014 |
20150078039 | INSULATED POWER SUPPLY APPARATUS FOR POWER CONVERSION APPARATUS - An insulated power supply apparatus is for a power conversion circuit including at least one series connection of an upper arm switching element and a lower arm switching element connected in series to each other. The insulated power supply apparatus includes an upper arm and lower arm transformers for supplying a driving voltage to the upper arm and lower arm switching elements, respectively, and performs control such that the output voltage of a specific one of the secondary coils of the upper arm and lower arm transformers is kept at a target voltage. | 03-19-2015 |
20150085536 | INSULATED POWER SUPPLY APPARATUS - Upper arm connection sections and lower arm connection sections are provided in parallel. An upper arm transformer and a power supply are provided in an area opposed to the lower arm connection sections with respect to the upper arm connection sections. A power supply control section is provided in at least one of an area opposed to the upper arm connection sections with respect to the upper arm transformer, and an area which is sandwiched between at least one of the upper and lower connection sections closest to one side of the substrate positioned in a direction in which the upper arm connection sections are arranged, and the one side. The lower arm transformer is provided in an area opposed to the upper arm connection sections with respect to the lower arm connection sections. The lower arm transformer is common to at least two of the lower arm switching elements. | 03-26-2015 |
20150085538 | INSULATED POWER SUPPLY APPARATUS - An insulated power supply apparatus includes an upper arm transformer which has a primary side coil and a secondary side coil, a lower arm transformer which has a primary side coil and a secondary side coil, and a power supply control section which has a voltage control switching element and an integrated circuit which turns on or off the voltage control switching element. At least one of the upper arm transformer and the lower arm transformer is adjacent to the power supply control section when viewing a surface of the substrate from a front thereof. An electric path transfers output voltage of the secondary side coil of the transformer adjacent to the power supply control section, to the integrated circuit. The integrated circuit turns on or off the voltage control switching element to perform feedback control so that the output voltage detected via the electric path reaches a target voltage. | 03-26-2015 |
20150102820 | BATTERY MONITORING APPARATUS - A battery monitoring apparatus capable of reducing power consumption. At least one monitoring integrated circuit (IC) is electrically connected to a high-voltage battery formed of a plurality of cells and configured to monitor the high-voltage battery in a plurality of modes of operation. A low-voltage power supply circuit can deliver power of a lower voltage than the power of the high-voltage battery to the at least one monitoring IC. A power supply to the at least one monitoring IC is selected from a group of the high-voltage battery and the low-voltage power supply circuit depending on the mode of operation the at least one monitoring IC. | 04-16-2015 |
20150124502 | DRIVING APPARATUS FOR DRIVING SWITCHING ELEMENTS OF POWER CONVERSION CIRCUIT - A driving apparatus for driving switching elements of a power conversion circuit. In the apparatus, a first determination unit determines whether or not a dead time that occurs immediately after a setting of discharge rate is changed is greater than the dead time assumed at the time of designing. When the dead time occurring immediately after the setting of discharge rate is changed is greater than the dead time assumed at the time of designing, a shift unit shifts in time at least one of transition to an OFF state of one of the upper-arm and lower-arm switching elements and transition to an ON state of the other of the upper-arm and lower-arm switching elements immediately after the transition to the OFF state so as to reduce a time difference between the transition to the OFF state and the transition to the ON state. | 05-07-2015 |
20150364984 | POWER SUPPLY APPARATUS FOR POWER CONVERTERS - In a power supply apparatus, an upper-arm control unit includes a first switching element connected between a DC power source and a primary side of each upper-arm transformer. The upper-arm control unit controls on and off operations of a first voltage-controlled switching element to control supply of an output voltage of the DC power source to the primary side of each upper-arm transformer. A lower-arm control unit includes a second voltage-controlled switching element connected between the DC power source and a primary side of the at least one lower-arm transformer. The lower-arm control unit controls on and off operations of a second switching element to control supply of the output voltage to the primary side of the at least one lower-arm transformers. Each upper-arm transformer is arranged adjacent to the upper-arm control unit, and the at least one lower-arm transformer is arranged adjacent to the lower-arm control unit. | 12-17-2015 |