CN-122001176-A - Low-loss active high-voltage power switch

CN122001176ACN 122001176 ACN122001176 ACN 122001176ACN-122001176-A

Abstract

Low loss active high voltage power switches are provided. A vehicle propulsion system includes a battery to supply Direct Current (DC), an inverter including a wide bandgap transistor to convert DC to Alternating Current (AC) in response to a transistor control signal applied to a gate of the wide bandgap transistor, a high voltage power switch antiparallel coupled to the wide bandgap transistor to provide a path for current when the wide bandgap transistor is turned off, an inverter controller including a power source to supply DC current, a current sensor to detect a current level of the DC current, and a high voltage transistor to generate a transistor control signal in response to the current level and a change in the DC current, and a motor configured to generate an electromotive torque in response to an AC voltage to propel the vehicle.

Inventors

C.S. Namoduri
B. S. Engu
K. M. Alam
R. PRASAD
LUO YILUN

Assignees

通用汽车环球科技运作有限责任公司

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20241217
Priority Date: 20241108

Claims (10)

1. A vehicle propulsion system comprising: a battery for supplying a DC voltage; an inverter comprising a wide bandgap transistor for converting the DC voltage to an AC voltage in response to a transistor control signal applied to a gate of the wide bandgap transistor; A high voltage power switch coupled antiparallel to the wide bandgap transistor to provide a path for current when the wide bandgap transistor is turned off; An inverter controller including a power source for supplying a DC current, a current sensor for detecting a current level of the DC current, and a high voltage transistor for generating the transistor control signal in response to the current level and a change in the DC current, and An electric motor configured to generate electromotive torque to propel the vehicle in response to the AC voltage.
2. The vehicle propulsion system according to claim 1, wherein the current sensor is a dual comparator.
3. The vehicle propulsion system according to claim 1, wherein the high voltage transistor comprises a PNP transistor and an NPN transistor configured in parallel.
4. The vehicle propulsion system according to claim 1, wherein the power source is an isolated bias power source.
5. The vehicle propulsion system according to claim 1, wherein the high voltage transistor is a high voltage diode having a linear increase in voltage drop proportional to the current level up to a predetermined current level.
6. The vehicle propulsion system according to claim 2 wherein the high voltage transistor has a value greater than a linear increase in voltage drop proportional to the current level above a predetermined current level.
7. The vehicle propulsion system according to claim 2 wherein the high voltage transistor has a value less than a linear increase in voltage drop proportional to the current level above a predetermined current level.
8. The vehicle propulsion system of claim 1, wherein the high voltage transistor includes internal control logic configured to automatically switch the high voltage transistor to a low on-resistance state in response to a cathode becoming negative relative to an anode, and to return to a blocking state in response to current through the high voltage transistor being reversed.
9. The vehicle propulsion system according to claim 1, wherein the high voltage transistor is triggered synchronously between an on state and an off state in response to at least one of an internal current sense signal polarity, an external current sensor, and a trigger circuit.
10. A method of propelling a vehicle, comprising, Generating a DC current using an isolated bias power supply; detecting a current level of the DC current using a current sensor; generating a transistor control signal in response to the DC current and the current level exceeding a threshold; generating an AC voltage using a wide bandgap transistor in response to the transistor control signal and a DC voltage from a battery; when the wide bandgap transistor is turned off in response to the DC current and the current level not exceeding the threshold, generating a short circuit across the wide bandgap transistor using a high voltage power switch coupled antiparallel to the wide bandgap transistor to provide a path for current, and The vehicle is propelled using an electromotive force generated by an electric motor in response to the AC voltage.

Description

Low-loss active high-voltage power switch Technical Field The present disclosure relates generally to electric vehicle motors and battery systems, and more particularly to a method and apparatus including a single-chip or multi-chip parallel combined High Voltage (HV) power switch using semiconductor devices to reduce losses and package size, which may be triggered using self-sensing of voltage and/or current or through external current sensors, controller-based predictions, diode temperature, or through suitable analog comparators and logic circuits. Background Electric Vehicles (EVs) use electric motors to convert electrical energy from a battery into mechanical energy to turn wheels. Generally, motors used in EVs are mainly of two types, induction motors and Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSMs). Induction machines are the most common motor type used in EVs. Induction motors are also very efficient and they can provide high torque output. PMSMs are commonly used in high performance EVs, such as sports cars and racing cars. Modern EVs typically have two motors, one for each axle, but some EVs may have a single motor located under the hood, or four motors, one for each wheel. Disclosure of Invention Disclosed herein are vehicle control methods and systems and related electrical systems for providing a vehicle propulsion system, methods for manufacturing and methods for operating such systems, and motor vehicles and other devices, such as aircraft, trucks, buses, forklifts, construction vehicles, and other electric vehicles equipped with battery-powered motors. By way of example and not limitation, various embodiments of a system for a novel low-loss active high-voltage switching transistor for an electric vehicle inverter are presented. According to one aspect of the disclosure, a vehicle propulsion system includes a battery to supply a Direct Current (DC) voltage, an inverter including a wide bandgap transistor to convert the DC voltage to an Alternating Current (AC) voltage in response to a transistor control signal applied to a gate of the wide bandgap transistor, a high voltage power switch antiparallel coupled to the wide bandgap transistor to provide a path for current when the wide bandgap transistor is turned off, an inverter controller including a power source to supply a DC current, a current sensor to detect a current level of the DC current, and a high voltage transistor to generate a transistor control signal in response to the current level and a change in the DC current, and a motor configured to generate an electromotive torque in response to the AC voltage to propel the vehicle. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, wherein the current sensor is a dual comparator. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, wherein the high voltage transistor comprises a positive-negative-positive (PNP) transistor and a negative-positive-negative (NPN) transistor configured in parallel. According to another aspect of the disclosure, wherein the power supply is an isolated bias power supply. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, wherein the high voltage transistor is a high voltage diode having a linear increase in voltage drop proportional to the current level up to the predetermined current level. According to another aspect of the disclosure, wherein the high voltage transistor has a value greater than a linear increase in voltage drop proportional to a current level above a predetermined current level. According to another aspect of the disclosure, wherein the high voltage transistor has a value less than a linear increase in voltage drop proportional to a current level above a predetermined current level. According to another aspect of the disclosure, wherein the high voltage transistor includes internal control logic configured to automatically switch the high voltage transistor to a low on-resistance state in response to the cathode becoming negative relative to the anode, and to return to a blocking state in response to a current through the high voltage transistor being reversed. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, wherein the high voltage transistor is synchronously triggered between the on state and the off state in response to at least one of an internal current sense signal polarity, an external current sensor, and a trigger circuit. According to another aspect of the disclosure, a method of propelling a vehicle includes generating a DC current using an isolated bias power supply, detecting a current level of the DC current using a current sensor, generating a transistor control signal in response to the DC current and the current level exceeding a threshold, generating an AC voltage using a wide bandgap transistor in response to the transistor control signal and a DC voltage from a battery, generating a short circuit across the wide bandgap transistor using a high voltage power switch coupled antiparallel to the wide bandgap