US-12620800-B2 - DC system protection apparatus with communication resetting function

Abstract

The present invention provides a DC system protection apparatus with a communication resetting function, which includes at least one load, at least one DC power supply system, a DC solid-state circuit breaker, a current sensor, a reset/break controller and a reset communication module. The at least one DC power supply system is connected to the at least one load. The DC solid-state circuit breaker is connected in series with the at least one load and the at least one DC power supply system. The current sensor is connected in series with the DC solid-state circuit breaker, the at least one load and the at least one DC power supply system. The reset/break controller is connected to the current sensor, and controls breaking and resetting of the DC solid-state circuit breaker. The reset communication module is connected to the reset/break controller.

Inventors

• HAN-CHUN KAO
• TA-HSIU TSENG
• Yu-Wei Lin
• Chung-Ching Lin
• Wei-Chun Cheng
• SEN-TUNG WU
• Yu-Kai Huang

Assignees

• SHIP AND OCEAN INDUSTRIES R&D CENTER

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20231224

Priority Date

20231222

Claims (6)

1. 1 . A DC system protection apparatus with a communication resetting function, comprising: at least one load; at least one DC power supply system, connected to the at least one load; a DC solid-state circuit breaker, connected in series with the at least one load and the at least one DC power supply system; a current sensor, connected in series with the at DC solid-state circuit breaker, the at least one load and the at least one DC power supply system; a reset/break controller, connected to the current sensor, the reset/break controller controlling breaking and resetting of the DC solid-state circuit breaker; and a reset communication module, connected to the reset/break controller; wherein the DC solid-state circuit breaker comprises: a power semiconductor element, connected to the current sensor and the at least one load; a gate driver, connected to the power semiconductor element, the gate driver receiving a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal from the reset/break controller; a cooling structure, connected to the power semiconductor element; and a voltage clamping circuit, bridging two ends of the power semiconductor element; wherein the PWM signal issued by the reset/break controller is transmitted via a forward-flyback circuit between the reset/break controller and the DC solid-state circuit breaker; wherein when the current sensor detects that a current flowing through is greater than a break threshold, the current sensor notifies the reset/break controller to transmit a PWM signal with an increased duty cycle via the forward-flyback circuit, for the gate driver to drive the power semiconductor element to be disconnected; wherein the reset communication module, upon receiving a reset signal, notifies the reset/break controller to transmit a PWM signal with a reduced duty cycle via the forward-flyback circuit, for the gate driver to drive the power semiconductor element to be reset.
2. 2 . The DC system protection apparatus with a communication resetting function according to claim 1 , wherein a voltage of the at least one DC power supply system is between 100 V and 400 V.
3. 3 . The DC system protection apparatus with a communication resetting function according to claim 1 , wherein the DC solid-state circuit breaker is a unidirectional self-powered DC solid-state circuit breaker (DC SSCB).
4. 4 . The DC system protection apparatus with a communication resetting function according to claim 1 , wherein the power semiconductor element is a silicon carbide (SIC) junction field effect transistor (JFET).
5. 5 . The DC system protection apparatus with a communication resetting function according to claim 1 , wherein the current sensor is a Hall effect-based current sensor.
6. 6 . The DC system protection apparatus with a communication resetting function according to claim 1 , wherein the break threshold is 16 A.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a DC system protection apparatus with a communication resetting function, and more particularly to a DC system protection apparatus with a communication resetting function capable of quickly disconnecting a load with an anomaly and performing resetting via external communication when a device serving as the load is abnormal. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART As electric vehicles are gradually becoming the mainstream vehicle on the market, and the raising attention is paid to techniques related to power control and safety of these vehicles. In particular, in the technical field of ships, higher safety requirements are demanded for each load in a power system for pure electric ships or hybrid electric ships. The reason is that a ship sailing on the sea is de facto in an isolated state, and this state means that a result of any fire caused by a power system anomaly while the ship sails on the sea can be catastrophic. Thus, in the event of any anomaly in a power system or a load of pure electric ships or hybrid electric ships, disconnecting the load with an anomaly within the shortest period of time is a critical safety measure. However, in common mechanical high-voltage circuit breakers, a current may reach as high as several thousands of amperes during an interruption of a fault current. Moreover, due to a connection to an inductor, a peak value in a voltage may be even higher. Such voltage leads to arcing, which vaporizes contacts of the circuit breaker. In addition, a DC current causes arcing to persist, and there is no zero-crossing for eliminating such arcing which is present in an AC current. Furthermore, a speed between a connection and a disconnection of the conventional mechanical high-voltage circuit breakers above is rather slow and may take up to tens of milliseconds, and this allows energy that may cause impairment to pass through during short-circuitry. As the conventional mechanical high-voltage circuit breakers above age, a trip speed thereof is directly affected, hence causing an even greater loss. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To overcome the issues of the prior art described above, the present invention provides a DC system protection apparatus with a communication resetting function. More specifically, the DC system protection apparatus with a communication resetting function provided by the present invention includes at least one load, at least one DC power supply system, a DC solid-state circuit breaker, a current sensor, a reset/break controller and a reset communication module. The at least one DC power supply system is connected to the at least one load. The DC solid-state circuit breaker is connected in series with the at least one load and the at least one DC power supply system. The current sensor is connected in series with the DC solid-state circuit breaker, the at least one load and the at least one DC power supply system. The reset/break controller is connected to the current sensor, and controls breaking and resetting of the DC solid-state circuit breaker. The reset communication module is connected to the reset/break controller. With the present invention, the issues of arcing, mechanical wear and slow disconnection speeds generated in mechanical high-voltage circuit breakers in a DC power system can be solved. The above summary of the present invention aims to provide a basic illustration for various aspects and technical features of the present invention. The summary of the invention is not a comprehensive description of the present invention, and is not intended to specifically enumerate examples of key or critical elements of the present invention, nor is it intended to define the scope of the present invention, but is to present several concepts of the present invention in a simple form. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a circuit structure of a DC system protection apparatus with a communication resetting function according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a circuit structure of a DC solid-state circuit breaker according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS For understanding the technical features and practical effects of the present invention, implementation can be carried out according to the contents of the detailed description given by way of the preferred embodiments described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings below. Please Refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a circuit structure of a DC system protection apparatus 10 with a communication resetting function according to an embodiment of the present invention. The DC system protection apparatus 10 with a communication resetting function shown in this embodiment includes a load 100, a DC power supply system 200, a DC solid-state circuit breaker 300, a current sensor 400, a reset/break controller 500 and a reset commun