US-12620885-B2 - Converter

US12620885B2US 12620885 B2US12620885 B2US 12620885B2US-12620885-B2

Abstract

A converter according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: a first converter and a second converter for converting the input voltage into a first level voltage; a switching unit which connects the first converter and the second converter in series or in parallel; and an output unit to which the output terminal of the first converter and the output terminal of the second converter are connected in parallel.

Inventors

Je Hyun Yi
Byung Kwon Lee
Jae Ho Choi
Eun Hyuk HONG

Assignees

LG INNOTEK CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20220627
Priority Date: 20210628

Claims (13)

1 . A power module comprising: a power factor correction unit configured to convert an alternating current input into a direct current; a third converter and a fourth converter configured to convert an output voltage of the power factor correction unit into a second level voltage; a first converter and a second converter configured to convert an input voltage into a first level voltage; a first switching unit connecting the third converter and the fourth converter in series or in parallel; a second switching unit connecting the first converter and the second converter in series or in parallel; and an output unit to which an output terminal of the first converter and an output terminal of the second converter are connected in parallel, wherein an output terminal of the third converter is connected to an input terminal of the first converter, and wherein an output terminal of the fourth converter is connected to an input terminal of the second converter.
2 . The power module according to claim 1 , comprising: a battery input/output terminal connected between the output terminal of the third converter and the input terminal of the first converter, and between the output terminal of the fourth converter and the input terminal of the second converter.
3 . The power module according to claim 2 , wherein the first converter and the second converter receive an output voltage of the third converter and an output voltage of the fourth converter, respectively, or receive a battery voltage from the battery input/output terminal.
4 . The converter according to claim 1 , wherein when the input voltage applied to the converter is a second value, the first switching element and the second switching element are in an off state and the third switching element is in an on state.
5 . The converter according to claim 4 , wherein the first value is smaller than the second value.
6 . The converter according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit controls the switching unit so that the first converter and the second converter are connected in series when the magnitude of the input voltage is a second value.
7 . The power module according to claim 2 , wherein when a voltage of the battery connected to the battery input/output terminal is a first value, the first converter and the second converter are connected in parallel.
8 . The power module according to claim 7 , wherein when the voltage of the battery connected to the battery input/output terminal is a second value, the first converter and the second converter are connected in series.
9 . The power module according to claim 8 , wherein the first value is smaller than the second value.
10 . The power module according to claim 2 , wherein the first switching unit comprises: a fourth switching element disposed between a (−) terminal of the third converter and a (−) terminal of the fourth converter; a fifth switching element disposed between a (+) terminal of the third converter and a (+) terminal of the fourth converter; and a sixth switching element disposed between the (−) terminal of the third converter and the (+) terminal of the fourth converter.
11 . The power module according to claim 10 , wherein when the alternating current voltage inputted to the power factor correction unit is single-phase, the fourth switching element and the fifth switching element are in an on state and the sixth switching element is in an off state; and wherein when the alternating current voltage inputted to the power factor correction unit is three-phase, the fourth switching element and the fifth switching element are in an off state and the sixth switching element is in an on state.
12 . The power module according to claim 2 , wherein the second switching unit comprises: a first switching element disposed between a (−) terminal of the first converter and a (−) terminal of the second converter; a second switching element disposed between a (+) terminal of the first converter and a (+) terminal of the second converter; and a third switching element disposed between the (−) terminal of the first converter and the (+) terminal of the second converter.
13 . The power module according to claim 2 , wherein the second level is larger than the first level.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is the U.S. national stage application of International Patent Application No. PCT/KR2022/009129, filed Jun. 27, 2022, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of Korean Application No. 10-2021-0084086, filed Jun. 28, 2021, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a converter, and more specifically, to a converter and power module that can be used for a wide range of input voltages with a single converter. BACKGROUND ART The required capacity of batteries installed and used in vehicles such as hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles is increasing. Previously, only 400 V batteries were used, but recently, attempts to use 800 V batteries in combined ways are increasing. The power module being ap to the vehicle must convert external power source to a voltage suitable for charging the battery. As shown in FIG. 1, since the external power source is an alternating current input, the alternating current input is converted into a direct current through a power factor corrector (PFC) that receives the alternating current input, and it is converted into a voltage suitable for charging the battery 3 through the HV/HV converter 2 to charge the battery 3. Thereafter, the power stored in the battery 3 is provided to the vehicle, and at this time, it is converted to a low voltage suitable for providing to devices within the vehicle through the HV/LV converter 4. Recently, the capacity of the battery 3 is used by connecting it to 400 V or 800 V, but there is a problem in that high-efficiency operation is not possible when operating 400 V to 800 V battery voltage range with a single converter, and it is difficult to cover the entire range when designing magnetic elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Subject The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a converter and power module compatible with a wide range of input voltages with a single converter. Technical Solution In order to solve the above technical problem, a converter according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a first converter and a second converter that convert the input voltage into a first level voltage; a switching unit that connects the first converter and the second converter in series or in parallel; and an output unit to which the output terminal of the first converter and the output terminal of the second converter are connected in parallel. In addition, the switching unit may comprise: a first switching element being disposed between the (−) terminal of the first converter and the (−) terminal of the second converter; a second switching element being disposed between the (+) terminal of the first converter and the (+) terminal of the second converter; and a third switching element being disposed between the (−) terminal of the first converter and the (+) terminal of the second converter. In addition, when the input voltage being applied to the converter is a first value, the first switching element and the second switching element are in an on state and the third switching element is in an off state; and when the input voltage being applied to the converter is a second value, the first switching element and the second switching element are in an off state and the third switching element may be in an on state. In addition, it may include a control unit that controls the switching unit according to the magnitude of the input voltage being applied to the converter. In addition, the control unit controls the switching unit so that the first converter and the second converter are connected in parallel when the magnitude of the input voltage is a first value, and may control the switching unit so that the first converter and the second converter are connected in series when the magnitude of the input voltage is a second value. In addition, the first value may be smaller than the second value. In addition, the first converter and the second converter may have the same specifications. In order to solve the above technical problem, the power module according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a power factor correction unit that converts an alternating current input into a direct current; a third converter and a fourth converter that convert the output voltage of the power factor correction unit into a second level voltage; a first converter and a second converter that convert the input voltage into a first level voltage; a first switching unit that connects the third converter and the fourth converter in series or in parallel; a second switching unit that connects the first converter and the second converter in series or in parallel; and an output unit where the output terminal of the first converter and the output terminal of the second converter are connected in parallel, wherein the output terminal of the third converte