H-bridge circuit having energy compensation circuit and controlling method thereof

The configurations of an H-bridge circuit and a controlling method thereof are provided in the present invention. The proposed circuit includes an H-bridge having a first and a second bridge arms, each of which has a middle point, and a bidirectional switch connected to the two middle points, a bootstrap circuit providing a bootstrap voltage, a driving circuit receiving the bootstrap voltage and driving the bidirectional switch, and an energy compensation circuit coupled to the H-bridge, the bootstrap circuit and the driving circuit, and providing a compensation energy to the bootstrap circuit.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an H-bridge circuit with an energy-compensation circuit and a controlling method thereof. More particularly, it relates to an H-bridge circuit having an auxiliary energy-compensation circuit with a bootstrapped driver circuit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For achieving the higher efficiency and power density, the H-bridge power factor correction (PFC) circuit possesses a trend of replacing the conventional boost PFC circuit nowadays.

As an example, for an H-bridge PFC circuit inFIG. 1, its on-state loss is smaller than that of a conventional boost PFC circuit, i.e. a conventional rectifier bridge pluses a boost circuit structure. Since the rectifier bridge is omitted in the H-bridge PFC, the efficiency of the circuit is increased dramatically.

FIG. 1shows a circuit diagram of an H-bridge PFC circuit in the prior art, which possesses a higher efficiency while comparing with the conventional boost PFC circuit. InFIG. 1, Vin is an AC power source; Vout is an output voltage; L is an inductor; C1is an output capacitor; D1, D2, D3and D4are rectifier diodes, which form two bridge arms of an H-bridge. T1and T2are two switch elements of the H-bridge, and the series-connected T1and T2form a bidirectional switch. As an example, the bidirectional switch comprises the two inverse series-connected MOSFETs as shown inFIG. 1. The bidirectional switch connects to the middle points A and B of the two bridge arms with the anodes of their body diodes connected together. And the middle point A connects to Vin through the inductor L, while B connects to Vin directly. T1and T2are turned on and off simultaneously. The AC input voltage charges the inductor L when T1and T2are turned on and at the same time the four rectifier diodes D1, D2, D3and D4are off. If T1and T2are turned off and the voltage value at A is larger than that at B, D1and D3are turned on, D2and D4are turned off and the inductor L outputs energy to the output capacitor C1. If T1and T2are turned off and the voltage value at B is larger than that at A, D2and D4are turned on, D1and D3are turned off and the inductor L also outputs energy to the output capacitor C1.

In the circuit ofFIG. 1, the two switches T1and T2are driven under floating ground structure, and a conventional bootstrap driver circuit, such as circuits in the blocks1and2ofFIG. 3(a), can be employed. As shown in the block1ofFIG. 3(a), a conventional bootstrap circuit includes capacitors C2, C3and a bootstrap switch element such as diode D5. Capacitor C3is a bootstrap capacitor, and a bootstrap voltage across this capacitor provides energy to drive the two switches. And the energy in the capacitor C2is charged to C3through the bootstrap diode D5. As shown in the block2ofFIG. 3(a), a conventional driving circuit provides gate driving pulses to the two switches T1and T2, which could be any of the driving circuit structures known by the person with the ordinary skill in the art. In the H-bridge circuit as shown inFIG. 3(a), terminal S connects to terminal G either through the body diode of T2and diode D3(when the value at A is larger than that at B), or through the body diode of T1and diode D4(when the voltage value at B is larger than that at A) when the two switches T1and T2are turned off. At this moment, S and G have almost the same voltage potential, diode D5is on, and the energy stored in the storage capacitor C2charges the bootstrap capacitor C3through diode D5. When T1and T2are turned on, S floats (not connected to G) and the energy stored in capacitor C3from the above-mentioned process is to provide energy to the driving circuit in the block2ofFIG. 3(a).

FIG. 2shows a circuit diagram of another H-bridge PFC circuit in the prior art. Output capacitors C1and C4are connected in series and forms a bridge arm; and rectifier diodes D1and D4form another bridge arm. T1and T2are two series-connected switch elements to form a bidirectional switch which connects the middle points of the two bridge arms A and B. And A connects to Vin through the inductor L, and B connects to Vin directly. T1and T2are turned on and off simultaneously. The AC input voltage charges the inductor L and the rectifier diodes D1and D4are turned off when T1and T2are turned on. If the voltage value at A is larger than that at B, D1is on, D4is off and the inductor L outputs energy to the output capacitor C1when T1and T2are turned off. If the voltage value at B is larger than that at A, D4is on, D1is off and the inductor L also outputs energy to the output capacitor C4when T1and T2are turned off.

In the circuit ofFIG. 2, the two switches T1and T2are driven under floating ground structure too, and a conventional bootstrap driver circuit, such as circuits in the blocks1and2ofFIG. 3(b), can also be employed.

The bootstrapped driver circuit can only operate normally under the condition that a bootstrap path is provided. The bootstrap path of the H-bridge circuit inFIG. 3(a) would be lost under certain circumstances. For example, under the unloaded condition, light loaded condition, or around the zero-crossings of AC input voltage, the diodes D3or D4on the bridge arms is off due to lack of sufficient current. Thus, S and G could not form almost the same voltage potential, and then the bootstrap path could not be formed. Then, C3could not obtain the energy from C2through D5, and could not provide energy to the driving circuit in the block2ofFIG. 3(a). Besides, there are circumstances that the bootstrap path might be lost e.g. during the starting stage of the H-bridge PFC circuit inFIG. 3(a). Since at the beginning of the starting stage, T1and T2are not operated, and the AC input voltage engages the uncontrollable rectification through diodes D1, D2, D3and D4to charge C1. And then the uncontrollable rectification is stopped and diodes D1, D2, D3and D4are off when C1is charged to the peak value of the AC input voltage. If the voltage across the bootstrap capacitor C3is not built up at the moment which means the voltage across C3is not enough to provide energy to the driving circuit to drive switch T1, T2, the bootstrap path is not existed since diodes D1, D2, D3and D4are off even if the voltage across capacitor C2is built up.

Similar problems could also appear in the H-bridge circuit ofFIG. 3(b).

The above-mentioned H-bridge circuits are mainly applied to the PFC circuits. Actually, the applications of the H-bridge circuits are not limited to this, and the H-bridge circuits could be applied to all the circuits with AC input and DC output. But no matter what occasion, there are possibilities that the above-mentioned problems exist as far as the conventional bootstrapped driving mode is employed.

Keeping the drawbacks of the prior arts in mind, and employing experiments and research full-heartily and persistently, the applicant finally conceived an H-bridge circuit having an energy compensation circuit and a controlling method thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an H-bridge PFC circuit having a bootstrap circuit with a bootstrap capacitor and an auxiliary circuit, and a controlling method thereof, and the auxiliary circuit provides compensation energy to the bootstrap circuit while the voltage across the bootstrap capacitor of the H-bridge PFC circuit is insufficient such that the operational reliability of the bootstrap circuit could be efficiently raised.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an H-bridge circuit includes an AC power source having a first and a second terminals, an H-bridge including a first and a second bridge arms, each of which has a first and a second terminals and a middle point, wherein the first terminal of the first bridge arm connects the first terminal of the second bridge arm, the second terminal of the first bridge arm connects the second terminal of the second bridge arm, and the middle point of the first bridge arm and the middle point of the second bridge arm connect the first and the second terminals of the AC power source respectively, and a bidirectional switch connected between the two middle points, a bootstrap circuit providing a bootstrap voltage, a driving circuit receiving the bootstrap voltage and driving the bidirectional switch, and an energy compensation circuit coupled to the H-bridge, the bootstrap circuit and the driving circuit, and providing a compensation energy to the bootstrap circuit.

Preferably, the bootstrap circuit comprises a bootstrap capacitor having a first terminal and a second terminal connected to the bidirectional switch, and the bootstrap voltage is a voltage across the bootstrap capacitor.

Preferably, the bootstrap circuit further comprises a bootstrap switch having a first terminal and a second terminal connected to the first terminal of the bootstrap capacitor, and a storage capacitor having a first terminal connected to the first terminal of the bootstrap switch and a second terminal connected to the second terminals of the first and the second bridge arms.

Preferably, the energy compensation circuit comprises a first, a second and a third terminals, the first and the second terminals connect to the AC power source, and the second and the third terminals connect to provide an energy to the bootstrap capacitor.

Preferably, the energy compensation circuit comprises a switch element and provides a reference voltage, and the switch element is controlled through comparing the bootstrap voltage with the reference voltage so as to provide the compensation energy to the bootstrap circuit.

Preferably, the switch element is turned on and the energy compensation circuit provides the compensation energy to the bootstrap circuit when the bootstrap voltage is lower than the reference voltage, and the switch element is turned off when the bootstrap voltage is higher than the reference voltage such that the energy compensation circuit ceases to provide the compensation energy to the bootstrap circuit.

Preferably, the first terminal of the energy compensation circuit connects to the first terminal of the first bridge arm of the H-bridge, the second terminal of the energy compensation circuit connects to the second terminal of the bootstrap capacitor, and the third terminal of the energy compensation circuit connects to the first terminal of the bootstrap capacitor.

Preferably, the first terminal of the energy compensation circuit connects to the middle point of the first bridge arm of the H-bridge, the second terminal of the energy compensation circuit connects to the second terminal of the bootstrap capacitor, and the third terminal of the energy compensation circuit connects to the first terminal of the bootstrap capacitor.

Preferably, the first terminal of the energy compensation circuit connects to the middle point of the second bridge arm of the H-bridge, the second terminal of the energy compensation circuit connects to the second terminal of the bootstrap capacitor, and the third terminal of the energy compensation circuit connects to the first terminal of the bootstrap capacitor.

Preferably, the bidirectional switch comprises a first switch and a second switch connected to the first switch in series, and the first and the second switches are two inverse series-connected MOSFETs.

Preferably, the energy compensation circuit further comprises a first and a second resistors, each of which has a first and a second terminals, a diode having an anode connected to the second terminal of the energy compensation circuit, a cathode and a stabilized voltage, and a switch element having a first terminal connected to the second terminal of the first resistor, a second terminal connected to the third terminal of the energy compensation circuit and a control terminal connected to the second terminal of the second resistor and the cathode of the diode, the first terminals of the first and the second resistors are both connected to the first terminal of the energy compensation circuit, and the energy compensation circuit controls the switch element by comparing the bootstrap voltage with the stabilized voltage of the diode so as to provide the compensation energy to the bootstrap circuit.

Preferably, the switch element is a third switch, the energy compensation circuit further comprises a fourth switch having a first terminal connected to the cathode of the diode, a second terminal connected to the anode of the diode and a control terminal receiving a control signal of the bidirectional switch, the fourth switch is turned on when the control signal of the bidirectional switch is at a high level, and the fourth switch is turned off when the control signal of the bidirectional switch is at a low level such that the energy compensation circuit turns into a controllable circuit operated intermittently.

Preferably, the energy compensation circuit further comprises a resistor having a first terminal connected to the first terminal of the energy compensation circuit and a second terminal, a comparator having a non-inverting input terminal, an inverting input terminal and an output terminal, a reference voltage device providing a reference voltage and having a first terminal connected to the non-inverting input terminal of the comparator and a second terminal connected to the second terminal of the energy compensation circuit, and a switch element having a first terminal connected to the second terminal of the resistor, a second terminal connected to the third terminal of the energy compensation circuit and the inverting input terminal of the comparator, and a control terminal connected to the output terminal of the comparator, and the energy compensation circuit controls the switch element through comparing the bootstrap voltage with the reference voltage so as to provide the compensation energy to the bootstrap circuit.

Preferably, the circuit further comprises an output capacitor having a first terminal and a second terminal, wherein the first bridge arm further comprises a first and a fourth diodes, the second bridge arm further comprises a second and a third diodes, each of the diodes has an anode and a cathode, the cathode of the first diode connects to the cathode of the second diode and the first terminal of the output capacitor, the anode of the first diode connects to the cathode of the fourth diode to form the middle point of the first bridge arm, the anode of the second diode connects to the cathode of the third diode to form the middle point of the second bridge arm, and the anode of the fourth diode connects to the anode of the third diode and the second terminal of the output capacitor.

Preferably, the first bridge arm further comprises a first and a second diodes, the second bridge arm further comprises a first and a second output capacitors, each of the diodes has an anode and a cathode and each of the capacitors has a first terminal and a second terminal, the cathode of the first diode connects to the first terminal of the first output capacitor, the anode of the first diode connects to the cathode of the second diode to form the middle point of the first bridge arm, the second terminal of the first output capacitor connects to the first terminal of the second output capacitor to form the middle point of the second bridge arm, and the anode of the second diode connects to the second terminal of the second output capacitor.

Preferably, the circuit is an H-bridge power factor correction circuit.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a controlling method for an H-bridge circuit comprising an H-bridge having a bidirectional switch, a bootstrap circuit, a driving circuit and an energy compensation circuit comprises the steps of: providing a bootstrap voltage by the bootstrap circuit; receiving the bootstrap voltage by the driving circuit to drive the bidirectional switch; and raising the bootstrap voltage to a first predetermined value by providing an energy to the bootstrap circuit through the energy compensation circuit when the bootstrap voltage is lower than a second predetermined value.

Preferably, the raising step further comprises the steps of: turning on the switch element to charge and store an energy in the bootstrap capacitor when the bootstrap voltage is lower than the second predetermined value; turning off the switch element when the bootstrap voltage is larger than the first predetermined value.

Preferably, the raising step further comprises the steps of: turning on the fourth switch to turn off the third switch so as to cease an operation of the energy compensation circuit when the control signal of the bidirectional switch is at the relatively high level; and turning off the fourth switch to turn on the third switch so as to begin the operation of the energy compensation circuit when the control signal of the bidirectional switch is at the relatively low level, wherein the control signal is a pulse signal.

The present invention may best be understood through the following descriptions with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

To compensate the aforementioned drawbacks,FIGS. 4(a) and4(b) provide auxiliary energy supply circuits of bootstrap driver circuit with floating ground structure in an H-bridge circuit of the present invention, each of which provides an auxiliary energy compensation path of a bootstrap circuit to compensate energy to the bootstrap circuit which effectively raises the operational reliability of bootstrap circuit.

The circuits as shown in the dash-lined block3ofFIGS. 4(a) and4(b) are energy compensation circuits of bootstrap circuit, each of which is a three-terminal network including input and output terminals, wherein the input terminals receive energy from the other power source such as the AC power source and provide energy to the three-terminal network, and the output terminals provide energy to the bootstrap capacitor. The three-terminal network in the block3includes a reference voltage device providing a reference voltage Vs and a switch element Ts. The operational principles of the three-terminal network are: comparing the voltage across the bootstrap capacitor C3with the reference voltage Vs; and controlling the on and off of the Ts according to the results of comparison. For example, the three-terminal network begins to operate and controls Ts to be turned on and the output terminals output energy to C3when the voltage across C3is lower than the reference voltage Vs. The three-terminal network is not operated and controls Ts to be turned off and the output terminals do not output energy when the voltage across C3is higher than the reference voltage Vs. The three-terminal network in the block3could be realized by various circuits known by the person with ordinary skill in the art.

The input terminals of this three-terminal network could have various connection methods. InFIG. 4(a), C and S are input terminals, and D and S are output terminals. The current flows by the following loop: A->D1->C->three-terminal network->S->the body diode of T2->B when the voltage value at A is larger than that at B. When the voltage value at B is larger than that at A, the current flows by the following loop: B->D2->C->three-terminal network->S->the body diode of T1->A.

InFIG. 4(b), C and S are input terminals, D and S are output terminals. The current flows by the following loop: A->D1->C->three-terminal network->S->the body diode of T2->B when the voltage value at A is larger than that at B.

InFIGS. 4(a) and4(b), the input terminals of the three-terminal network could be changed to A and S, and output terminals are D and S. Then the current flowing loop is A->three-terminal network->S->the body diode of T2->B when the voltage value at A is larger than that at B.

InFIGS. 4(a) and4(b), the input terminals of the three-terminal network could also be changed to B and S, and output terminals are D and S. Then the current flowing loop is B->three-terminal network->S->the body diode of T1->A when the voltage value at B is larger than that at A.

InFIG. 5, it provides a preferred embodiment of the three-terminal network in the dash-lined block3, wherein T3is a switch element, e.g., a MOSFET, corresponding to Ts inFIGS. 4(a) and4(b), and D6is a stabilivolt e.g Zener diode with the stabilized voltage value (the Zener voltage) of D6is V. The turn-on threshold voltage between gate and source of T3is Vgs_th, the voltage across C2is Vcc, and the effective threshold voltage of the driving circuit in block2ofFIG. 3(a) is Von_th, that is to say the driving circuit operates normally only when the output voltage of which is higher than Von_th. Thus, the design of the three-terminal network needs to fulfill two conditions simultaneously: VZ−Vgs_th<Vcc and VZ−Vgs_th>Von_th. The first condition is to cause the output voltage of the three-terminal network ofFIG. 5to be less than Vcc so as to guarantee that the three-terminal network does not operate when the bootstrap circuit in the dash-lined block1ofFIG. 3(a) operates normally. The second condition is to make the output voltage of the three-terminal network to be larger than Von_th so as to guarantee that the driving circuit in the block2ofFIG. 3(a) gains a potential level being high enough to make the driving circuit operate normally when the bootstrap circuit in the block1ofFIG. 3(a) does not operate and the three-terminal network in the block3ofFIG. 5operates.

The operational principles of the three-terminal network ofFIG. 5are:

If the bootstrap path of bootstrap driver circuit with floating ground structure is interrupted, then the voltage across bootstrap capacitor C3decreases. After the voltage across C3reduces to make the voltage between gate and source of T3be larger than Vgs_th, T3is turned on and C3is charged through a new charge loop.

The new charge loop is A->D1->R1->T3->C3->the body diode of T2->B when the voltage value at A is larger than that at B. The new charge loop is B->D2->R1->T3->C3->the body diode of T1->A when the voltage value at B is larger than that at A.

And C3is charged until the voltage between gate and source of T3is less than Vgs_th and then T3is turned off. The voltage across C3decreases again since the driving circuit consumes the energy of C3, and the above-mentioned process is repeated continuously. Thus, resistors R1, R2, capacitor C3, switch T3and the zener diode D6inFIG. 5form a voltage stabilizing source to maintain the voltage across C3almost a constant value.

When bootstrap circuit operates normally, D5is on and the voltage across C3equals to Vcc (the forward voltage drop of diode D5is ignored). To satisfy VZ−Vgs_th<Vcc, the voltage between gate and source of T3Vz−Vcc is less than the turn-on threshold voltage of T3Vgs_th, thus T3is kept off which means the energy compensation circuit in the block3ofFIG. 5does not operate, and the energy required by C3is totally provided by the bootstrap circuit in the block1ofFIG. 3(a).

The design of energy compensation circuits in the block3ofFIGS. 5 and 6needs to fulfill two conditions: VZ−Vgs_th<Vcc and VZ−Vgs_th>Von_th to provide energy to capacitor C3when the bootstrap circuit is interrupted. To facilitate the choice of the zener diode D6, the block4inFIG. 6adds a switch T4based on the block3inFIG. 5. The function of switch T4is to make the three-terminal network shown in the block3ofFIG. 5a controllable intermittently-operating circuit. T4is controlled by the voltage signals between gate and source of T1or T2. Switch T4is turned on when the voltage signal between gate and source of T1or T2is at a high level, which means that the voltage across C3is high enough, and C3possesses sufficient energy to provide to the driving circuit, while T4is turned off when that is at a low level. When T4is turned on, the voltage across the diode D6is clamped to zero, thus T3is turned off, and the three-terminal network3does not operate.

And after T4is added to the three-terminal network, the threshold value of D6- - - Vz does not need to fulfill VZ−Vgs_th<Vcc, which provides convenience for the design and product producing.

Besides, the current flows through T3will result in losses on resistor R1when switch T3is on during the operational process of the energy compensation circuit. After T4is added, loss on R1is reduced since the three-terminal network operates intermittently. AndFIG. 7shows the waveform of the voltage across capacitor C3- - - VC3, voltage signal between gate and source of T1or T2- - - VGS, and the voltage across diode D6- - - VD6, when the bootstrap circuit does not operate normally. During the time period of t0-t1, VGSis at a high level; T1and T2are turned on; VD6decreases to zero due to the turning-on of T4, and the energy compensation circuit in block3does not operate. During t1-t2, VGSis at a low level; T1and T2are off, VD6increases gradually; but T3is still off since voltage between the gate and the source of T3is not high enough, thus the energy compensation circuit still does not operate. During t2-t3, VD6increases to a level to make T3turn on and VC3is increased gradually. During t3-t4, VGSis at a high level; VD6is zero; the energy compensation circuit does not operate and VC3decreases gradually. And the aforesaid processes are repeated in the following time periods. Due to the existence of T4, the energy compensation circuit operates intermittently and the loss is relatively small, which is just like the PFC circuit operates in burst mode under the unloaded condition, the light loaded condition, or around the zero-crossings of AC input voltage, and has significant meaning for decreasing the constant losses and raising the efficiency.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, the bootstrap circuit and the energy compensation circuit do not operate simultaneously. But in actual designs, they could operate at the same time, and provide energy to the bootstrap capacitor C3commonly, thus the condition VZ−Vgs_th<Vcc is not considered.

FIG. 8shows still another preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein T3is a controllable switch, Vs is a voltage reference source (or a reference voltage device) providing a reference voltage. The comparator compares the reference voltage with the voltage across C3. The comparator outputs a low level signal to turn off T3when the voltage across C3is higher than the reference voltage; while the comparator outputs a high level signal to turn on T3when the voltage across C3is lower than the reference voltage. The charging path of C3is A->D1->C->R1->T3->C3->the body diode of T2->B when the voltage value at A is larger than that at B. The charging path of C3is B->D2->C->R1->T3->C3->the body diode of T1->A when the voltage value at B is larger than that at A.

According to the above descriptions, the present invention provides an H-bridge circuit having a bootstrap circuit with a bootstrap capacitor and an auxiliary circuit, and a controlling method thereof, and the auxiliary circuit provides compensation energy to the bootstrap circuit while the voltage across the bootstrap capacitor is insufficient such as to raise the operational reliability of the bootstrap circuit.