Enhanced power factor correction for welding and cutting power supplies

• Main Authors: BATZLER TODD G, GEISSLER STEVEN J, MADSEN MICHAEL D
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 20.10.2015
• Subjects: APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC,OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWERSUPPLY SYSTEMS; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION ORPROCESSING OF GOODS; CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS,e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USERAPPLICATIONS; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUTPOWER; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; ELECTRICITY; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERATION; MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE; TRANSPORTING; WELDING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM

Enhanced power factor correction for a welding-based power supply includes a controller that tracks a rectified input voltage waveform and detects zero-crossing events therein. The controller generates an ideal sinusoidal current reference signal synchronized by expected zero-crossings in the supplied power. The reference signal is used in a current control loop within the controller to control the power electronics such that the waveform of the current drawn by the power supply matches the waveform of the input voltage. The frequency of the supplied power may be calculated using the expected zero-crossings and used to adjust the expected zero-crossings.