Soft-switching three-phase AC-DC converter for EV charging
This technology is a smarter control method for three-phase power converters that move electricity between AC and DC systems—think electric vehicle chargers, solar inverters, or industrial power supplies. The key innovation is a switching strategy that reduces energy losses by ensuring transistors turn on and off when voltage or current across them is near zero, a technique called soft-switching. It does this by deliberately holding one of the three circuit legs inactive during each portion of the power cycle while running the other two in a specific triangular current pattern, which naturally creates the low-loss switching conditions. The result is a converter that runs cooler, more efficiently, and potentially at higher power densities than conventional designs.
What you could build
A high-efficiency bidirectional AC-DC power converter module for EV charging infrastructure, on-board vehicle chargers, or grid-tied energy storage systems; the primary buyers would be EV charging equipment manufacturers, power electronics OEMs, and grid storage integrators.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia's growing EV charging corridor infrastructure and defense/naval power electronics contractors (e.g., shipboard power systems) would have direct interest in high-efficiency converter technology.
Readiness: Lab validated
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Nidhi Haryani, Rolando Burgos
- Granted
- August 13, 2019
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 10381921
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.