Auto-resonant Control of the H-Bridge Resonant Converter for Inductive Power Transfer Applications

In inductive power transfer applications that use resonant compensation networks, the commonly employed H-bridge inverter should be kept operating in soft-switching to ensure high power efficiency and low irradiated electromagnetic noise. To achieve so, the zero-crossing detection circuit for the resonant current or voltage must be fast and accurate in any operating condition. This paper researches the concept of an auto-resonant control for the typical H-bridge resonant converter used in wireless charging systems. In the method proposed here, the reference levels for the zero-crossing detection of the inverter's current are automatically adapted depending on the slope of the current itself at the zero-crossing. In this way, it is possible to compensate for the circuit delay even in the presence of parameters' variation and to ensure that the soft-switching is always maintained. The functionality of this control method is proven first mathematically, and then with circuit simulations. The core steps for the implementation are described with the support of functional blocks. Finally, the system start-up strategy is explained, which uses an auxiliary timed oscillator to modulate the inverter with a fixed 50% duty cycle at a higher frequency than the nominal. This guarantees that the start-up is in the inductive region and, thus, the zero-voltage switching turn-on. Once the detection circuits sense the current flow, the oscillator is automatically disabled, and the nominal power transfer starts.