US 12,074,430 B2
Method and apparatus for estimating stress on capacitor
Benjamin Schwabe, Munich (DE)
Assigned to INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AUSTRIA AG, Villach (AT)
Filed by Infineon Technologies Austria AG, Villach (AT)
Filed on Jan. 17, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/577,191.
Prior Publication US 2023/0231376 A1, Jul. 20, 2023
Int. Cl. H02H 7/12 (2006.01); H02H 1/00 (2006.01)
CPC H02H 7/12 (2013.01) [H02H 1/0007 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A power converter, comprising
an input terminal for receiving an input voltage;
a power stage coupled to the input terminal;
a capacitor coupled to the power stage;
a controller configured to control the power stage to generate an output voltage at the capacitor as a function of the input voltage; and
a stress monitor module configured to:
determine a first stress energy parameter based on a first voltage change on the capacitor over a first time interval;
discount the first stress energy parameter based on heat dissipated by the capacitor to generate a discounted stress energy parameter;
determine a second stress energy parameter based on a second voltage change on the capacitor over a second time interval;
determine a stress energy metric for the capacitor by combining the discounted stress energy parameter and the second stress energy parameter; and
identify a first fault condition based on the stress energy metric.