DC Convert DC/DC Flyback Step-Up Converter Technical

DC Convert

DC/DC Flyback Step-Up Converter

Technical Overview

DC stands for direct current, which means electricity that moves in one direct and continuous stream; this is the type of current produced by standard batteries in many devices you regularly use, and is contrasted with alternating current (AC), in which the current changes direction rapidly and which is the type of current that comes out of your standard wall socket (NoOutage, 2012). A DC/DC converter is an electrical circuit component that takes a direct current input of a certain voltage or work potential and changes it to a direct current of a different voltage, which also necessarily involves a change in the current, which can be thought of as the "amount" of electricity that passes through the circuit (NoOutage, 2012). The following technical Review section gives a more advanced explanation of the Flyback Step-Up type DC/DC converter discussed here, but essentially this type of converter takes an input of one voltage -- in this case, twenty volts (20V) -- and essentially condenses the electricity by trapping it in a loop until there is enough electricity (enough current) to produce the required output voltage -- in this case, twenty-four volts (24V) -- at which point it "releases" this electricity to a larger loop that includes the destination of the output electricity, typically a device being powered (NoOutage, 2012; MIP, 2001).

This type of converter is one of a larger class of converters called switch converters or integrated switch converters, because there is a switch incorporated into the converter itself that causes the current to flow in one loop or the other (the smaller loop where the current is being "condensed" to achieve a higher voltage) and the larger loop that "releases" the current into the device that is being powered (MIP, 2001). When the switch is in the "closed" position, the current flows through the smaller loop and is not able to reach the larger loop that includes the device to be powered, and as resistance grows from the "build up" of current so does the voltage potential. When the desired voltage potential is reached (again, in this case twenty four volts or 24V), the switch opens, which breaks the circuit in the smaller loop and allows the current to flow through the larger circuit at the higher voltage and so power the device at the voltage output side of the circuit; this release causes the voltage to drop back down to the input level (again, in this case twenty volts or 20V) and causes the switch to close, which means the current is "trapped" in the smaller loop again, build up, opens the switch, and the process continues repeating as long as there is power input into the circuit and a ground connection completing the circuit at he other end (MIP, 2001).

Technical Review

As explained above, the voltage input for this particular DC/DC flyback boost converter will be twenty volts, as supplied by any batter designed for this purpose. The output will be twenty-four volts, and thus the battery will be able to power a device or a device component that requires a higher voltage than the battery itself is capable of producing (MIP, 2001; NoOutage, 2012). The nature of the switch capacitor that is the central part of this converter means that there will not be a continuous flow of current to the output end of the circuit that powers the device or device component, but rather there will be a rapid on/off cycling of current to the output and beyond the output to ground in the device/component being powered, and thus the timing of the switch's cycling to ensure appropriate timing and levels of power supply to actually keep the powered device/component operating is essential in the design of the converter and the circuit as a whole (MIP, 2001). Different structural components can be added or adjusted to the basic circuit diagrammed on the following page to change the timing necessary in the specific application for which this DC/DC converter will be used; similar changes could be made to adjust the voltage output or to accept a different voltage input, though of course these areas are already defined in the converter at hand as 20V for the input and 24V for the output (MIP, 2001).