H-bridge - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

An H bridge is an electronic circuit

Electronic circuit

An electronic circuit is composed of individual electronic components, such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes, connected by conductive wires or traces through which electric current can flow...

that enables a voltage to be applied across a load in either direction. These circuits are often used in robotics

Robotics

Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...

and other applications to allow DC motors to run forwards and backwards. H bridges are available as integrated circuits, or can be built from discrete components.

General

The term H bridge is derived from the typical graphical representation of such a circuit. An H bridge is built with four switches (solid-state or mechanical). When the switches S1 and S4 (according to the first figure) are closed (and S2 and S3 are open) a positive voltage will be applied across the motor. By opening S1 and S4 switches and closing S2 and S3 switches, this voltage is reversed, allowing reverse operation of the motor.

Using the nomenclature above, the switches S1 and S2 should never be closed at the same time, as this would cause a short circuit on the input voltage source. The same applies to the switches S3 and S4. This condition is known as shoot-through.

Operation

The H-bridge arrangement is generally used to reverse the polarity of the motor, but can also be used to 'brake' the motor, where the motor comes to a sudden stop, as the motor's terminals are shorted, or to let the motor 'free run' to a stop, as the motor is effectively disconnected from the circuit. The following table summarises operation, with S1-S4 corresponding to the diagram above.

S1	S2	S3	S4	Result
1	0	0	1	Motor moves right
0	1	1	0	Motor moves left
0	0	0	0	Motor free runs
0	1	0	1	Motor brakes
1	0	1	0	Motor brakes

Construction

A solid-state

Solid state (electronics)

Solid-state electronics are those circuits or devices built entirely from solid materials and in which the electrons, or other charge carriers, are confined entirely within the solid material...

H bridge is typically constructed using opposite polarity devices, such as PNP BJT

Bipolar junction transistor

|- align = "center"| || PNP|- align = "center"| || NPNA bipolar transistor is a three-terminal electronic device constructed of doped semiconductor material and may be used in amplifying or switching applications. Bipolar transistors are so named because their operation involves both electrons...

s or P-channel MOSFET

MOSFET

The metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor is a transistor used for amplifying or switching electronic signals. The basic principle of this kind of transistor was first patented by Julius Edgar Lilienfeld in 1925...

s connected to the high voltage bus and NPN BJTs or N-channel MOSFETs connected to the low voltage bus.

The most efficient MOSFET designs use N-channel MOSFETs on both the high side and low side because they typically have a third of the ON resistance of P-channel MOSFETs. This requires a more complex design since the gates of the high side MOSFETs must be driven positive with respect to the DC supply rail. However, many integrated circuit MOSFET drivers include a charge pump

Charge pump

A charge pump is a kind of DC to DC converter that uses capacitors as energy storage elements to create either a higher or lower voltage power source. Charge pump circuits are capable of high efficiencies, sometimes as high as 90–95% while being electrically simple circuits.Charge pumps use some...

within the device to achieve this.

Alternatively, a switch-mode DC–DC converter can be used to provide isolated ('floating') supplies to the gate drive circuitry. A multiple-output flyback converter is well-suited to this application.

Another method for driving MOSFET-bridges is the use of a specialised transformer known as a GDT (Gate Drive Transformer), which gives the isolated outputs for driving the upper FETs gates. The transformer core is usually a ferrite toroid, with 1:1 or 4:9 winding ratio. However, this method can only be used with high frequency signals. The design of the transformer is also very important, as the leakage inductance

Leakage inductance

Leakage inductance is the property of an electrical transformer that causes a winding to appear to have some inductance in series with the mutually-coupled transformer windings...

should be minimized, or cross conduction may occur. The outputs of the transformer also need to be usually clamped by Zener diode

Zener diode

A Zener diode is a special kind of diode which allows current to flow in the forward direction in the same manner as an ideal diode, but will also permit it to flow in the reverse direction when the voltage is above a certain value known as the breakdown voltage, "Zener knee voltage" or "Zener...

s, because high voltage spike

Voltage spike

In electrical engineering, spikes are fast, short duration electrical transients in voltage , current , or transferred energy in an electrical circuit....

s could destroy the MOSFET gates.

DC motors generate lots of destructive back EMF

Counter-electromotive force

The counter-electromotive force also known as back electromotive force is the voltage, or electromotive force, that pushes against the current which induces it. CEMF is caused by a changing electromagnetic field. It is the effect of Lenz's Law of electromagnetism...

when reducing speed of motor or reversing the direction, using H-bridge, which could damage circuit or cause lots of noise spike

Voltage spike

In electrical engineering, spikes are fast, short duration electrical transients in voltage , current , or transferred energy in an electrical circuit....

s in the power supply

Power supply

A power supply is a device that supplies electrical energy to one or more electric loads. The term is most commonly applied to devices that convert one form of electrical energy to another, though it may also refer to devices that convert another form of energy to electrical energy...

.
A common variation of this circuit uses just the two transistors on one side of the load, similar to a class AB amplifier. Such a configuration is called a "half bridge".
The half bridge is used in some switched-mode power supplies

Switched-mode power supply

A switched-mode power supply is an electronic power supply that incorporates a switching regulator in order to be highly efficient in the conversion of electrical power...

that use synchronous rectifiers and in switching amplifier

Switching amplifier

A class-D amplifier or switching amplifier is an electronic amplifier where all power devices are operated as binary switches. They are either fully on or fully off. Ideally, zero time is spent transitioning between those two states....

s. The half-H bridge type is commonly abbreviated to "Half-H" to distinguish it from full ("Full-H") H bridges. Another common variation, adding a third 'leg' to the bridge, creates a 3-phase inverter. The 3-phase inverter is the core of any AC motor drive.

A further variation is the half-controlled bridge, where one of the high- and low-side switching devices (on opposite sides of the bridge) are replaced with diodes. This eliminates the shoot-through failure mode, and is commonly used to drive variable/switched reluctance machines and actuators where bi-directional current flow is not required.

A "double pole double throw" relay

Relay

A relay is an electrically operated switch. Many relays use an electromagnet to operate a switching mechanism mechanically, but other operating principles are also used. Relays are used where it is necessary to control a circuit by a low-power signal , or where several circuits must be controlled...

can generally achieve the same electrical functionality as an H bridge (considering the usual function of the device). An H bridge would be preferable to the relay where a smaller physical size, high speed switching, or low driving voltage is needed, or where the wearing out of mechanical parts is undesirable.

There are many commercially available inexpensive single and dual H-bridge packages, and L293x series are the most common ones. Few packages have built-in flyback diodes for back EMF protection.

Operation as an inverter

A common use of the H bridge is an inverter

Inverter (electrical)

An inverter is an electrical device that converts direct current to alternating current ; the converted AC can be at any required voltage and frequency with the use of appropriate transformers, switching, and control circuits....

. The arrangement is sometimes known as a single or three phase bridge inverter.

The H bridge with a DC supply will generate a square wave voltage waveform across the load. For a purely inductive load, the waveform would be a triangle wave, with its peak depending on the inductance, switching frequency, and input voltage.

External links

H-Bridges on the BEAM Robotics Wiki

Projects

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.