Patents Examined by Long Nguyen
  • Patent number: 11509298
    Abstract: A comparator configured to calibrate an offset according to a control signal, including an input circuit configured to receive a first input signal and a second input signal, and to generate a first internal signal corresponding to the first input signal and a second internal signal corresponding to the second input signal; a differential amplification circuit configured to consume a supply current flowing from a positive voltage node having a positive supply voltage to a negative voltage node having a negative supply voltage, and to generate an output signal by amplifying a difference between the first internal signal and the second internal signal; and a current valve configured to adjust at least a portion of the supply current based on the control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jaehoon Lee, Yong Lim, Wan Kim, Barosaim Sung, Seunghyun Oh
  • Patent number: 11506691
    Abstract: A voltage monitoring circuit monitors a magnitude relationship between a monitoring target voltage and a determination voltage and is capable of suppressing the influence of an offset of a reference voltage upon the determination voltage and setting the determination voltage as desired. The voltage monitoring circuit includes: an input terminal, applied with a monitoring target voltage or a divided voltage of the monitoring target voltage; a reference voltage generating circuit, generating a first reference voltage; a linear power circuit, converting the first reference voltage to a second reference voltage; a feedback resistor, generating a divided voltage of the second reference voltage, and negatively feeding back the divided voltage of the second reference voltage to the linear power circuit; and a comparing portion, comparing the second reference voltage with the monitoring target voltage or the divided voltage of the monitoring target voltage applied to the input terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Rohm Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ayumu Kambara, Yuki Inoue, Hiroyuki Makimoto
  • Patent number: 11502674
    Abstract: An analog switch includes a first field effect transistor (FET) which has a first terminal coupled to an input voltage terminal, a second terminal coupled to a common source, and a control terminal coupled to a common gate. The switch includes a second FET which has a first terminal coupled to an output voltage terminal, a second terminal coupled to the common source, and a control terminal coupled to the common gate. The switch includes a switched current source which has an input coupled to a high voltage supply terminal and an output coupled to the common gate. The switch includes a clamp circuit which has a first terminal coupled to the common gate, a second terminal coupled to the common source, and a third terminal coupled to the low voltage supply terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Thomas Alan Schmidt, Vikas Suma Vinay
  • Patent number: 11493543
    Abstract: A voltage comparator and an operation method thereof are provided. The voltage comparator includes an amplifying circuit, a reference current source, and a transient current source. A first input terminal and a second input terminal of the amplifying circuit respectively receive a first corresponding voltage corresponding to a target voltage and a reference voltage. The reference current source is coupled to the amplifying circuit to provide a reference current. The transient current source is coupled to the amplifying circuit to selectively provide a transient current. The transient current source detects a transition of a second corresponding voltage corresponding to the target voltage to dynamically adjust the transient current. Therefore, when a rapidly increasing voltage occurs in the target voltage, the transient current source may temporarily increase the current of the amplifying circuit, thereby accelerating the response speed of the amplifying circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: VIA LABS, INC.
    Inventors: Wei-Yu Wang, Yu-Chung Wei
  • Patent number: 11488660
    Abstract: In a method computer storage element operation, first and second rising (or falling) clock edges are applied to first and second power inputs of the computer storage element having a transistor array between the first and second power inputs over time T1 whereupon a logic value applied to an input of the transistor array is stored therein. Thereafter, first and second falling (or rising) clock edges are applied to the first and second power inputs over time T2, whereupon part of an electrical charge or energy associated with the logic value stored in the transistor array is provided to circuitry that generates the first and/or second clock edge(s), wherein the value(s) of time T1 and/or time T2 is/are greater than a product of RC, where R is resistance associated with the computer storage element, and C is a load capacitance associated with the computer storage element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignees: INDIANA INTEGRATED CIRCUITS, LLC, UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME DU LAC
    Inventors: Gregory Snider, Rene Celis-Cordova, Alexei Orlov, Tian Lu, Jason M. Kulick
  • Patent number: 11486913
    Abstract: An electronic device includes a driver that is connected with a pin, receives an input signal, and outputs an output signal to the pin in response to the input signal, a core circuit that transfers the input signal to the driver, and a monitor circuit that receives the input and output signals and detects a stuck voltage state of the output signal based on the input and output signals. The monitor circuit includes a first detection circuit that detects the stuck voltage state when the input and output signals are logically incorrect, a second detection circuit that detects the stuck voltage state when the input and output signals are logically correct and when the output signal is at a low level, and a third detection circuit that detects the stuck voltage state when the input and output signals are logically correct and when the output signal is at a high level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hyunseok Nam
  • Patent number: 11476853
    Abstract: A level shift circuit includes an input section to which input signal of a first power supply system is input, a supply section that includes a pair of nodes, and a regulator. The supply section is connected to one of a pair of power supply lines serving as a second power supply system of which a voltage level is higher than a voltage level of the first power supply system, the supply section supplying a potential of the one of the pair of power supply lines to one of the pair of nodes according to the input signal. The regulator is connected to another of the pair of power supply lines, the regulator regulating current flowing between the one of the pair of nodes that is supplied with the potential of the one of the pair of power supply lines, and the other of the pair of power supply lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masahiro Ichihashi, Tetsuya Tashiro, Yasunori Tsukuda
  • Patent number: 11476849
    Abstract: A positive-logic FET switch stack that does not require a negative bias voltage, and which can withstand application of a high voltage RF signal without requiring terminal capacitors. Some embodiments include a stack of FET switches, with at least one FET requiring a negative VGS to turn OFF and configured so as to not require a negative voltage, series-coupled on at least one end to an end-cap FET that turns OFF when the VGS of such end-cap FET is essentially zero volts, wherein at least one end-cap FET is configured to be coupled to a corresponding RF signal source and has a gate coupled to the corresponding RF signal source through an associated switch circuit. The switch circuit may include an NMOSFET and a PMOSFET, or a diode and an NMOSFET, or a diode and an NMOSFET and a PMOSFET.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: pSemi Corporation
    Inventor: Payman Shanjani
  • Patent number: 11469748
    Abstract: A first current source and a third current source are coupled at a first output node. A second current source and a fourth current source are coupled at a second output node. Control terminals of a first transistor and a second transistor are coupled to the second output node. Control terminals of a third transistor and a fourth transistor are coupled to the first output node. The first transistor and a fifth transistor are coupled in series between a power terminal and the first output node. A sixth transistor and the second transistor are coupled in series between the first output node and a ground terminal. The third transistor and a seventh transistor are coupled in series between the power terminal and the second output node. An eighth transistor and the fourth transistor are coupled in series between the second output node and the ground terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: REALTEK SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yu-Ting Chung
  • Patent number: 11462900
    Abstract: A bus driving device includes at least three high-side output drivers and at least three low-side output drivers. A part of the high-side output drivers and a part of the low-side output drivers are alternately coupled in series, and the remains of the high-side output drivers and the low-side output drivers are alternately coupled in series. The part of the high-side output drivers and the part of the low-side output drivers receive an input digital signal and sequentially drive a first supply bus and a second supply bus based on the input digital signal, and the remains of the high-side output drivers and the low-side output drivers receive the inverted input digital signal and sequentially drive the first supply bus and the second supply bus based on the inverted input digital signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: AMAZING MICROELECTRONIC CORP.
    Inventor: Che-Cheng Lee
  • Patent number: 11456743
    Abstract: There is provided a differential signal transmission circuit that includes a first output terminal, a second output terminal connected to the first output terminal via a load resistor, a high-side transistor formed of a p-channel MOSFET and connected between an application terminal of a power supply voltage and the first output terminal, a low-side transistor formed of an n-channel MOSFET and connected between an application terminal of a ground potential and the second output terminal, a high-side pre-driver configured to drive the high-side transistor, a low-side pre-driver configured to drive the low-side transistor, a first resistance part connected between an output end of the high-side pre-driver and a gate of the high-side transistor, and a second resistance part connected between an output end of the low-side pre-driver and a gate of the low-side transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2022
    Assignee: Rohm Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yuji Yano
  • Patent number: 11452188
    Abstract: A current drive circuit applied in an LED drive circuit that is compatible with a triac dimmer and is configured to generate a direct current bus voltage includes: a current generation circuit configured to receive the direct current bus voltage, and to generate a drive current based on a PWM dimming signal, in order to drive an LED load; and an input current regulation circuit configured to generate a regulation signal based on a duty cycle of the PWM dimming signal, in order to control an operation state of the triac dimmer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2022
    Assignee: Silergy Semiconductor Technology (Hangzhou) LTD
    Inventors: Hao Chen, Jianxin Wang, Huiqiang Chen, Zhishuo Wang
  • Patent number: 11451216
    Abstract: A power on and power down reset circuit includes a reference voltage generation module, a monitoring voltage generation module, and a voltage comparator. The reference voltage generation module is utilized to generate a reference voltage with a first PMOS transistor, a second PMOS transistor, a third PMOS transistor, a first NMOS transistor, a second NMOS transistor, a third NMOS transistor, a first resistance, and a second resistance. The monitoring voltage generation module is utilized to generate a monitoring voltage. The voltage comparator is utilized to generate a reset voltage by comparing the reference voltage to the monitoring voltage. Thus, the power on and power down reset circuit can achieve the effect of power savings and decreasing error rate of the reset voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2022
    Assignee: ADVANCED ANALOG TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventor: Kun-Hsu Lee
  • Patent number: 11442490
    Abstract: Examples of clock generators with very low duty cycle distortion (DCD) are provided. A clock source and driver generate a main clock signal and a complementary clock signal that are input to a chopper circuit, which also receives complementary chopper control signals from a non-overlapping generator circuit. The chopper circuit is controlled to pass the main clock signal as a first output signal when the chopper circuit is in a first state, and pass the complementary clock signal as a second output signal when the chopper circuit is in a third state. In a second state, which occurs during each of the falling edges of the main clock signal, the chopper circuit holds the previous state, and does not transmit the falling edges of the main clock signal. The rising edges of the main clock signal is used to derive the rising and falling edges of the output signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventor: Suvadip Banerjee
  • Patent number: 11437986
    Abstract: A gate voltage magnitude compensation equalization method and circuit for series operation of power switch transistors are provided. A dynamic voltage equalization of series-connected power switch transistors is implemented by using sampling principles where voltages of the power switch transistors are controlled by gate voltage magnitude and unbalanced voltage differentials are converted into unbalanced current differentials of buffer currents. The gate voltage magnitude compensation equalization method and circuit relates to differential control and works in a dynamic voltage change process of the series-connected power switch transistors, without having a negative effect on operation of the power switch transistors under normal operating conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Wuhua Li, Chengmin Li, Saizhen Chen, Haoze Luo, Xin Xiang, Chushan Li, Xiangning He
  • Patent number: 11437990
    Abstract: Devices, systems, and methods are provided for generating a high, dynamic voltage boost. An integrated circuit (IC) includes a driving circuit having a first stage and a second stage. The driving circuit is configured to provide an overdrive voltage. The IC also includes a charge pump circuit coupled between the first stage and the second stage. The charge pump circuit is configured generate a dynamic voltage greater than the overdrive voltage. The IC also includes a bootstrap circuit coupled to the charge pump circuit, configured to further dynamically boost the overdrive voltage of the driving circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
    Inventors: Chan-Hong Chern, Tysh-Bin Liu, Kun-Lung Chen
  • Patent number: 11429125
    Abstract: A bandgap voltage reference circuit includes first and second transistors (e.g., 3-terminal BJTs or diode-connected BJTs), and a PTAT element (e.g., resistance or capacitance). The first transistor is at a first die location, and operates with a first base-emitter voltage. The second transistor is at a second die location, and operates with a second base-emitter voltage. Each of the first and second transistors may include multiple individual parallel-connected transistors. The PTAT element is operatively coupled to the first and second transistors such that a voltage difference between the first and second base-emitter voltages drops across the PTAT element. The first and second locations are separated by a distance (e.g., 1.5% or more of die length, or such that the respective centroids of the first and second transistor are spaced from one another). Such spatial distribution helps mitigate voltage shift induced by mechanical stress, and is insensitive to process variation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Masahiro Yoshioka, Jeffrey David Johnson
  • Patent number: 11429124
    Abstract: A voltage generation device and a voltage generation method are provided. The voltage generation device includes a first voltage generator, a second voltage generator, a third voltage generator and an output voltage generator. The first to third voltage generators respectively generate first to third voltages. The output voltage generator generates an output voltage at an output end according to the first voltage, the second voltage and the third voltage. When the output voltage is converted between the first voltage and the second voltage, during a first time period, the first voltage generator provides the first voltage to a first capacitor, and the third voltage generator causes the output voltage to change from the second voltage to the third voltage. During a second time period, the first voltage generator and the first capacitor cause the output voltage to change from the third voltage to the first voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: ITE Tech. Inc.
    Inventors: Yi-Chung Chou, Yu-Chin Chen, Chih-Yuan Kuo
  • Patent number: 11418187
    Abstract: A power supply detection circuit for an integrated circuit (IC) includes a reference voltage circuit and a comparator circuit. The reference voltage circuit produces a reference voltage from the supply voltage at a reference voltage node. The comparator circuit includes a first p-type metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS) transistor with a source coupled to a positive supply terminal, a gate receiving the reference voltage, and a drain connected to a comparator output terminal. A first n-type metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) transistor has a drain connected to the comparator output terminal, a source connected to the negative supply terminal, and a gate receiving a second voltage that varies relative to the supply voltage. A second PMOS transistor has a source coupled to the positive supply terminal, a gate connected to the reference voltage node, and a drain providing the second voltage and coupled to a filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Ashish Sahu, Aniket Bharat Waghide, Girish Anathahalli Singrigowda, Prasant Kumar Vallur
  • Patent number: 11418371
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, in a semiconductor integrated circuit, the second circuit samples an amplitude of the output second signal at a plurality of timings every given cycle in a period corresponding to a second period of the pattern. The second circuit controls a parameter relating to the frequency characteristic for the first circuit according to a first magnitude relation and a second magnitude relation. The first magnitude relation is a relation between an absolute value of a first amplitude and a first threshold. The first amplitude is an amplitude sampled at a first timing among the plurality of timings. The second magnitude relation is a relation between an absolute value of a second amplitude and the first threshold. The second amplitude is an amplitude sampled at a second timing. The second timing is a timing after the first timing among the plurality of timings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: Kioxia Corporation
    Inventor: Shinsuke Fujii