Patents by Inventor Brent Hughes

Brent Hughes has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9941740
    Abstract: Systems, apparatus and methods for quantifying and identifying diversion of electrical energy are provided. Bypass and tap diversions may be identified in an electric utility power distribution inventory zone having both bypass and tap diversions. Bypass diversion factors for consumer nodes in an inventory zone are determined by finding a solution to a system of load balance equations having slack variables representing aggregate tap loads for the inventory zone and in which consumer load profile data is scaled by the bypass diversion factors, which solution minimizes an objective function whose value is positively related to the sum of the slack variables representing the aggregate tap loads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: MBH CONSULTING LTD.
    Inventor: Michael Brent Hughes
  • Publication number: 20180069394
    Abstract: A power-limit protection circuit with an efuse element. The power-limit protection circuit has an efuse element coupled between a first terminal and a second terminal. The power-limit protection circuit judges whether a calculated power signal defined from a current signal flowing through the efuse element and a voltage signal at a terminal of the efuse element is larger than a predetermined power threshold. When the calculated power signal is larger than the predetermined power threshold, the power-limit protection circuit increases an impedance of the efuse element to limit the current signal between the first terminal and the second terminal such that the power delivered through the efuse element is limited within the predetermined power threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2016
    Publication date: March 8, 2018
    Inventors: Mark Hagen, Brent Hughes, Karl Kopp, Jason Pierce
  • Patent number: 9734917
    Abstract: A current balance circuit for a power management device having a first current channel and a second current channel, having: a first current sense circuit configured to detect a current flowing through the first current channel, and to provide a first current sense signal indicative of the current flowing through the first current channel; wherein the current balance circuit draws current from the second current channel to the first current channel based on the first current sense signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignee: Monolithic Power Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Xingwei Wang, Junyong Gong, Brent Hughes
  • Publication number: 20170005571
    Abstract: A current balance circuit for a power management device having a first current channel and a second current channel, having: a first current sense circuit configured to detect a current flowing through the first current channel, and to provide a first current sense signal indicative of the current flowing through the first current channel; wherein the current balance circuit draws current from the second current channel to the first current channel based on the first current sense signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2016
    Publication date: January 5, 2017
    Inventors: Xingwei Wang, Junyong Gong, Brent Hughes
  • Publication number: 20160352142
    Abstract: Systems, apparatus and methods for quantifying and identifying diversion of electrical energy are provided. Bypass and tap diversions may be identified in an electric utility power distribution inventory zone having both bypass and tap diversions. Bypass diversion factors for consumer nodes in an inventory zone are determined by finding a solution to a system of load balance equations having slack variables representing aggregate tap loads for the inventory zone and in which consumer load profile data is scaled by the bypass diversion factors, which solution minimizes an objective function whose value is positively related to the sum of the slack variables representing the aggregate tap loads.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 11, 2016
    Publication date: December 1, 2016
    Inventor: Michael Brent Hughes
  • Patent number: 9418045
    Abstract: Systems, apparatus and methods for quantifying and identifying diversion of electrical energy are provided. Bypass and tap diversions may be identified in an electric utility power distribution inventory zone having both bypass and tap diversions. Bypass diversion factors for consumer nodes in an inventory zone are determined by finding a solution to a system of load balance equations having slack variables representing aggregate tap loads for the inventory zone and in which consumer load profile data is scaled by the bypass diversion factors, which solution minimizes an objective function whose value is positively related to the sum of the slack variables representing the aggregate tap loads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2016
    Assignee: MBH CONSULTING LTD.
    Inventor: Michael Brent Hughes
  • Patent number: 9122618
    Abstract: Systems, apparatus and methods for quantifying and identifying diversion of electrical energy are provided. Bypass diversion factors for consumer nodes in an inventory zone are determined by finding a solution to a system of load balance equations having slack variables representing aggregate tap loads for the inventory zone and in which consumer load profile data is scaled by the bypass diversion factors, which solution minimizes an objective function whose value is positively related to the sum of the slack variables representing the aggregate tap loads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2015
    Assignee: MBH Consulting Ltd.
    Inventor: Michael Brent Hughes
  • Patent number: 9013120
    Abstract: A method for driving an LED lighting device includes receiving an input voltage from a battery unit and converting the input voltage into a driving current to drive the LED lighting device. The method further includes detecting whether the battery unit is in a low battery state. When the low battery state of the battery unit is detected, the driving current is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignee: Monolithic Power Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Jason Pierce, Brent Hughes
  • Publication number: 20150061543
    Abstract: A method for driving an LED lighting device includes receiving an input voltage from a battery unit and converting the input voltage into a driving current to drive the LED lighting device. The method further includes detecting whether the battery unit is in a low battery state. When the low battery state of the battery unit is detected, the driving current is reduced.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2013
    Publication date: March 5, 2015
    Applicant: MONOLITHIC POWER SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: Jason Pierce, Brent Hughes
  • Publication number: 20120104964
    Abstract: The present technology is generally related to LED drivers with PWM dimming. In one embodiment, a dimming signal is generated based on a pulsed input signal. The pulsed input signal is converted into at least one current signal to drive an LED. And the conversion is enable and disabled by the dimming signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 27, 2010
    Publication date: May 3, 2012
    Inventor: Brent Hughes
  • Patent number: 7643260
    Abstract: A pair of back-to-back-coupled zener diodes is coupled from the input to the output of each leg of a common mode choke used in a LC circuit for reducing EMI into the power supply of an electrical device. The reversed biased zener diode of each pair breaks down when ringing voltage amplitude resulting from a voltage surge applied at the inputs of the common mode choke exceeds the breakdown threshold voltage of the zener diode. Transorb devices may be substituted for the back-to-back-coupled diode pairs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2010
    Assignee: ARRIS Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Jason Pierce, Brent Hughes
  • Publication number: 20070081289
    Abstract: A pair of back-to-back-coupled zener diodes is coupled from the input to the output of each leg of a common mode choke used in a LC circuit for reducing EMI into the power supply of an electrical device. The reversed biased zener diode of each pair breaks down when ringing voltage amplitude resulting from a voltage surge applied at the inputs of the common mode choke exceeds the breakdown threshold voltage of the zener diode. Transorb devices may be substituted for the back-to-back-coupled diode pairs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 11, 2006
    Publication date: April 12, 2007
    Inventors: Jason Pierce, Brent Hughes
  • Publication number: 20040180702
    Abstract: Cable modem main processor and RF circuitry is turned off during off-site power loss when an RF communication channel is absent. A timer periodically wakes up the processor to determine whether an RF channel has been restored. A controller implements the timer and interacts with an RF detector. These components use less power than the main processor circuitry. Accordingly, energy is conserved while the processor is asleep.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2004
    Publication date: September 16, 2004
    Inventor: Brent Hughes