Patents by Inventor Michael Thomas Engelhardt

Michael Thomas Engelhardt 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: 10637254
    Abstract: A switch mode power supply may utilize a switching signal to control one or more power switches in the switch mode power supply. A switch mode power supply controller may generate and/or control this switching signal. The controller may reduce the peak spectral noise of the switch mode power supply by varying the instantaneous switching frequency at a constant slew rate magnitude that changes sign at random times. The instantaneous switching frequency may be controlled by a signal that is generated by integrating a random bit stream. The stream may repeat at a sub-audio frequency. The integrator may be lossy, so that the output does not wonder off to an arbitrary value. The frequency modulation signal may be filtered by a low pass filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2020
    Assignee: Linear Technology Corporation
    Inventor: Michael Thomas Engelhardt
  • Patent number: 10218394
    Abstract: A method and system of providing an active differential resistor. The active differential resistor includes a diode having a first node and a second node. There is a capacitor coupled in series between the first node of the diode and an input of the active differential resistor. There is a current source coupled across the first node and the second node of the diode and configured to forward bias the diode such that a Johnson-Nyquist noise of the active differential resistor is replaced by a shot noise.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: LINEAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventor: Michael Thomas Engelhardt
  • Publication number: 20180102800
    Abstract: A method and system of providing an active differential resistor. The active differential resistor includes a diode having a first node and a second node. There is a capacitor coupled in series between the first node of the diode and an input of the active differential resistor. There is a current source coupled across the first node and the second node of the diode and configured to forward bias the diode such that a Johnson-Nyquist noise of the active differential resistor is replaced by a shot noise.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2017
    Publication date: April 12, 2018
    Inventor: Michael Thomas Engelhardt
  • Patent number: 9866245
    Abstract: A method and system of providing an active differential resistor. The active differential resistor includes a diode having a first node and a second node. There is a capacitor coupled in series between the first node of the diode and an input of the active differential resistor. There is a current source coupled across the first node and the second node of the diode and configured to forward bias the diode such that a Johnson-Nyquist noise of the active differential resistor is replaced by a shot noise.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: LINEAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventor: Michael Thomas Engelhardt
  • Publication number: 20170141773
    Abstract: A method and system of providing an active differential resistor. The active differential resistor includes a diode having a first node and a second node. There is a capacitor coupled in series between the first node of the diode and an input of the active differential resistor. There is a current source coupled across the first node and the second node of the diode and configured to forward bias the diode such that a Johnson-Nyquist noise of the active differential resistor is replaced by a shot noise.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2016
    Publication date: May 18, 2017
    Inventor: Michael Thomas Engelhardt
  • Publication number: 20160276839
    Abstract: A switch mode power supply may utilize a switching signal to control one or more power switches in the switch mode power supply. A switch mode power supply controller may generate and/or control this switching signal. The controller may reduce the peak spectral noise of the switch mode power supply by varying the instantaneous switching frequency at a constant slew rate magnitude that changes sign at random times. The instantaneous switching frequency may be controlled by a signal that is generated by integrating a random bit stream. The stream may repeat at a sub-audio frequency. The integrator may be lossy, so that the output does not wonder off to an arbitrary value. The frequency modulation signal may be filtered by a low pass filter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2015
    Publication date: September 22, 2016
    Inventor: Michael Thomas Engelhardt
  • Patent number: 8686702
    Abstract: Generated are an error signal representative of a difference between a signal representative of the output voltage of a current mode switching power supply and a reference voltage, and a peak current threshold signal that is indicative of a peak current that should be reached in an inductor within the power supply during each cycle of a periodic clock signal and that has a level that is based on the error signal. A switch control signal regulates the voltage output of the power supply by closing and then opening a power switch during each cycle of the periodic clock signal. Timing of opening is based on the peak current threshold signal. Negative slope compensation causes the switch control circuit to delay opening the power switch during each cycle of the periodic clock signal in an amount that decreases with increasing duty cycles of the switch control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2014
    Assignee: Linear Technology Corporation
    Inventor: Michael Thomas Engelhardt
  • Publication number: 20130207629
    Abstract: Generated are an error signal representative of a difference between a signal representative of the output voltage of a current mode switching power supply and a reference voltage, and a peak current threshold signal that is indicative of a peak current that should be reached in an inductor within the power supply during each cycle of a periodic clock signal and that has a level that is based on the error signal. A switch control signal regulates the voltage output of the power supply by closing and then opening a power switch during each cycle of the periodic clock signal. Timing of opening is based on the peak current threshold signal. Negative slope compensation causes the switch control circuit to delay opening the power switch during each cycle of the periodic clock signal in an amount that decreases with increasing duty cycles of the switch control signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2012
    Publication date: August 15, 2013
    Inventor: Michael Thomas ENGELHARDT
  • Patent number: 8274266
    Abstract: A power supply system has an inductive device, a plurality of switching devices for providing connection of the inductive device to input and output nodes and a ground node, and a switch driver circuit for driving the switching devices so as to enable the power supply to operate in a boost mode to increase the input voltage, in a buck mode to decrease the input voltage, and in a solid-state flyback mode to transfer between the boost mode and the buck mode. In the solid-state flyback mode, the switching devices are controlled to provide switching of the inductive device between an input state in which the inductive device is connected between the input node and the ground node, and an output state in which the inductive device is connected between the ground node and the output node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2012
    Assignee: Linear Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Thomas Engelhardt, Randy Guy Flatness
  • Publication number: 20110037446
    Abstract: A power supply system has an inductive device, a plurality of switching devices for providing connection of the inductive device to input and output nodes and a ground node, and a switch driver circuit for driving the switching devices so as to enable the power supply to operate in a boost mode to increase the input voltage, in a buck mode to decrease the input voltage, and in a solid-state flyback mode to transfer between the boost mode and the buck mode. In the solid-state flyback mode, the switching devices are controlled to provide switching of the inductive device between an input state in which the inductive device is connected between the input node and the ground node, and an output state in which the inductive device is connected between the ground node and the output node.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 14, 2009
    Publication date: February 17, 2011
    Inventors: Michael Thomas ENGELHARDT, Randy Guy Flatness
  • Patent number: 7502723
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to simulating inductors wound on a ferromagnetic core as the magnetic material saturates. In one application, the present disclosure is advantageously used to model the asymmetric minor hysteresis loops commonly traversed by the output inductor of a switch mode power supply. An advantage of the subject matter of the disclosure is that it allows practical nonlinear inductors to be modeled in a computationally lightweight manner without conventional non-physical behavior under asymmetric minor hysteresis loop traversals. The disclosure is also conveniently applicable to practical ferromagnetic core materials because, in one particular implementation, the input parameters to the model are the core's coercive force (Hc), remnant magnetization flux density (Br), and saturation flux density (Bs).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2009
    Assignee: Linear Technology Corporation
    Inventor: Michael Thomas Engelhardt