Patents Assigned to Atmel Automotive GmbH
  • Patent number: 7696645
    Abstract: A circuit arrangement for voltage switching is used for optimized control of switching transistors, which are used for switching voltages applied to an output of the circuit arrangement. The circuit arrangement of the invention enables rapid voltage switching with a simultaneously low current consumption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2010
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventor: Reinhard Oelmaier
  • Patent number: 7692546
    Abstract: An antenna is provided for a backscatter-based RFID transponder with an integrated receiving circuit, having a capacitive input impedance, for receiving a radio signal lying spectrally within an operating frequency range, whereby the antenna has two antenna arms, which extend outwardly in a spiral from a central area, in which the antenna arms can be connected to the integrated receiving circuit. According to the invention, each antenna arm has an arm length along the arm, which is selected so that one of the series resonance frequencies of the antenna is below the operating frequency range and the next higher parallel resonance frequency of the antenna is above the operating frequency range. The invention relates furthermore to a backscatter-based RFID transponder with an antenna of this type.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2010
    Assignee: ATMEL Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Michael Camp, Martin Fischer
  • Patent number: 7683655
    Abstract: An integrated circuit is provided having at least one terminal for coupling and/or decoupling of electric signals, particularly of digital signals, and having integrated reference potential means, assigned to the terminal, for providing an electric reference potential to the terminal. It is provided according to an embodiment of the invention that the reference potential means is switchable, particularly by an override process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2010
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventor: Anton Koch
  • Patent number: 7675964
    Abstract: A plurality of information symbols are transmitted by a carrier wave by assigning different modulation indices to the individual information symbols. Thereby the modulated carrier wave carries information not only by the digitally encoded (modulated) data words but also by the different modulation indices used for successive intervals that thus also represent information symbols. This increases the data rate of a wireless communication. When used in passive identification systems, for example transponders, the transmission of the superimposed clock information eliminates the need for the clock generation logic in the receiver. The reduced energy consumption enables the communication distance to be increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2010
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventor: Ulrich Friedrich
  • Patent number: 7660336
    Abstract: A method is provided for determining a laser threshold of a laser diode, which is operated by a drive circuit as a function of a first signal in a first feedback and a second signal in a second feedback, the first feedback being supplied via an optical coupling of an optical output signal of the laser diode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2010
    Assignee: ATMEL Automotive GmbH
    Inventor: Herbert Knotz
  • Patent number: 7633111
    Abstract: A semiconductor structure, for improving rectifier efficiency in passive backscatter transponders or backscatter remote sensors for use in high-frequency electromagnetic fields, is provided. The semiconductor structure has a dielectric layer on whose upper side is arranged a first electrically conductive layer, and a second electrically conductive layer that is spaced apart from the first electrically conductive layer and is arranged essentially below the first electrically conductive layer and is at least partially embedded in the dielectric layer. The dielectric layer has its lower side arranged on a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type within which is formed a more highly doped first zone of the first conductivity type which surrounds an even more highly doped second zone of the first conductivity type connected to a reference voltage. Whereby, the first zone can be arranged essentially completely under the first and second electrically conductive layers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2009
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventor: Ulrich Friedrich
  • Patent number: 7633422
    Abstract: A transducer device for converting an analog DC voltage signal into a digital signal is provided, with an oscillator device for outputting a first oscillator signal and a second oscillator signal, whereby the oscillator device is formed to generate the first oscillator signal and the second oscillator signal phase-locked to one another and with the substantially same frequency from a reference signal, with an analog frequency converter connected to the oscillator device for transforming the analog DC voltage signal by the first oscillator signal in a first spectral range with a first center frequency to obtain a transformed signal, with an analog-to-digital converter for converting the transformed signal into a transformed digital signal; and with a digital frequency converter connected to the oscillator device for transforming the transformed digital signal by means of the second oscillator signal in a second spectral range with a second center frequency to obtain the digital signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2009
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Werner Blatz, Robert Dvorszky, Ulrich Grosskinsky, Lourans Samid, Marco Schwarzmueller
  • Patent number: 7633328
    Abstract: A mixer stage is provided that includes an oscillator, a first input, a second input, a first output, a second output, a set of four controllable amplifier elements, and a first current source. The mixer stage further includes at least one second current source in addition to the first current source, the first current source and the at least one second current source can each be switched on and off by an associated switching input that is connected to an associated oscillator output. Pairs of amplifier elements of the set of four together with at least one of the at least two current sources in its switched-on state form a differential amplifier for an input signal present at the first input and the second input. A method for mixing frequencies is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2009
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Leistner, Herman Jalli Ng, Hans Sapotta
  • Patent number: 7633806
    Abstract: A memory device having a nonvolatile memory array, at least one driver for programming the memory array, which driver is connected to the memory array in order to drive a programming potential, and a drive circuit for controlling the at least one driver, wherein the drive circuit has at least one switch for switching a current as a function of the digital logic potential at the input and the drive circuit has a current-to-voltage converter connected to the output, which converter is designed to output a control potential depending on the switched current for driving the at least one driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2009
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventor: Arno Soerensen
  • Patent number: 7633460
    Abstract: An antenna for a backscatter-based RFID transponder is provided with an integrated receiving circuit, having a capacitive input impedance, for receiving a radio signal lying spectrally in an operating frequency range, whereby the antenna has two antenna arms, which extend outward in a spiral from a central region in which the antenna arms can be connected to the integrated receiving circuit. According to the invention, a ring-shaped trace is provided, which extends completely around the central region and is formed to connect the antenna arms conductively to one another. The invention relates further to a backscatter-based RFID transponder with an antenna of this type.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2009
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Michael Camp, Martin Fischer
  • Patent number: 7633996
    Abstract: A method for determining the occupancy of a transmission channel using a differentially demodulated signal generated at a transmitter-side with the use of PN sequences from a PN sequence set having a first group of first PN sequences and a second group of second PN sequences. The method provides a) at least two subsequences of an initial code sequence, which is assigned to one of the first PN sequences and can be derived from the sequence by logical operations, but is not identical to it, b) the calculation of at least two correlation results by correlating the differentially demodulated signal with each of the at least two subsequences, and c) the evaluation of the correlation results and generation of an output signal to indicate the occupancy of the transmission channel. Also a device for determining the occupancy of a transmission channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2009
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Dirk Haentzschel, Thomas Hanusch, Eric Sachse
  • Patent number: 7626427
    Abstract: A voltage comparator for comparing a reference voltage with a threshold, includes a first voltage-to-current converter to convert a reference voltage that determines the threshold into a reference current that depends on the reference voltage, a second voltage-to-current converter to convert the comparison voltage into a comparison current that depends on the comparison voltage, and an output stage to output a digital output level, wherein the digital output level depends on the reference current and the comparison current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2009
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Berthold Gruber, Lars Hehn
  • Patent number: 7619252
    Abstract: An integrated circuit having a first connection, a second connection, a substrate, and a control connection, in provided. The control connection controls a conductivity of the integrated circuit between the first connection and the second connection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2009
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Berthold Gruber, Lars Hehn
  • Patent number: 7616050
    Abstract: A power supply circuit is provided for producing a reference current with a prescribable temperature dependence. The circuit includes two current sinks, which at their respective input take up a first input current (I1) or a second input current (I2), and in which current sinks at their respective outputs are connected to a node having a reference potential, the output of at least one current sink being connected via a resistor to the node having the reference potential. The resistor is formed by least two reference resistors with prescribable temperature coefficients that are preferably different from one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2009
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventor: Wolfgang Eckstein
  • Patent number: 7616072
    Abstract: A global positioning system and integrated circuit with a differential oscillator and with a starting circuit connected to the differential oscillator, wherein the differential oscillator has a current mirror for setting an operating current through each of the two branches, the starting circuit has at least one switch connected to the current mirror, and has a starting means connected to the at least one switch, and the current mirror, the at least one switch, and the starting means are wired in such a manner that the operating current in each of the two branches of the differential oscillator is increased during a starting phase, which phase is a function of the starting means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2009
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventor: Meik Wilhelm Widmer
  • Patent number: 7612611
    Abstract: An amplifier circuit for amplifying a high-frequency input signal comprises an amplifier stage, which amplifies the high-frequency input signal as a function of an operating point of the amplifier stage and generates an operating point-dependent signal, an observer stage, which replicates the amplifier stage and generates an observation signal, a regulator, which is supplied with the operating point-dependent signal and the observation signal, and an control element, which influences the operating point of the amplifier stage and is driven by the regulator, whereby the regulator drives the control element in such a way that the operating point of the amplifier stage is substantially independent of a level of the high-frequency input signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2009
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventor: Andreas Loth
  • Patent number: 7613987
    Abstract: A method for wireless data transmission between a base station and one or more, in particular passive, transponders is provided, in which electromagnetic carrier waves are emitted by the base station. Data comprising successive characters are transmitted from a respective transponder to the base station by modulation and backscattering of the electromagnetic carrier waves, and a respective one of the characters is coded and transmitted by a respective transponder within a predefined time interval. Within at least one of the predefined time intervals, a safeguard character formed from the data to be transmitted is transmitted in addition to the character to be transmitted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2009
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventor: Ulrich Friedrich
  • Patent number: 7609147
    Abstract: A method and apparatus includes at least one transponder or sensor to transmit useful data in an asynchronous mode to at least one reader. Before the start of the useful data transmission, the reader transmits a return link header to the transponder or sensor, which contains at least one bit length reference symbol as a reference time to define the bit length in the return link.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2009
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventor: Ulrich Friedrich
  • Patent number: 7609098
    Abstract: A driver circuit including an amplifier, which generates a control signal from a reference signal; a driver current mirror; and a control current switch located between the amplifier and the driver current mirror which selectably isolates the driver current mirror from the amplifier or connects the driver current mirror to the amplifier, wherein the driver current mirror, when in a state connected to the amplifier, amplifies the control signal into a driver signal. A compensating circuit is provided that generates a correction signal, as a function of an error current of the driver current mirror and provides the correction signal to an input of the amplifier, wherein a feedback signal input of the amplifier is fed through a feedback path from a feedback signal coupled out of a control branch of the driver current mirror, and the compensating circuit additively provides the correction signal at an input of the amplifier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2009
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventor: Guenther Bergmann
  • Patent number: 7605047
    Abstract: A method for the integration of two bipolar transistors in a semiconductor body, wherein, for the first bipolar transistor, a first emitter semiconductor region, a first base semiconductor region, and a first collector semiconductor region are produced. A recombination layer is applied to the first bipolar transistor, which is adjacent to the first emitter semiconductor region or the first collector semiconductor region and is constructed in such a way that charge carriers recombine on the recombination layer, and next, the second bipolar transistor is placed on the recombination layer, wherein a second emitter semiconductor region, a second base semiconductor region, and a second collector semiconductor region are produced on the recombination layer, so that the second emitter semiconductor region or the second collector semiconductor region is adjacent to the recombination layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2009
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventor: Christoph Bromberger