Patents Examined by Htet Z Kyaw
  • Patent number: 10296032
    Abstract: A bandgap reference circuit includes a first bipolar junction transistor (BJT) in series with a first current generator, the first BJT and the first current generator configured to produce a first proportional to absolute temperature (PTAT) signal. The circuit also includes a second BJT in series with a second current generator, the second BJT and the second current generator configured to produce a second PTAT signal. The bandgap reference circuit maintains a current through at least one of the first BJT or the second BJT within a constant ideality factor region of the at least one of the first BJT or the second BJT.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Jaw-Juinn Horng, Kuo-Feng Yu, Chung-Hui Chen
  • Patent number: 10298136
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a flyback converter, a control circuit and a control method therefor. In the control method, a power stage circuit is controlled at a light load to operate alternatively in a pulse width modulation mode (i.e. a constant switching frequency mode) and in a constant on time mode, in accordance with a voltage compensation signal. Thus, output energy may decrease rapidly and smoothly, without need for the control circuit to stop working. The flyback converter has increased efficiency at the light load and decreased output voltage ripple.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: SILERGY SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGY (HANGZHOU) LTD.
    Inventor: Huiqiang Chen
  • Patent number: 10298127
    Abstract: A DCDC converter includes a transconductance amplifier, a comparator, a current driving component, an output impedance, a switch, a clamp resistor and a p-channel FET. The transconductance amplifier outputs a transconductance current and a switch control signal. The comparator has a two n-channel FET inputs forming a differential pair and outputs a compared signal. The current driving component generates an output current based on the compared signal. The output impedance component generates an output DC voltage based on the output current. The switch is between the two n-channel FETs and can open and close based on the switch control signal. The clamp resistor is arranged in series with the switch. The p-channel FET is in series with the clamp resistor and is controlled by the output DC voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Gerhard Thiele, Erich Bayer
  • Patent number: 10291138
    Abstract: Disclosed examples include isolated dual active bridge (DAB) DC to DC converters with first and second bridge circuits, a transformer with a sense coil, and a secondary side control circuit to provide secondary side switching control signals to regulate an output voltage or current signal by controlling a phase shift angle between switching transitions of the secondary side switching control signals and switching transitions of a secondary side clock signal, where the secondary side control circuit includes a clock recovery circuit to synchronize the secondary side clock signal to transitions in a sense coil voltage signal of the sense coil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2019
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Pierluigi Albertini, Maurizio Granato, Giacomo Calabrese, Roberto Giampiero Massolini, Joyce Marie Mullenix, Giovanni Frattini
  • Patent number: 10281941
    Abstract: A voltage generating circuit includes a first resistance voltage dividing circuit, configured by low temperature coefficient resistors being connected in series, that generates a reference voltage by resistance-dividing a predetermined power supply voltage, one or a multiple of a second resistance voltage dividing circuit, configured by a resistor having a positive or negative resistance temperature coefficient and the low temperature coefficient resistor being connected in series, that generates a temperature-dependent divided voltage by resistance-dividing the power supply voltage, and an instrumentation amplifier that generates the comparison reference voltage in accordance with a difference between the reference voltage and the divided voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2019
    Assignee: FUJI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takahiro Mori, Masashi Akahane
  • Patent number: 10270327
    Abstract: A controller may include a memory having computer-readable instructions stored therein; and a processor configured to execute the computer-readable instructions to generate Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) signals to control power switches of an Active Front End (AFE) inverter based on at least a synthesized grid voltage vector angle at a terminal of an alternating current (AC) grid without using physical voltage sensors at the terminal of the AC grid, and control the AFE inverter to supply power to a load based on the PWM signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Tianjun Fu, Long Wu, Kent Wanner, Jason Dickherber, Chris J. Tremel
  • Patent number: 10270335
    Abstract: A switching converter having an input for receiving an input voltage, an output for supplying an output voltage, and a converter device which includes an inductance, a capacitance, a diode and a switching device developed as a current source, for converting the input voltage into the output voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventor: Rainer Gschwind-Schilling
  • Patent number: 10263541
    Abstract: A single-phase DC/AC inverter has a single-phase inverter bridge with binary switches connected to an RLC low-pass filter. Digital control logic in a control circuit (or in a microcontroller) determines and controls a logic state q determining the position of the switches in the inverter bridge from sensed iL, vC values from the RLC filter. The control logic selects one of multiple possible logic states q based on whether the sensed iL, vC values belongs one of multiple boundary regions of a tracking band in an iL, vC state space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2019
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Ricardo G. Sanfelice, Jun Chai
  • Patent number: 10256722
    Abstract: An oscillator includes a reference current generating circuit, a modulator circuit, and an oscillating circuit. The reference current generating circuit generates a first reference current. The modulator circuit generates a modulation current according to the first reference current and a feedback voltage, wherein the modulation current is negatively correlated with the feedback voltage. The oscillating circuit receives at least the modulation current, and generates an oscillating signal with an oscillating frequency according to at least the modulation current, wherein the oscillating frequency is varied according to the modulation current. The oscillator may be employed by a direct current (DC)-to-DC voltage converter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: Elite Semiconductor Memory Technology Inc.
    Inventor: Yao-Wei Yang
  • Patent number: 10256733
    Abstract: This disclosure relates to power converters capable of providing multiple output voltage levels. With respect to USB-C adapter design, the converter's output may need to be changed between different voltage levels, e.g., a low voltage (such as 5V, 10V), an intermediate voltage (such as 12V, 20V), or a high voltage (such as 20V, 40V)—based on the charging device's request. By using a tapped-winding transformer, the turns-ratio of a flyback transformer may be intelligently selected for high output voltage ranges, thus enabling the duty cycle to be kept the same for the low and intermediate voltage output levels. The flyback converter would then only need to accommodate the intermediate and high output voltages. For high output voltages, a switch may be activated to put the two windings of the transformer in series; for lower output voltages, the switch may be turned off, such that only one winding is used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Weihong Qiu, Rohan Dayal, Zaki Moussaoui
  • Patent number: 10256583
    Abstract: A power adapter including a main circuit board and an auxiliary circuit board is provided. The main circuit board has a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other, and the first surface of the main circuit board is configured with a transformer and a first capacitor. The auxiliary circuit board has a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other, and the first surface of the auxiliary circuit board is configured with an input rectifier filter circuit, where the auxiliary circuit board is disposed in parallel above the main circuit board, and the input rectifier filter circuit of the auxiliary circuit board is electrically connected to the first capacitor of the main circuit board. Under a condition of same electrical parameters and dimensions, the volume of the power adapter of the invention is only a half of that of the existing power adapter, which satisfies a demand for miniaturization of the electronic devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: FSP TECHNOLOGY INC.
    Inventor: Kuo-Fan Lin
  • Patent number: 10256630
    Abstract: In some examples, a controller device is configured to control power electronics circuitry and includes a high-voltage (HV) pin, a power supply (VCC) pin, a startup device configured to conduct electricity from the HV pin to the VCC pin, and comparator circuitry configured to determine whether a voltage level of the VCC pin is greater than a turn-on voltage threshold. In some examples, the comparator circuitry is further configured to cause the controller device to enter a normal-operation mode in response to determining that the voltage level of the VCC pin is greater than the turn-on voltage threshold. In some examples, the controller device also includes level detection circuitry configured to determine the turn-on voltage threshold based on a level of the HV pin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AG
    Inventors: Martin Feldtkeller, Reinhard Mueller
  • Patent number: 10250252
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a control circuit may be configured to form a switching signal to switch a power transistor at a frequency to regulate an output voltage of the power supply to a target value wherein the control circuit is configured to operate in a normal operating mode and a start-up mode and wherein the control circuit is configured to switch the switching signal at a target frequency in response to operating in the normal operating mode. A first circuit may be configured to control the frequency of the switching signal to increase from a first frequency to a second frequency that is less than the target frequency in response to operating in the start-up mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventors: Chen-Hua Chiu, Guang-Chao Zhang, Mao-Sheng Lin, HyeongSeok Baek
  • Patent number: 10243476
    Abstract: A power conversion device includes a switching circuit and a switch driver. The switching circuit includes a plurality of switching elements including a first switching element and a second switching element that are electrically coupled in series. The switch driver includes a first, a second, and a third switching pattern controller. The first switching pattern controller executes a first switching pattern which is set such that a current in a reverse direction flows through the first switching element and the second switching element is off. The second switching pattern controller executes a second switching pattern which is set such that a direction of the current flowing through the first switching element is switched to a forward direction from the reverse direction. The third switching pattern controller executes a third switching pattern which is set such that the first switching element is off and the second switching element is on.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA YASKAWA DENKI
    Inventors: Tetsumi Narita, Sadao Ishii, Takashi Kuboyama, Shinsuke Kajiwara
  • Patent number: 10243467
    Abstract: The subject matter of this document can be embodied in a method that includes a voltage regulator having an input terminal and an output terminal. The voltage regulator includes a high-side transistor between the input terminal and an intermediate terminal, and a low-side transistor between the intermediate terminal and ground. The voltage regulator includes a low-side driver circuit including a capacitor and an inverter. The output of the inverter is connected to the gate of the low-side transistor. The voltage regulator also includes a controller that drives the high-side and low-side transistors to alternately couple the intermediate terminal to the input terminal and ground. The controller is configured to drive the low-side transistor by controlling the inverter. The voltage regulator further includes a switch coupled to the low-side driver circuit. The switch is configured to block charge leakage out of the capacitor during an off state of the low-side transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: Volterra Semiconductor LLC
    Inventors: Chiteh Chiang, Marco A. Zuniga, Yang Lu
  • Patent number: 10211733
    Abstract: An apparatus that includes a resonant DC-DC converter with switching frequencies based on stray inductances of the physical components used to construct the apparatus. This results in a relatively high efficiency and high density DC-DC converter that, in some implementations, does not require a discrete inductor component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignee: Google LLC
    Inventors: Shuai Jiang, Xin Li
  • Patent number: 10181731
    Abstract: An external power storage adapter (PSA) may supply electrical power to a portable information handling system or other power consuming device. The power storage adapter may include an AC-DC converter, a battery, and intelligent power management functionality. A PSA controller may cause a PSA battery management unit to combine electrical power supplied by the AC-DC converter and electrical power supplied by the battery in order to supply enough electrical power for the information handling system to operate in a particular operating mode. The power storage adapter may output power to a port of the portable information handling system, such as a USB Type-C port, over a variable power bus. The maximum power supply capacity of the power storage adapter, when the battery is at least partially charged, may be greater than the maximum power supply capacity of the AC-DC converter alone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2019
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: Andrew Thomas Sultenfuss, Richard Christopher Thompson
  • Patent number: 10181739
    Abstract: A power storage adapter may use a high efficiency charging method when supplying electrical power to a portable information handling system when the power storage adapter is not connected to AC line power. In particular, when the portable information handling system draws the electrical power below a low load threshold, such as during a low power state, the power storage adapter may avoid supplying electrical power. When an internal battery of the portable information handling system has an SOC less than a recharging state of charge for the internally battery, the power storage adapter may resume supplying power to the portable information handling system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2019
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: Andrew Thomas Sultenfuss, Richard Christopher Thompson
  • Patent number: 10168719
    Abstract: The present invention provides a digital low dropout regulator and a control method thereof. The regulator comprises a voltage comparator, a counter, a decoder, a PMOSFET array and a divider. The voltage comparator receives an actual voltage output from the PMOSFET array through the positive input terminal, receives a reference voltage through the negative input terminal, and compares the actual voltage and the reference voltage to obtain a level signal. The divider calculates based on an output voltage pre-configured for a PMOSFET array and an actual voltage output by the PMOSFET array in at least two clock cycles to obtain a first value. The counter generates a control signal based on the level signal and the first value. The decoder receives the control signal transmitted by the counter and controlling the number of switched-on transistors, in the PMOSFET on a basis of the control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2019
    Assignees: BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD., HEFEI XINSHENG OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Xuehuan Feng, Pan Xu, Yongqian Li, Zhongyuan Wu
  • Patent number: 10164593
    Abstract: Embodiments of power detector circuits and related methods to compensate for undesired DC offsets generated within power detector circuits are disclosed. Input signals having input frequencies are received and converted to a magnitude signal, and reference signals are also generated. The magnitude signal may include a DC component proportional to a power of the input signal along with undesired DC offsets. The reference signal may include a DC component proportional to a power of at least one input reference signal along with undesired DC offsets. To compensate for errors introduced by the DC offsets, a programmable digital input signal is determined in a calibration mode and then applied to reference circuitry in a normal mode to compensate for the DC offsets. For the calibration mode, a difference between the magnitude signal and the reference signal is compared to a threshold value to generate a power detection output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2018
    Assignee: Silicon Laboratories Inc.
    Inventors: Navin Harwalkar, John M. Khoury