Patents Examined by Michael Sherry
  • Patent number: 7764480
    Abstract: A mobile terminal uses a battery as a power source, and has a battery protection circuit for protecting the battery. A control circuit of the mobile terminal detects a voltage value or a current value of a predetermined electronic circuit such as a power amplifier, and determines whether or not an abnormal state is present. Upon determination that the power amplifier is in an abnormal state, the control circuit short-circuits the battery to operate the battery protection circuit. As a result, the supplying of a power supply current to the power amplifier is stopped to eliminate the abnormal state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2010
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Takayasu Ishida
  • Patent number: 7525778
    Abstract: A semiconductor integrated circuit having protection elements for protecting a MOSFET of a high accuracy analog circuit from plasma damage generated during a manufacture of the semiconductor integrated circuit is provided. The protection elements operate at a lower voltage of PN junction breakdown voltage so as to prevent transistors from degrading or having dielectric breakdown due to plasma damage. A differential amplifier includes first and second n-channel MOS transistors for constructing a differential input pair. A first protection element comprising a plurality of gate-drain connected MOS transistors coupled as a cascade is provided between the gate of the first n-channel MOS transistor and a first differential input terminal. A second protection element comprising a plurality of gate-drain connected MOS transistors coupled as a cascade is provided between the gate of the second n-channel MOS transistor and a second differential input terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2009
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Nobutaka Kitagawa
  • Patent number: 7492565
    Abstract: A circuit array includes an antenna input, a signal input, a signal output, and a switch unit. The switch unit connects the antenna to either the signal input or the signal output. The antenna input is connected to a first productive device. The first protective device is a band-pass filter in a T configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2009
  • Patent number: 7474515
    Abstract: A cryogenic magnet control system has a number of magnet coils each formed by superconductive material wound on a former and a supply for energizing the magnet coils to generate an operational magnetic field of predetermined strength and homogeneity, wherein each former also supports control wineings of a non-superconductive material provided as over-bindings upon the magnet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2009
    Assignee: Siemens Magnet Technology Ltd
    Inventor: Michael John Disney Mallett
  • Patent number: 7428133
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an protection device of a surge protector, which comprises: a first fuse; a resistor; a switching circuit; a second fuse; and a surge protector; thereby the switching circuit can be turned ON and make the resistor be heated when the sensing end senses a low potential, and then makes the first fuse be opened due to sense heat, so as to cut off the power source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2008
    Assignee: Powertech Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yu-Lung Lee
  • Patent number: 7423852
    Abstract: Apparatus defining a circuit module for receiving an operating voltage on an input and for generating a voltage of a lower magnitude that is applied to an intermediate bus. A holdover energy source, such as an ultra capacitor or the like, of the circuit module has a voltage lower than said input voltage and the voltage of said intermediate bus. The holdover energy source is connected under control of a voltage supervisor to a boost converter in response to the receipt of a transient on the input. The boost converter is responsive to the connection to generate a boost voltage that maintains a constant voltage on the intermediate bus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2008
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc.
    Inventor: Charles C. Byers
  • Patent number: 7417337
    Abstract: An improved method and system for facilitating no-break power transfer between an APU and a main engine includes determining a required APU speed for conducting power transfer based on various APU operating parameters, such as engine speed, fuel, environmental temperature, etc. The APU controller then adjusts the APU speed up or down to the required APU speed. Communication between an aircraft computer and the APU controller may also be provided so that operational data can be exchanged to adjust the electrical load of the aircraft below a maximum load threshold set by the APU, avoiding overloading of the APU during power transfer. By exchanging operational data between the APU controller and the aircraft computer, both the APU and the electrical load can be adjusted to optimize no-break power transfer despite varying APU operating conditions and main engine generator frequencies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2008
    Assignee: Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation
    Inventor: Peter J. Suttie
  • Patent number: 7414329
    Abstract: A polyphase power distribution and monitoring apparatus having sets of outputs for each phase of power and monitors for each phase of power disposed in the housing. Each monitor provides a visible display of current for an associated phase of power and an audible alarm for each phase of power if the current exceeds a predetermined value or falls below a predetermined value. In three-phase wye power systems, the apparatus preferaby includes a neutral line monitor, including a neutral line current display and audio alarm, for the neutral line of the wye power circuit. The apparatus preferably is lightweight, elongated, portable, and mountable to the side of an electronic equipment rack. It may also include additional power monitoring systems such as network power monitoring tools for remotely monitoring the apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2008
    Assignee: Server Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew J. Cleveland, Carrel W Ewing, James P. Maskaly
  • Patent number: 7411770
    Abstract: A circuit arrangement includes a first semiconductor switch and at least one second semiconductor switch, each of them having a control terminal and a first and second load terminal, and with an overvoltage protection arrangement for the at least two semiconductor switches. The overvoltage protection arrangement comprises a voltage limiting unit with a first and a second terminal, whose first terminal is connected to a central circuit node, whose second terminal is connected to a terminal for a reference potential, and which is configured so that it conducts current when a threshold voltage is applied between the first and second load terminals. The central circuit node is coupled to the first load terminals of the semiconductor switches. The overvoltage protection arrangement further comprises a first actuating circuit for the first semiconductor switch and a second actuating circuit for the at least one second semiconductor switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2008
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Andrea Logiudice, Salvatore Giovanni Pastorina, Andrea Scenini, Bernhard Wotruba
  • Patent number: 7411767
    Abstract: A multi-domain ESD protection circuit structure is described. The preferred embodiment of the present invention selects power lines of an internal circuit as ESD buses. The power lines of the remaining internal circuits are coupled with the ESD buses through the ESD connection cells. In another embodiment of the preferred invention, the VDD power line from one internal circuit and the VSS power line from another circuit are selected as ESD buses. In yet another embodiment, either a VDD power line or a VSS power line of an internal circuit is selected as an ESD bus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2008
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shao-Chang Huang, Chi-Di An, Ming-Hsiang Song
  • Patent number: 7408272
    Abstract: The invention concerns a portable device for electric power supply comprising: connection means (8) for connecting an appliance (1) to be powered; and a power supply circuit (6; 16) supplying in output a supply voltage for the appliance when the circuit is selectively connected to a mains supply or to a low-voltage electric power source. It may also comprise a battery (10). In that case, the circuit (6, 16) can charge the power storage means when the circuit is connected to an appropriate electric power source, the connection means ensuring power supply to the appliance (1) from the power storage means (10).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2008
    Assignee: France Telecom
    Inventor: Didier Marquet
  • Patent number: 7405914
    Abstract: An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit for the protection of an electronic circuit from an ESD event. The electronic circuit, in operation, is provided with a supply voltage and a reference voltage (typically electrical ground) via voltage terminals and/or power supply buses. The protection circuit includes two bipolar transistors in series, where the transistors are coupled between the supply voltage terminal/bus and the reference voltage terminal/bus. The bases of the transistors are coupled via a connection including two resistors in series, where the connection point between the two resistors is coupled with the connection point between the two transistors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2008
    Assignees: Interuniversitair Microelektronica Centrum (IMEC), AMI Semiconductor
    Inventors: Koen Reynders, Mahmud Zubeidat, Vincent De Heyn
  • Patent number: 7400061
    Abstract: A high frequency, full bridge, resonant DC to DC converter provides a main DC output voltage that is regulated by adjusting the phase shift of the input power to a main input transformer and at least one additional DC output voltage that is regulated on the secondary side of the power input transformer. A main DC output voltage is regulated by a full bridge resonant switching converter with lossless switching of input power devices. At least one additional secondary winding on the transformer supplies a second DC output voltage that is regulated independently of the main DC output voltage. Two switching devices are used for each auxiliary DC output to regulate each auxiliary output voltage by adjusting the length of the on time of the pulses from the transformer's auxiliary secondary windings. Soft switching techniques are used to ensure that the switching devices turn on when the voltage across them is effectively zero.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2008
    Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation
    Inventors: Robert L. Steigerwald, John S. Glaser
  • Patent number: 7397646
    Abstract: A surge absorption circuit according to an embodiment comprises (a) an input terminal, (b) an output terminal, (c) a common terminal, (d) a mutual inductive element having a first inductive element and a second inductive element which are electromagnetically coupled to each other so as to increase each inductance, wherein one terminal of the first inductive element is connected to the input terminal, one terminal of the second inductive element is connected to the output terminal, and the other terminal of the first inductive element and the other terminal of the second inductive element are connected to each other, and (e) a surge absorption element having one terminal connected to the other terminal of the first inductive element and the other terminal of the second inductive element and the other terminal connected to the common terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2008
    Assignee: TDK Corporation
    Inventor: Yuji Terada
  • Patent number: 7394170
    Abstract: A backplane system for reconfigurable backplane power distribution includes circuit board slots, power entry modules, power distribution circuitry, and switching circuitry. The power distribution circuitry includes a first power configuration and a second power configuration and distributes the power from the power entry modules to at least one circuit board plugged into one of the circuit board slots. The switching circuitry switches between the first power configuration and the second power configuration to provide extended power capabilities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2008
    Assignee: Sanmina-SCI Corporation
    Inventor: Barry Kirkorian
  • Patent number: 7391133
    Abstract: An electrical switching topology for a hybrid switch provides extremely low losses in both cryogenic and non-cryogenic electronic systems. In this switch having switch modules connected in parallel, switching losses in a first module are separated from conduction losses in the parallel-connected second module. The conduction losses are then further reduced by cryogenically cooling the second module. Since the switching losses of the first module can be absorbed outside a cryogenic container, the switching losses do not add to the cryogenic heat load. In other applications, the switching module operates at lower temperatures to provide higher switching speeds and reduces switching heat generation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2008
    Inventors: Michael J. Hennessy, Eduard K. Mueller
  • Patent number: 7385312
    Abstract: A method is disclosed to add functionality to a terminal of a high voltage integrated circuit without the penalty of additional high voltage circuitry. The benefit is that alternative modes of operation can be selected for testing, trimming parameters of the integrated circuit, or any other purpose without the cost of an additional terminal. In one embodiment, ordinary low voltage circuitry monitors the voltage on the terminal that normally is exposed to high voltage. The configuration of a simple voltage detector and an ordinary latch allows easy entry into the test and trimming mode when the integrated circuit is not in the intended application, but prohibits entry into the test and trimming mode when the integrated circuit operates in the intended application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2008
    Assignee: Power Integrations, Inc.
    Inventors: Alex B. Djenguerian, William B. Smith, Kent Wong, Zhao-Jun Wang
  • Patent number: 7385793
    Abstract: A method and apparatus to provide electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection to electronic circuits using a gate clamp circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2008
    Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventors: George M. Ansel, Muthukumar Nagarajan, Justin Philpott
  • Patent number: 7385797
    Abstract: Apparatus for monitoring transient events in a power supply line the apparatus comprising a transient hold circuit having an input and an output wherein said input is arranged to be connected to said power supply line; and arranged to present at least one of a maximum and a minimum power value at said output; a time module adapted to allocate a time stamp to a detected power transient presented at said output; and a memory for storing said power transient and said corresponding time stamp.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2008
    Assignee: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventor: Paul J. Garnett
  • Patent number: 7382063
    Abstract: An uninterruptible power source (UPS) for supplying power to a barrier operator when mains power has failed is disclosed. The UPS includes a UPS controller for detecting and responding to a mains power failure and capable of generating a plurality of control signals. A backup power source and an up-converter is connected to the UPS controller, wherein the up-converter increases the voltage of the backup power source when needed. A switch is responsive to one of the plurality of control signals of the UPS controller and toggles the operator barrier between the up-converter and the mains power source, and awakens the operator via a standby receiver power line. Another embodiment awakens the operator anytime a UPS receiver receives a preamble of a wireless transmission signal. Auxiliary lighting may also be associated with the UPS and/or photo-electric safety devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2008
    Assignee: Wayne-Dalton Corp.
    Inventors: Willis J. Mullet, Yan Rodriguez, Paul J. VanDrunen, Richard Bardin, Ben L. Garcia