Patents Examined by Nguyen Tran
  • Patent number: 11860659
    Abstract: A low drop-out (LDO) linear regulator includes: a pass transistor coupled between an input terminal and an output terminal; an error amplifier suitable for amplifying and outputting a difference between a feedback voltage corresponding to an output voltage of the output terminal and a predetermined reference voltage; a buffer including an input terminal which is coupled to an output node of the error amplifier and an output terminal which is coupled to a gate of the pass transistor; a first compensation circuit suitable for driving an equivalent resistance of the output node of the error amplifier to be in inverse proportion to a load current; and a second compensation circuit suitable for driving an equivalent resistance of an output node of the buffer to be in inverse proportion to the load current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: SK hynix Inc.
    Inventors: Joongho Choi, Minsu Park, Jiteck Jung, Seungwoo Shin, Chankyu Bae, Kibaek Kwon, Myunsik Kim, Jiwon Son, Heain Kim
  • Patent number: 11852660
    Abstract: A method for analyzing effects of electrical perturbations on equipment in an electrical system includes processing energy-related signals from at least one intelligent electronic device in the electrical system to identify an electrical perturbation in the electrical system. An end time of the electrical perturbation may be determined, and electrical measurement data from prior to, during and/or after the end time of the electrical perturbation may be analyzed to identify and quantify the effects of the electrical perturbation on equipment in the electrical system. The effects may include, for example, equipment restarts/re-energizations due to the electrical perturbation. One or more actions may be taken or performed to reduce the effects of the electrical perturbation and extend the life of the equipment. The actions may include, for example, at least one of communicating the equipment restarts/re-energizations and controlling at least one component in the electrical system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: Schneider Electric USA, Inc.
    Inventors: Jon A. Bickel, Daniel D. Sabin
  • Patent number: 11855459
    Abstract: A method for three-phase infeed of electrical power from a DC source into a three-phase AC grid by means of an inverter includes measuring phase-specific grid voltages of the three-phase AC grid, and determining a grid frequency from the measured phase-specific grid voltages. The method also includes generating phase-specific voltage reference values from the phase-specifically measured grid voltages and the determined grid frequency, and generating phase-specific target current values using phase-specific predetermined target current amplitude values, the phase-specific voltage reference values and respective grid voltage amplitudes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: SMA Solar Technology AG
    Inventors: Alexander Unru, Moritz Welker, Neidhardt Bechtel, Sybille Pape
  • Patent number: 11848612
    Abstract: A power converter is presented. The power converter may be configured to receive an input voltage at an input node of the power converter and to generate an output voltage at an output node of the power converter. The power converter may comprise an inductor coupled between an inductor node and the output node. The power converter may comprise a flying capacitor coupled between a first capacitor node and a second capacitor node. The power converter may comprise a first switching element coupled between the input node and the first capacitor node. The power converter may comprise a second switching element coupled between the second capacitor node and the inductor node. The power converter may be configured to, during a first phase of a buck operation mode, open the second switching element such that the second capacitor node is isolated from the inductor node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: Dialog Semiconductor (UK) Limited
    Inventors: Francesco Cannillo, Marco Ruggeri
  • Patent number: 11848610
    Abstract: A switching converter circuit comprises a converting circuit stage, an error amplifier, and a control circuit. The converting circuit stage includes a magnetic circuit element and a switching circuit configured to convert an input voltage to a regulated output voltage by charging and discharging the magnetic circuit element using activation pulses generated using a system clock signal. The error amplifier generates a control voltage using the output voltage. The control circuit varies time between successive activation pulses according to the control voltage, and the successive activation pulses are synchronized to the system clock signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: Analog Devices, Inc.
    Inventor: Hua Chen
  • Patent number: 11837911
    Abstract: A power supply control apparatus includes: a first system configured to supply electric power of a first power supply to a first load; a second system configured to supply electric power of a second power supply to a second load; an inter-system switch provided in a connection path that connects the first system to the second system, and capable of connecting the first system to the second system and disconnecting the first system from the second system; a primary ground fault detection unit configured to cut off the inter-system switch when a ground fault of the first system or the second system is detected by the primary ground fault detection unit; a secondary ground fault detection unit as defined herein; and a mask processing unit as defined herein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: DENSO TEN LIMITED
    Inventors: Takeshi Matsumoto, Daiki Hakushima
  • Patent number: 11831251
    Abstract: An insulated gate field effect transistor (IGFET) based converter circuit is described that includes a direct current input comprising a high voltage input and a low voltage input, an IGFET gate input, and an equivalent phase leg comprising a plurality of parallel-connected cells. The parallel-connected cells each include: a first wide bandgap IGFET having a first drain electrode connected to the high voltage input, a first gate electrode connected to a first gate control input, and a first source electrode; a second wide bandgap IGFET having a second drain electrode connected to the first source electrode, a second gate electrode connected to a second gate control input, and a second source electrode connected to the low voltage input; and a step-inducing inductor coupled to: the first source electrode of the first wide bandgap IGFET, and an output node. The step-inducing inductor is connected to the output node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Eddy C. Aeloiza, Sayan Acharya, Utkarsh Raheja
  • Patent number: 11817693
    Abstract: Systems and methods for providing information about thermal overload conditions and near-miss tripping events in a circuit interrupter are disclosed. The systems and methods provide a user with detailed information about thermal overload and near-miss tripping events, including how much time remains until a trip will be initiated due to a thermal overload, and what the real-time thermal capacity of the circuit interrupter is after a thermal overload condition ends.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Assignee: EATON INTELLIGENT POWER LIMITED
    Inventors: Daniel A. Hosko, James L Lagree, Donald T. McComas
  • Patent number: 11817696
    Abstract: A high-reliability multiphase power supply system and method. A second processing unit is configured with a first field-effect transistor, a drain electrode of the first field-effect transistor is connected to a power supply, a source electrode of the first field-effect transistor is connected to the drain electrode of a second field-effect transistor, the source electrode of the second field-effect transistor is connected to ground, and the gate electrodes of the first field-effect transistor and the second field-effect transistor are connected to a first processing unit; the second processing unit is configured with a first current detection module and a second current detection module, the first current detection module and the second current detection module are electrically connected to a bus unit, and the bus unit is electrically connected to a substrate management controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Assignee: INSPUR SUZHOU INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Siheng Luo, Hui Li
  • Patent number: 11811396
    Abstract: An apparatus comprises an energy transfer device configured to supply power from a primary side of an isolation barrier through the isolation barrier to a secondary side of the of the isolation barrier for driving a gate of a switch for controlling output of the switch at the secondary side. The apparatus comprises a monitoring component. The monitoring component is configured to monitor an operating state of the switch. The monitoring component is configured to evaluate the operating state to determine whether a fault has occurred, perform a countermeasure, and/or provide a signal of the fault.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AUSTRIA AG
    Inventors: Simone Fabbro, Paulus Petrus Bernardus Arts, Davide Giacomini
  • Patent number: 11809208
    Abstract: A shunt regulator includes: a capacitor, connected between an output terminal and a ground terminal; a voltage divider circuit and an output transistor, connected between the output terminal and the ground terminal; an error amplifier, controlling the output transistor based on a voltage at an output terminal of the voltage divider circuit and a reference voltage; a non-volatile memory; a memory control circuit, outputting a data read signal to the non-volatile memory; and a voltage detection circuit, detecting that a voltage at the output terminal has reached a predetermined voltage which permits a data reading operation of the non-volatile memory, and outputting a detection signal to the memory control circuit. An operating current of the non-volatile memory is supplied from the capacitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: ABLIC Inc.
    Inventor: Tsutomu Tomioka
  • Patent number: 11811297
    Abstract: A power module includes N inverter units outputting N AC voltages and being coupled to N high-frequency AC terminals, wherein the N high-frequency AC terminals are cascaded and connected to a post-stage rectifier circuit. A phase-shift control method for the power module includes: setting at least two phase-shift sequences, wherein phase sequence numbers of the N AC voltages of the N inverter units are different in the at least two phase-shift sequences; in one switching period, controlling the N AC voltages of the N inverter units to shift a first angle according to a first phase-shift sequence of the at least two phase-shift sequences; and in another switching period, controlling the N AC voltages of the N inverter units to shift the first angle according to a second phase-shift sequence of the at least two phase-shift sequences.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: DELTA ELECTRONICS (SHANGHAI) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hong Liu, Jie Kong, Wen Zhang, Baihui Song, Cheng Lu, Hongyang Wu
  • Patent number: 11811321
    Abstract: A spread spectrum switching power converter circuit includes: a power stage circuit which includes an inductor and a power switch and is configured to switch the power switch according to a switching signal having spread spectrum for power conversion; a variable frequency oscillator, which generates a spread spectrum clock signal according to a spread spectrum control signal; a spread spectrum control circuit, which generates the spread spectrum control signal according to a first clock signal and a second clock signal; and a pulse width modulation circuit, configured to generate the switching signal according to a feedback signal based on the spread spectrum clock signal. The spread spectrum control circuit generates the spread spectrum control signal by sampling and combining a periodic waveform and a random waveform. The random waveform is generated according to the first clock signal and the periodic waveform is generated according to the second clock signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: RICHTEK TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Chen-Lin Hsu, Chia-Chun Lee
  • Patent number: 11791728
    Abstract: A circuit includes an electronic switch configured to be coupled intermediate a high-voltage node and low-voltage circuitry and configured to couple the low-voltage circuitry to the high-voltage node. A voltage-sensing node is configured to be coupled to the high-voltage node via a pull-up resistor. A further electronic switch can be switched to a conductive state to couple the voltage-sensing node and the control node of the electronic switch. A comparator compares a threshold with a voltage at the voltage-sensing node and causes the further electronic switch to switch on in response to the voltage at said voltage-sensing node reaching said threshold. A charge pump coupled to the current flow-path of the electronic switch is activated to the conductive state to pump electric charge from the current flow-path of the electronic switch to the control node of the electronic switch via the further electronic switch switched to the conductive state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.
    Inventors: Salvatore Tumminaro, Alfio Pasqua, Marco Sammartano
  • Patent number: 11784569
    Abstract: A power converter configured to generate an output voltage at an output node of the power converter based on an input voltage received at an input node of the power converter is presented. In particular, the power converter may comprise a first switching element coupled between the input node and a first intermediate node. The converter also has an inductive element coupled between a second intermediate node and the output node, a second switching element with one port being coupled to the second intermediate node and a third switching element and a fourth switching element coupled in series between the output node and a reference node. The converter also has a flying capacitive element coupled between the first intermediate node and a third intermediate node between the third and fourth switching elements and a fifth switching element coupled between the first and second intermediate nodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: Dialog Semiconductor (UK) Limited
    Inventor: Francesco Cannillo
  • Patent number: 11764678
    Abstract: A constant on time converter control circuit and a constant on time converter are provided. The constant on time converter control circuit comprises an error amplifier, a voltage to current converter, and an initial current source. The error amplifier is for receiving a reference voltage signal and a feedback voltage signal and outputting a compensated voltage signal. The voltage to current converter receives the compensated voltage signal and outputs a converted current signal. The initial current source provides an initial current signal. The initial current signal and the converted current signal form a new reference voltage signal. A constant on time OFF time comparator receives the new reference voltage signal and the feedback voltage signal and outputs a control signal. The control signal affects the turning on and turning off of electronic switches to produce an output voltage of a constant on time converter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: ELITE SEMICONDUCTOR MICROELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY INC.
    Inventor: Yao-Ren Chang
  • Patent number: 11757352
    Abstract: A power conversion system for electrically driven mobility device includes a first energy storage device and a second energy storage device having a voltage output lower than a voltage of the first energy storage device, a relay having one terminal connected to the first energy storage device, a DC link capacitor connected to the other terminal of the relay, a first DC converter provided between the DC link capacitor and the second energy storage device and capable of bidirectional voltage conversion, and a controller configured to control the first DC converter to convert a level of the voltage of the second energy storage device and to apply the voltage having the converted level to the capacitor before switching of the relay from an off state to an on state to charge the DC link capacitor to a preset voltage or higher, and then to switch the relay to the on state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tae Jong Ha, Dae Woo Lee, Byung Gu Kang
  • Patent number: 11757278
    Abstract: Disclosed a method and system for fault location and protection of Microgrids which are operated under islanded mode by being disconnected from distribution systems under large disturbance or disaster scenarios. The disclosed method is invented to meet the protection needs for disconnected ungrounded microgrids without appropriate protection systems that are usually installed only at distribution substations. Moreover, the disclosed protection method or scheme is targeted at inverter-dominated microgrids in which fault current limiters are installed to protect inverters introduced by the increasing penetration of inverter-based distributed generators (IBDGs).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Hongbo Sun, Fangyuan Chang
  • Patent number: 11740644
    Abstract: A low drop-out (LDO) regulator includes a voltage-to-time converter (VTC) responsive to a reference voltage and an output voltage. The VTC generates a voltage pulse signal having: (i) a sign associated with a magnitude of the output voltage relative to a magnitude of the reference voltage, and (ii) a first pulse width proportional to a difference the output voltage and the reference voltage. A driving time-to-current converter (TIC) drives a gate node with a non-zero driving current proportional to the first pulse width of the voltage pulse signal. A slew adjusting circuit drives the gate node with a non-zero slew adjusting current, in response to the first pulse width of the voltage pulse signal being equal to or greater than reference time interval. A compensation TIC drives the output node with a non-zero compensation current having a magnitude proportional to the first pulse width of the voltage pulse signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Inventors: Huidong Gwon, Byongdeok Choi, Taehwang Kong, Junhyeok Yang, Junhwan Jang
  • Patent number: 11733725
    Abstract: In accordance with one embodiment, a voltage regulator includes a transistor having a load current path connecting an input node with an output node, wherein the input node is configured to receive an input voltage and the output node is configured to provide an output voltage. The voltage regulator further includes a main control loop coupled between the output node and a control electrode of the transistor and configured to control a voltage applied to the control electrode so that the output voltage matches a set-point. Furthermore, the voltage regulator includes a supplemental control loop that is coupled between the output node and the control electrode of the transistor and configured to detect a transient in the output voltage and to adjust the voltage applied to the control electrode in response to the detection of a transient. A corresponding method is described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Cristian-Valentin Raducan, Alina-Teodora Cirlescu, Marius-Georghe Neag