Patents Examined by Rafael O. De León Domenech
  • Patent number: 11699951
    Abstract: A DC-DC converter includes: a first capacitor; a first switching element, a second switching element, a third switching element, and a fourth switching element sequentially connected to one another in series between both ends of the first capacitor; a second capacitor having both ends connected at a connection node of the first switching element and the second switching element and a connection node of the third switching element and the fourth switching element, respectively; and a controller configured to determine whether an overvoltage is applied to both ends of the first to fourth switching elements, respectively, based on a first sensed voltage obtained by sensing a voltage applied to the first capacitor and a second sensed voltage obtained by sensing a voltage applied to the second capacitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation
    Inventors: Yoo Jong Lee, Ji Woong Jang, Ki Jong Lee, Sang Cheol Shin
  • Patent number: 11689013
    Abstract: A source-network coordination type direct-current (DC) circuit breaker based on pre-charged capacitors for an MMC based DC grid is provided. The MMC based DC grid is provided with four converter stations, each having two converters, which are in loop connection through a double-loop DC overhead line. Two ends of each DC line connecting the converters are separately equipped with DC circuit breakers for isolating a fault of the DC line. An MMC active voltage adjusting control strategy is matched with pre-charged capacitor voltage in the self-adaptive mode to provide a beneficial breaking condition for a quick mechanical switch branch, so that the fault line is effectively cut off.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: TIANJIN UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Xiaolong Chen, Xiaowen Han, Yongli Li
  • Patent number: 11682723
    Abstract: In an SiC-MOSFET with a built-in Schottky diode, a bipolar current may be passed in a second well region formed at a terminal part to reduce the breakdown voltage of the terminal part. In the SiC-MOSFET with the built-in Schottky diode, a source electrode forming non-ohmic connection such as Schottky connection with the second well region is provided on the second well region formed below a gate pad in the terminal part. By the absence of ohmic connection between the second well region and the source electrode, reduction in breakdown voltage is suppressed at the terminal part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hideyuki Hatta, Shiro Hino, Koji Sadamatsu, Yuichi Nagahisa
  • Patent number: 11682967
    Abstract: A system for determining a power requirement for a device powered by a buck converter on a system on chip based on Time on pulses (Ton) is disclosed. A buck converter supplies output voltage to enable the device. The buck converter is driven by a Ton pulse generator generating Ton pulses to control charging of a load capacitor. A counter counts the Ton pulses during the supply of output voltage while the device is enabled. A controller is coupled to the counter and the buck converter. The controller determines the power requirement for the device based on the count of the Ton pulses. The power requirement may be used to adjust the trim value to change the width of the Ton pulses for greater energy efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: Ambiq Micro, Inc.
    Inventors: Ivan Bogue, Jesse Coulon, Andre Belanger
  • Patent number: 11677312
    Abstract: A semiconductor device improved in deterioration detection accuracy by using an inductance of a bonding wire. The semiconductor device includes a first conductor pattern formed on the insulating substrate, the main current of the semiconductor die device flowing through the first conductor pattern; a second conductor pattern formed on the insulating substrate for sensing the potential of the surface electrode of the semiconductor die device; a first bonding wire for connecting the surface electrode and the first conductor pattern; and a second bonding wire. Further, there is a voltage sensing unit which is connected to the first conductor pattern and the second conductor pattern to sense a potential difference between the first conductor pattern and the second conductor pattern at the time of switching of the semiconductor die device; and a deterioration detection unit for detecting deterioration of the first bonding wire by using the sensed potential difference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yusaku Ito, Yusuke Nakamatsu, Jun Tomisawa
  • Patent number: 11677236
    Abstract: A device for discharging a capacitor includes a resistive component having a resistance value selectable from among at least three resistance values. The device is configured to be connected in parallel with the capacitor. A circuit operates to select the resistance value of the resistive component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics (Tours) SAS
    Inventor: Eric Colleoni
  • Patent number: 11671025
    Abstract: Electrical power distribution systems and methods of operating electrical power distribution systems are provided. One electrical power distribution system comprises: an electrical power storage unit; a transformer; a first bidirectional converter circuit connected between the electrical power storage unit and a first winding of the transformer; a first DC bus; a second DC bus; a second bidirectional converter circuit connected between the first DC bus and a second winding of the transformer; a third bidirectional converter circuit connected between the second DC bus and a third winding of the transformer; and a controller connected for control of the first, second and third converter circuits to distribute electrical power between the electrical power storage unit, the first DC bus and the second DC bus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE PLC
    Inventors: Mohd Tariq, Chandana J Gajanayake, Ali I Maswood, Amit K Gupta
  • Patent number: 11664721
    Abstract: A multiphase interleaved forward power converter includes an inductor and first and second subconverter comprising respective transformers. The converter also includes first and second drives configured to respectively operate the first and second subconverters with cycling periods comprising a conduction period, a reset period, and an idle period. The first and second drives are also configured to phase shift the cycling periods in each subconverter such that the conduction period of the subconverter is at least partially complementary to the idle period of the other subconverter. The second drive also clamps a voltage across a winding of the transformer of the first subconverter to substantially prevent a first resonance voltage from propagating in the first subconverter during the idle period of the first subconverter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: Astec International Limited
    Inventors: John Faustino Begino, III, Nathaniel Franco Neri
  • Patent number: 11664727
    Abstract: An apparatus for providing electric power to a load includes a power converter that accepts electric power in a first form and provides electric power in a second form. The power converter comprises a control system, a first stage, and a second stage in series. The first stage accepts electric power in the first form. The control system controls operation of the first and second stage. The first stage is either a switching network or a regulating network. The second stage is a regulating circuit when the first stage is a switching network, and a switching network otherwise.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: pSemi Corporation
    Inventors: David Giuliano, Gregory Szczeszynski
  • Patent number: 11658571
    Abstract: Techniques are described that can solve the problem of being low power while running a device on battery and alternatively running on the output of a switching regulator. In a low power mode, a voltage regulator circuit can be powered down and a switch can connect an input voltage of the regulator, e.g., a battery, to the CPU. In addition, internal and/or external loads, such as voltage feedback resistors, can be disconnected in order to further reduce the power consumption. If the device is going into operation, the CPU can be disconnected from the input voltage of the regulator, e.g., the battery, and switched to the output of the regulator. This can ensure that the circuit consumes very little power consumption in standby mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: Analog Devices International Unlimited Company
    Inventors: Wilfried Platzer, Matthias Holzinger
  • Patent number: 11658473
    Abstract: A personal electronic device can include a main printed circuit board having disposed thereon a processing unit, one or more auxiliary circuits coupled to the main printed circuit board by one or more corresponding flexible printed circuits and one or more temperature sensors disposed on one of the flexible printed circuits. A processing unit of the portable electronic device can be configured to monitor the one or more temperature sensors, provide a warning in response to a monitored temperature exceeding a first threshold, and to cause a shutdown of at least a portion of the personal electronic device in response to the monitored temperature exceeding a second threshold. The temperature sensors can be negative temperature coefficient resistors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Vishal Gupta, Timothy M. Johnson, Sivasankari Krishnanji
  • Patent number: 11637497
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes transmitting multi-phase pulse power from power sourcing equipment to a powered device in a data center, wherein the multi-phase pulse power comprises multiple phases of power delivered in a sequence of pulses defined by alternating low direct current voltage states and high direct current voltage states, and synchronizing the pulses at the power sourcing equipment with the pulses at the powered device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignee: CISCO TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventors: Richard Anthony O'Brien, Joel Richard Goergen, Chad M. Jones, Jason DeWayne Potterf, George Allan Zimmerman
  • Patent number: 11634034
    Abstract: A power electronics converter includes a converter commutation cell having a power circuit and a gate driver circuit. The power circuit includes at least one power semiconductor switching element and at least one capacitor. Each power semiconductor switching element is included in a power semiconductor prepackage. The gate driver circuit is configured to provide switching signals to a gate terminal of each power semiconductor switching element, and a peak rated power output of the power electronics converter is greater than 25 kW and a value of a converter parameter ? is less than or equal to 150 fFs/W, where the converter parameter ? is a total rated capacitance of the at least one capacitor of the power circuit divided by a product of the peak rated power output of the power electronics converter and a maximum switching frequency of the switching signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG
    Inventors: Uwe Waltrich, Stanley Buchert
  • Patent number: 11632036
    Abstract: A power controller with short-circuit protection is disclosed to control a power switch, which is connected in series with a current-sense resistor and an inductive device between two power lines. The current-sense resistor provides a current-sense signal. The power controller includes a PWM signal generator and a short-circuit protection circuit. The PWM signal generator generates a PWM signal to the power switch to create switching cycles, each consisting of an ON time and an OFF time. The short-circuit protection circuit has a high-pass filter and a condition detector. The high-pass filter high-pass filters the current-sense signal to provide a filtered signal to the condition detector, which determines whether the filtered signal fits a predetermined condition during the ON time to generate a short-circuit protection signal and to prevent the power switch being turned on.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: ARK SEMICONDUCTOR CORP. LTD.
    Inventors: Yi-Lun Shen, Yu-Yun Huang
  • Patent number: 11632037
    Abstract: A protective device intended to protect a power converter, the protective device includes a set of at least one sensor, each sensor in the set of at least one sensor making it possible to deliver a measurement representative of the instantaneous current delivered at the output of a power converter on a phase in the set of at least one phase, a protective device receiving the measurement representative of the instantaneous current delivered by the set of at least one sensor and connected to a control device and to the power converter such that the commands delivered by the control device are transmitted to the power converter via the protective device, the protective device being configured to inhibit the commands delivered by the control device when the absolute value of the measurement representative of the instantaneous current and delivered by at least one sensor in the set of at least one sensor exceeds a predetermined first threshold S1 such that the power switches of the power converter are kept in the
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventors: Hocine Kherbouchi, Eric Ravindranath Dubois, Stéphane Guguen, Bruno Sadeg
  • Patent number: 11621637
    Abstract: A control circuit of a power converter includes a sensing circuit, a ramp signal generator, an error amplifier, a comparator and a PWM circuit. The sensing circuit, coupled to a first output circuit, provides a current sensing signal. The ramp signal generator, coupled to the sensing circuit, receives the current sensing signal to provide a ramp signal. The error amplifier receives a reference voltage and an output feedback voltage of the power converter to provide an error amplification signal. The comparator, coupled to the ramp signal generator and the error amplifier, provides a control signal according to the ramp signal and the error amplification signal. The PWM circuit, coupled between the comparator and the first output circuit, receives the control signal and provides a PWM signal to control the first output circuit. The ramp signal generator adjusts a slope of the ramp signal according to the current sensing signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignee: UPI SEMICONDUCTOR CORP.
    Inventor: Wei-Hsiu Hung
  • Patent number: 11616440
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a voltage converter includes: a first transistor coupled between an internal node and a first node receiving a supply voltage; a second transistor coupled between the internal node and a second node receiving a reference voltage; an inductance coupled between the internal node and an output node; a first circuit controlling the first and second transistors; and a second circuit configured to detect, when the first and second transistors are in the off state, when the voltage of the internal node is equal to the voltage of the output node, to condition a switching to the on state of the first transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: STMICROELECTRONICS (GRENOBLE 2) SAS
    Inventors: Helene Esch, Mathilde Sie
  • Patent number: 11615911
    Abstract: A coil component includes a body, a support substrate embedded in the body, a first coil portion and a second coil portion disposed on the support substrate, a first external electrode and a second external electrode disposed on one end surface of the body to be spaced apart from each other, a third external electrode and a fourth external electrode disposed on the other end surface of the body to be spaced apart from each other, a surface insulating layer disposed on one surface of the body connecting the one end surface and the other end surface of the body to each other, and an edge protection layer disposed between the first and second external electrodes and between the third and fourth external electrodes in the one end surface and the other end surface of the body, and having one end portion extending upwardly of the surface insulating layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRO-MECHANICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jung Hyuk Jung, Sung Hee Kim, Young Sun Kim
  • Patent number: 11605500
    Abstract: The invention relates to a transformer core with at least one additional leg. Said additional leg is used to form a leakage path. In order to optimize the installation space and for easier connection of the transformer windings, the transformer legs and the additional leakage path legs are not arranged along a common line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2023
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Christian Winter, Jan Riedel
  • Patent number: 11606037
    Abstract: A detection circuit for a switching converter, whereby: the detection circuit is coupled in parallel with an output capacitor of the switching converter, and is configured to provide a detection branch coupled in parallel with the output capacitor during a first period of a switching cycle, in order to detect an output voltage of the switching converter; and an output voltage detection signal is generated according to the detected output voltage during a second period of the switching cycle. A switching converter can include the detection circuit and an integrated circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2023
    Assignee: Silergy Semiconductor Technology (Hangzhou) LTD
    Inventor: Longqi Wang