Patents Examined by Rajnikant Patel
  • Patent number: 10270329
    Abstract: A controller includes a sampling module that samples a signal indicative of the output voltage, a filter module that filters out a ripple component of a sampled signal to generate a filtered signal, and a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller that generates a duty cycle control signal. The PID controller includes a first component that scales sample values of the filtered signal to generate a first component signal, a down-sampling module that generates a down-sampled signal, and a storage module that stores a value of the down-sampled signal. The PID controller also includes a second component that generates a second component signal as a product of a factor and a difference signal between each sample value in the filtered signal and stored value, a third component that scales and accumulates the down-sampled signal to generate a third component signal, and a summing module that sums the first, second and third component signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)
    Inventors: Magnus Karlsson, Torbjörn Holmberg, Andreas Larsson
  • Patent number: 10256728
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a plurality of pulse control circuits and a control circuit. A given pulse control circuit of the plurality of pulse control circuits may source a current pulse to the output power signal based on a comparison of a particular feedback signal of a plurality of feedback signals and a target voltage signal. The control circuit may offset a voltage level of each feedback signal of a first subset of the plurality of feedback signals. The first subset may exclude a first feedback signal. In response to a determination that a period of time has ended, the control circuit may offset a voltage level of each feedback signal of a second subset of the plurality of feedback signals. The second subset may include the first feedback signal and exclude a second feedback signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Couleur, Fabio Ongaro, Nikola Jovanovic, Frank Trautmann
  • Patent number: 10242748
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a voltage generation circuit includes a first boost circuit, a voltage division circuit, a first detection circuit, a capacitor and a first switch. The first boost circuit outputs a first voltage. The voltage division circuit divides the first voltage. The first detection circuit is configured to detect a first monitor voltage supplied to the first input terminal, based on a reference voltage which is supplied to a second input terminal of the first detection circuit, and to control an operation of the first boost circuit. The capacitor is connected between an output terminal of the first boost circuit and the first input terminal of the first detection circuit. The first switch cuts off a connection between the capacitor and the first detection circuit, based on an output signal of the first detection circuit, until the first voltage is output from the first boost circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: TOSHIBA MEMORY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tatsuro Midorikawa, Masami Masuda
  • Patent number: 10230309
    Abstract: A synchronous bridge rectifier comprises a plurality of synchronously switched elements and a plurality of controller circuits, one for each of the synchronously switched elements. The synchronously switched elements may be field-effect transistors. Each controller circuit is configured to sense voltage across the corresponding synchronously switched element to control opening and closing of the synchronously switched element so as to rectify the alternating current input signal to form a direct current output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2019
    Assignee: Champion Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventor: Jeffrey Hwang
  • Patent number: 10230301
    Abstract: A buck converter includes a switching transistor. A switching line connected to a source of the switching transistor is connected to a ground of a controller. The controller drives the switching transistor and generates a step-up pulse. The step-up circuit receives an output voltage VOUT of a DC/DC converter and generates a power supply voltage VBOOST of the controller using the step-up pulse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2019
    Assignee: ROHM CO. LTD.
    Inventor: Manabu Oyama
  • Patent number: 10218263
    Abstract: A controller includes a switch controller coupled to a power switch coupled to an energy transfer element. The switch controller is coupled to receive a current sense signal representative of a drain current through the power switch. The switch controller is coupled to generate a drive signal to control switching of the power switch in response to the current sense signal and a modulated current limit signal to control a transfer of energy from an input to an output of the power converter. A control modulator is coupled to generate a first signal. A jitter modulator is coupled to generate a second signal. The second signal is a periodic signal having a modulation time period that is greater than a switching period of the drive signal. An arithmetic operator circuit is coupled to generate the modulated current limit signal in response to the first signal and the second signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: Power Integrations, Inc.
    Inventors: Roland Sylvere Saint-Pierre, Giao Minh Pham, Lance M. Wong, David Michael Hugh Matthews
  • Patent number: 10218180
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for controlling a voltage source converter to energize a DC link. A voltage order generating module generates a voltage order for controlling the voltage source converter to generate a DC voltage on the DC link. the voltage order is based on a time varying voltage reference signal. A voltage reference module, which may include a ramp generator generates the time varying voltage reference signal such that the rate of change of the voltage reference signal changes over time. The rate of change of the voltage reference signal may decrease over time, to become more gradual as the nominal operating voltage is reached to avoid over-voltages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC TECHNOLOGY GMBH
    Inventors: Robin Gupta, Carl Barker, Andrzej Adamczyk
  • Patent number: 10218288
    Abstract: A power conversion circuit board (1) is a board on which a power conversion circuit which converts direct current to alternating current is mounted. A low voltage circuit (10b) to which a low voltage is applied and a high voltage circuit (10a) to which a high voltage is applied are separately disposed in different areas on the same board surface. Further, the high voltage circuit (10a) includes a bus bar in which a part of a wiring is formed on the board surface and another wiring is provided with a predetermined distance from the board surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES THERMAL SYSTEMS, LTD.
    Inventors: Makoto Hattori, Hiroyuki Kamitani, Hiroto Higuchi
  • Patent number: 10211737
    Abstract: In some examples, a device includes control circuitry configured to receive a first input signal, receive a second input signal, and cause gate driver circuitry to deliver a driver signal to a switch to cause the switch to deliver electrical power to an electrical load. In some examples, the control circuitry is further configured to determine whether the first input signal has an active value and determine whether the second input signal has an active value. In some examples, the control circuitry is also configured to cause the gate driver circuitry to change the driver signal across a switching cycle of the switch to increase or decrease the electrical power delivered by the switch to the electrical load in response to determining that the first input signal has the active value or in response to determining that the second input signal has the active value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Pedro Costa, Pablo Yelamos Ruiz
  • Patent number: 10210982
    Abstract: A power module includes power switching devices that are electrically coupled in parallel to increase current capacity. The paralleled power switching devices are triggered by a common gate signal. Each of the power switching devices include a gate terminal, a current-sense terminal, and a Kelvin source/emitter terminal. The power module includes a plurality of magnetically coupled windings coupling the gate terminal, the current-sense terminal and the Kelvin source/emitter terminal of each of the switching devices to a gate driver circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Fan Xu, Lihua Chen
  • Patent number: 10211626
    Abstract: System controller and method for protecting a power converter. The system controller includes a first controller terminal configured to output a drive signal to a switch to affect a first current flowing through a primary winding of a power converter. The power converter further includes a secondary winding coupled to the primary winding, and the drive signal is associated with one or more switching periods. Additionally, the system controller includes a second controller terminal configured to receive a sensing voltage from a sensing resistor. The sensing voltage represents a magnitude of the first current flowing through the primary winding of the power converter. The system controller is configured to process information associated with the sensing voltage and a reference voltage, and determine whether an average output current of the power converter is larger than a current threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignee: On-Bright Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Dongze Yang, Xiaomin Huang, Xiaozhi Kang, Yuan Lin, Huawei Lyu, Lieyi Fang
  • Patent number: 10205378
    Abstract: A circuit for providing a current flowing from a supply voltage into an electric load is presented. The circuit comprises a first circuit branch connected between the supply voltage and an output node connected to the electric load, wherein the first circuit branch comprises a first transistor device, a second circuit branch connected between the supply voltage and a predetermined voltage level, wherein the second circuit branch comprises a series connection of a second transistor device that is a scaled replica of the first transistor device and a current source. The control terminals of the first and second transistor devices are connected to each other. A control circuit is configured to control the voltage at the control terminal of the first transistor device depending on a current flowing through the first transistor device. The application further relates to a method of operating such circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2019
    Assignee: Dialog Semiconductor (UK) Limited
    Inventors: Danilo Gerna, Enrico Pardi
  • Patent number: 10205420
    Abstract: A photovoltaic module and a photovoltaic system including the same are disclosed. The photovoltaic module includes a solar cell module, a converter unit to convert levels of direct current (DC) power from the solar cell module, an inverter unit to convert the DC power into alternating current (AC) power, a cable electrically connected to the inverter unit and to output the AC power to an outside, a communication unit to exchange data with another photovoltaic module, and a controller to control outputting of at least one of phase information and amplitude information of the photovoltaic module for adjusting at least one of a phase and an amplitude of the another photovoltaic module, when the photovoltaic module is set as a master. Consequently, the phase and/or the amplitude of AC power output from another photovoltaic module may be adjusted to be equal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2019
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Suchang Lee, Yong Song, Youngchan Park
  • Patent number: 10199819
    Abstract: A resonant converter includes a first switch on the primary side and a second switch coupled to the first switch, a synchronization rectification switch on a secondary side configured to conduct during a conduction period in response to a switching operation of the first switch, and a switch control circuit configured to determine an operating region of the resonant converter to be below resonance based on a result of a comparison between the conduction period and an on period of the first switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2019
    Assignee: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventors: Won-Tae Lee, Ji-Hoon Jang, Hyeong Seok Baek, Hang-Seok Choi
  • Patent number: 10199931
    Abstract: A device and method for hybrid feedback control of a switch-capacitor multi-unit voltage regulator are presented. A multi-unit switched-capacitor (SC) core includes a plurality of SC converter units, each unit with a capacitor and a plurality of switches controllable by a plurality of switching signals. Power switch drivers provide a switching signal to each SC converter unit. A secondary proactive loop circuit includes a feedback control circuit configured to control one or more of the plurality of switches. A comparator is configured to compare the regulator output voltage with a reference voltage and provide a comparator trigger signal. Ripple reduction logic is configured to receive the comparator trigger signal and provide an SC unit allocation signal. A multiplexer is configured to receive a first clock signal, a second clock signal, and the SC unit allocation signal and provide a signal to the power switch drivers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2019
    Assignee: President and Fellows of Harvard College
    Inventors: Gu-Yeon Wei, Tao Tong, David Brooks, Saekyu Lee
  • Patent number: 10199927
    Abstract: A matrix rectifier includes a bridge x defined by phases A and B and a bridge y defined by phases A and C, in which each input phases A, B, and C includes two bi-directional switches connected in series. A method of operating the matrix rectifier includes operating the bridges x and y as independent full-bridge phase-shifted converters in each 60° interval between two successive zero-voltage crossings of the input phases A, B, and C. In a first 30° sector of each 60° interval, the bridges x and y are operated in a first vector sequence in every switching period, and the first vector sequence is divided into a sequence of x+, y+, 0, x?, y?, 0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2019
    Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jahangir Afsharian, Dewei Xu, Bing Gong, Zhihua Yang
  • Patent number: 10193439
    Abstract: A power factor correction circuit can include: a power meter configured to measure THD at an input port; a switching-type regulator that is controllable by a switching control signal in order to adjust a power factor of an input signal thereof; and a controller configured to generate the switching control signal to control the switching-type regulator to perform power factor correction, where the controller minimizes the THD by adjusting a current reference signal according to a measured THD, and the current reference signal represents an expected inductor current of the switching-type regulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2019
    Assignee: Silergy Semiconductor Technology (Hangzhou) LTD
    Inventors: Zhaofeng Wang, Xiaodong Huang, Chen Zhao
  • Patent number: 10193457
    Abstract: A DC-to-DC power converter includes a transformer having a primary side and a secondary side, and a primary circuit electrically coupled to the primary side of the transformer. The primary circuit includes a primary microcontroller configured to generate a first energizing signal that energizes a portion of the primary circuit. The DC-to-DC power converter also includes a secondary circuit electrically coupled to the secondary side of the transformer. The secondary circuit includes a secondary microcontroller communicatively coupled to the primary microcontroller, wherein the secondary microcontroller is configured to provide an instruction to the primary microcontroller that causes the primary microcontroller to relinquish control of the primary circuit to the secondary microcontroller, and wherein the secondary microcontroller is further configured to provide a second energizing signal to the portion of the primary circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2019
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Abhiman Ananthakrishna Hande, Jouni Timo Uusitalo
  • Patent number: 10191508
    Abstract: A circuit arrangement for a digital input of an electronic peripheral module includes an inlet connection forming a digital input, a ground connection, a semiconductor switching device arranged between the inlet connection and the ground connection to limit input current and a reference voltage source connected to a control input of the semiconductor switching device to control the device, wherein a regulator which, depending on an input voltage at the inlet connection, regulates the reference voltage source such that the semiconductor switching device, for a first voltage value, adjusts the input current for the input voltage to a first input current and, for a second voltage value, adjusts the input current for the input voltage to a second input current, wherein the first voltage value is greater than the second voltage value and the first input current is smaller than the second input current on account of the regulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2019
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Stefan Grosser
  • Patent number: 10186985
    Abstract: A Fai 2 converter includes an isolated Fai 2 inverter coupled to a resonant rectifier with either clamped diodes or clamped self-driven synchronous rectifiers. The Fai 2 inverter converts an input DC signal to a high-frequency AC signal. The resonant rectifier with either clamped diodes or clamped self-driven synchronous rectifiers rectifies the high-frequency AC signal to a DC signal while clamping the voltage across the clamped diodes or clamped self-driven synchronous rectifiers to the output voltage. Clamping the voltage in this manner minimizes the voltage stress and enables the use of low voltage stress components (diodes or synchronous rectifiers) with low conduction voltage drop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2019
    Assignee: Flex Ltd.
    Inventors: Zhang Tao, Keting Wang