Patents Examined by Shawn Riley
  • Patent number: 8411472
    Abstract: In a power conversion device, reactors in an AC input filter absorbing a voltage at a carrier frequency of a PWM converter and reactors in an AC output filter absorbing a voltage at a carrier frequency of a PWM inverter include one six-leg six-phase iron core reactor. Accordingly, the device can be reduced in size when compared with a case where the reactors are composed of two four-leg six-phase iron core reactors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2013
    Assignees: Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corporation, Kobe Electric Industry Inc.
    Inventors: Eduardo Kazuhide Sato, Masahiro Kinoshita, Yushin Yamamoto, Tatsuaki Amboh, Yasuhiro Yabunishi
  • Patent number: 8405367
    Abstract: We describe a power conditioning unit with maximum power point tracking (MPPT) for a dc power source, in particular a photovoltaic panel. A power injection control block has a sense input coupled to an energy storage capacitor on a dc link and controls a dc-to-ac converter to control the injected mains power. The power injection control block tracks the maximum power point by measuring a signal on the dc link which depends on the power drawn from the dc power source, and thus there is no need to measure the dc voltage and current from the dc source. In embodiments the signal is a ripple voltage level and the power injection control block controls an amplitude of an ac current output such that an amount of power transferred to the grid mains is dependent on an amplitude of a sinusoidal voltage component on the energy storage capacitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2013
    Assignee: Enecsys Limited
    Inventors: Lesley Chisenga, Gehan Anil Joseph Amaratunga, Cuauhtemoc Rodriguez
  • Patent number: 8400123
    Abstract: A voltage converter includes input terminals configured to receive an input voltage, and output terminals configured to provide an output voltage and an output current. At least one first converter stage is connected between the input terminals and the output terminals, having at least one unipolar transistor, and configured to provide a first output current. At least one second converter stage is connected between the input terminals and the output terminals, having at least one bipolar transistor, and configured to provide a second output current. A control circuit is configured to control the first output current and the second output current such that there is a first output current range in which the first output current is higher than the second output current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AG
    Inventor: Gerald Deboy
  • Patent number: 8400790
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a light load control circuit and the method accordingly where the synchronous rectification is latched off selectively according to the gate voltage of the synchronous rectifier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: Monolithic Power Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Junming Zhang, Yuancheng Ren, Lei Miao, Zhaoqi Mao
  • Patent number: 8400801
    Abstract: This disclosure provides a wireless power transfer terminal that enables a power device to be used for both power transmission and power reception and allows space savings of circuits and a reduction in the cost of manufacturing. The wireless power transfer terminal includes first through fourth switching elements, a coil, and a control circuit. Each of two sets of switching elements forms a series circuit, and the two sets are connected in parallel to each other. The coil is connected between connection points of the switching elements of the series circuits. The control circuit performs switching control of the first to fourth switching elements in a power transmission mode and in a power reception mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Satoshi Shinoda
  • Patent number: 8395362
    Abstract: Embodiments for at least one method and apparatus of controlling a dead time of a switching voltage regulator are disclosed. One method includes generating a regulated output voltage based upon a switching voltage. The method included generating the switching voltage through controlled closing and opening of a series switch element and a shunt switch element, wherein the dead time comprises time that both the series switch element and the shunt switch element are open. The duration of the dead time is adjusted based on a rate of change of the switching voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2013
    Assignee: R2 Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventors: James E. C. Brown, Lawrence M. Burns
  • Patent number: 8391026
    Abstract: A resonant dc-dc converter converts dc input voltage to a dc output voltage. The converter includes switching, switching driving, conversion, and disabling circuits. The switching circuit receives the input voltage and generates a square wave voltage oscillating between the input voltage and a low value, at a frequency with a duty cycle. The switching driving circuit drives the switching circuit and includes a timing circuit for setting the frequency and the duty cycle. The timing circuit sets the value of the duty cycle to about 50% when the converter operates in steady state. The conversion circuit generates the output voltage from the square wave voltage based on the frequency and the duty cycle. The disabling circuit temporarily halts the timing circuit after a power on in such a way to temporarily vary the duty cycle of the square wave voltage during a period of the square wave voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.
    Inventors: Christian Leone Santoro, Claudio Adragna, Aldo Vittorio Novelli
  • Patent number: 8390261
    Abstract: A circuit arrangement, includes output terminals that provide an output current and input terminals that receive a source current and a source voltage from a DC current source. A maximum power point tracker is coupled between the input terminals and the output terminals and a bypass circuit is coupled between the input terminals and the output terminals. The bypass circuit is configured to enter a bypass state dependent on the output current and dependent on the source current. The source current flows through the bypass circuit in the bypass state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AG
    Inventor: Gerald Deboy
  • Patent number: 8391028
    Abstract: An embodiment provides a control method capable of controlling a switching-mode power supply to provide an output power source. The switching-mode power supply has a winding coupled to an input power source and controlled by a switch to be energized or de-energized. The maximum current peak through the winding is set to be a predetermined value. A discharge time of the winding in a switching cycle period is detected. The switching cycle period of the switch is controlled to keep the ratio of the discharge time to the switching cycle period as a constant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Leadtrend Technology Corp.
    Inventor: Wen-Chung Yeh
  • Patent number: 8391030
    Abstract: Switching mode power supplies and associated methods of control are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method for controlling a switching mode power supply includes determining whether the switching mode power supply is in a burst mode. If the switching mode power supply is in the burst mode, the method includes recording a switching time with and without switching pulses to obtain a current value of an equivalent frequency and generating a peak current limit that decreases as a load becomes lighter based on the equivalent frequency, thereby maintaining the equivalent frequency at the current value above an audible range. If the switching mode power supply is not in the burst mode, the method includes continuing to monitor whether the switching mode power supply is in the burst mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Monolithic Power Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: En Li, Junming Zhang
  • Patent number: 8385096
    Abstract: In compensating for unbalanced voltages of three-phase AC, instantaneous values of wye-phase voltages 120° out of phase with each other are obtained from line voltages using a centroid vector operation, symmetrical component voltages of three-phase balanced system are obtained from the instantaneous values of wye-phase voltages, a compensation signal to compensate unbalanced voltages of three-phase AC is generated from zero-phase-sequence voltage of symmetrical component voltages is generated, wye-phase voltages 120° out of phase, the unbalanced voltages of which are compensated, are obtained from the compensation signal and the symmetrical component voltages, a control signal of a PWM conversion is generated based on the compensated wye-phase voltage compensated, and the unbalanced voltages of three-phase AC are compensated. The amount of time to compensate the three-phase unbalanced voltages required for detecting an unbalance of voltages and generating a control signal can be shortened.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2013
    Assignee: Kyosan Electric Mfg. Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Itsuo Yuzurihara, Atsushi Takayanagi, Yoshihisa Hata
  • Patent number: 8384363
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for converting a DC voltage to a lower DC voltage, provides for conducting current from an input terminal, through an inductor to charge a capacitor connected to the inductor at an output terminal and to provide a varying range of load current from the output terminal, alternately switching the input terminal between a supply voltage and a ground potential to produce a desired voltage at the output terminal that is lower than the supply voltage, while providing the varying range of load current, and disconnecting the input terminal from both the supply voltage and the ground potential to reduce an increase in voltage at the output terminal caused by a substantial reduction in the load current, while current through the inductor adjusts in response to the reduced load current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2013
    Assignee: L&L Engineering, LLC
    Inventors: Paul W. Latham, II, Stewart Kenly
  • Patent number: 8384362
    Abstract: Methods and circuits related to power regulation are disclosed. In one embodiment, a power regulator for converting an input electrical signal to an output electrical signal to supply power to a load, can include: (i) a power stage having switching devices and a filter; (ii) a regulation signal generator for the switching devices that includes a feedback circuit and a PWM, the feedback circuit receiving an output signal from the power stage, the PWM receiving an output from the feedback circuit, and generating a PWM control signal; (iii) a constant time generator receiving the PWM control signal and generating a constant time signal based on the PWM control signal duty cycle; and (iv) a logic/driving circuit receiving the PWM control signal and the constant time signal, and controlling operation of the switching devices to modulate the output signal from the power stage, and maintaining a pseudo constant operation frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2013
    Assignee: Silergy Semiconductor Technology (Hangzhou) Ltd.
    Inventor: Shuai Cheng
  • Patent number: 8373399
    Abstract: A control circuit of an interleaved PFC power converter according to the present invention comprises a master switching control circuit, a slave switching control circuit, and a slave reference signal generator. The master switching control circuit generates a control signal and a first switching signal in response to an input voltage and a feedback signal. The first switching signal is utilized to control a first switch of the PFC power converter. The slave reference signal generator generates a slave control signal in response to a load condition of the PFC power converter and the control signal. The slave switching control circuit generates a second switching signal in response to the slave control signal. The slave control signal is utilized to control a second switch of the PFC power converter. The slave reference signal generator adjusts the control signal in response to the load condition for generating the slave control signal correspondingly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2013
    Assignee: System General Corp.
    Inventors: Ta-Yung Yang, Cheng-Sung Chen, Rui-Hong Lu
  • Patent number: 8369108
    Abstract: A resonant power converting circuit is provided, which includes a resonant converting unit, a control unit, a voltage detecting unit and a frequency modulation unit. The control unit outputs switching signals to the resonant converting unit to adjust an output of the resonant converting unit. The voltage detecting unit is configured to detect an output voltage of the resonant converting unit. The frequency modulation unit may adjust a lowest switching frequency of the control unit according to the detected output voltage so as to increase a gain of the resonant converting unit and an output stability of the resonant converting unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2013
    Assignees: Silitek Electronic (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd., Lite-On Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Yeh Guan, Chih-Tai Chen
  • Patent number: 8358117
    Abstract: In one embodiment, an apparatus includes output voltage comparison circuitry that compares an output voltage of a regulator and a reference voltage and outputs an output voltage comparison signal based on the comparison. Slope detection circuitry detects a slope of the output voltage and outputs a slope comparison signal based on the slope detected. Duty cycle determination circuitry receives the output comparison signal and the slope comparison signal and outputs a pre-driver signal having a duty cycle based on the output comparison signal and the slope comparison signal. The pre-driver signal is used to regulate the output voltage of the voltage regulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2013
    Assignee: Marvell International Ltd.
    Inventors: Siew Yong Chui, Rudy Kurniawan, Jye Sheng Hong
  • Patent number: 8358518
    Abstract: A switching regulator of a power converter is provided and includes a feedback-input circuit, a programming circuit, and a peak-current-threshold circuit. The feedback-input circuit is coupled to a terminal of the switching regulator for receiving a feedback signal. The feedback-input circuit is operated in a first range of a terminal signal. The programming circuit is coupled to the terminal for generating a programming signal. The programming signal is operated in a second range of the feedback signal. The peak-current-threshold circuit generates a threshold signal in accordance with the programming signal. The feedback signal is coupled to regulate the output of the power converter, and the threshold signal is coupled to limit a peak switching current of the power converter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2013
    Assignee: System General Corporation
    Inventors: Ta-Yung Yang, Shao-Chun Huang, Chen-Hui Chan, Jenn-Yu G. Lin
  • Patent number: 8358522
    Abstract: An apparatus for providing synchronous rectifier gate drive timing is described. The apparatus includes circuitry to receive a first signal. The apparatus also includes circuitry to generate a second signal by modifying the first signal to delay a transition from high to low for a non-zero overlap duration. An output to apply an inverse of the first signal as a gate drive timing of at least a first transistor and to apply the second signal as a gate drive timing of at least a second transistor, where the first transistor is a part of a primary side of a full-bridge synchronous rectifier and the second transistor is a part of a secondary side of the full-bridge synchronous rectifier is also included. The second signal and the inverse of the first signal are high during the overlap duration. Methods and program storage devices are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2013
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Paul W. Coteus, Andrew Ferencz
  • Patent number: 8354761
    Abstract: When an electronic apparatus comes to a state of being capable of receiving electric power, an output voltage of an AC adaptor changes from a second voltage Vb to a first voltage Va and the change in voltage can be detected by an electronic apparatus. Due to this configuration, a structure that can detect the type of AC adaptor can be provided without adding any new contacts to a DC input terminal and to a DC output terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2013
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Katsuya Kitano, Hiroki Koizumi
  • Patent number: 8355267
    Abstract: Disclosed are methods of detection for output short circuit of a flyback power supply, which detect the current sense signal provided by a current sense resistor serially connected to a power switch of the flyback power supply, and thus quickly identify whether or not the flyback power supply suffers output short circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2013
    Assignee: Richpower Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Kun-Yu Lin, Yu-Ming Chen, Pei-Lun Huang