Patents Examined by Trinh Q Dang
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Patent number: 10775828Abstract: A reference voltage generation circuit for generating an output voltage is provided. The reference voltage generation circuit includes a bandgap reference circuit and a voltage adjustment circuit. The bandgap reference circuit generates the output voltage at an output node and a reference voltage. The voltage adjustment circuit is coupled to the bandgap reference circuit. The voltage adjustment circuit receives the output voltage and the reference voltage, compares the output voltage with the reference voltage to generate a comparison result, and adjusts the output voltage according to the comparison result.Type: GrantFiled: June 3, 2019Date of Patent: September 15, 2020Assignee: SHANGHAI ZHAOXIN SEMICONDUCTOR CO., LTD.Inventor: Yeong-Sheng Lee
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Patent number: 10778104Abstract: A DC-DC converter and method are provided for converting a low voltage DC input to a higher voltage DC output. The DC-DC converter has an oscillator with a first relatively voltage sensitive and relatively low power transistor and a second relatively voltage insensitive and relatively high power transistor, the oscillator producing an AC signal from the low voltage DC input. The inclusion of the voltage sensitive transistor allows the oscillator to turn on at a relatively low voltage. The inclusion of the higher power transistor allows the oscillator to operate at a higher power once it turns on. The DC-DC converter can be used for converting energy harvested from low voltage sources.Type: GrantFiled: September 14, 2018Date of Patent: September 15, 2020Assignee: NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADAInventors: Heping Ding, Ryan Griffin
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Patent number: 10770962Abstract: A converter cell includes a first terminal; a second terminal; a plurality of switching elements provided with respective gate units; an energy storage element; an clamp inductor provided to restrict a rate of change of current from the energy storage element to the switching elements; and a first energy converter provided in parallel to the clamp inductor. The first energy converter is provided to power the gate units by utilising energy from the clamp inductor when the converter cell changes state to be in a short circuit state.Type: GrantFiled: April 8, 2016Date of Patent: September 8, 2020Assignee: ABB Schweiz AGInventors: Aneeshkumar As, Kalpesh Bhalodi, Tomas Jonsson
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Patent number: 10756628Abstract: An electronic circuit includes a switched-mode power supply powering a first load via a first linear voltage regulator. The first regulator includes a transistor. The substrate and the gate of the transistor are capable of being coupled to a node of application of a power supply voltage. A method of operating the circuit is also disclosed.Type: GrantFiled: May 9, 2019Date of Patent: August 25, 2020Assignee: STMicroelectronics (Rousset) SASInventors: Michel Cuenca, Cedric Thomas
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Patent number: 10757778Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for regulating a power conversion system. An example system controller includes: a detection component configured to receive an input voltage related to a diode connected to an inductor and output a first signal at a first logic level in response to the input voltage being larger than a predetermined threshold, a control logic component configured to receive the first signal, process information associated with the first signal, and output a modulation signal related to a modulation frequency in response to the first signal being at the first logic level, and a driving component configured to receive the modulation signal and output a drive signal to open and close a first switch at the modulation frequency.Type: GrantFiled: April 20, 2018Date of Patent: August 25, 2020Assignee: Guangzhou On-Bright Electronics Co., Ltd.Inventor: Lieyi Fang
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Patent number: 10754366Abstract: Embodiments described herein are directed to power switching circuits having a saturable inductor. In one embodiment, a power switching circuit includes a power switch assembly operable to be connected to a power source. The power switch assembly includes a plurality of parallel power switches connected to and receiving current from the power source and a saturable inductor electrically coupled in series with the plurality of parallel power switches.Type: GrantFiled: October 12, 2018Date of Patent: August 25, 2020Assignee: L3 Cincinnati Electronics CorporationInventor: Justin Graves
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Patent number: 10734917Abstract: A power conversion device includes three inverters configured to convert DC power of DC buses into single-phase AC power, and a controller configured to control the three inverters so as to generate three-phase AC power. The controller is configured to generate a fundamental wave command for generating one-phase AC power constituting the three-phase AC power, and to generate an adjustment wave command having triple the frequency of the fundamental wave command. Additionally, the controller is configured to output a phase voltage command, in which the adjustment wave command is superimposed on the fundamental wave command, and to determine an initial phase of the adjustment wave command to be offset from an initial phase of the fundamental wave command so as to reduce a voltage ripple occurring in the DC buses at double the frequency of the fundamental wave command.Type: GrantFiled: November 19, 2018Date of Patent: August 4, 2020Inventors: Satoshi Watanabe, Taisuke Katayama
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Patent number: 10707774Abstract: A system and method is provided for controlling conversion of a received DC voltage (Vdc) into an AC inverter voltage. The method includes determining a reference Vpor (Vpor_REF) based on measured or estimated Vdc such that Vpor_REF is feasible at all values of Vdc for regulating a modulation index signal M_abc at a selectable frequency ? as a function of a measured or estimated voltage at the point of reference (Vpor), wherein M_abc is regulated by Vpor_REF to regulate the inverter hardware circuit to output the AC inverter voltage in order for Vpor to satisfy a requirement appropriate for the load.Type: GrantFiled: May 10, 2019Date of Patent: July 7, 2020Assignee: Hamilton Sundstrand CorporationInventors: Michael C. Harke, Vlatko Miskovic
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Patent number: 10700630Abstract: A control method of an inverter for outputting polyphase alternate-current electrical power is provided. In the control method, modified PWM pulses of respective phases for controlling semiconductor switching elements of the inverter are generated, based on an output of a counter common to the respective phases. Each of the modified PWM pulses is configured such that a total pulse width, in a period corresponding to one or more cycles of a carrier, is substantially equal to a total pulse width of an assumed PWM pulse which is obtained by comparing, with the carrier, a time average value of an output voltage of the corresponding phase in the period. Further, at least one of a generation timing and a generation frequency of at least one of the modified PWM pulses is changed from the assumed PWM pulse.Type: GrantFiled: November 5, 2018Date of Patent: June 30, 2020Assignee: FUJI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.Inventors: Akio Toba, Akihiro Odaka, Hidetoshi Umida
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Patent number: 10700605Abstract: A power converter comprises a regulator, a value-supply system arranged for collecting at least one operating point of the power converter, and a predictor operative to produce updated regulator parameters (such as one or more power supply coefficients) implemented by the regulator to produce an output voltage to power a load. The updated regulator parameters are determined using a process based on the at least one collected operating point samples and predictor parameters obtained from a machine-learning process.Type: GrantFiled: December 12, 2018Date of Patent: June 30, 2020Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AGInventors: Benjamin L. Schwabe, Jens A. Ejury, Sandro Cerato
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Patent number: 10700601Abstract: The disclosure discloses a power conversion device and a power conversion system. The power conversion device comprises a plurality of conversion branches, each comprising an input terminal and an output terminal. The input terminals of the plurality of conversion branches are connected in parallel, and the output terminals of the plurality of conversion branches are connected in series. An output voltage of the power conversion device is a sum of voltages at the output terminals of the plurality of conversion branches.Type: GrantFiled: December 14, 2017Date of Patent: June 30, 2020Assignee: DELTA ELECTRONICS (SHANGHAI) CO., LTD.Inventors: Xinwei Liu, Xingkuan Guo
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Patent number: 10700606Abstract: On embodiment pertains to an apparatus including a control loop configured to receive an output voltage sense signal. The control loop includes a compensator; a PWM signal generator coupled to an output of the compensator; a reference circuit configured to receive a tracking signal, and which is configured to low bandwidth low pass filter the tracking signal when the tracking signal amplitude becomes substantially constant and representative of an output voltage that is substantially non-zero, and an error amplifier having a first input coupled to an output of the reference circuit, a second input configured to receive the output voltage sense signal, and an output coupled to the compensator.Type: GrantFiled: October 22, 2018Date of Patent: June 30, 2020Assignee: Intersil Americas LLCInventor: Daniel Chieng
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Patent number: 10693388Abstract: A modular power converter includes first and second terminals to connect to electrical networks and at least one module connected between the first and second terminals, the module(s) including at least one switching element and at least one energy storage device, the switching element(s) and the energy storage device(s) combining to selectively provide a voltage source, the switching element(s) being switchable to transfer power between the first and second terminals. The converter further includes a control unit configured to selectively control switching of the switching element(s) to store energy from or release energy to either or both of the first and second terminals so as to decouple respective power flows at the first and second terminals and thereby inhibit a modulation of power flow at one of the first and second terminals from modifying a power flow at the other of the first and second terminals.Type: GrantFiled: July 24, 2014Date of Patent: June 23, 2020Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC TECHNOLOGY GMBHInventors: Robert Stephen Whitehouse, Carl David Barker
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Patent number: 10693381Abstract: In some examples, a controller includes a startup generation circuit configured to control, while operating in a first phase of a startup mode, a bridge circuit using peak detection and using zero-crossing detection of an electrical current through a tank circuit coupled to the bridge circuit. The startup generation circuit is also configured to control the bridge circuit using the zero-crossing detection while operating in a second phase of the startup mode after the first phase. The startup generation circuit is further configured to control the bridge circuit using a discontinuous-current mode for the electrical current while operating in a third phase of the startup mode after the second phase. The controller also includes a steady-state generation circuit configured to control the bridge circuit using soft switching while operating in a steady-state mode after the third phase of the startup mode.Type: GrantFiled: November 30, 2018Date of Patent: June 23, 2020Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AGInventor: Osama Abdel-Rahman
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Patent number: 10693371Abstract: A method includes monitoring a resonant interval across a switching node. The method also includes detecting one or more preset values associated with the resonant interval across the switching node. The method further includes, in response to detecting the one or more preset values associated with the resonant interval across the switching node, initiating a high switch into an “on” operation.Type: GrantFiled: July 31, 2014Date of Patent: June 23, 2020Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATEDInventor: Pradeep S. Shenoy
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Patent number: 10692649Abstract: A switching power supply device which includes an input filter capacitor and a switching device, includes: a transformer comprising a core of the transformer and a first input winding, the first input winding being wound around the core of the transformer, connected between one terminal of the input filter capacitor and one terminal of the switching device; a first capacitive unit connected between both terminals of the first attenuation winding part of the transformer, and including at least one device including a first capacitor; and a clamp unit configured to limit a peak voltage generated by the first input winding when the switching device is turned off during the switching operation of the switching device, the clamp unit including a rectification diode.Type: GrantFiled: March 16, 2017Date of Patent: June 23, 2020Inventor: Chan Woong Park
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Patent number: 10686386Abstract: A resonant or semi-resonant DC/DC converter makes use of one or more synchronous rectification (SR) switches for rectifying an output current that is provided to a load of the converter. The SR switches are ideally turned off when zero current is flowing through them. To achieve such zero-current switching, the current through each of the SR switches is monitored and compared against a turn-off threshold. The turn-off threshold for a particular SR switch is determined from the slope of a waveform of the current together with a transition delay for turning off the SR switch. This transition delay typically includes a delay through a driver circuit for the SR switch together with a latency through the SR switch itself. Once it is detected that the current for an SR switch has dropped to or below the turn-off threshold, a signal is provided to the SR switch turning it off.Type: GrantFiled: November 30, 2016Date of Patent: June 16, 2020Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AGInventors: Darryl Tschirhart, Amir Babazadeh
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Patent number: 10666132Abstract: In some examples, an apparatus includes an inverter with a switching circuit. Furthermore, a first circuit has a first circuit ground and a second circuit has a second circuit ground. For example, the second circuit may be electrically connected to the switching circuit, and the second circuit ground may be electrically connected to the first circuit ground. A first capacitor may be electrically connected between the first circuit ground and a main ground. In addition, a second capacitor may be electrically connected between the second circuit ground and the main ground. Additionally, a first impedance of a first conductive path to the main ground may be greater than a second impedance of a second conductive path to the main ground. The first conductive path may include the first circuit ground and the first capacitor, and the second conductive path may include the second circuit ground and the second capacitor.Type: GrantFiled: March 22, 2018Date of Patent: May 26, 2020Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.Inventors: Jia Li, Isao Hoda, Hiroki Funato
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Patent number: 10651776Abstract: A control method of an inverter for outputting polyphase alternate-current electrical power is provided. In the control method, modified PWM pulses of respective phases for controlling semiconductor switching elements of the inverter are generated, based on an output of a counter common to the respective phases. Each of the modified PWM pulses is configured such that a total pulse width, in a period corresponding to one or more cycles of a carrier, is substantially equal to a total pulse width of an assumed PWM pulse which is obtained by comparing, with the carrier, a time average value of an output voltage of the corresponding phase in the period. Further, at least one of a generation timing and a generation frequency of at least one of the modified PWM pulses is changed from the assumed PWM pulse.Type: GrantFiled: November 5, 2018Date of Patent: May 12, 2020Assignee: FUJI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.Inventors: Akio Toba, Akihiro Odaka, Hidetoshi Umida
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Patent number: 10644601Abstract: Various embodiments of the present application are directed towards a buck converter circuit including a controller circuit. In some embodiments, the buck converter circuit includes a first switching device, a second switching device, an inductor, and a controller. The inductor is electrically coupled to a node at which a source/drain terminal of the first switching device and a source/drain terminal of the second switching device are electrically coupled. The controller is configured to alternatingly change the first switching device between ON and OFF, and further configured to alternatingly change the second switching device between ON and OFF. The first switching device is OFF while the second switching device is ON. The first switching device is partially ON immediately before or after the second switching device transitions between ON and OFF.Type: GrantFiled: April 2, 2019Date of Patent: May 5, 2020Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.Inventors: Chia-Cheng Pao, Chu Fu Chen, Chih-Hua Wang