Patents Examined by Yusef A Ahmed
  • Patent number: 12255549
    Abstract: A voltage source converter may be coupled to a transmission line. The voltage source converter has two or more inverter valve units. Each inverter valve unit has a full H bridge of switching devices and a capacitor. Paralleling conductor pairs connect the inverter valve units in parallel, in a self-balancing circuit arrangement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2025
    Assignee: Smart Wires Inc.
    Inventors: Shreesha Adiga Manoor, Govind Chavan, Mahsa Ghapandar Kashani, Antonio Ginart
  • Patent number: 12255550
    Abstract: A switching circuit includes a reverse-voltage-blocking (RB) commutation switch, a first inverter leg, and a second inverter leg. The first inverter leg includes a first dual-gate bidirectional (DGBD) and a second DGBD switch connected in series. The second inverter leg includes a third and a fourth DGBD switch connected in series. A pair of the first DGBD switch, the second DGBD switch, the third DGBD switch, and the fourth DGBD switch that are in different inverter legs of the first inverter leg and the second inverter leg are configured to switch between a first DGBD on-state and a second DGBD on-state when in an inverting operating mode. A current with a positive or a negative polarity is conducted when in the first DGBD on-state. When in the second DGBD on-state, a reverse voltage is blocked by and a current with a positive polarity is conducted through the respective DGBD switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2025
    Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
    Inventors: Thomas Merlin Jahns, Hang Dai, Bulent Sarlioglu, Renato Amorim Torres, Woongkul Lee
  • Patent number: 12255546
    Abstract: A power conversion device that converts electric power between a DC circuit and an AC circuit includes a leg circuit including a plurality of sub modules connected in series. A first sub module of the plurality of sub modules includes a first energy accumulation element, a first semiconductor circuit including two switching elements connected in series, and a second semiconductor circuit. The second semiconductor circuit includes a series circuit including a switching element and a semiconductor element connected in series, a second energy accumulation element connected in parallel to the series circuit, and an element including a resistive component connected in series to a parallel circuit including the series circuit and the second energy accumulation element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2025
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Katsuya Ota, Shigeo Hayashi
  • Patent number: 12255544
    Abstract: A power conversion device includes a power conversion circuit unit including a plurality of leg circuits, and a control device. Each of the leg circuits includes a plurality of first converter cells each having a capacitor and connected in series to each other and a plurality of second converter cells each having the capacitor and connected in series to each other. The plurality of first converter cells are controlled not based on a circulating current circulating between the plurality of leg circuits, and the plurality of second converter cells are controlled based on the circulating current. The control device executes control processing for increasing a current flowing through the second converter cell when a voltage at the capacitor in the second converter cell is less than a first threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2025
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Takuya Kajiyama, Toshiyuki Fujii, Shuhei Fujiwara, Ryosuke Uda, Yoshiyuki Kono
  • Patent number: 12249903
    Abstract: A method for increasing switching efficiency in a power switching topology includes summing a first signal with a first triangle wave signal and with a square wave signal to generate a second signal. The method further includes creating a second triangle wave signal and a third triangle wave signal. The method also includes comparing the second signal with the second triangle wave signal to generate a first pulse width modulation (PWM) signal. The method also includes comparing the second signal with the third triangle wave signal to generate a second PWM signal. The method further includes generating an output signal based on the first PWM signal and the second PWM signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2025
    Assignee: Power Switching LLC
    Inventors: Alen Dahaki, Farzad Ahmadkhanlou, Reza Sarhadi Nia
  • Patent number: 12249910
    Abstract: A switching power converter includes: a power stage circuit, including at least one transistor which is configured to operably switch an inductor to convert an input power to an output power; and an active EMI filter circuit, including at least one amplifier, wherein the at least one amplifier is configured to operably sense a noise input signal which is related to a switching noise caused by the switching of the power stage circuit, and amplify the noise input signal to generate a noise cancelling signal, wherein the noise cancelling signal is injected into an input node of the switching power converter, so as to suppress the switching noise and thus reducing EMI, wherein the input power is provided through the input node to the power stage circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2024
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2025
    Assignee: RICHTEK TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Chen-Pin Huang, Chia-Chun Li, Chen-Lin Hsu, Hung-Yu Cheng, Wan-Hsuan Yang
  • Patent number: 12244244
    Abstract: A controller-implemented method and system for operating a multi-level bridge power converter connected to a power grid in a fault-tolerant operational mode, the power converter including a first converter coupled to a DC link, the first converter including a plurality of switching devices. The method and system determine an on/off scheme for the switching devices in the first converter when one or more of the switching devices has failed in a shorted state, wherein the on/off scheme is dependent upon phase current direction through the first converter. The phase current direction is indirectly determined by sensing a pole voltage of the first converter and implementing the on/off scheme in the fault-tolerant mode when the pole voltage changes from zero to a +/?value indicating that the phase current through the first converter has switched direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Renovables Espana, S.L.
    Inventors: Pushkar Chandrakant Chaudhari, Kapil Jha, Fernando Arturo Ramirez Sanchez, Nathaniel Robert Michener
  • Patent number: 12244237
    Abstract: Disclosed are an Ethernet device, and a bidirectional converter and a control method. The bidirectional converter is arranged in any Ethernet device, including: a first switch transistor, a second switch transistor, a third switch transistor, a fourth switch transistor, a first transformer, and a controller. The controller is configured to: enable the bidirectional converter to be in a forward mode or a flyback mode by controlling respective on/off states of the first switch transistor, the second switch transistor, the third switch transistor and the fourth switch transistor. The bidirectional converter is configured to: in response to being in the forward mode, receive power supplied from a network port and transmit electric energy to a load bus, or in response to being in the flyback mode, receive power supplied from the load bus and transmit electric energy to the network port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Assignee: SUZHOU METABRAIN INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Deyang Hua
  • Patent number: 12237777
    Abstract: A voltage converter, including an input adapted to couple to a voltage source and a transformer including a primary coil and a secondary coil. Primary side circuitry, including a first switching circuit, is coupled to the primary coil. A second switching circuit is coupled between a first terminal and a second terminal of the secondary coil, and configured to selectively close to short circuit the first terminal to the second terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2025
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventor: Isaac Cohen
  • Patent number: 12218598
    Abstract: A converter includes a transformer having a primary and secondary windings. The primary winding has first and second winding terminals. A switch network has first-sixth switch network terminals. The first switch network terminal couples to the first winding terminal. The second switch network terminal couples to the second winding terminal. A first transistor has a first control input and first and second current terminals. The second current terminal couples to the third switch network terminal. A second transistor has a second control input and third and fourth current terminals. The fourth current terminal couples to the fourth switch network terminal. A third transistor has a third control input and fifth and sixth current terminals. The fifth current terminal couples to the fifth switch network terminal. A fourth transistor has a fourth control input and seventh and eighth current terminals. The seventh current terminal couples to the sixth switch network terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2025
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Giacomo Calabrese, Nicola Bertoni
  • Patent number: 12218576
    Abstract: An isolated gate driver has a first portion in a first voltage domain and a second portion in a second voltage domain. The first and second portions are coupled by an isolation communication channel. The isolated gate driver transmits across the isolation communication channel a serial word containing first drive strength information and simultaneously transmits gate information with the serial word across the isolation communication channel. The gate information indicates a state of a gate signal for a transistor coupled to the second portion of the isolated gate driver. A demodulator circuit demodulates a signal containing the gate information and the drive strength information transmitted across the isolation communication channel in the serial word. A gate signal output circuit coupled to the demodulator circuit supplies the gate signal based on the gate information with a drive strength of the gate signal being based on the drive strength information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2024
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2025
    Assignee: Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Robert May, Fernando Naim Lavalle Aviles, Carlos Jesus Briseno-Vidrios, Patrick De Bakker, Gabor Marek, Charles Guo Lin, Peter Onody, Tamas Marozsak, Andras V. Horvath
  • Patent number: 12206327
    Abstract: A DC-DC converter includes a ramp generator, a threshold voltage circuit, and a control circuit. The ramp generator is configured to generate a voltage ramp. The threshold voltage circuit is configured to generate a threshold voltage. The control circuit is coupled to the ramp generator and the threshold voltage circuit. The control circuit includes a digital pulse width modulator (DPWM) circuit and a loop compensation circuit coupled to the DPWM circuit. The DPWM circuit is configured to generate a power stage switch control signal responsive to a loop compensation value. The loop compensation circuit is coupled to the DPWM circuit. The loop compensation circuit is configured to calculate the loop compensation value responsive to the voltage ramp exceeding the threshold voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2025
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Hua Tang, Teng Feng, Ian Lloyd Bower, Yunsheng Qu, Zhaofu Zhou
  • Patent number: 12199516
    Abstract: A multi-phase switching converter, includes: plural sub-switching converters; and a control circuit. Plural switching signals operate a capacitor of one of the plural sub-switching converters and a capacitor of another one of the plural sub-switching converters, to conduct a switched capacitor switching on a first voltage, thus switching an inductor switching node in each sub-switching converter between a divided voltage of the first voltage and a reference potential and to thereby execute a power conversion between the first voltage and a second voltage. When the inductors of each of the plural sub-switching converters are coupled with one another in a non-electromagnetic fashion, the multi-phase switching converters operate in a non-resonant mode. When the inductors of at least two of the plural sub-switching converters are electromagnetically coupled with one another, the multi-phase switching converters operate in a resonant mode or in the non-resonant mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: RICHTEK TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kuo-Chi Liu, Ta-Yung Yang
  • Patent number: 12199506
    Abstract: A switched capacitor voltage converter circuit for converting a first voltage to a second voltage includes: an output capacitor; a switched capacitor converter; and a control circuit. The switched capacitor converter includes: a switch circuit including fourth switches; an inductor coupled between the switch circuit and the output capacitor; and a flying capacitor coupled to the switch circuit, wherein the flying capacitor and the output capacitor constitute a voltage divider. The control circuit generates a PWM signal according to the second voltage and generates switch signals according to the PWM signal to control the switch circuit, so as to convert the first voltage to the second voltage. The control circuit decides whether the switched capacitor converter operates in a boundary conduction mode, a discontinuous conduction mode or a continuous conduction mode according to an output current or an output current related signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: RICHTEK TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kuo-Chi Liu, Ta-Yung Yang, Wei-Hsu Chang
  • Patent number: 12199507
    Abstract: A multi-phase switching converter includes: first and second sub-switching converters; switching signals operating first and second capacitors of the first and second sub-switching converters to respectively perform a switched capacitor switching on a first voltage between plural electrical connection states, to respectively switch a first and second switching nodes between a first and second divided voltages of the first voltage obtained from the switched capacitor switching and a first and second reference voltage potentials thereby performing the power conversion between a first and second power nodes. Each of a first and second switch circuits of the first and second sub-switching converters has corresponding plural first and second switches and corresponding first and second subsidiary switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: Richtek Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Kuo-Chi Liu, Ta-Yung Yang
  • Patent number: 12199517
    Abstract: A power converter includes a controller for driving a corresponding power switch in the power converter. The controller may have a current sense terminal adapted to sense/receive a current sense signal indicative of a current flowing through the corresponding power switch and a current limit terminal adapted to receive a reference current sense signal indicative of a current flowing through another power switch in the power converter. The controller may turn off the corresponding power switch once the current sense signal reaches a peak value of the reference current sense signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: Monolithic Power Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Yan-Cun Li
  • Patent number: 12184269
    Abstract: An electronic switch includes a turn-off semiconductor switch, a capacitor, a varistor, with the capacitor and the varistor being arranged in a first series circuit which is arranged in parallel with the turn-off semiconductor switch, a switch, and a resistor, with the switch and the resistor being arranged in parallel with the turn-off semiconductor switch and with the first series circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Karsten Handt, Stefan Hänsel
  • Patent number: 12176802
    Abstract: A multi-wire choke filter is implemented in an inverter module of a modular power control system for a vehicle. Such an inverter module includes gate driver circuits to control switching power transistors used to power loads in a vehicle. The switching power transistors and gate drivers are configurable to support both a three-phase and a single phase current drive driver circuit topology in which switching power transistors are connected in parallel to share driving currents and dynamic switching losses. In any configured topology, the multi-wire choke is connected in series between gate driver circuit components and switching power transistors to mitigate any EMI threat to the gate driver circuitry by presenting an impedance to reduce circuit susceptibility to any differential and common mode noise currents that can flow through the gate driver circuit that can overwhelm gate driver circuitry and negatively effect power transistor switching performance at any time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: BAE Systems Controls Inc.
    Inventors: Robert J. Vovos, Andrew S. Clark
  • Patent number: 12176811
    Abstract: A switched capacitor voltage converter circuit includes: a switched capacitor converter and a control circuit. The switched capacitor converter includes at least one resonant capacitor, switches and at least one inductor. The control circuit generates a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal according to a first voltage or a second voltage and generates a control signal according to the PWM signal and a zero current detection signal. The control signal controls the switched capacitor converter by operating the corresponding switches to switch electrical connection of the inductor, so as to convert the first voltage to the second voltage or convert the second voltage to the first voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: RICHTEK TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kuo-Chi Liu, Ta-Yung Yang
  • Patent number: 12176818
    Abstract: A power source device includes a transformer, a rectifying circuit, a series circuit, a switching element and a capacitor. The transformer includes first and second primary windings and a secondary winding. The rectifying circuit includes first and second output terminals and fully rectifies an AC voltage. The series circuit in which an inductor and a rectifying element are connected in series and connected between the first output terminal and a connecting point where one end of the first primary winding and one end of the second primary terminal are connected. The switching element is connected between the other end of the second primary winding and the second output terminal and switched between an on state and an off state. The capacitor is connected between the other end of the first primary winding and the second output terminal. An inductance of the inductor is set so that a voltage of the capacitor is higher than an output voltage of the rectifying circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Nobuyuki Uchiyama