Patents by Inventor Alan Roy Millner

Alan Roy Millner has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Power supply controller to actively drive a load current when the load current exceeds a set point
    Patent number: 7616462
    Abstract: A control circuit for a switching power supply reacts to an over current condition in the switching power supply to bring its operating point to a safe condition. The control circuit senses both the direction and the magnitude of the load current in the switching power supply, and then uses this sensed information to control the active power switches in the switching power supply. In an over current condition, the switches are controlled to actively drive the load current toward zero, even if the sensed information is delayed or heavily filtered, or the switch signals from the control circuit are delayed in reaching the switches. The resulting operation of the switching power supply is more resistant to abnormal load conditions and is maintained in the presence of transient short circuits or arcs. The switching power supply hardware is also better protected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2009
    Assignee: MKS Instruments, Inc.
    Inventors: Alan Roy Millner, Ilya Bystryak