Patents by Inventor Alberto Bilotti

Alberto Bilotti 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).

  • Patent number: 7307824
    Abstract: A switch which is magnetic pole insensitive is described. The switch includes a Hall effect sensor coupled to a threshold circuit which provides an output signal indicative of the proximity of a magnet, and hence a magnetic field, to the Hall effect sensor regardless of the orientation of the magnet to the Hall effect sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2007
    Assignee: Allegro Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Alberto Bilotti, Glenn A. Forrest, Ravi Vig
  • Publication number: 20060197522
    Abstract: A switch which is magnetic pole insensitive is described. The switch includes a Hall effect sensor coupled to a threshold circuit which provides an output signal indicative of the proximity of a magnet, and hence a magnetic field, to the Hall effect sensor regardless of the orientation of the magnet to the Hall effect sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 1, 2006
    Publication date: September 7, 2006
    Inventors: Alberto Bilotti, Glenn Forrest, Ravi Vig
  • Patent number: 7085119
    Abstract: A switch which is magnetic pole insensitive is described. The switch includes a Hall effect sensor coupled to a threshold circuit which provides an output signal indicative of the proximity of a magnet, and hence a magnetic field, to the Hall effect sensor regardless of the orientation of the magnet to the Hall effect sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2006
    Assignee: Allegro Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Alberto Bilotti, Glenn A. Forrest, Ravi Vig
  • Patent number: 6995606
    Abstract: A high pass filter comprising a combination of capacitors and insulated gate field effect transistors (IGFETs) used as effective resistors provides a low break frequency, while providing improved linearity and a stable break frequency over a relatively wide range of input voltages. The high pass filter can be realized with a small physical size. In one particular embodiment, the small physical size allows the capacitors and the IGFET devices to be integrated together onto a common substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2006
    Assignee: Allegro Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Alberto Bilotti, Hernan D. Romero
  • Publication number: 20050264348
    Abstract: A high pass filter comprising a combination of capacitors and insulated gate field effect transistors (IGFETs) used as effective resistors provides a low break frequency, while providing improved linearity and a stable break frequency over a relatively wide range of input voltages. The high pass filter can be realized with a small physical size. In one particular embodiment, the small physical size allows the capacitors and the IGFET devices to be integrated together onto a common substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2004
    Publication date: December 1, 2005
    Inventors: Alberto Bilotti, Hernan Romero
  • Publication number: 20040027772
    Abstract: A switch which is magnetic pole insensitive is described. The switch includes a Hall effect sensor coupled to a threshold circuit which provides an output signal indicative of the proximity of a magnet, and hence a magnetic field, to the Hall effect sensor regardless of the orientation of the magnet to the Hall effect sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 21, 2003
    Publication date: February 12, 2004
    Inventors: Alberto Bilotti, Glenn A. Forrest, Ravi Vig
  • Patent number: 6690155
    Abstract: A sensor includes a Hall cell and a compensation circuit for subtracting a magnet background field from the Hall cell output to provide a signal corresponding to rotations of a toothed ferrous gear.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2004
    Assignee: Allegro Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Ravi Vig, Alberto Bilotti, Pablo Javier Bolsinger
  • Publication number: 20030178989
    Abstract: A sensor includes a Hall cell and a compensation circuit for subtracting a magnet background field from the Hall cell output to provide a signal corresponding to rotations of a toothed ferrous gear.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2002
    Publication date: September 25, 2003
    Inventors: Ravi Vig, Alberto Bilotti, Pablo Javier Bolsinger
  • Patent number: 6622012
    Abstract: A switch which is magnetic pole insensitive is described. The switch includes a Hall effect sensor coupled to a threshold circuit which provides an output signal indicative of the proximity of a magnet, and hence a magnetic field, to the Hall effect sensor regardless of the orientation of the magnet to the Hall effect sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2003
    Assignee: Allegro Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Alberto Bilotti, Glenn A. Forrest, Ravi Vig
  • Publication number: 20020068533
    Abstract: A switch which is magnetic pole insensitive is described. The switch includes a Hall effect sensor coupled to a threshold circuit which provides an output signal indicative of the proximity of a magnet, and hence a magnetic field, to the Hall effect sensor regardless of the orientation of the magnet to the Hall effect sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 27, 2001
    Publication date: June 6, 2002
    Inventors: Alberto Bilotti, Glenn A. Forrest, Ravi Vig
  • Patent number: 6356741
    Abstract: A switch which is magnetic pole insensitive is described. The switch includes a Hall effect sensor coupled to a threshold circuit which provides an output signal indicative of the proximity of a magnet, and hence a magnetic field, to the Hall effect sensor regardless of the orientation of the magnet to the Hall effect sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2002
    Assignee: Allegro Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Alberto Bilotti, Glenn A. Forrest, Ravi Vig
  • Patent number: 5686894
    Abstract: A two-terminal integrated circuit magnetic-field detector, for use in detecting a low level of a liquid in a vehicle, has a Hall element, a Schmitt type comparator, an anti-sloshing accumulator such as an up-down counter, and a latching driver all connected in tandem. The anti-sloshing accumulator is for producing a signal that is the integral as a function of time of the binary comparator output signal. During sloshing, when the average liquid level is near that at which a low-level warning signal is desired, the accumulator signal climbs in a vacillating manner. The latching driver is connected across the two integrated circuit (I.C.) terminals and latches on when the accumulator signal reaches a predetermined value, dropping the impedance across the two I.C terminals. A liquid level indicating lamp is connected in series with a source of DC voltage and the two I.C. terminals, so that when the average position of the floating magnet approaches that of the I.C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 11, 1997
    Inventors: Ravi Vig, Teri Tu, Alberto Bilotti
  • Patent number: 5621319
    Abstract: A chopped Hall sensor includes a Hall-element switching circuit of the kind in which a Hall element has two pairs of diagonally opposite Hall contacts which are alternately connected to a pair of DC supply conductors and to a pair of Hall-stitching-circuit output conductors for alternately, during phase .phi.1 and n.phi.1 of a first clock signal, switching the Hall exciting current from flow in one to another direction through the Hall element. A linear analog double-differential Hall-voltage amplifier has an input connected to the output of the Hall switching-circuit. A sample-and-hold circuit is comprised of first and second elemental sample-and-hold circuits (ESHCs) with inputs connected respectively to the two Hall-voltage differential-amplifier outputs. The first and second ESHCs are respectively clocked, by second and third clock signals, to the sample Hall voltage signal only during phases .phi.2 and .phi.3 and to hold the sample signal during phases n.phi.2 and n.phi.3 respectively, where .phi.2 and .
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 1995
    Date of Patent: April 15, 1997
    Assignee: Allegro Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Alberto Bilotti, Gerardo Monreal
  • Patent number: 5471122
    Abstract: A full-bridge driver, and especially an entirely integrated bridge driver, for driving DC motors in either direction is capable of automatically braking the motor when the motor direction is to be reversed. The bridge circuit is of "H" configuration and has four transistor switches connected in bridge configuration and has two bridge output terminals to which a motor may be connected. A differential window comparator has the input connected to the two bridge output terminals, producing a high level binary signal only when the voltage across the two output terminals is within a small voltage range centered at about zero volts. A pulse-width filter circuit having an input connected to the window comparator produces a high binary output signal only when the comparator-produced binary signal remains high for greater than a predetermined time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 28, 1995
    Assignee: Allegro Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Alberto Bilotti, Jose L. Tallarico
  • Patent number: 5469095
    Abstract: A bridge circuit, intended for use as a PWM driver of an inductive load, includes at least one source driver transistor connected in series totem-pole fashion with a sink driver transistor. A base resistor is connected from base to emitter of one of the driver transistors. This totem pole circuit is connected across a pair of DC supply conductors. A protective fly-back diode is connected across the one driver transistor. An auxiliary resistor is connected from the base of the auxiliary transistor to the emitter of the one driver transistor. When a fly-back diode across the one driver transistor conducts, the one driver transistor tends to conduct in the reverse direction and to store charge that in a subsequent period leads to shoot-through currents through the source and sink drivers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 21, 1995
    Assignee: Allegro Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Roger Peppiette, Alberto Bilotti
  • Patent number: 5457364
    Abstract: A full-wave bridge driver has four driver transistors. A motor is connected to the output terminals of the bridge. A fault detector latches off the four driver transistors when the bridge current jumps essentially instantaneously to exceed a predetermined safe-peak value due to a fault occurring in the bridge. A comparator has a predetermined current threshold, that is less than the predetermined safe-peak value of the fault detector, and is connected to a bridge-current sensing resistor for, when the bridge current exceeds the current threshold, producing a signal proportional to the difference between the bridge current and the current threshold. A pulse-width-modulator is connected to the comparator means output, and during periods such as at motor starting when the bridge current gradually exceeds the comparator threshold value, chops the signal at the bases of the four driver transistors, varying the chopped pulse widths to hold the motor current at essentially the threshold current value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 10, 1995
    Assignee: Allegro Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Alberto Bilotti, Jose L. Tallarico
  • Patent number: 5442283
    Abstract: The Hall sensor circuit includes a Hall element that is preferably followed by a Hall-voltage amplifier, and a pole end of a magnet is preferably fixed adjacent to the Hall element. The amplifier output is connected directly to one of a pair of differential inputs of a Schmitt trigger circuit and is also connected, via a single or a dual-polarity track and hold circuit, to the other of the differential Schmitt inputs. The dual-polarity track and hold circuit causes the voltage across a capacitor to track positive and negative Hall voltage slopes, and to hold the positive-going peaks and negative-going peaks of the Hall voltage presented to the fore-mentioned other Schmitt input so that when the difference voltage between the Hall voltage and the held voltage of the capacitor exceeds a positive or negative threshold of the Schmitt circuit, the Schmitt circuit output changes binary state indicating the approaching edge or the receding edge of a ferrous-gear tooth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 1993
    Date of Patent: August 15, 1995
    Assignee: Allegro Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Ravi Vig, Hitoshi Yabusaki, Alberto Bilotti
  • Patent number: 5075568
    Abstract: A bipolar chopping driver circuit has a pair of NPN totem-pole connected driver transistors with a fly-back diode connected across the NPN source transistor and a biasing resistor connected between base and emitter of the source transistor. A fullwave bridge driver may be comprised of two such totem pole circuits with the inductive load connected between them at the junctions between NPN source and sink transistors. A clamp circuit is provided in both cases, for preventing the voltage swings at the bases of the source transistors from exceeding the DC supply voltage that is connected to the collectors of the source transistors, thereby permitting operation at high chopping frequencies without excessive delay in switching load current and excessive power losses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 1991
    Date of Patent: December 24, 1991
    Assignee: Allegro Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Alberto Bilotti, Jose L. Tallarico