Patents by Inventor Alessandro Zafarana

Alessandro Zafarana 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).

  • Publication number: 20020047694
    Abstract: A voltage/current controller device, particularly for interleaving switching regulators, comprises: a DC/DC converter having a plurality of modules, with each module including a drive transistor pair connected in series between first and second supply voltage references, a current sensor connected to one transistor in the pair, and a current read circuit connected to the sensor. Advantageously, the read circuit comprises a transconductance amplifier connected across the current sensor to sense a voltage signal related to a load current being applied to each module, the transconductance amplifier reading the voltage signal with the transistor in the conducting state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 18, 2001
    Publication date: April 25, 2002
    Applicant: STMicroelectronics S.r.I.
    Inventors: Alessandro Zafarana, Claudia Castelli
  • Patent number: 6346801
    Abstract: A method and system for controlling a DC-DC converter compares the output voltage with a low threshold and a high threshold, and injects a certain minimum electric charge into an inductor of the converter during a charge period corresponding to a power switch. The beginning of a charge period is commanded each time the output voltage drops below the low threshold, and the electric charge transferred during a charge period is progressively increased until the output voltage rises to the high threshold. The output voltage starts from the low threshold upon executing the charge period. The duration of the time interval between two consecutive charge periods is measured and stored. The current time interval is compared with the previously detected and stored time interval. The output voltage is decreasing to the minimum electric charge whenever an increment of the time interval between two consecutive charge periods is detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2002
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.
    Inventors: Alessandro Zafarana, Simone Christian Bassani
  • Patent number: 6078203
    Abstract: A voltage regulator of the type comprising a linear filter, a comparator, and a stretcher filter which are connected in cascade with one another between an input terminal and an output terminal of the regulator. The input terminal receives an error signal as converted by the comparator into a square-wave error signal, and the output terminal deliveres a square-wave output control signal which has a stretched duty cycle over the square-wave error signal by a time delay introduced from the stretcher filter. The regulator further comprises a non-linear filtering section for the error signal which is connected between the input terminal of the regulator and the linear filter and has linear gain with the error signal below a first value, gain approximately of unity with the error signal between the first value and a second value, and zero gain with the error signal above the second value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2000
    Assignee: SGS-Thomson Microelectronics S.r.l.
    Inventors: Alessandro Zafarana, Franco Cocetta, Mauro Merlo