Patents by Inventor Brannon C. Harris

Brannon C. Harris 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: 9977057
    Abstract: A current measurement circuit may include unbuffered inputs, and the current may be sampled directly from the input pins. The input current created from each sample may be cancelled by injecting opposite charge on the subsequent sample. This direct sampling from the pins increases the common mode input range of the sense path without having to build high linearity rail-to-rail input buffers, hence lowering cost and power consumption of the current measurement path. It also allows for high-impedance input sampling. The measurement circuit may include multiple sampling stages, with a first sampling stage implemented as a switched-capacitor based circuit. A compensator circuit coupled in a feedback loop from the output of the first sampling stage to the input pins may be operated to provide the equivalent charge back to the input pins every cycle to cancel the input current required to charge the sampling capacitors of the first sampling stage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: INTERSIL AMERICAS LLC
    Inventors: Travis J. Guthrie, James R. Toker, Narendra B. Kayathi, Brannon C. Harris
  • Patent number: 9667260
    Abstract: An adjustable current-synthesizer may generate synthesized current representative of an actual current, according to a model of a circuit that produces the actual current. The current synthesizer may under-sample a current sense signal derived from the actual current to obtain a few samples of the actual current, which are then used to adjust the synthesized current, thereby ensuring accuracy of the synthesized current. Sample values of the actual current are compared with corresponding generated values of the synthesized current to obtain offset values. In order to maintain monotonicity in the synthesizer results, the offset values are used to make adjustments to the slope of the synthesized current. The slope of the synthesized current may also be adjusted according to the slope of the actual current. Sub-Nyquist sampling of the actual current may be performed on the down-slope, with up-slope adjustments made based on the offset adjustment and down-slope adjustment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: INTERSIL AMERICAS LLC
    Inventors: Travis J. Guthrie, James R. Toker, Narendra B. Kayathi, Brannon C. Harris
  • Publication number: 20160359489
    Abstract: An adjustable current-synthesizer may generate synthesized current representative of an actual current, according to a model of a circuit that produces the actual current. The current synthesizer may under-sample a current sense signal derived from the actual current to obtain a few samples of the actual current, which are then used to adjust the synthesized current, thereby ensuring accuracy of the synthesized current. Sample values of the actual current are compared with corresponding generated values of the synthesized current to obtain offset values. In order to maintain monotonicity in the synthesizer results, the offset values are used to make adjustments to the slope of the synthesized current. The slope of the synthesized current may also be adjusted according to the slope of the actual current. Sub-Nyquist sampling of the actual current may be performed on the down-slope, with up-slope adjustments made based on the offset adjustment and down-slope adjustment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2016
    Publication date: December 8, 2016
    Applicant: Intersil Americas LLC
    Inventors: Travis J. GUTHRIE, James R. TOKER, Narendra B. KAYATHI, Brannon C. HARRIS
  • Patent number: 9419627
    Abstract: An adjustable current-synthesizer may generate synthesized current representative of an actual current, according to a model of a circuit that produces the actual current. The current synthesizer may under-sample a current sense signal derived from the actual current to obtain a few samples of the actual current, which are then used to adjust the synthesized current, thereby ensuring accuracy of the synthesized current. Sample values of the actual current are compared with corresponding generated values of the synthesized current to obtain offset values. In order to maintain monotonicity in the synthesizer results, the offset values are used to make adjustments to the slope of the synthesized current. The slope of the synthesized current may also be adjusted according to the slope of the actual current. Sub-Nyquist sampling of the actual current may be performed on the down-slope, with up-slope adjustments made based on the offset adjustment and down-slope adjustment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2016
    Assignee: INTERSIL AMERICAS LLC
    Inventors: Travis J. Guthrie, James R. Toker, Narendra B. Kayathi, Brannon C. Harris
  • Publication number: 20150326228
    Abstract: An adjustable current-synthesizer may generate synthesized current representative of an actual current, according to a model of a circuit that produces the actual current. The current synthesizer may under-sample a current sense signal derived from the actual current to obtain a few samples of the actual current, which are then used to adjust the synthesized current, thereby ensuring accuracy of the synthesized current. Sample values of the actual current are compared with corresponding generated values of the synthesized current to obtain offset values. In order to maintain monotonicity in the synthesizer results, the offset values are used to make adjustments to the slope of the synthesized current. The slope of the synthesized current may also be adjusted according to the slope of the actual current. Sub-Nyquist sampling of the actual current may be performed on the down-slope, with up-slope adjustments made based on the offset adjustment and down-slope adjustment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2015
    Publication date: November 12, 2015
    Inventors: Travis J. Guthrie, James R. Toker, Narendra B. Kayathi, Brannon C. Harris
  • Publication number: 20150323570
    Abstract: A current measurement circuit may include unbuffered inputs, and the current may be sampled directly from the input pins. The input current created from each sample may be cancelled by injecting opposite charge on the subsequent sample. This direct sampling from the pins increases the common mode input range of the sense path without having to build high linearity rail-to-rail input buffers, hence lowering cost and power consumption of the current measurement path. It also allows for high-impedance input sampling. The measurement circuit may include multiple sampling stages, with a first sampling stage implemented as a switched-capacitor based circuit. A compensator circuit coupled in a feedback loop from the output of the first sampling stage to the input pins may be operated to provide the equivalent charge back to the input pins every cycle to cancel the input current required to charge the sampling capacitors of the first sampling stage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2015
    Publication date: November 12, 2015
    Inventors: Travis J. Guthrie, James R. Toker, Narendra B. Kayathi, Brannon C. Harris