Abstract: An industrial automation controller includes a housing with a forced convection chamber. First and second fans are releasably connected to the housing and are adapted to induce airflow through the forced convection chamber. The first and second fans are each connected to the housing by respective first and second latch systems that each include a primary latch and a secondary latch. The secondary latch imposes a time delay during removal and replacement of a fan to facilitate hot swapping of the fan with a replacement fan. A make-last/break-first contact system is provided for each fan such that the fan is shutdown in a controlled manner prior to removal of the fan from the housing. The controller monitors internal temperature and fan speed. The controller initiates, logs, and reports fault conditions based upon the monitored temperature and/or fan speed. The controller is shut down if the monitored temperature exceeds a select temperature level.

Abstract: The present invention teaches a variety of electrical devices and methods for connecting a switch such as a transistor to decrease a voltage drop across an electrical coupling connecting the switch's source with a gate driver regulating operation of the switch, the voltage drop due, at least in part, to a change in current flowing through the switch. Decreasing the voltage drop from the switch's source to the gate driver tends to improve the operational characteristics of the switch. One embodiment of the present invention teaches an electronic device including a switch having a gate, a drain, and a source, and a plurality of source terminals. A gate bias voltage V.sub.gs (the voltage potential from the gate to the source) controls a flow of current through the switch between the drain and the source. The source terminals are each connected to the source by a distinct electrical coupling, each of the electrical couplings having some inductance.

Abstract: An apparatus for enabling an IC pin to function in a dual mode, which apparatus includes a first switch for coupling the IC pin to an input terminal when the IC pin operates in an input mode, and a charging circuit for sourcing current to the IC pin during a charging cycle of a timer mode. The inventive apparatus further includes a discharging circuit for sinking current from the IC pin during a discharging cycle of the timer mode. In one embodiment, the inventive apparatus further includes a comparator for generating an activation signal, the activation signal being activated when a potential at the IC pin equals or exceeds a predefined voltage in the timer mode. In another embodiment, the comparator is disabled during the input mode.

Abstract: A switching regulator is provided for regulating voltages at a pair of output terminals. The regulator includes an inductor which is "time shared" in regulating the voltages at both terminals. During the first half of each period, the inductor is charged in accordance with the error in voltage at one terminal and then discharged to control the voltage at such terminal; and, during the second half of each period, the inductor is charged in accordance with the error in voltage at the second terminal and then discharged to control the voltage at the second terminal.

Abstract: An absolute magnitude circuit is provided wherein an input signal is fed to one input of a differential amplifier circuit, the output of such amplifier circuit being coupled to a second input thereof through a negative feedback loop, such feedback loop having two output terminals with an inverter coupled therebetween; and a switching circuit, responsive to the polarity of the input signal, for coupling a selective one of the pair of output terminals to an output of the absolute magnitude circuit, with the voltage at the output of the absolute value circuit having the same polarity independent of the polarity of the input signal.With such arrangement, since the input circuitry to the operational amplifier is independent of the polarity of the input signal, the gain and biasing of the absolute magnitude circuitry is independent of input signal polarity.