Patents by Inventor Enrico Ferrara

Enrico Ferrara 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: 20240159819
    Abstract: A circuit includes: first analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) configured to be coupled to respective ones of first sensors; a first multiplexer (MUX) coupled to output terminals of the first ADCs; a second MUX configured to be coupled to second sensors which are redundant sensors for the first sensors; a second ADC coupled to an output terminal of the second MUX, the first MUX and the second MUX being controlled by a selection signal; a first checker circuit configured to compare a first data at an output terminal of the first MUX with a second data at an output terminal of the second ADC; and a plurality of switches coupled between respective ones of the input terminals of the second MUX and a reference voltage node.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 15, 2022
    Publication date: May 16, 2024
    Inventors: Nicola Errico, Alessandro Cannone, Enrico Ferrara, Luigi Piscitelli
  • Publication number: 20240088735
    Abstract: Three-phase stator winding of a rotary electric machine and having: a plurality of coils each of which has two opposite ends; a plurality of first connection bridges, each of which defines a star connection of three coils and constitutes a star centre of the three coils by connecting a first end of each of the three coils to one another; and three second connection bridges which define a parallel connection of the star connections, are each provided with a corresponding pin defining a terminal of the three-phase stator winding towards the outside, and each of which connects a second end of a respective coil of each star connection to one another. Each second connection bridge has a seamless circular shape closed onto itself.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2023
    Publication date: March 14, 2024
    Inventors: Davide FERRARA, Paolo FAVERZANI, Enrico ALLIO, Luca POGGIO
  • Publication number: 20230170803
    Abstract: An embodiment buck converter control circuit comprises an error amplifier configured to generate an error signal based on a feedback signal and a reference signal, a pulse generator circuit configured to generate a pulsed signal having switching cycles set to high and low as a function of the error signal, a driver circuit configured to generate a drive signal for an electronic switch of the buck converter as a function of the pulsed signal, a variable load, connected between two output terminals of the buck converter, configured to absorb a current based on a control signal, and a detector circuit configured to monitor a first signal indicative of an output current provided by the buck converter and a second signal indicative of a negative transient of the output current, and verify whether the second signal indicates a negative transient of the output current.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2023
    Publication date: June 1, 2023
    Inventors: Enrico Ferrara, Luca Morinelli
  • Patent number: 11658674
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a circuit includes N sensing channels. Each channel includes a first main sensing node and a second redundancy sensing node paired therewith. N analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are coupled to the first sensing nodes, with digital processing circuits coupled to the N ADCs. A pair of multiplexers are coupled to the second sensing nodes and to the N ADCs with a further ADC coupled to the output of the second multiplexer. An error checking circuit is coupled to the outputs of the second multiplexer and the further ADC to compare, at each time window in a sequence of N time windows, a first digital value and a second digital value resulting from conversion to digital of: an analog sensing signal at one of the first sensing nodes, and an analog sensing signal at the second sensing node paired with the selected one of the first sensing nodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.
    Inventors: Nicola Errico, Marzia Annovazzi, Alessandro Cannone, Enrico Ferrara, Gea Donzelli, Paolo Turbanti
  • Publication number: 20230064438
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a single integrated circuit chip including main logic that operates a vehicle component such as a valve driver. Isolated from the main logic within the chip is a safety area that operates to verify proper operation of the main logic. A checker circuit within the chip outside of the safety area serves to verify proper operation of the checker circuit. The checker circuit receives signals from the safety circuit and uses combinatorial logic circuit to verify from those signals that the check circuit is operating properly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2021
    Publication date: March 2, 2023
    Applicant: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.
    Inventors: Alessandro CANNONE, Enrico FERRARA, Nicola ERRICO, Gea DONZELLI
  • Patent number: 11581808
    Abstract: An embodiment buck converter control circuit comprises an error amplifier configured to generate an error signal based on a feedback signal and a reference signal, a pulse generator circuit configured to generate a pulsed signal having switching cycles set to high and low as a function of the error signal, a driver circuit configured to generate a drive signal for an electronic switch of the buck converter as a function of the pulsed signal, a variable load, connected between two output terminals of the buck converter, configured to absorb a current based on a control signal, and a detector circuit configured to monitor a first signal indicative of an output current provided by the buck converter and a second signal indicative of a negative transient of the output current, and verify whether the second signal indicates a negative transient of the output current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: STMICROELECTRONICS S.R.L.
    Inventors: Enrico Ferrara, Luca Morinelli
  • Patent number: 11563319
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a single integrated circuit chip with a main logic that operates a vehicle component such as a valve driver. Isolated from the main logic within the chip is a safety area that operates to verify proper operation of the main logic. The safety area is internally powered by an internal regulated voltage generated by an internal voltage regulator that generates the internal regulated voltage from an external voltage while protecting against shorts of the external line delivering the external voltage. The safety area includes protection circuits that level shift external analog signals downward in voltage for monitoring within the safety area, the protection circuits serving to protect against shorts of the external line delivering the external analog signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2023
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.
    Inventors: Marco Cignoli, Nicola Errico, Paolo Vilmercati, Stefano Castorina, Enrico Ferrara
  • Publication number: 20220149859
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a circuit includes N sensing channels. Each channel includes a first main sensing node and a second redundancy sensing node paired therewith. N analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are coupled to the first sensing nodes, with digital processing circuits coupled to the N ADCs. A pair of multiplexers are coupled to the second sensing nodes and to the N ADCs with a further ADC coupled to the output of the second multiplexer. An error checking circuit is coupled to the outputs of the second multiplexer and the further ADC to compare, at each time window in a sequence of N time windows, a first digital value and a second digital value resulting from conversion to digital of: an analog sensing signal at one of the first sensing nodes, and an analog sensing signal at the second sensing node paired with the selected one of the first sensing nodes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 14, 2021
    Publication date: May 12, 2022
    Inventors: Nicola Errico, Marzia Annovazzi, Alessandro Cannone, Enrico Ferrara, Gea Donzelli, Paolo Turbanti
  • Publication number: 20210384828
    Abstract: An embodiment buck converter control circuit comprises an error amplifier configured to generate an error signal based on a feedback signal and a reference signal, a pulse generator circuit configured to generate a pulsed signal having switching cycles set to high and low as a function of the error signal, a driver circuit configured to generate a drive signal for an electronic switch of the buck converter as a function of the pulsed signal, a variable load, connected between two output terminals of the buck converter, configured to absorb a current based on a control signal, and a detector circuit configured to monitor a first signal indicative of an output current provided by the buck converter and a second signal indicative of a negative transient of the output current, and verify whether the second signal indicates a negative transient of the output current.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2021
    Publication date: December 9, 2021
    Inventors: Enrico Ferrara, Luca Morinelli