Patents by Inventor George P. Humphrey

George P. Humphrey 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: 11711012
    Abstract: A converter to convert an input voltage into a regulated output current for supplying a load includes a reverse current protection diode having an anode coupled to the input voltage and a cathode, an energy storage element coupled to the cathode of the reverse current protection diode, a high side transistor coupled to the energy storage element and responsive to a high side control signal, and a low side transistor coupled to the energy storage element and responsive to a low side control signal. A controller is configured to generate the high side control signal and the low side control signal such that the low side transistor is enabled and the high side transistor is disabled during a pre-regulation interval.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: Allegro MicroSystems, LLC
    Inventors: Vishal Ghorband, George P. Humphrey
  • Publication number: 20220385169
    Abstract: A converter to convert an input voltage into a regulated output current for supplying a load includes a reverse current protection diode having an anode coupled to the input voltage and a cathode, an energy storage element coupled to the cathode of the reverse current protection diode, a high side transistor coupled to the energy storage element and responsive to a high side control signal, and a low side transistor coupled to the energy storage element and responsive to a low side control signal. A controller is configured to generate the high side control signal and the low side control signal such that the low side transistor is enabled and the high side transistor is disabled during a pre-regulation interval.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2021
    Publication date: December 1, 2022
    Applicant: Allegro MicroSystems, LLC
    Inventors: Vishal Ghorband, George P. Humphrey
  • Patent number: 10411600
    Abstract: A driver coupled to a configurable load having a first load portion coupled to a second load portion at an intermediate node includes a first switch coupled to the intermediate node and to a battery voltage, and a second switch coupled to the second load portion and ground. A current steering control circuit of the driver is responsive to a feedback voltage associated with the intermediate node and is configured to generate a first switch control signal and a second switch control signal to control a slew rate of either the first switch or the second switch. The current steering control circuit can include a gate driver and a current steering amplifier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignee: Allegro MicroSystems, LLC
    Inventors: Sutej Reddy Challa, Richard Garvey, George P. Humphrey
  • Patent number: 9379708
    Abstract: A driver circuit for driving a switch includes a high output impedance driver circuit portion having a high impedance output node coupled to the control terminal of the transistor and a low output impedance driver circuit portion having a low impedance output node also coupled to the control terminal of the transistor. The slew rate of the control signal is established by at least one of the high impedance driver circuit portion and the low impedance driver circuit portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: Allegro Microsystems, LLC
    Inventors: William E. Martin, George P. Humphrey
  • Patent number: 9379690
    Abstract: In one aspect, a duty cycle controller includes a first port configured to receive a voltage bias signal, a second port configured to receive an input voltage signal, a third port configured to provide an output signal of the duty cycle controller having a duty cycle and a n-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC) configured to receive the voltage bias signal and to provide a DAC output signal to a comparator. The DAC output signal has a peak value. The duty cycle controller also includes the comparator configured to compare the DAC output signal from the n-bit DAC with the input voltage signal to provide a comparator output signal. The comparator output signal is used to provide the output signal of the duty cycle controller and the duty cycle changes with changes to the input voltage signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: ALLEGRO MICROSYSTEMS, LLC
    Inventors: George P. Humphrey, William E. Martin
  • Publication number: 20160049939
    Abstract: A driver circuit for driving a switch includes a high output impedance driver circuit portion having a high impedance output node coupled to the control terminal of the transistor and a low output impedance driver circuit portion having a low impedance output node also coupled to the control terminal of the transistor. The slew rate of the control signal is established by at least one of the high impedance driver circuit portion and the low impedance driver circuit portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 2, 2015
    Publication date: February 18, 2016
    Applicant: ALLEGRO MICROSYSTEMS, LLC
    Inventors: William E. Martin, George P. Humphrey
  • Publication number: 20150244353
    Abstract: In one aspect, a duty cycle controller includes a first port configured to receive a voltage bias signal, a second port configured to receive an input voltage signal, a third port configured to provide an output signal of the duty cycle controller having a duty cycle and a n-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC) configured to receive the voltage bias signal and to provide a DAC output signal to a comparator. The DAC output signal has a peak value. The duty cycle controller also includes the comparator configured to compare the DAC output signal from the n-bit DAC with the input voltage signal to provide a comparator output signal. The comparator output signal is used to provide the output signal of the duty cycle controller and the duty cycle changes with changes to the input voltage signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2014
    Publication date: August 27, 2015
    Applicant: ALLEGRO MICROSYSTEMS, LLC
    Inventors: George P. Humphrey, William E. Martin
  • Patent number: 7478286
    Abstract: A integrated circuit (IC) implementation of a protection circuit detects and resolves a fault on a bus, such as a stuck-low condition on an I2C bus. The circuit includes logic that detects a fault condition caused by the slave device, e.g. when one or both lines are low for a period longer than a timeout value in the I2C example. Upon detecting the fault condition, the logic disconnects the slave device from the data line and the clock line, for example by activation of switches incorporated in the IC. This typically frees the bus for use by other devices. The logic may also send the slave device one or more clock signals to clear the fault and/or a stop bit when the fault clears to reset the data register in the slave device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2009
    Assignee: Linear Technology Corporation
    Inventors: George P. Humphrey, William Edward Martin