Patents by Inventor Hung-Shou Nien
Hung-Shou Nien 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).
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Patent number: 10103632Abstract: A multiphase power converter has a plurality of phase circuits, each of which provides a phase current when being active. During single-phase operation of the multiphase power converter, an enhanced phase control circuit and method monitor the summation of the phase currents, and when the summation becomes higher than a threshold, switch the multiphase power converter to a higher power zone to increase the number of active phases. A high efficiency and high reliability multiphase power converter is thus accomplished.Type: GrantFiled: September 20, 2016Date of Patent: October 16, 2018Assignee: RICHTEK TECHNOLOGY CORP.Inventors: Hung-Shou Nien, Ting-Hung Wang, Cheng-Ching Hsu, Shang-Ying Chung
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Patent number: 9568376Abstract: A temperature detecting circuit and method thereof, adapted to a voltage converter circuit which includes a current detecting circuit having a detecting output port outputting a current detecting signal proportional to an output current of the voltage converter circuit, includes: a current signal processing unit, having a signal input port coupling to the detecting output port, a first detecting output port generating a first processing signal with a first temperature coefficient, a second detecting output port generating a second processing signal with a second temperature coefficient, wherein the first and the second processing signals are proportional to the current detecting signal; and, a temperature calculating unit, receiving the first and the second processing signals and performing calculation to derive a temperature value.Type: GrantFiled: March 1, 2014Date of Patent: February 14, 2017Assignee: RICHTEK TECHNOLOGY CORPInventors: Sheng-Fu Hsiao, Hung-Shou Nien, Kuang-Feng Li, Yu-Wei Chang
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Publication number: 20170019026Abstract: A multiphase power converter has a plurality of phase circuits, each of which provides a phase current when being active. During single-phase operation of the multiphase power converter, an enhanced phase control circuit and method monitor the summation of the phase currents, and when the summation becomes higher than a threshold, switch the multiphase power converter to a higher power zone to increase the number of active phases. A high efficiency and high reliability multiphase power converter is thus accomplished.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 20, 2016Publication date: January 19, 2017Inventors: Hung-Shou NIEN, Ting-Hung WANG, Cheng-Ching HSU, Shang-Ying CHUNG
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Patent number: 9461544Abstract: A multiphase power converter has a plurality of phase circuits, each of which provides a phase current when being active. During single-phase operation of the multiphase power converter, an enhanced phase control circuit and method monitor the summation of the phase currents, and when the summation becomes higher than a threshold, switch the multiphase power converter to a higher power zone to increase the number of active phases. A high efficiency and high reliability multiphase power converter is thus accomplished.Type: GrantFiled: April 16, 2012Date of Patent: October 4, 2016Assignee: RICHTEK TECHNOLOGY CORPORATIONInventors: Hung-Shou Nien, Ting-Hung Wang, Cheng-Ching Hsu, Shang-Ying Chung
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Publication number: 20140269840Abstract: A temperature detecting circuit and method thereof, adapted to a voltage converter circuit which includes a current detecting circuit having a detecting output port outputting a current detecting signal proportional to an output current of the voltage converter circuit, includes: a current signal processing unit, having a signal input port coupling to the detecting output port, a first detecting output port generating a first processing signal with a first temperature coefficient, a second detecting output port generating a second processing signal with a second temperature coefficient, wherein the first and the second processing signals are proportional to the current detecting signal; and, a temperature calculating unit, receiving the first and the second processing signals and performing calculation to derive a temperature value.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 1, 2014Publication date: September 18, 2014Applicant: RICHTEK TECHNOLOGY CORPInventors: Sheng-Fu Hsiao, Hung-Shou Nien, Kuang-Feng Li, Yu-Wei Chang
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Patent number: 8836298Abstract: The present invention discloses a multi-phase switching regulator and a control method thereof. The multi-phase switching regulator includes plural power stage circuits, wherein at least one power stage circuit is enabled or disabled according to a phase adding/shedding signal; at least one zero current detection circuit, which is coupled to one of the power stage circuit, for generating a trigger signal according to an inductor current in a corresponding one of the power stage circuits, a zero current reference signal, and an average reference signal; and a phase control circuit controlling the phase adding/shedding operation according to the trigger signal.Type: GrantFiled: August 15, 2013Date of Patent: September 16, 2014Assignee: Richtek Technology CorporationInventors: Tung-Sheng Chen, Hung-Shou Nien, Yu-Wei Chang, Chung-Sheng Cheng
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Patent number: 8742739Abstract: A voltage regulator controller is disclosed including: a reference voltage generator for generating a reference voltage; a comparison circuit, coupled with the reference voltage generator, for comparing the reference voltage with an output voltage of a voltage regulator; and a control circuit, coupled with the reference voltage generator and the comparison circuit, for controlling the reference voltage generator to stepwise lower the reference voltage when a power saving command is received by the voltage regulator controller.Type: GrantFiled: August 24, 2012Date of Patent: June 3, 2014Assignee: Richtek Technology CorporationInventors: Hung-Shou Nien, Yi-Chiang Fu, Chung-Sheng Cheng, Ren-Cheng Huang, Chih-Min Wang
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Patent number: 8729955Abstract: For thermal compensation for an intrinsic element in a system, a circuit and method are proposed to predict the temperature variation caused by power loss of the intrinsic element, in addition to sense the external environment temperature variation of the intrinsic element, and thus sense the operational temperature of the intrinsic element more precisely.Type: GrantFiled: January 26, 2012Date of Patent: May 20, 2014Assignee: Richtek Technology Corp.Inventors: Hung-Shou Nien, Chung-Sheng Cheng
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Patent number: 8698548Abstract: For thermal compensation for an intrinsic element in a system, a circuit and method are proposed to predict the temperature variation caused by power loss of the intrinsic element, in addition to sense the external environment temperature variation of the intrinsic element, and thus sense the operational temperature of the intrinsic element more precisely.Type: GrantFiled: April 22, 2013Date of Patent: April 15, 2014Assignee: Richtek Technology Corp.Inventors: Hung-Shou Nien, Chung-Sheng Cheng
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Publication number: 20130234780Abstract: For thermal compensation for an intrinsic element in a system, a circuit and method are proposed to predict the temperature variation caused by power loss of the intrinsic element, in addition to sense the external environment temperature variation of the intrinsic element, and thus sense the operational temperature of the intrinsic element more precisely.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 22, 2013Publication date: September 12, 2013Applicant: RICHTEK TECHNOLOGY CORP.Inventors: Hung-Shou NIEN, Chung-Sheng CHENG
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Publication number: 20130049720Abstract: A voltage regulator controller is disclosed including: a reference voltage generator for generating a reference voltage; a comparison circuit, coupled with the reference voltage generator, for comparing the reference voltage with an output voltage of a voltage regulator; and a control circuit, coupled with the reference voltage generator and the comparison circuit, for controlling the reference voltage generator to stepwise lower the reference voltage when a power saving command is received by the voltage regulator controller.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 24, 2012Publication date: February 28, 2013Inventors: Hung-Shou NIEN, Yi-Chiang Fu, Chung-Sheng Cheng, Ren-Cheng Huang, Chih-Min Wang
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Publication number: 20120262136Abstract: A multiphase power converter has a plurality of phase circuits, each of which provides a phase current when being active. During single-phase operation of the multiphase power converter, an enhanced phase control circuit and method monitor the summation of the phase currents, and when the summation becomes higher than a threshold, switch the multiphase power converter to a higher power zone to increase the number of active phases. A high efficiency and high reliability multiphase power converter is thus accomplished.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 16, 2012Publication date: October 18, 2012Applicant: RICHTEK TECHNOLOGY CORPORATIONInventors: HUNG-SHOU NIEN, TING-HUNG WANG, CHENG-CHING HSU, SHANG-YING CHUNG
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Publication number: 20120194258Abstract: For thermal compensation for an intrinsic element in a system, a circuit and method are proposed to predict the temperature variation caused by power loss of the intrinsic element, in addition to sense the external environment temperature variation of the intrinsic element, and thus sense the operational temperature of the intrinsic element more precisely.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 26, 2012Publication date: August 2, 2012Applicant: Richtek Technology Corp.Inventors: Hung-Shou NIEN, Chung-Sheng CHENG
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Patent number: 8030911Abstract: A hybrid control circuit and method combine analog circuit and digital circuit to generate digital PWM signals for a multiphase DC-DC converter to generate an output voltage. For current balance control, analog current error signals are generated by the analog circuit from analog phase current signals of the multiphase DC-DC converter and then converted into digital current error signals for calculating the duties of each phase of the multiphase DC-DC converter. Therefore, fewer bit devices can be used to achieve precise current balance control and the size and cost of the circuit can be reduced.Type: GrantFiled: March 11, 2010Date of Patent: October 4, 2011Assignee: Richtek Technology Corp.Inventors: Hung-Shou Nien, Kuang-Yao Cheng, Yi-Chiang Fu, Wei-Hsu Chang
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Publication number: 20100238060Abstract: A hybrid control circuit and method combine analog circuit and digital circuit to generate digital PWM signals for a multiphase DC-DC converter to generate an output voltage. For current balance control, analog current error signals are generated by the analog circuit from analog phase current signals of the multiphase DC-DC converter and then converted into digital current error signals for calculating the duties of each phase of the multiphase DC-DC converter. Therefore, fewer bit devices can be used to achieve precise current balance control and the size and cost of the circuit can be reduced.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 11, 2010Publication date: September 23, 2010Applicant: RICHTEK TECHNOLOGY CORP.Inventors: HUNG-SHOU NIEN, KUANG-YAO CHENG, YI-CHIANG FU, WEI-HSU CHANG