Patents by Inventor Marc Sousa

Marc Sousa 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: 10411506
    Abstract: A quality of charge (QoC) detector for use in inductive charging systems is disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus includes an inductor that receives a current signal to generate an electromagnetic field during a power transfer to an external device, and a quality detector to determine a quality metric associated with the power transfer. The apparatus also includes an indicator that indicates multiple states, where one of the multiple states is selected to indicate the quality metric.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignee: Active-Semi, Inc.
    Inventors: Marc Sousa, Mark Cieri
  • Publication number: 20150310722
    Abstract: A quality of charge (QoC) detector for use in inductive charging systems is disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus includes an inductor that receives a current signal to generate an electromagnetic field during a power transfer to an external device, and a quality detector to determine a quality metric associated with the power transfer. The apparatus also includes an indicator that indicates multiple states, where one of the multiple states is selected to indicate the quality metric.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 28, 2014
    Publication date: October 29, 2015
    Applicant: Active-Semi, Inc.
    Inventors: Marc Sousa, Mark Cieri
  • Publication number: 20070030613
    Abstract: A power controller for power sourcing equipment in a distributed power network provides power down policies and priority in the event of a power supply failure. The power down priority and policy permits implementation of a rapid decrease in the power demand of the distributed power network to avoid overload of a backup power supply. The priority may be derived based on the relative position of port information in a linked list. Devices associated with a high priority can remain powered in response to a main power supply failure, while lower priority devices can be rapidly powered down to reduce the overall load demand on the backup power supply. The ability to configure ports on the basis of priority and available policies provides a flexible and simple implementation of a response in the event of a main power supply failure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 3, 2005
    Publication date: February 8, 2007
    Inventors: Marc Sousa, Michael McCormack
  • Publication number: 20070025039
    Abstract: A power controller for power sourceing equipment in a distributed power network includes a memory element that indicates a device power down policy to be applied in the event of a main power supply failure and switchover to a backup power supply. A variety of policies are available, at least one of which permits flexible administration of the settings for individual devices by grouping them together. Devices assigned to given groups may be determined to be critical or non-critical and be powered down or remain powered during the power supply switchover event. The power down policy is triggered through a signal that can be hardwired to the controller to indicate when the power supply switchover event occurs. The various policies that can be applied contribute to reducing the switchover latency when non-critical loads are shut down, to reduce the demand on interim power supply devices, such as capacitors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 27, 2005
    Publication date: February 1, 2007
    Inventors: Marc Sousa, Wilburn Miller