Patents by Inventor Thomas P. Loftus

Thomas P. Loftus 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: 5353212
    Abstract: A half bridge power converter utilizes two oppositely phased power switches operated with unequal duty cycles. A magnetic arrangement with two inductance values having a ratio equal to the ratio of the unequal duty cycles is included in the converter to compensate for the unequal duty cycles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 4, 1994
    Assignee: AT&T Bell Laboratories
    Inventor: Thomas P. Loftus, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5327333
    Abstract: A DC-DC converter utilizes a tapped transformer secondary winding as a means of achieving output voltage ripple cancellation. This ripple cancellation occurs at a specified input voltage. It operates by fixing the location of a tap on the secondary winding of the power transformer so that the output voltage ripple cancellation occurs at the specified input voltage. It also minimizes the volt seconds that must be sustained by the output filter inductor over a specified range of input voltage for the converter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 1992
    Date of Patent: July 5, 1994
    Assignee: AT&T Bell Laboratories
    Inventors: Jeffrey J. Boylan, Mark E. Jacobs, Thomas P. Loftus, Jr., Allen F. Rozman
  • Patent number: 5305191
    Abstract: A drive arrangement and operative scheme for the power switching transistors of a half-bridge power drives the two power switching transistors with unequal duty cycles having conducting durations such that the sum of the conduction intervals substantially equals the combined switching period of the two power switching transistors. The conducting intervals are separated by very short dead time intervals controlled by the differing turn-on and turn-off times of the two power switching transistors. The short interval between alternate conductions of the two power switching transistors is sufficient to allow zero voltage turn on of the power switching transistors but short enough to minimize power loss and conducted noise.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1992
    Date of Patent: April 19, 1994
    Assignee: AT&T Bell Laboratories
    Inventor: Thomas P. Loftus, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5274543
    Abstract: A converter operating in a resonant mode of operation is used as an off-line switching power supply operating with a high power density. A drive arrangement and operative scheme for driving the power switching transistors limits the dissipation losses within the power switching transistors. Drive circuitry drives two power switching transistors with unequal duty cycles having conducting durations such that the sum of the conduction intervals substantially equals the combined switching period of the two power switching transistors. These conducting intervals are separated by very short dead time intervals controlled by the differing turn-on and turn-off times of the two power switching transistors. The short interval between alternate conductions of the two power switching transistors is sufficient in duration to allow zero voltage turn on of the power switching transistors but short enough in duration to minimize power loss and conducted noise.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 1992
    Date of Patent: December 28, 1993
    Assignee: AT&T Bell Laboratories
    Inventor: Thomas P. Loftus, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5268830
    Abstract: A drive arrangement and operative scheme for the power switching transistors of a half-bridge power drives the two power switching transistors with unequal duty cycles having conducting durations such that the sum of the conduction intervals substantially equals the combined switching period of the two power switching transistors. The conducting intervals are separated by very short dead time intervals controlled by the differing turn-on and turn-off times of the two power switching transistors. The short interval between alternate conductions of the two power switching transistors is sufficient to allow zero voltage turn on of the power switching transistors but short enough to minimize power loss and conducted noise.Special biasing is provided to prevent drive signal application to power switches prior to attainment of a minimum voltage across the switch.Circuitry is provided for cancellation of output ripple currents at selected operating points of the power converter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1992
    Date of Patent: December 7, 1993
    Assignee: AT&T Bell Laboratories
    Inventor: Thomas P. Loftus, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5036452
    Abstract: Current sharing between paralleled power converters is attained by adjusting the error signal in the converters regulation circuit to assure that all the paralleled converters have a regulated output voltage that forces the converters to share the load equally. In particular circuitry is provided to limit the variation in output voltage that can be achieved through operation of the current sharing control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 1989
    Date of Patent: July 30, 1991
    Assignee: AT&T Bell Laboratories
    Inventor: Thomas P. Loftus
  • Patent number: 4760512
    Abstract: A single ended forward converter includes a snubber/reset circuit that diverts current flow from the power switching transistor during the turn off transition to significantly reduce switching loss therein. This same circuit is further operative to resonate energy stored in the magnetizing inductance of the power transformer with a capacitor during a nonconducting period of the power switching transistor in order to reverse the polarity of current, in the magnetizing inductor and reset the core, and further obtain bipolar flux excursions in the transformer core during each cycle of operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 1986
    Date of Patent: July 26, 1988
    Assignee: American Telephone and Telegraph Company, AT&T Bell Laboratories
    Inventor: Thomas P. Loftus