Patents by Inventor Walter Morrison Stewart Wilson

Walter Morrison Stewart Wilson 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).

  • Systems and methods for sensing current through a low-side field effect transistor
    Patent number: 9735773
    Abstract: Systems and techniques detecting a reverse current are disclosed. An apparatus comprises a switching circuit coupled to a load and a reference node. The switching circuit may be capable of conducting a reverse current from the reference node to the load when a voltage at the load is lower than a voltage at the reference node. A voltage source has a first terminal coupled to the load, a second terminal configured to follow a voltage at the load, and produces a voltage proportional to a voltage drop across the switching circuit. A comparator circuit is coupled to compare a voltage at the second terminal of the voltage source to the voltage at the reference node and configured to indicate when the reverse current has a magnitude greater than a predetermined threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignee: Allegro Microsystems, LLC
    Inventors: James McIntosh, Robert D. Christie, Douglas Bryce, Walter Morrison Stewart Wilson
  • Systems and Methods for Sensing Current Through a Low-Side Field Effect Transistor
    Publication number: 20150311894
    Abstract: Systems and techniques detecting a reverse current are disclosed. An apparatus comprises a switching circuit coupled to a load and a reference node. The switching circuit may be capable of conducting a reverse current from the reference node to the load when a voltage at the load is lower than a voltage at the reference node. A voltage source has a first terminal coupled to the load, a second terminal configured to follow a voltage at the load, and produces a voltage proportional to a voltage drop across the switching circuit. A comparator circuit is coupled to compare a voltage at the second terminal of the voltage source to the voltage at the reference node and configured to indicate when the reverse current has a magnitude greater than a predetermined threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2014
    Publication date: October 29, 2015
    Applicant: Allegro Microsystems, LLC
    Inventors: James McIntosh, Robert D. Christie, Douglas Bryce, Walter Morrison Stewart Wilson