Patents Issued in January 12, 2016
  • Patent number: 9236810
    Abstract: A voltage conversion circuit, comprising: a transformer that converts a voltage input to a primary side and outputs a converted voltage from a secondary side; a switching unit configured to switch on/off of electrification of the primary side of the transformer; and a bypass unit configured to transmit charges from the secondary side to the primary side of the transformer when the switching unit is off, so as to reduce a surge voltage caused on the switching unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventor: Shinichi Kakiuchi
  • Patent number: 9236811
    Abstract: A multiphase transformer rectifier unit for converting a three-phase alternating current supplied from a power distribution system to direct current supplied to at least one load. The multiphase transformer rectifier unit includes a magnetic core having a primary winding set and secondary winding set, and a rectifier circuit. The secondary winding set is arranged to generate N substantially equally distributed output phases, wherein N is an odd number multiple of 3, and N>3, and the primary winding set (17) is arranged to provide a positive or negative phase shift equal substantially to 360 ( 8 × N ) degrees of said output phases. Also an arrangement of two inventive multiphase transformer rectifier units for reducing current distortion in the power distribution system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: SAAB AB
    Inventors: Lennart Kruse, Johan Björk Svensson, Ola Qvarnström, Claes-Göran Sköld
  • Patent number: 9236812
    Abstract: A universal AC to DC converter may be configured to convert alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC), such as for use in aerospace applications. The disclosure relates to a single universal power electronic converter capable of converting an AC input voltage, such as a line to neutral input voltage of either 115 Vrms or 230 Vrms nominal to 28 V DC.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND CORPORATION
    Inventors: Adam Michael White, Waleed M. Said, Mustansir Kheraluwala
  • Patent number: 9236813
    Abstract: An inverter assembly includes an inverter and a load sensor. The inverter is configured to provide electrical power to a load. The load sensor has a first amplifier for sensing current of the load when the load is a low power load connected to the inverter and a second amplifier for sensing the load current when the load is a high power load connected to the inverter. Vehicle functionality such as start/stop functionality may be disabled while the load sensor senses that the load is connected to the inverter whereas the start/stop functionality may be disabled while the load sensor senses that the load is not connected to the inverter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Lear Corporation
    Inventor: Krzysztof Klesyk
  • Patent number: 9236814
    Abstract: Inverters connected in parallel each include a power converter that carries out a direct current to alternating current conversion and supplies voltage to a motor, and a control unit, where one of the inverters is a master inverter and the control unit computes a voltage command value for the power converter in the one inverter, while the other inverter is a slave inverter and the power converter in the slave inverter is driven by the voltage command value, a transmission means transmits the voltage command value, and the control unit of the master inverter includes a delay device that delays the voltage command value by a transmission time needed when transmitting a computed voltage command value to the slave inverter, and provides the voltage command value delayed by the delay device to the power converter of the master inverter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: FUJI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Takayuki Kaneko
  • Patent number: 9236815
    Abstract: Compliant monopolar and bipolar micro device transfer head arrays and methods of formation from SOI substrates are described. In an embodiment, an array of compliant transfer heads are formed over a base substrate and deflectable toward the base substrate, and a patterned metal layer includes a metal interconnect layer electrically connected with an array of the metal electrodes in the array of compliant transfer heads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: LuxVue Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Dariusz Golda, Andreas Bibl
  • Patent number: 9236816
    Abstract: In a method for starting a synchronous machine, a default torque is predefined, and a rotational speed of the synchronous machine is adjusted after starting. A torque which is higher than the default torque is predefined, and the higher torque is reduced in the subsequent second step to a positive value which is less than the default torque, and is increased to the default torque in a third step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventors: Tino Merkel, Hans-Peter Groeter, Gunther Goetting, Georg Schneider
  • Patent number: 9236817
    Abstract: In summary it is described a column for a piece of furniture as well as a piece of furniture with at least one movable member (1, 2, 31), wherein said part is adapted to be moved relative to the rest of the furniture in a non-manual way. Further, there is provided a device for detecting collisions of the automatically movable member with obstacles, an automatic drive mechanism (5, 6) which is adapted to move the movable member, a control device adapted to control the automatic drive mechanism (5, 6), and at least one sensor (4) adapted to detect a collision during the motion of the movable member (1, 2, 31) with an obstacle and to transmit this incident to the control device wherein the at least one sensor (4) comprises a force-sensitive sensor (41).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: KESSEBOHMER PRODUKTIONS GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventors: Thomas Strothmann, Oliver Spahn
  • Patent number: 9236818
    Abstract: The invention relates to a drive device and a drive method for a brushless motor. In a drive method in which a switching timing of energization patterns is detected by comparing a pulse induced voltage of a non-energized phase with a voltage threshold, when the pulse induced voltage does not reach the voltage threshold, the pulse induced voltage at an angle of switching the energization patterns is measured. Discrimination between a demagnetization failure and a lock failure is performed based on whether the measured pulse induced voltage satisfies a predetermined condition or not. When it is the demagnetization failure, motor control continues after changing the voltage threshold. When it is the lock failure, the motor control stops.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.
    Inventor: Naoki Okamoto
  • Patent number: 9236819
    Abstract: A unit for recording operating information of an electronically commutated motor (ECM) is described. The unit includes a system controller communicatively coupled to an ECM. The system controller includes a processing device configured to control the unit. The unit also includes a memory device communicatively coupled to the system controller. The memory device is configured to receive and store ECM operating information provided by the processing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Regal Beloit America, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian L. Beifus, Paul N. Selking, Vijay D. Gurudasani, Michael R. Koller
  • Patent number: 9236820
    Abstract: A motor control system is provided. The motor control system includes a motor, a position sensor, a current sensor, and a control module. The motor has a rotor and a stator. The motor generates an output torque based on a phase current applied to the motor. The output torque generated by the motor creates a torque ripple that is within a predefined range. The position sensor monitors the motor to determine a rotor position. The current sensor monitors the motor to determine the phase current. The control module is in communication with the motor, the position sensor, and the current sensor. The control module includes a lookup table that stores values of phase current commands. The control module determines a phase current command from the lookup table based on the rotor position and the phase current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignees: STEERING SOLUTIONS IP HOLDING CORPORATION, THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON
    Inventors: Rajib Mikail, Mohammad S. Islam, Yilmaz Sozer, Iqbal Husain
  • Patent number: 9236821
    Abstract: A controlling apparatus for an electric motor according to an embodiment includes a superposed component generator, an inverter, a current detector, and a magnetic pole position estimator. The superposed component generator generates, at a predetermined cycle, a superposed voltage reference of which vector is shifted by 90 degrees with respect to that of a superposed voltage reference previously generated, in a coordinate system that is set to a stator of the electric motor. The inverter outputs a driving voltage that is based on a driving voltage reference superposed with the superposed voltage reference to the electric motor. The current detector detects currents flowing into respective phases of the electric motor, and outputs the detected currents. The magnetic pole position estimator detects the magnetic pole position of the electric motor based on an amount of change in the detected currents at the predetermined cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA YASKAWA DENKI
    Inventors: Takayuki Shiota, Shinya Morimoto, Hideaki Iura
  • Patent number: 9236822
    Abstract: An electromotive drive for furniture, includes a power supply device, a manual control, and a control device. The power supply device has an disconnecting unit that can be controlled by means of a control line, the electrical control signal of said control line being able to be modified by a switching contact of the manual control such that, when the manual control has not been actuated, the power supply device can be switched into the “disconnection” operating state, said disconnecting unit being connected to a signal feedback arrangement of a control circuit of the power supply device and being integrated in a path of said signal feedback arrangement, or said disconnecting unit being set in, or placed on, an input path or an output path of the control device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: DEWERTOKIN GMBH
    Inventors: Armin Hille, Christian Müller
  • Patent number: 9236823
    Abstract: A power generator device includes a heavy gyro body, at least one rotation-driving device and a control unit. The heavy gyro body is coupled to a power source and an induction power generator, the power source drives the heavy gyro body to rotate so as to drive the induction power generator to produce electricity. The rotation-driving device is located at an edge of the heavy gyro body and conducting a contact or non-contact interaction with an annular part in reaction to drive the heavy gyro body to rotate about a vertical spindle. The control unit is configured for starting the rotation-driving device to accelerate the speed of the heavy gyro body when a rotation speed of the heavy gyro body is less than a first predetermined rotation speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: JUN-DONG POWER CORPORATION
    Inventor: Ming-Chun Tsai
  • Patent number: 9236824
    Abstract: A system for controlling an electric motor is disclosed herein. In particular, the system receives a user input indicative of a desired performance parameter for the electric motor. Based on the desired performance parameter, the system determines a control parameter that defines an operational range. The system then adjusts the electric motor according to the control parameter so that the electric motor generates constant output power over the operational range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Solar Turbines Incorporated
    Inventors: Daniel Fingleton, Ryan Elliott Bergener, Thayer Barakat
  • Patent number: 9236825
    Abstract: If a running range is selected, a current conduction mode of a motor is set to a low speed mode in which a current is conducted through a first and second windings, when a rotation speed of the motor is less than a threshold value, and is set to a high speed mode in which a current is conducted through only the first winding, when the rotation speed is equal to or greater than the threshold value. If a neutral range is selected, control of the inverter is stopped, and, a regeneration suppression control is executed to switch the current conduction mode to the high speed mode, not only in a higher-side speed range where the rotation speed is equal to or greater than the threshold value, but also in at least a part of a lower-side speed range where the rotation speed is less than the threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignees: KABUSHIKI KAISHA YASKAWA DENKI, MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomohiro Kawati, Akihiro Furukawa
  • Patent number: 9236826
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for operating an electrical machine (1) controlled by an inverter (2), wherein the inverter (2) comprises half-bridge branches (10-U, 10-V, 10-W) having power components in the form of controllable power switching elements (3) and power diodes (4) respectively connected in parallel therewith, wherein each of the half-bridge branches (10-U; 10-V; 10-W) is arranged on a separate semiconductor module (11-U; 11-V; 11-W), which are arranged jointly on a baseplate (12), wherein the phase currents (1_U, 1_V, 1_W) flowing through the half-bridge branches (10-U, 10-V, 10-W), the voltages present at the power components and temperatures (t_Sens_U, t_Sens_V, t_Sens_W) on the semiconductor modules (11-U, 11-V, 11-W) are determined, from the current (1_U; 1_V; 1_W) respectively flowing at a power component and from the voltage respectively present a power loss (P) is calculated for each of the power components, from the power losses (P) a relevant temperature swing (?t; ?t_Sens) is determ
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Christian Djonga, Stefan Gaab, Tobias Werner, Michele Hirsch, Michael Heeb, Markus Kretschmer, Torsten Heidrich
  • Patent number: 9236827
    Abstract: A motor drive circuit comprises: a DC power supply; power supply lines; an inverter which has upper arm switch elements and lower arm switch elements; and a detection unit for detecting, based on a power state on the previous stage side of the inverter, the insulation resistances of the motor drive circuit and the motor. The detection unit performs a first detection operation for detecting the insulation resistances by using the output of the DC power supply while the upper arm switch elements and the lower arm switch elements are all turned off and a second detection operation for detecting the insulation resistances by using the output of the DC power supply while the elements of one of the upper arm switch elements and the lower arm switch elements are all turned off and at least one of the elements of the other one is turned on.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoichi Enomoto, Hiroshi Takao, Yoshihiko Maeda, Hoshihito Okada
  • Patent number: 9236828
    Abstract: Methods, apparatus and computer readable mediums are presented for controlling a multiphase inverter in which third harmonic injection pulse width modulation (THIPWM) is used for generating inverter switching control signals at or above a non-zero threshold inverter output frequency, and high frequency injection discontinuous pulse width modulation (HFIDPWM) is used for inverter output frequencies below the threshold, where the threshold frequency corresponds to a threshold period less than or equal to the thermal impedance time constant of the inverter switching devices, and the injected high frequency component for HFIDPWM corresponds to a common mode period less than the thermal impedance time constant to mitigate thermal stress on the inverter switches and low speed inverter output derating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Lixiang Wei, Jiangang Hu, Jeffrey D. McGuire
  • Patent number: 9236829
    Abstract: A motor driving circuit for driving a motor, includes: a detecting circuit configured to detect a detection signal indicative of a current state of the motor; a command value generating unit configured to generate a command value indicative of a target state of the motor; an error amplifier configured to generate an error signal by amplifying an error between the detection signal and the command value; a pulse width modulator configured to generate a pulse signal; and an output circuit. The command value generating unit is configured to provide a variation to the command value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Rohm Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hisashi Sugie
  • Patent number: 9236830
    Abstract: An electrical machine includes a stator including a plurality of electrical phases and a rotor having a plurality of magnets. Each electrical phase includes at least one coil and power electronics. There are means to detect an electrical short circuit in a faulted coil and means to supply an electrical current to the faulted coil when an electrical short circuit is detected in the faulted coil. The means to supply the electrical current to the faulted coil includes one or more un-faulted electrical phases of the electrical machine. The un-faulted electrical phases of the electrical machine are arranged to supply the electrical current to the electrical phase containing the faulted coil. The power electronics of the un-faulted electrical phases are arranged to supply the electrical current from the un-faulted electrical phase to the power electronics of the electrical phase having the faulted coil. This overcomes a problem of a fault in the DC or AC busbar of the electrical machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE plc
    Inventor: John J A Cullen
  • Patent number: 9236831
    Abstract: Method of operating a power supply and communication entity intended to form part of a system with at least one home-automation actuator comprising an electric motor for driving a movable element in a building, the power supply and communication entity comprising two electrical terminals for linking to the actuator, making it possible to power the actuator and allowing communication between the actuator and the power supply and communication entity, the method comprising two mutually exclusive modes of operation, a command execution mode and a communication mode, to each mode of operation there corresponding a specific power supply signal, the method comprising the steps: —choice of a mode of operation; —generation between the terminals of a power supply signal specific to the mode of operation chosen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: SOMFY SAS
    Inventors: Claude Desbiolles, Florian Germain, Daniel Mugnier, Stephane Riffaud, Nicolas Terrier
  • Patent number: 9236832
    Abstract: Provided are novel interconnecting strips for electrically connecting building integrable photovoltaic (BIPV) modules in a photovoltaic array. An interconnecting strip can be provided between a building structure and the BIPV modules, with electrical connections established by lowering the modules onto the strip previously positioned on the structure. The strip can includes two or more terminal groups aligned with different rows of BIPV modules. Each terminal group includes two or more connector terminals for connecting to the modules in that row. The interconnecting strip also includes leads extending between terminal groups and connecting connector terminals of different groups. In certain embodiments, terminal groups are offset with respect to adjacent groups to align with BIPV modules that are similarly offset to provide a moisture barrier. The interconnecting strip may be reconfigured in the field to provide different electrical connection schemes among BIPV modules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Apollo Precision (Fujian) Limited
    Inventors: Adam C. Sherman, Michael Meyers, Jason Corneille
  • Patent number: 9236833
    Abstract: The invention provides an electromagnetic wave generation device. The device includes a substrate provided with a terahertz wave oscillation section including a resonant tunneling diode structure, a two-dimensional electron layer having a semiconductor heterojunction structure, and a transistor section including a source electrode and a drain electrode provided at end portions of the two-dimensional electron layer and a gate electrode provided above the two-dimensional electron layer. The terahertz wave output of the terahertz wave oscillation section changes distribution of electrons in the two-dimensional electron layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshihiko Ouchi, Ryota Sekiguchi
  • Patent number: 9236834
    Abstract: Circuitry capable of performing fractional clock multiplication by using an injection-locked oscillator is described. Some embodiments described herein perform fractional clock multiplication by periodically changing the injection location, from a set of injection locations, where the injection signal is injected and/or by periodically changing a phase, from a set of phases, of the injection signal that is injected into the ILO.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: RAMBUS INC.
    Inventors: Masum Hossain, Farshid Aryanfar, Mohammad Hekmat, Reza Navid
  • Patent number: 9236836
    Abstract: A method is provided for processing a radio frequency (RF) signal output by a device under test (DUT), the RF signal having first comb lines in a predetermined first order. The method includes mixing and filtering the RF signal with a multi-tone local oscillator (LO) signal to provide an intermediate frequency (IF) signal having second comb lines corresponding to the first comb lines, where the mixing operation scrambles in frequency the first comb lines of the RF signal such that the second comb lines of the IF signal are in a second order different from the predetermined first order; digitizing the IF signal at a predetermined sampling rate; and descrambling the digitized IF signal with time domain signal processing such that the second comb lines of the digitized IF signal are arranged in the predetermined first order.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Keysight Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Andrew D. Fernandez
  • Patent number: 9236837
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, a method includes amplifying a signal provided by a capacitive signal source to form an amplified signal, detecting a peak voltage of the amplified signal, and adjusting a controllable impedance coupled to an output of the capacitive signal source in response to detecting the peak voltage. The controllable impedance is adjusted to a value inversely proportional to the detected peak voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Michael Kropfitsch, Jose Luis Ceballos
  • Patent number: 9236838
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a power amplification device having high power efficiency for an input signal even in a power region in a large back-off. A power amplification device of the present invention includes a delta-sigma modulator which performs a multilevel delta sigma modulation on amplitude signals of input signals, a plurality of power amplifiers which amplify carrier signals, an encoder which generates a first control signal that controls ON/OFF of the outputs from said plurality of power amplifiers in accordance with the output from said delta-sigma modulator, and a combiner which combines at least two power output from said plurality of power amplifiers in accordance with said first control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: NEC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kazuaki Kunihiro
  • Patent number: 9236839
    Abstract: A Class-G amplifier including a first and second driving transistor configured to receive an input voltage; a first supplying terminal connected to the first driving transistor to supply a first supplying voltage. The amplifier also comprises: a second supplying terminal connected to the second driving transistor to supply a second supplying voltage in absolute value higher than said first voltage; a first power transistor connected to the first driving transistor to form a first Sziklai pair structured to be activated by a first input voltage lower in absolute value than the first supplying voltage; a second power transistor connected to the second driving transistor to form a second Sziklai pair structured to be activated by an input signal comprised between the first supplying voltage and the second supplying voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: STMICROELECTRONICS S.R.L.
    Inventor: Michele Laplaca
  • Patent number: 9236840
    Abstract: A DC-coupled differential amplifier has an output common-mode voltage near the ground reference. A feedback circuit superimposed on a trans-linear loop improves linearity and extends the bandwidth of the basic PNP differential pair.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Linear Technology Corporation
    Inventor: Joseph Adut
  • Patent number: 9236841
    Abstract: An integrated, fully-differential current-feedback transimpedance operational amplifier circuit is disclosed. The circuit can be configured as a class-AB, low-impedance input stage, followed by an inverter-based, rail-to-rail output stage. For enhancing the open-loop transimpedance gain of the amplifier without consuming additional DC power, the same bias current is used both in the input stage and in a gain-enhancement stage serving as its load. The gain-enhancement stage can be either DC- or AC-coupled to the input of the amplifier. In the case of DC coupling, an output common-mode feedback loop can be used to provide the proper operating voltages in the amplifier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Analog Devices, Inc.
    Inventor: Alexandru A. Ciubotaru
  • Patent number: 9236842
    Abstract: A bass enhancement system can provide an enhanced bass effect for speakers, including relatively small speakers. The bass enhancement system can apply one or more bass enhancements to an input audio signal. For example, the bass enhancement system can exploit how the human ear processes overtones and harmonics of low-frequency sounds to create the perception that non-existent (or attenuated) low-frequency sounds are being emitted from a loudspeaker. The bass enhancement system can generate harmonics of at least some low-frequency fundamental frequencies in one embodiment. Playback of at least some harmonics of a low-frequency fundamental frequency can cause a listener to perceive the playback of the low-frequency fundamental frequency. Advantageously, in certain embodiments, the bass enhancement system can generate these harmonics without performing processing-intensive pitch-detection techniques or the like to identify the fundamental frequencies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: DTS LLC
    Inventors: Themis Katsianos, Oveal Jerome Walker
  • Patent number: 9236843
    Abstract: The invention relates to a sound system in a vehicle. The sound system comprises a first audio signal source providing a first audio signal and a second audio signal source providing a second audio signal. The sound system further comprises loudness determination unit is configured for determining a loudness of the first audio signal based on a psycho-acoustic model of a human hearing and a type information unit configured for establishing type information of the second audio signal. The sound system further comprises a control unit configured for individually selecting, for each of at least two playback zones, a mixing mode depending on the type of the second audio signal, wherein the mixing modes relate to a relation between signal output gains of the first and second audio signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH
    Inventors: Wolfgang Hess, Steffen Wagner
  • Patent number: 9236844
    Abstract: A ceramic multilayer component has a base body with connecting contacts, fitted to it, with a ferrite ceramic, which is provided for an inductive area and in which an inductance is arranged which is formed by electrical conductors, and with a varistor ceramic, wherein the varistor ceramic comprises at most 40% of the volume of the base body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: EPCOS AG
    Inventors: Thomas Feichtinger, Pascal Dotta, Hannes Schiechl
  • Patent number: 9236845
    Abstract: A ceramic multilayer component includes a ceramic body including a plurality of ceramic layers stacked on top of one another, internal electrodes located inside the ceramic multilayer body, terminal electrodes located on a mounting surface of the ceramic multilayer body, and via hole conductors that are arranged inside the ceramic multilayer body so as to connect the internal electrodes and the terminal electrodes to each other. An insulating portion is arranged to extend as a single body across a surface of the ceramic multilayer body and across the terminal electrodes. The insulating portion covers at least a portion of each of the via conductors and covers a portion of each of the terminal electrodes when viewed from the mounting surface side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: MURATA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Akihiro Ehara
  • Patent number: 9236846
    Abstract: An embodiment radio frequency MicroElectroMechanical (RF-MEMS) tunable bandpass filter includes one or more tunable resonators, each of which includes an electrically reconfigurable capacitor bank, a tuning screw, and a resonating structure. In an embodiment, the capacitor bank includes fixed value capacitors and switches to vary the capacitance of the resonator. In an embodiment, the capacitor bank includes variable capacitors and direct current (DC) bias circuits to vary the capacitance of the resonator. The filter may be incorporated into a time division duplexing (TDD) base station or other wireless communications device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Futurewei Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Siamak Fouladi Azarnaminy, Fengxi Huang, Dong Yan, Raafat Mansour
  • Patent number: 9236847
    Abstract: A common mode filter is disclosed. The common mode filter in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes: a magnetic substrate; a dielectric layer laminated on the magnetic substrate; an external electrode formed on the dielectric layer in such a way that one surface thereof is exposed to an outside; a conductive pattern formed on a surface of the dielectric layer so as to be located on a same plane as the external electrode and having one end thereof connected with the external electrode; an insulator film formed on a surface of the conductive pattern; and a magnetic layer formed on the insulator film so as to cover an upper surface and a lateral surface of the conductive pattern.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRO-MECHANICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ju-Hwan Yang, Sang-Moon Lee, Jeong-Min Cho, Young-Do Kweon, Won-Chul Sim
  • Patent number: 9236848
    Abstract: The filter includes: a primary transducer connected to a primary terminal; a secondary transducer connected to a plurality of secondary terminals; and a coupling transducer for mechanically coupling the primary transducer and the secondary transducer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: TAIYO YUDEN CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masanori Ueda, Takashi Matsuda, Tokihiro Nishihara
  • Patent number: 9236849
    Abstract: In embodiments, a piezoelectric acoustic wave (PBAW) device may include a substrate and a resonator comprising a plurality of electrodes coupled with the surface of the substrate. A dielectric overcoat may be disposed over the substrate and the resonator. In embodiments, and electrode in the resonator electrode may have a width that is based at least in part on a period of the resonator. By selecting the width of the electrode based at least in part on the period of the resonator, a spurious-mode of the passband of the PBAW device may be suppressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin P. Abbott, Natalya F. Naumenko, Marc Solal
  • Patent number: 9236850
    Abstract: A signal separation device is a duplexer in which a reception frequency band is located at higher frequencies than a transmission frequency band. A series arm of a ladder transmission filter includes a plurality of series arm resonators, and parallel arms respectively include parallel arm resonators. The parallel arm resonators include the parallel arm resonators having resonant frequencies lower than those of the series arm resonators and the parallel arm resonator that has a resonant frequency which is located within the reception frequency band and which is higher than the resonant frequency of the series arm resonators and that has a lower capacitance than the series arm resonators and the parallel arm resonators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kenichi Uesaka
  • Patent number: 9236851
    Abstract: A direct conversion radio-frequency (RF) receiver includes a controller and an adaptive continuous-time filter. The adaptive continuous-time filter receives a multiple-bit control signal generated by the controller to adjust a characteristic of the continuous-time filter. The controller generates the multiple-bit control signal in response to process variation in the semi-conductor material used to implement the controller and the adaptive continuous-time filter. A method for tuning an adaptive continuous-time filter comprises determining a RC time constant, converting the RC time constant to a digital word, comparing a select bit of the digital word to a respective bit of a predetermined reference word to generate a control bit, applying the control bit to an adjustable element to modify the RC time constant, repeating the determining, converting, comparing and applying steps until the control bits generate an output word and providing the output word to the adaptive continuous-time filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Edward Youssoufian, Aly M. Ismail, Geoffrey Hatcher
  • Patent number: 9236852
    Abstract: A microcontroller has an input capture peripheral, wherein the input capture peripheral is configured to store timer values of an associated timer in a memory and wherein the input capture peripheral has a gating input which controls whether an input capture function is activated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Stephen Bowling, James E. Bartling
  • Patent number: 9236853
    Abstract: A digital duty-cycle correction circuit may include an adjustment unit that may be configured to adjust a duty cycle of an oscillating signal based on an adjust signal to generate an adjusted oscillating signal and a sampling unit that may be configured to sample the adjusted oscillating signal. The circuit may also include a counting unit that may be configured to generate an indication of a number of samples of the adjusted oscillating signal that are at the low and high level and to adjust the indication using a selectable duty cycle modify signal based on a desired duty cycle of the adjusting oscillating signal. The circuit may also include a comparing and filtering unit that may be configured to generate the adjust signal based on a comparison of the indication with a comparison count. The indication may be adjustable such that the oscillating signal's duty cycle is adjustable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: FUJITSU LIMITED
    Inventor: William W. Walker
  • Patent number: 9236854
    Abstract: A drive circuit includes a first transistor coupled in series with a second transistor at a first intermediate node coupled to a load. An amplifier has an output driving a control terminal of the second transistor. The amplifier includes a first input coupled to a second intermediate node and a second input coupled to a reference voltage. A feedback circuit is coupled between the first intermediate node and the second intermediate node. A slope control circuit is coupled the second intermediate node. The slope control circuit injects a selected value of current into the second intermediate node, that current operating to control the output of the amplifier in setting a slope for change in voltage at the first intermediate node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics (Shenzhen) R&D Co. Ltd
    Inventors: Meng Wang, Tao Tao Huang
  • Patent number: 9236855
    Abstract: A comparator has a differential pair circuit and a current control circuit. The differential pair circuit has first and second comparator transistors, and is arranged to compare a first input and a second input according to a clock signal to generate a result indicating whether a difference of the first and second inputs exceeds an internal offset. The current control circuit is coupled in series with the differential pair circuit, and configured to provide unequal abilities of drawing currents for the first and second comparator transistors. An amplifier circuit is also disclosed, having a differential pair circuit, a current control circuit, an amplification circuit and a reset circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: MEDIATEK INC.
    Inventor: Yun-Shiang Shu
  • Patent number: 9236856
    Abstract: An apparatus for controlling slew rate is coupled to two adjustable voltage rails. The output of the apparatus is coupled to the gate of a switching element. By employing two adjustable voltage rails, the slew rate of the switching element is proportional to the voltage difference between the first adjustable rail and the second adjustable rail. The slew rate control apparatus can be applied to a variety of switching elements including N channel Field Effect Transistors (NFETs), P channel Field Effect Transistors (PFETs), current mode logic circuits and level shifter circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufactuing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Justin Shi, Alan Roth, Ying-Chih Hsu, Justin Gaither, Eric Soenen
  • Patent number: 9236857
    Abstract: A voltage detection circuit includes a reference voltage and current supply configured to generate a reference voltage and a reference current; a switching element configured to shift from an off-state to an on-state when the reference voltage is higher than a predetermined threshold voltage; a current mirror circuit allowing a current corresponding to the reference current to flow through the switching element in the on-state; a capacitive element coupled in series to the current mirror circuit and charged with the current flowing through the switching element; and an inverter configured to output an enable signal activated based on a terminal voltage of the capacitive element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shinji Miyamoto, Ichiro Yamane, Hirokuni Fujiyama
  • Patent number: 9236858
    Abstract: To provide a semiconductor device provided with a power-on reset circuit that can reliably detect decrease in power-supply voltage. The power-on reset circuit provided on the semiconductor device includes: a first comparison circuit that compares a primary voltage with a reference value; and a second comparison circuit that compares a secondary voltage with the reference value. The power-on reset circuit issues a reset signal based on comparison results of the first and second comparison circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: RENESAS ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shigeki Nakamura, Shintaro Mori, Yoshinori Tokioka, Kenji Tokami
  • Patent number: 9236859
    Abstract: A power control device may include a first power-supply voltage source configured to generate a first power-supply voltage, and a second power-supply voltage source configured to generate a second power-supply voltage having a voltage level different from that of the first power-supply voltage. The power control device may include a power driver configured to provide an internal power source in response to the second power-supply voltage, irrespective of the first power-supply voltage source and the second power-supply voltage source, during an initial power-up period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: SK Hynix Inc.
    Inventor: Yun Seok Hong
  • Patent number: 9236860
    Abstract: An electrical hand-held device is provided with improved proximity detection, which can be placed on a surface and has at least one transmission electrode, at least one reception electrode and at least one compensation electrode arranged between transmission electrode and reception electrode. The transmission electrode and the compensation electrode can be supplied with an electric switching signal of predetermined signal frequency and predetermined signal amplitude. Switching electric signal at the compensation electrode is phase-delayed with respect to the switching electric signal at the transmission electrode. Alternating electric fields radiated at the transmission electrode and the compensation electrode generate a current in the reception electrode, which is representative of an approach of a hand to the hand-held device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY GERMANY GMBH
    Inventors: Reinhard Unterreitmayer, Claus Kaltner, Holger Steffens, Stefan Donat