With Transistor Control Means In The Line Circuit Patents (Class 363/97)
  • Patent number: 6833692
    Abstract: A regulator circuit maintaining an approximate constant current output characteristic. In one aspect, a disclosed regulator controls a switch that has a current limit threshold. A supply terminal and feedback terminal of the regulator are connected together as a control terminal such that a shunt regulator current is the control terminal current in excess of the internal supply current consumed by the regulator. The current limit threshold of the switch is changed as a function of the shunt regulator current. In another aspect, a control input of the regulator circuit receives a current that is the sum of the internal supply current consumed by the regulator circuit and a feedback current. The feedback current is a fraction of the consumption current of the regulator circuit and the current limit threshold of the switch is changed as a function of the feedback current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2004
    Assignee: Power Integrations, Inc.
    Inventors: Balu Balakrishnan, Alex B. Djenguerian, Kent Wong, David Michael Hugh Matthews, Erdem Bircan
  • Publication number: 20040252533
    Abstract: A control circuit calculates, through PI control, the amplitude of a current command per half cycle of an input voltage at a point in time where the sign of the input voltage from the AC power supply 20 detected by an input voltage detector 31 changes based on the difference between a reference voltage command and the voltage of a capacitor detected by a DC voltage detector 30, calculates a normalized current command by dividing the amplitude of the current command by the peak value of the last input voltage and multiplying the resulting value by the input voltage, and generates a switching signal for performing on/off control of a switching element 38 by comparing the current command thus calculated with the input current detected by the input current detector circuit 32.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 16, 2003
    Publication date: December 16, 2004
    Inventor: Kiyoshi Eguchi
  • Patent number: 6826060
    Abstract: In a power supply apparatus having voltage doubler rectifier circuit (5) connected to secondary winding (1B) of transformer (1), diode (13) is connected between transistor (3) and primary winding (1A) of transformer (1). By detecting an AC voltage at a junction point between primary winding (1A) of transformer (1) and diode (13) thereby performing over-voltage protection, the difference between the maximum operating voltage and the no-load operating voltage is decreased and the voltage during no-load operation is lowered and thus small-sized power supply apparatus and peripheral equipment can be provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2004
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tsutomu Nakanishi, Tsuneo Tsuji
  • Patent number: 6822434
    Abstract: A monolithic transformer compensated circuit with enhanced quality factor without significantly increasing noise levels is presented in this disclosure. The technique uses a monolithic transformer and a current source driving current into the transformer secondary winding to achieve loss compensation in the transformer primary. An ac current which is proportional to, and in phase with the voltage applied to the primary winding can be used to achieve theoretically perfect loss compensation at a given frequency in the RF (GHz) frequency range. Examples of circuit applications that are particularly suited to the technique include Voltage Controlled Oscillators (VCO's), Low Noise Amplifiers (LNA's) and Filters. The technique has the added advantage of reducing power consumption in some applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2004
    Assignee: Telecommunications Research Laboratories
    Inventors: James William Haslett, Bogdan Alexandru Georgescu, John Godfrey McRory, Holly Evelyn Pekau
  • Patent number: 6816395
    Abstract: The present invention provides a switching power supply which includes a main rectifying and smoothing circuit (40) and a secondary rectifying and smoothing circuit (50) for rectifying and smoothing an output obtained at a secondary coil (22) of a converter transformer (20) whose primary coil (21) is supplied with a switching output from a switching element (30) which switches a direct input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Katsumi Kobori, Masami Okada
  • Patent number: 6801442
    Abstract: When islanding operation is to be detected in a power conversion apparatus for converting a DC power into an AC power and outputting the AC power to a system power supply, a plurality of variation generation systems for executing, in accordance with different schemes, detection of islanding operation in which power supply from the system power supply is stopped are arranged, and at least one variation generation systems is selected by selection system from the plurality of variation generation systems and operated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2004
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masaki Suzui, Nobuyoshi Takehara
  • Patent number: 6798672
    Abstract: A power converter module includes a power transformer, a first power switch, and an active snubber circuit for recovering surge energy. The power transformer has a primary winding and a secondary winding adapted to be coupled electrically to a load. The primary winding has first and second terminals connected electrically and respectively to first and second nodes. The first power switch has a first switch terminal connected electrically to the second node, and a second switch terminal connected electrically to a third node. The first and third nodes are adapted to be coupled electrically to a power source. The active snubber circuit includes a snubber diode, a snubber capacitor, a snubber transformer, and a second power switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2004
    Assignee: Potrans Electrical Corporation
    Inventor: Masahito Jinno
  • Patent number: 6798671
    Abstract: The present invention provides a worldwide compatible switching power supply unit of an RCC system in which by reducing the number of components or parts, reduction of cost can be realized and the mounting space can be reduced. In a high input voltage and in a light load, an inductance of a primary winding of a transistor is set high but in the range of not exceeding a rated value of a main switching element, and in a low input voltage and in a heavy load, an inductance of a primary auxiliary winding and values of a control resistor and a capacitor of the main switching element are set low but in the range of not deteriorating the starting characteristics of the main switching element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2004
    Assignee: Orion Electric Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroshi Sakai
  • Patent number: 6788184
    Abstract: A high frequency transformer may include an integrated rectifier cell with flat windings and/or slotted copper segments stacked on a core branch to provide alternating primary and secondary windings. This reduces inductance leakage and thus increases the operating frequency of the transformer. Rectifying diodes of the rectifier cell may be arranged according to various configurations between the copper segments, and the collection plates may form one of the rectifier outputs. The other output may be provided by connecting all the midpoints of the windings with conductive spacers pressed together along a first axis. The invention is particularly advantageous in static converters, and, more particularly, in spot welding machines, for example.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2004
    Inventor: Michel Roche
  • Patent number: 6781357
    Abstract: A power supply including a regulation circuit that maintains an approximately constant load current with line voltage. In one embodiment, a regulation circuit includes a semiconductor switch and current sense circuitry to sense the current in the semiconductor switch. The current sense circuitry has a current limit threshold. The regulation circuit current limit threshold is varied from a first level to a second level during the time when the semiconductor switch is on. One embodiment of the regulation circuit is used in a power supply having an output characteristic having an approximately constant output voltage below an output current threshold and an approximately constant output current below an output voltage threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2004
    Assignee: Power Integrations, Inc.
    Inventors: Balu Balakrishnan, Alex B. Djenguerian, Kent Wong, David Michael Hugh Matthews
  • Patent number: 6778415
    Abstract: A controller for controlling at least two power circuits comprises a pulse generator and a selector. The pulse generator generates a first pulse signal which is coupled to a first power circuit of the at least two power circuits for initiating the operation of the first power circuit. The first power circuit then outputs a second pulse signal to a second power circuit of the at least two power circuits to initiate the operation of the second power circuit. The selector generates a reference signal which is coupled to each of the at least two power circuits for indicating a number of power circuits controlled. The controller is used to control energy supplying to an electrical circuit comprising multiple inverters and is more particularly to provide phase shifts to the electrical circuit. Usually, the electrical circuit is applied to display devices, such as liquid crystal display monitors, liquid crystal display computers and liquid crystal display televisions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2004
    Assignee: O2Micro, Inc.
    Inventor: Yung-Lin Lin
  • Patent number: 6778417
    Abstract: This electric-power supplying device comprises switching elements, rectifying elements, and a control circuit. The switching elements are switched according to a switching pulse so as to perform a rectification. The rectifying elements are connected in parallel with the switching elements so as to perform a rectification. The control circuit alters the switching pulse gradually upon switching between the rectification performed by the switching elements and the rectification performed by the rectifying elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2004
    Assignees: Fujitsu Limited, Fujitsu Denso Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuhiko Itakura, Hiroshi Shimamori, Kazutoshi Fuchigami, Tsunehiro Ohno
  • Patent number: 6778410
    Abstract: A DC-to-DC converter. The converter has three inductors, two capacitors, a first switch and a second switch, a first rectifier and a second rectifier, and a transformer with a primary winding and a secondary winding. The first switch and the second switch are turned on alternately according to a controlling signal, and a current may flow through the primary winding of the transformer, thereby transferring energy to the second winding. The first rectifier and the second rectifier operate according to the energy transferred from the primary winding to obtain a solid current through the third inductor, and a solid DC output voltage is output to the load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2004
    Assignee: Delta Electronics, Inc.
    Inventors: Jianhong Zeng, Jianping Ying, Qingyou Zhang
  • Publication number: 20040156220
    Abstract: A power supply is provided, by which power consumption of an electrical apparatus having a normal mode and a standby mode is reduced by including a dedicated power converter for the standby mode, to increase operational efficiency by means of feeding back an output voltage in standby mode to supply a constant voltage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 25, 2003
    Publication date: August 12, 2004
    Applicant: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Sang Doo Kim, Kwon Ki Hong
  • Patent number: 6775156
    Abstract: Power limitation transformer circuit structure of power supply, including: an electromagnetic interference filter unit, a rectifying unit, a power factor correction section, a transformer having a primary input terminal and secondary input terminal, a pulse controlling unit connected with the secondary input terminal of the transformer, a primary power limitation circuit and at least one secondary power limitation circuit, an output current controlling unit and an output voltage controlling unit. The input terminal of the output current controlling unit is connected with the secondary output terminal of the transformer. The primary output terminal and secondary output terminal of the output current controlling unit are respectively serially connected with the primary and secondary power limitation circuits. The input terminal of the output voltage controlling unit is connected with the secondary output terminal of the transformer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2004
    Assignee: Compal Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Chiao-Hsin Lin, Kuo-Cheng Chu, Chih-Kuo Chou, Chih-Tarng Chuang
  • Patent number: 6770857
    Abstract: An induction heating apparatus can heat aluminum pot etc. with pot vibration noise being suppressed. During a turn-on time of second switching device 57, an energy is accumulated at choke coil 54, and at the same time a resonant current with a shorter period than the turn-on time of second switching device 57 or a driving time of first switching device 55 is generated at heating coil 59, so that during turn-off of second switching device 57, i.e., during on-time of first switching device 55, the energy accumulated at choke coil 54 is transferred to second smoothing capacitor 62. And then the output power is supplied from smoothing capacitor 62 to heating coil 59, thereby reducing the pot vibration noise, which is caused by pulsating current of input voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2004
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Izuo Hirota, Atsushi Fujita, Takahiro Miyauchi, Takeshi Kitaizumi, Yuji Fujii, Kouji Niiyama, Hideki Omori
  • Patent number: 6760238
    Abstract: A system and method for DC/DC conversion are provided in which a high accuracy digital pulse width modulator controller circuit controls a power switch to obtain a desired DC output. The control circuit amplifies the difference of a DC output sample in relation to voltage reference. The amplified difference is then compared with a portion of the DC output. The compared result is used for controlling the power switch. A ripple coming from the DC output side is overlaid upon either one of the inputs to the comparator depending upon the polarity of the ripple signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2004
    Assignee: BC Systems, Inc
    Inventor: Arthur Charych
  • Patent number: 6757183
    Abstract: To start a switching power supply in an energy saving manner, the method and device according to the invention transmits the energy that is collected by the Y-capacitors through a diode to a capacitor that is located on the secondary side. Once the voltage in the capacitor reaches a first predefinable minimum value, the voltage is applied to an impulse generator as an input voltage and the generator starts the switching power supply. Once the voltage in an additional capacitor on the secondary side reaches a second predefinable minimum value, the voltage in the capacitor is also applied as an input voltage to a control unit, preferably, a microprocessor, that controls the impulse generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2004
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Martin Feldtkeller, Peter Preller
  • Publication number: 20040120170
    Abstract: AC to DC inverters that are formed from electronic switches, such as MOSFETs, that are controlled by gating pulses obtained from comparators. The comparators compare a varying signal against two closely spaced reference voltages so as to provide gating pulses with delays needed to prevent shoot-through in the electronic switches.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 9, 2003
    Publication date: June 24, 2004
    Applicant: COOLIT SYSTEMS INC.
    Inventor: Robert John Charles Scott
  • Publication number: 20040120171
    Abstract: Provided is a control module circuit for use with a switching power supply (SPS). The control module circuit has normal and standby operation modes controls switch-on/off operations of a switching device by using a feedback voltage that is inversely proportional to an output voltage. The control module circuit includes a voltage set-up unit and a switching control signal generating unit. The voltage set-up unit provides a first voltage used for a switch-on operation of the switching device in response to changes in the feedback voltage and a second voltage used for a switch-off operation of the switching device in response to changes in the feedback voltage, in the standby operation mode. The switching control signal generating unit generates a control signal used to turn on the switching device when the first voltage is provided from the voltage set-up unit and a control signal used to turn off the switching device when the second voltage is provided from the voltage set-up unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2003
    Publication date: June 24, 2004
    Inventors: Jin-Ho Choi, Dong-Young Huh
  • Patent number: 6754091
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for high frequency alternating power generation to control kilowatts of supplied power in microseconds. The present invention includes a means for energy storage, push-pull switching means, control electronics, transformer means, resonant circuitry and means for excess energy recovery, all in electrical communication. A push-pull circuit works synchronously with a force commutated free-wheel transistor to provide current pulses to a transformer. A change in the conduction angle of the push-pull circuit changes the amount of energy coupled into the transformer's secondary oscillating circuit, thereby altering the induced secondary resonating voltage. At the end of each pulse, the force commutated free-wheel transistor causes residual excess energy in the primary circuit to be transmitted back to the storage capacitor for later use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2004
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: William A. Reass, Louis Schrank
  • Patent number: 6747882
    Abstract: A power conversion device including, a power converter controlling a motor in variable speed control, first to second control circuits outputting first to second control signals, first to second detectors detecting a state of the power converter and outputting first to second detection signals to the first to second control circuits, a switch receiving the first to second control signals and outputting one of the control signals to the power converter, and a selection circuit outputting a changeover selection signal to the switch for outputting the second control signal instead of the first control signal, when the switch has outputted the first control signal and the first control circuit fails.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2004
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Atsushi Tanaka, Hiroshi Yoshida
  • Patent number: 6724599
    Abstract: A power semiconductor device comprises a power switching element having two main electrodes and one control electrode, a metal electrode connected to one of main electrodes of the power switching element, and a protection circuit for controlling an operation of the power switching element so that a main current flowing between the main electrodes of the power switching element is detected and the main current is limited when the detected main current is determined to be an overcurrent. The protection circuit detects the main current flowing through the power switching element by detecting a voltage between predetermined two points of the metal electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2004
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kouichi Mochizuki
  • Patent number: 6721192
    Abstract: A PWM controller according to the present invention provides a technique to control the output voltage and output current of the power supply without the feedback control circuit in the secondary side of the transformer. In order to achieve better regulation, an adaptive load and a feedback synthesizer are equipped into the PWM controller, which associated with the auxiliary winding of the transformer regulate the output voltage of the power supply as a constant. Furthermore, a programmable power limiter in the PWM controller controls the power that is delivered from the primary side to the output of the power supply. The threshold of the power limit is varied in accordance with the change of output voltage. Because the output power is the function of the output voltage of the power supply, a constant current output is realized when the output current of the power supply is greater than a maximum value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2004
    Assignee: System General Corp.
    Inventors: Ta-yung Yang, Chern-Lin Chen, Jenn-yu G. Lin, Yi-Hsin Leu
  • Patent number: 6719435
    Abstract: An improved DC-DC converter with reduced input current ripples. The converter includes a transformer, a switch, and a capacitor. The switch turns on and off alternately to store the energy in the transformer. The capacitor is connected in series with a rectifier and a secondary winding of the transformer across an input DC voltage so as to be charged by the energy released from the secondary winding through the DC power source. Accordingly, the circuit sees an input current which continues flowing through the DC power source even the switching element is turned off.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2004
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.
    Inventor: Toshiaki Nakamura
  • Patent number: 6714425
    Abstract: In the switching power supply, a load state judgment circuit (25) judges the state of a load (20) according to a pulse signal VG to be used for ON/OFF control of a MOS transistor (8) as a switching element in a DC—DC converter (127). In order to reduce a power consumption of the switching power supply, a PFC ON/OFF switching circuit (24) stops the operation of the power factor improving converter (126) when the judgment result indicates a light load state, and starts the operation of the power factor improving converter (126) when the judgment result indicates a heavy load state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2004
    Assignee: Sanken Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomoyasu Yamada, Masaaki Shimada
  • Patent number: 6711035
    Abstract: A switching power supply which feeds energy stored in a choke coil 7 to a load 11 through a freewheeling element when a switching element 2 turns off. The switching power supply includes a freewheeling MOSFET 6 serving as the freewheeling switch element which operates synchronously with the switching element 2 and a surge voltage prevention circuit 32. The surge voltage prevention circuit 32 detects a timing for a current to flow in the direction that a body diode 16 of the freewheeling MOSFET 6 conducts when an operation stoppage signal to the switching element 2 is outputted, and then turns off the freewheeling MOSFET 6 at the timing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2004
    Assignee: Densei-Lambda Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Satoshi Tomioka
  • Patent number: 6711034
    Abstract: A DC—DC converter includes an inverter and a primary-side circuit with a transformer whose secondary-side voltage is rectified by at least one rectifier for generating an output DC voltage. To avoid an asymmetrical load, which is in particular exhibited by a different load of the rectifier elements (power semiconductors), an electrical magnitude of the DC—DC converter is measured. This magnitude may be, for example, a primary-side current, a primary-side voltage at a capacitance, or a secondary-side, rectified voltage. A parameter for the symmetry deviation is calcuted from the measurement of the magnitude. A symmetry regulation arrangement utilizes the drive of the inverter, for example, the duty cycle of the pulse-width modulated voltage produced by the inverter to minimize the parameter for the symmetry deviation. This achieves an even distribution of the power over the secondary rectifier elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2004
    Assignee: Koninklijke Phillips Electronics N.V.
    Inventors: Thomas Duerbaum, Reinhold Elferich, Georg Sauerlaender
  • Patent number: 6707284
    Abstract: A progammable power supply for providing a regulated DC output power is disclosed. The power supply provides the output power to any one of a plurality of electronic devices adapted for receiving the output power at an operational voltage or an operational current. The power supply receives a programming signal to maintain the output power at the operational voltage or operational current associated with a particular selected electronic device. Accordingly, by varying the programming signal, the power supply can be programmed to provide output power to any one of several electronic devices having differing input power requirements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2004
    Assignee: Comarco Wireless Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Thomas W. Lanni
  • Patent number: 6707283
    Abstract: A switching power supply (30) includes a compensation circuit (58) which monitors a transformers (36) primary side to provide a voltage compensation signal, COMPV. A transistor inductor current, VTRAN is fed to the compensation circuit (58) to establish a DC level proportional to the peak primary side inductor current flowing through a power transistor (38). VTRAN is fed to a multiplier circuit (98). The output of the multiplier circuit (98) is scaled by a resistor (80) to establish the compensation signal, COMPV at the output to the compensation circuit (58). When at current limit, an amplifier (66) becomes saturated causing a diode (68) to reverse bias, effectively removing compensation signal COMPV from operation. An amplifier (70) falls into a linear region and a diode (74) becomes forward bias forcing compensation signal COMPC into operation providing regulation to the output of the switching power supply (30) at current limit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2004
    Assignee: Semiconductor Components Industries, L.L.C.
    Inventor: Alan R. Ball
  • Patent number: 6700105
    Abstract: A compact induction heating system that is at least partially powered by a source of substantially clean DC current. The induction heating system includes a high frequency inverter with an input connected to a substantially clean DC current source, a first current conductive path including a first capacitor and a first switch closed to cause one half cycle of AC current to flow in the first path by discharging the first capacitor, a second current conductive path including a second capacitor and a second switch closed to cause a second half cycle of AC current to flow in the second path by discharging the second capacitor, a single load inductor in both of the paths with AC current flowing in a first direction through the inductor when the first switch is closed and in a second opposite direction through the inductor when the second switch is closed, and a gating circuit to alternately close the switches at a driven frequency to control heating by the load inductor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2004
    Assignee: Tocco, Inc.
    Inventor: William Adam Morrison
  • Patent number: 6696675
    Abstract: A compact induction heating system for use on an internal combustion engine driven implement having an engine driven alternator to generate DC current for storage in a battery used as a source of clean DC current of less than 50 volts for ignition of fuel in the engine, the system comprises a high frequency inverter with an input connected to the clean DC current source, a first current conductive path including a first capacitor and a first switch closed to cause DC current to flow in the first path and across the first capacitor, a second current conductive path including a second capacitor and a second switch closed to cause DC current to flow in the second path and across the second capacitor, a single load inductor in both of the paths with DC current flowing in a first direction through the inductor when the first switch is closed and in a second opposite direction through the inductor when the second switch is closed and a gating circuit to alternately close the switches at a driven frequency to contro
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2004
    Assignee: Tocco, Inc.
    Inventor: William Adam Morrison
  • Patent number: 6697272
    Abstract: A contactless power transmitting system includes a power transmitting circuit and a power receiving circuit that are coupled by a transformer having a primary coil and a secondary coil. The power transmitting circuit includes a switching power supply having a predetermined frequency. The power receiving circuit includes a capacitor that is connected to the secondary coil and that constitutes a resonating circuit in cooperation with the leakage inductance of the secondary coil and a flyback rectifier circuit. The capacitance of the capacitor is set so that the resonant frequency of the resonating circuit is substantially equal to the predetermined frequency of the switching power supply.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Takafumi Nanbu, Atsushi Koshiyama
  • Patent number: 6693810
    Abstract: The present invention of a power supply and battery back-up system includes an AC/DC power supply and a battery for supplying operating power to a telecommunications system. The battery is connected to the telecommunications system and is designed to supply the telecommunications system with operating power if the power supply fails for some reason. The power supply is designed to output the peak operating power required by the telecommunications system, supplying the telecommunications system with whatever operating power it needs and supplying the difference between the operating power supplied to the telecommunications system and the peak operating power output by the power supply to the battery for charging. In one embodiment, the battery back-up system includes a battery monitoring circuit for monitoring the battery voltage and a relay connected between the battery and the telecommunications system for disconnecting the battery if the battery voltage falls below a pre-set level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2004
    Assignee: Adtran, Inc.
    Inventors: Steven M. Robinson, John McGary, Ralph R. Boudreaux
  • Patent number: 6693812
    Abstract: The present invention provides a bias supply selection circuit employable with a linear regulating device configured to provide a first bias supply voltage and a main bias supply stage configured to provide a second bias supply voltage. In one embodiment, the bias supply selection circuit includes a voltage monitoring circuit configured to monitor a level of the second bias supply voltage and to provide a control voltage proportional to the level. Additionally, the bias supply selection circuit includes a controllable switching circuit, coupled to the voltage monitoring circuit, configured to select the second bias supply voltage by deactivating the linear regulating device when the control voltage reaches a predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2004
    Assignee: Tyco Electronics Power Systems Inc.
    Inventors: Li Li, John F. Steel, Thomas G. Wang
  • Patent number: 6693811
    Abstract: The present invention provides an integrated controller for use with a power supply employing a pulse width modulator and a method of operation thereof. In one embodiment, the integrated controller includes a primary control circuit configured to provide a control signal to the pulse width modulator. Additionally, the integrated controller includes a feedback circuit configured to monitor an output signal of the pulse width modulator and to modify the control signal thereby enabling a substantially monotonic increase in an output voltage of the power supply output voltage during a non-steady state period of operation thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2004
    Assignee: Tyco Electronics Power Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Wayne C. Bowman, Thomas G. Wang
  • Patent number: 6693413
    Abstract: A progammable power supply for providing a regulated DC output power is disclosed. The power supply provides the output power to any one of a plurality of electronic devices adapted for receiving the output power at an operational voltage or an operational current. The power supply receives a programming signal to maintain the output power at the operational voltage or operational current associated with a particular selected electronic device. Accordingly, by varying the programming signal, the power supply can be programmed to provide output power to any one of several electronic devices having differing input power requirements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2004
    Assignee: Comarco Wireless Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Thomas W. Lanni
  • Patent number: 6690586
    Abstract: A self-excited oscillation type switching power source device is constructed such that when a power source switch is turned on, and the voltage of an input power source increases, the voltage at a point a is increased. When the voltage exceeds a predetermined voltage, a first transistor is turned on, and a second transistor is turned off. Then, a first switching element, when a starting voltage is applied to the control terminal thereof, is turned on, and voltage is developed in a first drive winding. This voltage is fed back to the point a via a feedback circuit. As a result, the transistor is accelerated to reach the on-state. The second transistor is accelerated to reach the off-state. As a result, the first switching element is rapidly turned on, and the oscillation is started.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2004
    Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tatsuya Hosotani, Hiroshi Takemura
  • Patent number: 6690585
    Abstract: A bi-directional DC-to-DC power converter is provided. The power converter has three modes of operation: (1) a step-down mode, in which the power converter converts power in a first direction (such as from a high-voltage power bus to a low-voltage power bus), and (2) a step-up mode, in which the power converter converts power in the opposite direction (such as from the low-voltage power bus to the high-voltage power bus), and (3) an off mode, in which no power is transferred. A single power converter may therefore be used to replace both a conventional step-down converter and a conventional step-up converter. The power converter may provide a battery charge-control functionality, and may be used to charge a battery that may, for example, provide a source of power to a component of an electrical device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2004
    Assignee: OQO, Inc.
    Inventor: Jonathan Betts-LaCroix
  • Patent number: 6690591
    Abstract: Disclosed is about a single stage converter in an LCD backlight inverter which is embodied into an integrated circuit and has an individual circuit structure for converting DC current into AC current. The single stage converter in the LCD backlight inverter of the invention is embodied as an ASIC to realize an individual application circuit, replaces conventional two-stage articles to reduce the size, enhances the efficiency and reduces the part number thereby saving the cost for materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2004
    Assignee: Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Byoung Own Min
  • Patent number: 6687137
    Abstract: A switching power supply circuit includes an insulating converter transformer where the insulating converter transformer has a gap formed therein so that a coupling which is efficient for a loose coupling is obtained; switching circuit, a primary side parallel resonance circuit formed from a leakage inductance component from the primary winding of the insulating converter transformer and a capacitance of a parallel resonance capacitor and a secondary side series resonance circuit including a secondary side series resonance capacitor and a secondary winding of the insulating converter transformer; a dc output voltage production means for performing a voltage multiplying full-wave rectification operation to produce a secondary side dc output voltage substantially equal to twice the input voltage level; and a constant voltage control means for varying a switching frequency of the switching element in order to perform constant voltage control of the secondary side output voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Masayuki Yasumura
  • Patent number: 6687142
    Abstract: AC to DC inverters that are formed from electronic switches, such as MOSFETs, that are controlled by gating pulses obtained from comparators. The comparators compare a varying signal against two closely spaced reference voltages so as to provide gating pulses with delays needed to prevent shoot-through in the electronic switches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2004
    Assignee: Coolit Systems Inc.
    Inventor: Robert John Charles Scott
  • Patent number: 6683797
    Abstract: A multi-stage DC—DC converter is provided that utilizes multiple loops in the control system to perform stable operation. The multi-stage DC—DC converter includes: a first DC—DC converter, a second DC—DC converter provided as a latter stage to said first DC—DC converter and a control circuit that controls the switching operation performed by said first DC—DC converter based on at least the output voltage of said first DC—DC converter and the output voltage of said second DC—DC converter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2004
    Assignee: TDK Corporation
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Zaitsu, Masakazu Takagi
  • Patent number: 6674655
    Abstract: A power supply comprising a flyback converter and a controller is disclosed. The flyback converter drives a load when electrically coupled to an alternating current power source. The controller controls a soft switching during each switching time period of the flyback converter. Upon an initial switching time period, the controller determines each acceptable switching frequency for the subsequent switching time periods and selects one of the acceptable switching frequencies for soft switching the flyback converter over one or more switching time periods during a constant load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
    Inventors: Demetri Giannopoulos, Nai-Chi Lee, Qiong Li
  • Patent number: 6671188
    Abstract: A switching power supply includes a transformer having a primary winding connected to a pair of a.c. input terminals via a rectifier circuit, and a secondary winding connected to a pair of d.c. output terminals via a rectifying and smoothing circuit. Connected between the pair of outputs of the rectifier circuit via an inductor and part or whole of the transformer primary, a primary switch is turned on and off at a repetition frequency higher than the frequency of the a.c. input voltage. A soft-switching circuit is provided which comprises a transformer tertiary, an ancillary switch, a capacitor, and diodes for zero-voltage switching of the primary switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2003
    Assignee: Sanken Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Koichi Morita
  • Patent number: 6661212
    Abstract: A wideband voltage regulator is configured to provide suppression of fast transients, which can include a boosting circuit and a sensing circuit. The boosting circuit can be suitably configured to boost the voltage regulator response, while the sensing circuit can determine when such a boost may be desired. Accordingly, the response of the voltage regulator can be accelerated to a fast load transient beyond the closed loop bandwidth limited response or the slew rate limited response of the voltage regulator. An exemplary voltage regulator can be configured with an active sensing circuit comprising a sensing amplifier with switch control outputs, and a boosting circuit comprising N stored charge sources, e.g.; boost capacitors, and (3N−1) switches that are configured to accelerate the voltage regulators response to a fast load transient beyond the closed loop bandwidth limited or slew rate limited response of the voltage regulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2003
    Assignee: Primarion
    Inventor: Kenneth A. Ostrom
  • Patent number: 6651036
    Abstract: A circuit that provides the root-mean-square (RMS) value of an input signal and that detects and independently recovers from an output fault condition is provided. The circuit includes reconfigurable circuitry that changes from normal operating mode to fault recovery mode when an output fault is detected. During fault recovery mode, the circuit provides a modified output signal that allows independent recovery from an output fault condition. Once recovery is complete, the circuit returns to normal operating mode and provides a DC output signal proportional to the RMS value of an AC input signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2003
    Assignee: Linear Technology Corporation
    Inventor: Joseph Gerard Petrofsky
  • Patent number: 6646897
    Abstract: A pulse width modulation controller is coupled to a feedback voltage that is proportional to the power supply output voltage. The controller adjusts a current sense threshold in the controller in response to the feedback voltage. An offset voltage is generated for a predetermined time after the power-up of the power supply. A sum of the offset voltage and a primary current sense node voltage is applied to a current sense input of the controller. The controller generates a switch control signal in response to the sum voltage being less than the current sense threshold. The duty cycle of an output control switch is changed by the switch control signal thus adjusting the output voltage ramp.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2003
    Assignee: ADC DCL Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Charles Weston Lomax, Jr., Christopher Tad Ammann
  • Patent number: 6643145
    Abstract: A digital diode emulator (DDE) for a DC-DC converter increments a digital counter with a high frequency clock. For each inductor current cycle, the counter counts between turn-on and turn-off of the output switching circuit's lower switch. When the contents of the counter match a modification of a count latched from the previous inductor current cycle, a turn-off signal is supplied to the control logic. If the previous inductor current cycle's turn-off signal occurred late, the latched count is decremented by one bit. If the previous cycle's turn-off signal occurs early, the latched count is incremented by one bit. Over successive inductor current cycles, the digital diode emulator effectively ‘dithers’ the turn-off time of the switching circuit's lower switch about the zero-crossing point of the inductor current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2003
    Assignee: Intersil Americas Inc.
    Inventor: William Todd Harrison
  • Patent number: 6639812
    Abstract: A power supply control circuit connectable with an input power monitor that monitors an input power value to the power supply, an output power monitor that monitors an output power value from the power supply, and an output power controller that varies the output power value from the power supply, the power supply control circuit having an output power determiner that determines a determined output power value depending on the input power value and a power adjuster that adjusts the output power value to the determined output power value by controlling the output power controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2003
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Shigeaki Nakazawa, Hidetoshi Yano, Hidekiyo Ozawa, Mitsuo Saeki, Kouichi Matsuda, Shigeo Tanaka