Microchip Technology Inc.

John Charais

Keith Edwin Curtis

Jerrold S Zdenek

Zacharias Marthinus Smit

James (Jim) Simons

Joseph Harry Julicher

Sean Steedman

Richard L Hull

Hartono DArmawaskita

Zeke Lundstrum

Ward Brown

Huamin Zhou

Clark Rogers

Gabriel Rosca

Cristian Nicolae Groza

Mudit Gupta

Dave Suda

Stein Julusmoen

Steve Kennelly

Marilena Mancioiu

An apparatus comprises a microcontroller including a digital potentiometer provided in a microcontroller packaging. The digital potentiometer includes a resistor ladder including a plurality of resistors arranged in series and a plurality of selectively controllable potentiometer switches, a first resistor terminal connected to the resistor ladder, and a wiper terminal connected to the resistor ladder. The microcontroller includes a processor to transmit a wiper select signal to the digital potentiometer to selectively control the potentiometer switches to selectively connect at least a subset of the resistors between the first resistor terminal and wiper terminal, to thereby control the resistance between the first resistor terminal and wiper terminal. The microcontroller includes a first pin connected to the first resistor terminal and a second pin connected to the wiper terminal, the first and second pins being exposed through the microcontroller packaging to allow connection of the digital potentiometer to an external device.

Microcontroller including a digital potentiometer

An operational amplifier with totem pole connected output transistors having inputs coupled to multiplexers for selectable coupling of signals and voltage levels thereto. The high and low output transistors may be forced hard on or hard off in addition to normal coupling of signals thereto. The operation of the output transistors may be dynamically changed to pass only positive going signals, negative going signals, placed in a tristate high impedance state, hard connected to a supply voltage and/or hard connected to supply common return. A core independent peripheral (CIP) may also be coupled to the operational amplifier for dynamically changing the multiplexer inputs in real time, as can external control signals to a control circuit coupled to the multiplexers.

Operational amplifier with controllable output modes

A mains voltage zero-crossing detector has a constant voltage forced on an external node by driving transistor devices with appropriate control signals provided by a feedback loop around a highly power efficient class B configuration comprising an operational amplifier having single ended dual outputs and a class B control circuit. Mains power zero crossings may then be detected by monitoring the drive current of devices driven by this amplifier. Wherein Class B control and current mode detection provide accurate detection of the driven signal without depending on any voltage threshold that may depend on temperature, process fabrication and/or supply voltage.

Mains voltage zero-crossing detector

A slope compensation module provides slope compensation of a switched-mode power supply using current mode control. The slope control unit comprises a capacitor coupled between an input and an output of the slope control unit, a switch for discharging the capacitor and a constant current source for charging the capacitor. Slope compensation parameters may be changed during operation with a programmable constant current source. The slope compensation module may also function as an analog sawtooth waveform frequency generator, and as an analog pulse width modulation (PWM) generator. Charging the capacitor generates a linearly decreasing (negative slope) ramp voltage for modulating a feedback error voltage into a slope compensated feedback error voltage. Capacitor charging may be controlled from a pulse width modulation signal. Opening of the switch may be programmably delayed, and a minimum closed time thereof may also be programmed during operation of the slope compensation module.

Slope compensation module

Activation of an external sensor coupled to an electronic device will change the frequency of a low power oscillator in the electronic device that runs during a low power sleep mode of the electronic device. When a change in frequency of the low power oscillator is detected, the electronic device will wake-up from the low power sleep mode. In addition, when a change in frequency from an external frequency source is detected, the electronic device will wake-up from the low power sleep mode.

Interrupt/wake-up of an electronic device in a low power sleep mode when detecting a sensor or frequency source activated frequency change

A single low side power transistor switch is used to efficiently control a brushed motor in a forward rotational direction. A boost voltage power supply is used to supply voltage to the brushed motor in a reverse rotational direction and/or braking from the forward rotational direction. A digital device controls the brushed motor rotational speed and rotational directions.

Brushed motor control with voltage boost for reverse and braking

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Phoenix, AZ, United States of America

John Charais