Power Integrations, Inc.

Thin Film Electronics Asa

Little Dragon IP Holding LLC

Mingming M Mao

Yury Gaknoki

Tiziano Pastore

Michael Yue Zhang

Ricardo Luis Janezic Pregitzer

David Michael Hugh Matthews

Guangchao Zhang

Peter Vaughan

Stefan Bäurle

Stefan S Baurle

Zhigang Wang

Arthur Brian Odell

Vivek Subramanian

Robert J Mayell

Edward E Deng

Yue Zhang

Antonius Jacobus Johannes Werner

Matthew David Waterson

Ricardo L J Pregitzer

A half-bridge switching module is one of a plurality of half-bridge switching modules coupled to an input voltage to regulate energy provided to a load in response to a system controller. The half-bridge switching module includes a low-side switch. A low-side control is referenced to ground and is coupled to the low-side switch. A high-side switch is coupled to the low-side switch. A high-side control circuit is coupled to the high-side switch and is referenced to a floating node of the half-bridge switching module. A single fault terminal is coupled to a fault bus coupled to the system controller. The fault bus consists of a single wire. The single fault terminal is configured to provide multidirectional multi-fault group communication between the plurality of the half-bridge switching modules and the system controller through the fault bus.

Single-wire bus multi-group fault communication for half-bridge inverter modules

A fault communication system includes a system controller and a plurality of devices. Each one of the plurality of devices includes a single fault terminal. A fault bus consisting of only a single wire coupled to the system controller and the plurality of devices is also included. The fault bus is coupled to provide multidirectional multi-fault group communication between the plurality of devices and the system controller. The single fault terminal of each one of the plurality of devices includes is coupled to the fault bus to provide the multidirectional multi-fault group communication between the plurality of devices and the system controller.

Aspects for a flip-flop circuit are described herein. As an example, the aspects may include a passgate, a passgate inverter, a leakage compensation unit, and an inverter. The passgate may be coupled between a flip-flop data input terminal and a first node. The passgate inverter and the inverter may be sequentially connected between the first node and a flip-flop data output terminal. The leakage compensation unit may be connected between the first node and the flip-flop data output terminal parallel to the passgate inverter and the inverter.

Low power flip-flop circuit

Aspects for a flip-flop circuit are described herein. As an example, the aspects may include a first passgate, a first latch, a second passgate, and a second latch. The first latch may include a first inverter and a first logic gate. The first logic gate may further include a second inverter and at least one voltage reducing component. The voltage reducing component may be an N-channel transistor or a P-channel transistor. Similarly, the second latch may include a third inverter and a second logic gate. The second logic gate may further include a fourth inverter and at least one voltage reducing component.

Low power flip-flop circiut

Circuits and circuit elements configured to generate a random delay, a monostable oscillator, circuits configured to broadcasting repetitive messages wireless systems, and methods for forming such circuits, devices, and systems. The present invention advantageously provides relatively low cost delay generating circuitry based on TFT technology in wireless electronics applications, particularly in RFID applications. Such novel, technically simplified, low cost TFT-based delay generating circuitry enables novel wireless circuits, devices and systems, and methods for producing such circuits, devices and systems.

Random delay generation for thin-film transistor based circuits

A controller for use in a power converter includes a first edge detection circuit that receives a first input sense signal representative of an input of the power converter coupled to a dimmer circuit, and generates a first edge detection signal in response to the first input sense signal. A shaping circuit receives the first edge detection signal from the first edge detection circuit. The shaping circuit generates a first shape signal in response to the first edge detection signal. A drive circuit receives the first shape signal and a feedback signal representative of an output of the power converter. The drive circuit generates the drive signal in response to the feedback signal to control switching of a power switch of the power converter. The drive circuit switches the power switch in a first higher current mode for a first duration in response to the first shape signal.

Switch current control to shape input current

A transient event detector includes a first reference generator, an adjustable low-pass filter, and a comparator. The first reference generator coupled to scale the input current signal to generate a first reference current signal that tracks the input current signal. The adjustable low-pass filter circuit is coupled to receive the input current signal and to generate a filtered input current signal such that a magnitude of a slope of the filtered input current signal is less than the magnitude of the slope of the input current signal during a transient event. The first comparator is coupled to generate an event detection signal that indicates the presence of the transient event in response to a value of the filtered input current signal reaching a value of the first reference current signal. The adjustable low-pass filter circuit is configured to increase the cutoff frequency in response to the event detection signal.

Power converter controller with input current slope adjustment

A controller for use in a power converter includes a state selection circuit coupled to receive an input voltage sense signal representative of an input voltage, a switch current sense signal representative of a switch current of a power switch, and a feedback signal representative of an output quantity of the power converter. The state selection circuit is coupled to generate an input voltage signal in response to the input voltage sense signal, an input current signal in response to the switch current sense signal, and an input threshold signal in response to the feedback signal. A state machine circuit is coupled to the state selection circuit to generate a drive signal in response to the input voltage signal, the input current signal, and the input threshold signal to switch the power switch to control a transfer of energy from an input to an output of the power converter.

Input overvoltage protection using current limit

A controller includes a multiplier block that is coupled to receive an input voltage signal, an input current signal, and an output voltage signal that are representative of a power conversion system. The multiplier block outputs a multiplier block output signal responsive to a product of the input voltage signal and the input current signal divided by the output voltage signal. A signal discriminator outputs a error signal responsive to the multiplier block output signal. The error signal is representative of a difference between a portion of the multiplier block output signal that is greater than a reference signal and a portion of the multiplier block output signal that is less than or equal to the reference signal. A switch controller generates a drive signal responsive to the error signal to control switching of a power switch to regulate an average output current of the power conversion system.

Indirect regulation of output current in power converter

A controller for controlling a power supply includes a feedback signal generator to generate a feedback signal representative of an output current in response to an output sense signal. A state selector circuit receives the feedback signal and outputs a digital state signal to set an operational state of a switch of the power supply. The state selector circuit adjusts the digital state signal in response to feedback information at an end of a feedback period. A driver circuit receives the digital state signal and generates a drive signal in response to the digital state signal. The drive signal drives switching of the switch in accordance with the operational state of the switch.

Controller for a switch mode power converter

Thermally protected bleeder circuits for maintaining an input current of a power converter above a dimmer circuit holding current are disclosed. In one example, a bleeder control circuit may generate a bleeder control signal to control a bleeder current of the bleeder circuit based on an input current signal and a temperature signal. The bleeder control circuit may cause the bleeder current to be substantially equal to zero in response to the input current signal being greater than or equal to a reference signal, and may cause the bleeder current to be proportional to a difference between the input current signal and the reference signal in response to the input current signal being less than the reference signal. The reference signal may be constant for temperatures less than a threshold temperature, but may decrease with respect to increases in temperature for temperatures greater than the threshold temperature.

Bleeder protection using thermal foldback

An example power supply controller includes a signal separator circuit that generates a feedback signal. An error signal generator generates an error signal in response to the feedback signal. A control circuit generates a drive signal in response to the error signal. The drive signal controls switching of a switch. A multi-cycle modulation circuit is included in the control circuit and generates a skip signal in response to a start skip signal, a stop skip signal and a skip mask signal. The skip mask signal is generated in response to the skip signal. The start skip and stop skip signals cause the drive signal to start skipping or stop skipping, respectively, on-time intervals of cycles. The skip mask signal disables the start skip signal from causing the drive signal to start skipping the on-time intervals of cycles.

Power supply controller with minimum-sum multi-cycle modulation

A bleeder controller for controlling a magnitude of a variable current conducted by bleeder circuitry between input terminals of a device is disclosed. The magnitude of the variable current is controllable in response to a control signal. The bleeder controller includes a dimming detector to classify a half line cycle as leading-edge-dimmed or a trailing-edge-dimmed in response to at least one of an input current sense signal and an input voltage sense signal.

Power converter controller with analog controlled variable current circuit

A power conversion device includes a power switch a first main terminal coupled to a higher potential portion, a second main terminal coupled to a lower potential portion, and a tap coupled to the first main terminal to provide a current for charging a supply terminal capacitor. A controller is coupled to a control terminal of the power switch to control switching of the power switch to produce a regulated output. A supply terminal is to be coupled to a supply terminal capacitor to store a charge for supplying power to at least some of the components of the controller. A voltage regulator is coupled to regulate the charge stored and a potential on the supply terminal capacitor. The current for charging the supply terminal capacitor is selectively drawn from the tap of the power switch in response to the supply terminal capacitor being below a threshold.

Controller supply terminal boosting

A controller for a power converter includes conduction detection circuitry and a variable reference generator. The conduction detection circuitry is coupled to generate a conduction signal representative of conduction times that an input signal is above a threshold value. The variable reference generator is coupled to receive the conduction signal and configured to generate a count value in response to a first conduction time of the conduction signal. The variable reference generator is coupled to output a reference signal in response to the count value and in response to prior count values stored in the variable reference generator.

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Saratoga, CA, United States of America

Mingming M Mao