Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation

Sony Corporation

Nobuhiko Shigyo

Toshio Suzuki

Kazutoshi Ono

Yohtaro Yasu

Hideo Maeda

Masayuki Katakura

Masahiro Ichihashi

Kazumasa Nishimura

Hiroyuki Watanabe

Takahiro Naito

Motoyasu Yano

Kenya Kondou

Daisuke Ide

Syou Mitsuishi

Hiroaki Nakano

Takashi Kobayashi

Hiroaki Fujita

Toru Terashima

Kouzi Tsukamoto

Hiroyasu Tagami

Tetsuya Tashiro

Yoshikatsu Jingu

Naoto Yanase

Koichi Hashikaki

Seigou Sakai

Keita Komagata

To improve stability of a reference current in a current source circuit that generates the reference current by using capacitors. The current source circuit includes a pair of capacitors, a switching circuit, an operational amplifier, and an output transistor. The switching circuit charges one of the pair of capacitors with a predetermined charging current, and transfers electric charge from the one of the pair of capacitors to the other of the pair of capacitors. The operational amplifier amplifies a difference between the terminal voltage of the other of the pair of capacitors and a predetermined reference voltage and outputs the difference that has been amplified as an output voltage. The output transistor outputs a current corresponding to the output voltage as a reference current.

Current source circuit and electronic device

Provided is a low voltage and compact digital control regulator that achieves enhanced stability and reduced variations in ripple voltage and droop characteristics. The digital control regulator includes a first A/D converter configured to generate a first digital signal according to a differential voltage between an output voltage and a first reference voltage, an output stage circuit configured to generate the output voltage, a replica circuit having the same circuit configuration as the output stage circuit and configured to output a replica voltage related to the output voltage, a second A/D converter configured to generate a second digital signal according to a differential voltage between the replica voltage and a second reference voltage, and a control circuit configured to generate a control signal for controlling a gain of the output stage circuit, according to the first digital signal and the second digital signal.

Digital control regulator

The present disclosure provides a touch sensor device that can improve efficiency of acquiring signal components and that can effectively address noise and electromagnetic interference. The touch sensor device includes a driver unit that drives an electrode having a capacitance that changes due to contact, using a voltage having a waveform of any shape, the voltage gradually changing from a first voltage value that is higher than a reference voltage to a second voltage value that is lower than the reference voltage, and from the second voltage value to the first voltage value, a monitor unit that monitors a drive current obtained by driving the electrode, a rectifying unit that performs full-wave rectification of the current monitored by the monitor unit, and a smoothing unit that smooths the rectified current and converts the rectified current to a current that corresponds to the capacitance of the electrode.

Touch sensor device and electronic device equipped with touch sensor device

[Problem] To provide a signal generation apparatus that is used in a ToF camera system especially adopting an indirect system and can suppress occurrence of erroneous distance measurement caused by distance measurement of a same target by a plurality of cameras with a simple configuration. [Solving means] There is provided a signal generation apparatus including a first pulse generator configured to generate a pulse to be supplied to a light source that irradiates light upon a distance measurement target, a second pulse generator configured to generate a pulse to be supplied to a pixel that receives the light reflected by the distance measurement target, and a signal generation section configured to generate a pseudo-random signal for inverting a phase of signals to be generated by the first pulse generator and the second pulse generator.

Signal generation apparatus

To provide a digitally controlled LDO regulator that can control an output voltage even during an auto-zero processing period. A digitally controlled low dropout regulator is provided that includes a plurality of AD converters and an impedance variable circuit, each of the plurality of AD converters including a comparator, in which a first signal from each of the plurality of AD converters is input to the impedance variable circuit; a second signal output from the impedance variable circuit is input to one of two terminals of each of the plurality of AD converters; when one of the plurality of AD converters is in operation, another of the plurality of AD converters performs auto-zero processing to set a voltage value used as a reference; and the comparator compares a voltage value of the second signal input to the one of the two terminals with the set voltage value.

Digitally controlled low dropout regulator

When a bias voltage of a substrate is generated, an output voltage of a charge pump is controlled at an appropriate level, resultingly reducing a consumption current. The charge pump generates a predetermined output voltage from a predetermined DC power supply. A clock generator outputs a clock for operating the charge pump. A voltage monitoring unit monitors the output voltage of the charge pump and controls the clock output from the clock generator such that the output voltage is maintained within a predetermined range. A voltage regulator generates the bias voltage from the output voltage of the charge pump.

DC/DC converter

A signal generation apparatus is used in a ToF camera system especially adopting the indirect system and suppresses occurrence of a cyclic error. The signal generation apparatus includes a first pulse generator configured to generate a pulse to be supplied to a light source that irradiates light upon a distance measurement target, a second pulse generator configured to generate a pulse to be supplied to a pixel that receives the light reflected by the distance measurement target, and a signal selection section configured to select and output a duty cycle of a signal to be outputted from the first pulse generator from between a first duty cycle and a second duty cycle different from the first duty cycle.

Signal generation apparatus for time-of-flight camera with suppressed cyclic error

A non-contact communication medium according to one disclosed embodiment includes a memory unit, a power generation unit, a power monitoring unit, and a capacitance control unit. The power generation unit includes a resonant circuit and a rectification circuit, and generates electric power to be supplied to the memory unit. The resonant circuit includes an antenna coil and resonant capacitance unit having a variable capacitance value, and the rectification circuit rectifies a resonant output of the resonant circuit. The power monitoring unit includes a current adjustment element, a reference voltage generation source, and an operational amplifier. The operational amplifier controls the current adjustment element such that an output voltage of the rectification circuit is equal to a reference voltage from the reference voltage generation source. The capacitance control unit is configured to control the resonant capacitance unit on the basis of an output of the operational amplifier.

Non-contact communication medium, driving method therefor, and recording medium cartridge

To provide a signal generation apparatus that is used in a ToF camera system especially adopting an indirect system and can suppress occurrence of erroneous distance measurement caused by distance measurement of a same target by a plurality of cameras with a simple configuration. There is provided a signal generation apparatus including a first pulse generator configured to generate a pulse to be supplied to a light source that irradiates light upon a distance measurement target, a second pulse generator configured to generate a pulse to be supplied to a pixel that receives the light reflected by the distance measurement target, and a signal generation section configured to generate a pseudo-random signal for inverting a phase of signals to be generated by the first pulse generator and the second pulse generator.

Duty signal ratio and signal generation circuits with clock signal duty ratio stabilization under decreased power supply conditions are disclosed. In one example, a duty ratio correction circuit includes an inverting buffer, a capacitor, a low pass filter, an error amplifier, and an adjusting unit. The capacitor adjusts the rising and falling times of an inverted signal output from the inverting buffer. The low pass filter extracts a low frequency component of the inverted signal. The error amplifier adjusts a duty ratio of the inverted signal by controlling at least one of an output source current and an output sink current of the inverting buffer on the basis of a difference between the extracted low frequency component and a reference signal. The adjusting unit adjusts the control of the inverting buffer by the error amplifier.

Duty ratio correction circuit and signal generation circuit

A signal generation apparatus for use with a ToF camera system includes a first pulse generator configured to generate a pulse to be supplied to a light source that irradiates light to a distance measurement target, a second pulse generator configured to generate a pulse to be supplied to pixels that receive light reflected by the distance measurement target, and a switching section configured to switch a setting of a modulation frequency of the first pulse generator and the second pulse generator within a predetermined period.

A charge pump circuit by which fundamental issues involved in the voltage feedback type charge pump circuit have been solved is realized. A power supply circuit includes a charge pump circuit, a feedback circuit feeding an output of the charge pump circuit back to an input of the charge pump circuit, a first current source causing a constant current to flow through the feedback circuit, a MOS transistor element interposed in a middle of the feedback circuit, a resistor element interposed at a position closer to the output of the charge pump circuit than the MOS transistor element in the feedback circuit, a bias circuit applying a constant voltage to a control terminal of the MOS transistor element, and a control section controlling a value of the constant current which the first current source flows through the feedback circuit.

Power supply circuit comprising a charge pump circuit and a feedback circuit for the charge pump circuit

An object of the present technology is to stably operate a power supply circuit. A charge switch is connected to a first terminal of a capacitor and charges the capacitor with an input voltage on the basis of a control signal inputted to a control terminal. A discharge switch is complementary with the charge switch, is connected to the first terminal of the capacitor, and discharges on the basis of the control signal inputted to the control terminal the voltage charged to the capacitor, thereby generating an output voltage. A charge control signal converting section converts a charge control signal that controls the charge into a control signal referenced to the input voltage and inputs the resulting control signal to the control terminal of the charge switch. A discharge control signal converting section converts a discharge control signal that controls the discharge into a control signal referenced to the output voltage and inputs the resulting control signal to the control terminal of the discharge switch. A pulse voltage supplying section supplies a pulse voltage to a second terminal. A control signal generating section exclusively generates the charge control signal and the discharge control signal and supplies the charge control signal and the discharge control signal.

Power supply circuit and power supply apparatus

The present technology relates to a regulator circuit and a control method capable of coping with steep change in load. An output transistor provided between an input terminal and an output terminal, a differential amplifying unit that amplifies a difference between reference voltage and voltage fed back from the output transistor, a voltage feedback path, and a current feedback path are provided, in which the current feedback path includes a current source and a transistor. The transistor included in the current feedback path is formed of an NMOS, a gate is connected to an output terminal of the differential amplifying unit, a drain is connected to the current source, and a source is connected to an input terminal of the differential amplifying unit. The present technology is applicable to a regulator circuit.

Regulator circuit and control method

Disclosed herein is a switch for turning on/off the connection between a first terminal and a second terminal. The switch includes a first transistor circuit configured from two transistors connected in series between the first terminal and the second terminal; and a second transistor circuit having a gate terminal connected to source terminals of the two transistors and a source terminal connected to gate terminals of the two transistors. The connection between the first terminal and the second terminal is changed over between on and off states by changing over a potential to the source terminal of the second transistor circuit between high and low levels.

Growing community of inventors

Fukuoka, Japan

Nobuhiko Shigyo