Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC

Ami Semiconductor Belgium Bvba

Pavel Horsky

Ivan Koudar

Tomas Suchy

Jan Plojhar

Petr Kamenicky

Jean-Paul Eggermont

Jiri Kutej

Martin Musil

Paul Andrem Decloedt

Marek Hustava

Michal Olsak

Zdenek Axman

Johan Camiel Julia Janssens

Jan Ledvina

Petr Kamenický

Paul Andre M Decloedt

Jiri Daniel

Operating DC to DC power converters. At least some of the example embodiments are methods including: driving current through an inductance in a first on cycle of the power converter; comparing, by a comparator, a signal indicative of current through the inductance coupled to a first input of the comparator to a threshold applied to a second input of the comparator, and asserting a comparator output responsive to the signal indicative of current meeting the threshold; sampling a differential voltage across the first and second inputs, the sampling responsive to assertion of a comparator output, and the differential voltage indicative of propagation delay through the comparator; and compensating the comparator in a second on cycle for the compensation delay based on the differential voltage, the second on cycle subsequent to the first on cycle.

Methods and systems of operating DC to DC power converters

Piezoelectric sensor controllers may facilitate detection and identification of various potential fault states with parameter measurements. In an illustrative embodiment of a piezoelectric-based sensor having response-parameter-based fault diagnosis, the sensor includes a piezoelectric transducer and a controller. The controller drives the piezoelectric transducer to generate bursts of acoustic energy and, based on a response of the piezoelectric transducer to said driving, identifies a corresponding transducer state from a set of potential states including multiple transducer fault states. An illustrative embodiment of a sensing method having fault diagnosis, the method includes: driving a piezoelectric transducer to generate a burst of acoustic energy; monitoring a response of the piezoelectric transducer to said driving; identifying, based on said response, a corresponding transducer state from a set of potential states including multiple transducer fault states; and if the transducer state is a fault state, reporting that fault state.

Response-based determination of piezoelectric transducer state

Piezoelectric sensor controllers may facilitate detection and identification of various potential fault states with novel parameter measurements. In an illustrative embodiment of a piezoelectric-based sensor having a shorted-reverberation based resonant frequency measurement, the sensor includes a piezoelectric transducer that provides residual reverberation after being driven. The sensor further includes a controller that provides a low impedance path for the piezoelectric transducer during the residual reverberation and that measures current through the low impedance path to determine a resonant frequency of the piezoelectric transducer. In an illustrative embodiment of a sensing method having a shorted-reverberation based resonant frequency measurement, the method includes: driving a piezoelectric transducer that provides residual reverberation after being driven; providing a low impedance path for the piezoelectric transducer during the residual reverberation; and measuring current through the low impedance path to determine a resonant frequency of the piezoelectric transducer.

Measuring resonance parameters of piezoelectric transducers

An illustrative controller embodiment includes: a transmitter that causes reverberation of a piezoelectric transducer; and a linear damping module that measures characteristics of the reverberation and tunes at least one of a shunt resistance and a shunt reactance for the piezoelectric transducer based on said characteristics. An illustrative sensor embodiment includes: a piezoelectric transducer; and a transducer controller coupled to the piezoelectric transducer to transmit pulses and receive echoes for measuring distances. The controller includes a linear damping module with: a shunt resistance; a shunt inductance; and an optional switch that couples the shunt resistance and shunt inductance in parallel to the piezoelectric transducer to damp reverberation of the piezoelectric transducer after said transmit pulses. The controller measures at least one characteristic of said reverberation and responsively tunes the shunt resistance or the shunt inductance.

Piezo transducer controller and method having adaptively-tuned linear damping

An apparatus for auto addressing includes a communication bus interface configured to receive an address assignment request to assign an address to the apparatus. A functional connection is configured to activate a device connected to the apparatus. A detector is configured to measure a characteristic of the device and to compare the characteristic with a validation parameter. The characteristic depends on the functional connection. An address assignment circuit is configured to store the address in a memory of the apparatus in response to receiving the address assignment request at the apparatus, and the characteristic being validated with the validation parameter.

Auto addressing using functional connection

A method includes configuring a transmitter to provide at least three output levels used to form an output signal. The method further includes adjusting a duration of at least one of the output levels to control an average value of the output signal independently of an amplitude of a first harmonic of the output signal.

Controlling an output signal independently of the first harmonic

Detecting failure modes of DC to DC power converters. In a system comprising a lighting microcontroller communicatively coupled to a direct current (DC) to DC power converter coupled to light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by way of an inductor, an example method may include: commanding, by the lighting microcontroller, the power converter to control an average current provided to the LEDs; reading, by the lighting microcontroller, values from the power converter; and detecting, by the lighting controller, one or more failure modes of the power converter based on the values.

Methods and systems of detecting failure modes of DC to DC power converters

In one embodiment, a transducer controller is configured to form a drive signal with a first frequency to drive a transducer. The drive signal has a period and a half-period and drives the transducer for a first portion of the half-period. The transducer controller is configured to, for a second portion of the half-period, sense a voltage formed by the transducer, measure portions of the voltage and estimate a phase error between the first frequency and a resonant frequency of the transducer, and to adjust the first frequency to a second frequency that reduces the phase error.

Method of forming a transducer controller and circuit therefor

A circuit includes a first driver, a second driver, and one or more monitor modules coupled to the first or second driver to measure slope times of the first or second driver. The circuit further includes a comparator coupled to the one or more monitor modules to compare the slope times of the first and second drivers. The circuit further includes one or more regulators coupled to the comparator and the first or second driver to regulate a slope of the first or second driver, based on output of the comparator, at most once per pulse cycle until the slope of the first or second driver reaches a target slope.

Regulating transition slope using differential output

Various embodiments of apparatuses, systems and methods for regulating the currents provided by a DCDC buck converters to an LED unit are provided. In accordance with at least one embodiment, a regulating element operable to instruct and regulate the periods during which a first switch of a driver module, used to control the operation of a buck converter module, is configured into at least one of a first operating state and a second operating state such that the maximum and minimum currents provided by the buck converter module to a load, such as an LED unit, over a given duty cycle are symmetrically disposed about an average current provided to the LED unit during the duty cycle, where the average current provided is substantially equal to a target current for the LED unit.

Devices, systems and processes for average current control

Various embodiments of apparatuses, systems and methods for regulating the currents provided by a DCDC buck converters to an LED unit are provided. In accordance with at least one embodiment, a device includes a time-off module configured to output a time-off signal when an output voltage of a power supply reaches a predetermined threshold; a timer module configured to determine a first duration, and after waiting a second duration, output a measured time signal; and a control module, coupled to each of the timer module and the time-off module, configured to output a set signal during a current cycle of the power supply, wherein the 'on' slate for the current cycle occurs while the control module outputs the set signal and ends when the control module receives the measured time signal.

Various embodiments of apparatuses, systems and methods for regulating the currents provided by a DCDC buck converters to an LED unit are provided. In accordance with at least one embodiment, a regulating module operable to instruct and regulate the periods during which a first switch of a driver module, used to control the operation of a buck converter module, is configured into at least one of the first operating state and the second operating state such that the maximum and minimum currents provided by the buck converter module to a load, such as an LED unit, over a given duty cycle are symmetrically disposed about an average current provided to the LED unit during the duty cycle, where the average current provided is substantially equal to a target current for the LED unit.

Apparatus, systems and methods for average current control in a buck DC/DC LED driver

A system for open circuit detection for inductive sensors includes coils coupled in a star configuration on a first side of each coil. The system further includes driving pins coupled to the coils on a second side of each coil and voltage sources coupled to the driving pins. The system further includes one or more comparators coupled to the driving pins that monitor the voltages of the driving pins to detect open circuits.

Open circuit detection for inductive sensors

In an embodiment, an LED controller is configured to form a charge transfer sequence to selectively enable LED transistors of a plurality of LED transistors that are configured for coupling in parallel with a plurality of LEDs. An embodiment may include that the LED controller is configured to sequentially couple a charge capacitor to a gate-to-source capacitor of each LED transistor of the plurality of LED transistors to one of charge or to refresh the gate-to-source capacitor of a respective LED transistor and to one of enable or re-enable the respective LED transistor wherein the gate-to-source capacitor is a parasitic gate-to-source capacitor of the LED transistor wherein the charge capacitor is sequentially coupled to the gate-to-source capacitor of each LED transistor.

LED controller and method therefor

In one embodiment, an LED current controller is formed to determine which of a plurality of LED branches has the largest voltage drop and to select the current through that branch to use in controlling the value of current that flows through other LED branches.

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Brno, Czechia

Pavel Horsky