Texas Instruments Corporation

Ruochen Zhang

Yisong Lu

Qingjie Ma

Wei Zuo

Jingwei Xu

Xiaofan Qiu

Wei Xu

Minwen Shi

Pauy Guan Tan

Hongyan Wu

A system for a network of one or more off-board subsystems is provided for controlling automobile subsystems such as vehicle lighting. Such a system may be compatible with a universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (UART) interface and it may address timing issues by using a protocol having a synchronization frame (sync frame) such that a clock signal may be recovered from the sync frame sent by an off-board master device, such as a microcontroller unit, to a satellite/slavedevice. Such a protocol permits elimination of a crystal clock oscillator and phase-locked loop located at satellite, thereby dispensing with an otherwise significant cost.

High speed FlexLED digital interface

A circuit includes a processor that analyzes a pulse width modulated (PWM) signal feedback from a brushless DC motor to determine a transition between a mutual inductance zero crossing condition and a Back Electro Motive Force (BEMF) zero crossing condition of the brushless DC motor. A mutual inductance controller is executed by the processor to commutate the brushless DC motor at startup of the motor when the mutual inductance zero crossing condition is detected by the processor. A BEMF controller is executed by the processor to commutate the brushless DC motor after startup of the motor when the BEMF zero crossing condition is detected by the processor.

Process of operating a hybrid controller for brushless DC motor

A light emitting diode controller integrated circuit includes counter circuitry having inputs coupled to a clock signal input pin, a pulse width modulated signal input pin, and a sense input pin, and has a count output coupled to a gate drive signal output to an external power transistor. The power transistor is connected in series between a power lead, a sense resistor, and a light emitting diode. The sense input pin is coupled to the series connection between the resistor and the transistor. The counter circuitry provides a Ton_delay equal to a Toff_delay of the power transistor. By counting up during a Ton_delay and down during a Toff_delay, the controller can be used with power transistors of unknown characteristics.

Adaptive turn-off delay time compensation for LED controller

Hybrid controller for brushless DC motor

A gate driver IC for driving an NMOS transistor having a drain coupled through a load to a power supply. A gate driver output drives the gate of the NMOS transistor. A comparator receives the drain voltage of the NMOS transistor and compares it to a reference voltage representative of a short circuit condition between the drain and the power supply. The comparator outputs a first value if the drain voltage is greater than the reference voltage and outputs a second value if the drain voltage is less than or equal to the reference voltage. Control circuitry receives the output of the first comparator and pulls the voltage of the gate driver output low if the comparator output is of the first value. Adaptive masking circuitry is operable, upon an application of an 'on' signal to the gate driver output, to mask the output of the comparator such that a condition of the drain voltage being greater than the reference voltage does not cause the control circuitry to pull the voltage of the gate driver output low. The adaptive masking circuitry detects a Miller plateau in the gate voltage of the external NMOS transistor. The adaptive masking circuitry stops masking the output of the comparator after the end of the Miller plateau.

Masking vd to vref after miller plateau and gate charge

Adaptive blanking timer for short circuit detection

A circuit is provided that includes summing circuit for comparing the PWM output signal to the PWM input signal and producing an increment signal if a value of the PWM input signal exceeds a corresponding value of the PWM output signal and producing a decrement signal if a value of the PWM input signal is less than a corresponding value of the PWM output signal. An integrator produces a duty cycle signal by producing an increase in value of the duty cycle signal in response to each increment signal and a decrease in value of the duty cycle signal in response to each decrement signal. A PWM generator produces the PWM output signal in response to the duty cycle signal to cause the duty cycle of the PWM output signal to equal the duty cycle of the PWM input signal with no loss of duty cycle resolution.

Growing community of inventors

Shanghai, China

Ruochen Zhang