The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 09, 2021
Filed:
Dec. 21, 2018
Analog Devices, Inc., Norwood, MA (US);
Quan Wan, Belmont, MA (US);
Brian A. Pelletier, Georgetown, MA (US);
Analog Devices, Inc., Wilmington, MA (US);
Abstract
A difference amplifier can be used for providing an amplified representation of a sensed current through a load device. A separate signal path can be used to provide fast fault detection, without requiring use of the difference amplifier. For example, a voltage scaling circuit can be used to scale a differential input signal indicative of the load current. The scaled representation can then be compared against a specified threshold corresponding to a fault current value. In this manner, a high-speed low-voltage comparator can be used to provide detection of a fault current that otherwise exceeds an input range of the difference amplifier, where the difference amplifier is used separately for precision current monitoring. As an illustrative example, such a scheme can provide fault detection even when an input of the difference amplifier is saturated.