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:
Mar. 20, 2001
Filed:
Dec. 21, 1999
William Vincent Fitzgerald, Jr., Zionsville, IN (US);
Thomson Licensing S.A., Boulogne Cedex, FR;
Abstract
When a main switching transistor of a zero voltage switching power supply is conductive, a voltage is developed in a current sensing resistor coupled in series with the transistor. The voltage in the current sensing resistor is coupled to a first input of a comparator of the control circuit. A second input of the comparator is coupled to a capacitor that develops a voltage that varies in accordance with an output voltage of the power supply. During a given conduction interval of the transistor, the comparator is triggered in accordance with the difference between the current sensing resistor voltage and the capacitor voltage. An output of the comparator is coupled to the base of the transistor for controlling the turn off instant of the transistor on a current pulse-by-current pulse basis. Under overload condition, when the transistor is turned off, a reverse collector current flows through the base-collector junction of the transistor. The reverse collector current produces a voltage in the current sensing resistor that is at opposite polarity with respect to the voltage there, during forward conduction of the transistor. The voltage produced by the sensed reverse current turns on a diode switch and charges the capacitor that is coupled to the comparator of the control circuit in a manner to reduce the peak forward collector current. Thereby, the peak forward current in the transistor decreases relative to a value that would have occurred without the protection.