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:
Sep. 02, 2008
Filed:
Aug. 09, 2004
Wei Dong, Cary, NC (US);
Kun Xing, Cary, NC (US);
Eric M. Solie, Durham, NC (US);
Intersil Americas Inc., Milpitas, CA (US);
Abstract
A power management IC including a dual purpose pin, a fault detection system, and a fault signature system. The dual purpose pin performs a power management function during normal operation (e.g., a soft start pin coupled to an external capacitor, a set pin coupled to an external resistor, a frequency set pin coupled to a resistor-capacitor combination, etc.). The fault detection system senses any of multiple fault conditions and provides a corresponding fault indicator signal, each indicating a corresponding fault condition. The fault signature system generates a selected fault signature signal on the dual purpose pin, where each fault signature signal has a characteristic indicative of a corresponding fault condition. Thus, an existing pin on the IC is re-used to indicate the fault condition. The fault signature signal may be a unique voltage level, a unique charging rate, a unique frequency signal, or any a combination thereof.