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:
Aug. 06, 2013
Filed:
Oct. 16, 2008
Sampat Shekhawat, Mountaintop, PA (US);
Sampat Shekhawat, Mountaintop, PA (US);
Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation, South Portland, ME (US);
Abstract
According to one embodiment, a power supply system includes a switching device operable to be turned on and off for causing power to be delivered to a load. The switching device has a control terminal. Driver circuitry, coupled to the control terminal of the switching device, is operable to drive the switching device. The driver circuitry further operable to detect a fault condition in the power supply system. If the switching device is turned on when the fault condition is detected, the driver circuitry reduces the voltage at the control terminal of the switching device to a level just above the threshold voltage for the switching device, and holds the voltage at the control terminal to the level just above the threshold voltage for a controlled duration, thereby reducing the saturation current flowing through the switching device. The driver circuitry further reduces the voltage at the control terminal of the switching device after the controlled duration, thereby safely turning off the switching device.