Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080203942 | Current Driver Circuit and Method of Operation Therefor - A current driver circuit comprises a digital circuitry having a current adjustment function and operably coupled to a current driver for providing a current to a current consuming device. The digital circuitry comprises, or is operably coupled to, a function arranged to determine a load impedance associated with the current consuming device. The current adjustment function varies a current limit applied to the current driver in response to a variation in the load impedance. | 08-28-2008 |
20080204957 | Current Driver Circuit and Method of Operation Therefor - A current driver circuit comprises circuitry having a current adjustment function and operably coupled to a current driver for providing a current to a current consuming device. The circuitry comprises or is operably coupled to a function arranged to determine a current level being drawn by the current consuming device. The current adjustment function varies an over-load limit applied to the current driver in response to a variation in the determined current level. | 08-28-2008 |
20080208513 | Protection of an Integrated Circuit and Method Thereof - An integrated circuit comprises a power device located on a die. The power device is operably coupled to a processing function, wherein the signal processing function is operably coupled to two or more temperature sensors. A first temperature sensor is operably coupled to the power device to measure a temperature of the power device and the second temperature sensor is located, such that it measures a substantially ambient temperature related to the die. The signal processing function determines the temperature gradient therebetween. | 08-28-2008 |
20080221759 | DRIVE ARRANGEMENT FOR ACTIVATING A CAR SAFETY DEVICE ACTIVATION ELEMENT - A drive arrangement for activating a car safety device activation element, such as an air bag, comprises a drive circuit, which is coupled to the car safety device activation element. The drive circuit generates an activation signal which activates the car safety device. The arrangement includes a power supply transistor which is coupled in series with a power supply input of the drive circuit and an energy reservoir such as a capacitor. The arrangement further comprises control means which controls the supply voltage to the drive circuit by controlling the power supply transistor to operate in an active region to provide a voltage drop during activation of the car safety device activation element. Hence, a significant voltage drop and thus energy dissipation may be moved from the drive circuit to the power supply transistor. The drive circuit may therefore be reduced in size and the power supply transistor may be implemented in a cheap technology suitable for energy dissipation. | 09-11-2008 |
20080259515 | Power Switching Apparatus With Open-Load Detection - Power switching apparatus comprising switch means having a control terminal and output terminals for connection in series between a power supply and a load. The switch means is responsive to a control signal applied to the control terminal to switch between an ON-state in which it supplies power supply current from the power supply through the output terminals to the load and an OFF-state in which it interrupts the supply of power through the output terminals to the load. The apparatus includes detection means for detecting an open-load condition of the load at least during the ON-state of the switch means, comprising detection control means operable in the ON-state of the switch means for modifying the control signal so as to start switching the switch means to the OFF-state during a lapse of time substantially less than the time required for the switch means to reach the OFF-state and for restoring the control signal to a value corresponding to the ON-state at or before the end of the lapse of time, and comparator means responsive to variation of voltage at the output terminals during the lapse of time. The duration of the variation of voltage during the open-load detection is too short and its magnitude too small for the variation of load current to be perceptible, notably in the case where the load is a lamp. | 10-23-2008 |
20090115489 | SWITCH ARRANGEMENT, INTEGRATED CIRCUIT, ACTIVATION SYSTEM - A switch arrangement for providing a drive signal at an output comprises a drive switch coupled to the output of the switch arrangement and a regulating element coupled in series between the drive switch and a power supply input of the switch arrangement. The drive switch is operable to provide the drive signal at the output. The switch arrangement is characterised in that the regulating element is coupled in a cascode arrangement with the drive switch such that in operation the regulating element limits the voltage drop across the drive switch to a predetermined level. | 05-07-2009 |
20100020450 | POWER SUPPLY SWITCHING APPARATUS WITH SEVERE OVERLOAD DETECTION - Power supply switching apparatus comprising an output switch for supplying power from a power supply to a load connected to an output terminal, a driver for controlling turn-on of said output switch, and a control signal generator for controlling said driver to produce a desired progressive turn-on characteristic. The apparatus also includes overload detection means responsive to a parameter of the load relative to a reference signal to provide a fault signal in case of detection of an overload condition after a turn-on phase of said output switch. The control signal generator is responsive to the reference signal to activate said overload detection means to provide a fault signal during the turn-on phase of the output switch even in presence of a severe overload condition at the output terminal. | 01-28-2010 |
20100165529 | PROTECTION CIRCUIT APPARATUS - A protection circuit apparatus comprises a retriggerable fuse having an awakened state and a sleep state. The retriggerable fuse has an input and an output and is arranged, when in the awakened state, to selectively prevent a load current from flowing from the input to the output in response to the load current exceeding a first current threshold. An activation circuit is also provided and is arranged to sense the load current being drawn. The activation circuit causes the retriggerable fuse to enter the awakened state from the sleep state when the sensed load current exceeds a second current threshold. | 07-01-2010 |
20100171528 | APPARATUS FOR DETECTING CLOCK FAILURE AND METHOD THEREFOR - A clock failure detection circuit comprises clock failure detection logic having a clock input providing an input clock signal, a counter and a reference clock input providing a reference clock signal to the counter for counting a number of reference clock cycles. The counter comprises a reset input arranged to receive successive reset pulses generated by at least one clock edge of the input clock signal to reset a counter value of the counter. The counter value before reset is used to identify a clock frequency error. A method of detecting a clock failure is also described. By using a counter value based on the reference clock cycles, and a reset trigger based on a clock edge of the input signal, it is possible to identify a clock frequency error in a much shorter time. | 07-08-2010 |
20100244714 | SYSTEM AND METHOD TO IMPROVE SWITCHING IN POWER SWITCHING APPLICATIONS - A circuit for improving the control of a change in state of a signal in an electronic device between a first state and a second state, wherein a first change in state occurs when the state changes from the second state to the first state and a second change in state occurs when the state changes from the first state to the second state and wherein the first and second changes in state have associated therewith a first and a second time delay over which the or each change in state occurs, characterized in that said circuit comprises a determining unit for measuring the first time delay and a calculator for calculating a common delay to replace one or more of the first and second delays to thereby improve the control of the change in state of the signal | 09-30-2010 |
20110001486 | APPARATUS AND A METHOD FOR DETECTING FAULTS IN THE DELIVERY OF ELECTRICAL POWER TO ELECTRICAL LOADS - Apparatus for detecting faults in the delivery of electrical power to electrical loads, includes a plurality of load electrical connections arranged to deliver electrical power from an electrical power source to each of a plurality of electrical loads, a plurality of electrical switches, each connected to an associated one of the load connections, and a diagnostic device operable to detect a short circuit fault in the apparatus, wherein the diagnostic device is operable to apply a diagnostic procedure to detect a short circuit connection between at least two of the load electrical connections and includes a control logic unit operable to apply to each of the electrical switches in turn a test control signal causing operation of the switch to apply a test electrical signal to each of the load electrical connections in turn; and detector means connected to the load electrical connections and operable, whilst the test electrical signal is applied in turn to each load electrical connection, to detect whether a corresponding electrical output is produced in response on any of the other load electrical connections. Also described is a method of operation in the apparatus. | 01-06-2011 |
20140043034 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DIAGNOSING A RESERVOIR CAPACITOR OF A VEHICLE PASSENGER PROTECTION SYSTEM, AND VECHICLE SAFETY SYSTEM INCORPORATING SUCH DEVICE - A method of measuring a capacitor value comprises the steps of loading the capacitor up to a given voltage value; obtaining a first measure of a time for discharging the capacitor by a fixed voltage drop, the discharge of the capacitor being caused by a first current; reloading the capacitor up to the given voltage value; obtaining a second measure of a time for discharging the capacitor by the fixed voltage drop, the discharge of the capacitor being caused by the first current and by a second current of known value added to said first current; and determining the capacitor value from the difference between the first measure and the second measure, based on the given voltage drop or the given time, respectively, and based further on the known value of the given second current. | 02-13-2014 |
20140084940 | APPARATUS AND A METHOD FOR DETECTING FAULTS IN THE DELIVERY OF ELECTRICAL POWER TO ELECTRICAL LOADS - A method of and apparatus for fault detection utilizing a diagnostic procedure by a diagnostic device to detect a short circuit between at least two of a plurality of load electrical connections, the diagnostic procedure comprising applying a test electrical signal to each of the load electrical connections in turn and whilst applying the test electrical signal to a first one of the load electrical connections, detecting whether an electrical output is present, in response, on any other of the load electrical connections, wherein the detecting by the diagnostic device includes applying the test electrical signal to the first one of the load electrical connections in an operational mode of the apparatus when an electrically controlled switch connected to the first one of the load electrical connections is in an off state. | 03-27-2014 |
20140277949 | AIRBAG APPARATUS - An airbag apparatus connected with a battery includes activation circuits each of which has a squib and a high-side switching element, a safing switching element connected between the battery and the activation circuits, a safing switch control circuit controlling the safing switching element to provide a target voltage to the activation circuits, a terminal voltage acquiring circuit that acquires a terminal voltage of each squib, and a target voltage setting circuit that sets the target voltage. When a maximum-terminal voltage is lower than a reference voltage, the target voltage setting circuit sets the target voltage to be equal to the reference voltage. When the maximum-terminal voltage is higher than the reference voltage, the target voltage setting circuit sets the target voltage to correspond to the maximum-terminal voltage so that a reverse current is avoided in the high-side switching element. | 09-18-2014 |