System and method for reverse battery protection in regenerative motor drive

A system comprising:

• drive circuitry including a high side and a low side;
• a battery connected to the drive circuitry, configured to store electrical energy, and including a positive terminal and a negative terminal;
• a motor drive connected to the drive circuitry and configured to—
• receive the electrical energy from the battery via the drive circuitry and convert the electrical energy into mechanical energy, and
• convert mechanical energy into a reverse current and provide the reverse current via the drive circuitry to the battery;
• a N-channel MOSFET connected to the high side of the drive circuitry;
• and
• a FET controller connected to the high side of the drive circuitry, and including a charge pump connected to a gate terminal of the N-channel MOSFET, and configured to control operation of the N-channel MOSFET by—
• when the positive terminal of the battery is connected to the high side of the drive circuitry, holding the charge pump in continuous operation when the reverse current is present on the drive circuitry and thereby provide a boost voltage to the gate terminal and allow the reverse current to flow through the N-channel MOSFET to the battery, and
• when the positive terminal of the battery is not connected to the high side of the drive circuitry, switching off the charge pump and thereby remove the boost voltage from the gate terminal and cause the N-channel MOSFET to remain open and non-conducting and thereby block the reverse current from reaching the battery.