# US 11,451,148 B2 · Voltage-regulating circuit and regulated power-supply module

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- Number: US 11,451,148 B2
- Document ID: US11451148B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/032,978
- Filed: 2020-09-25
- Published: 2021-04-01
- Granted: 2022-09-20
- Earliest claimed: 2019-10-01
- Assignees: Schneider Electric Industries SAS
- Applicants: Schneider Electric Industries SAS
- Inventors: Jérôme Brenguier
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11451148B2

## CPC

- H02M 1/36: Means for starting or stopping converters
- H02M 3/158: including plural semiconductor devices as final control devices for a single load
- G05F 1/468: {characterised by reference voltage circuitry, e.g. soft start, remote shutdown}
- G05F 1/56: using semiconductor devices in series with the load as final control devices (G05F1/461 takes precedence)
- G05F 3/18: using Zener diodes
- H02M 7/2176: {comprising a passive stage to generate a rectified sinusoidal voltage and a controlled switching element in series between such stage and the output}
- H02M 7/219: in a bridge configuration
- H03K 5/24: the characteristic being amplitude
- H02M 1/0006: {Arrangements for supplying an adequate voltage to the control circuit of converters}
- H02M 1/0025: {Arrangements for modifying reference values, feedback values or error values in the control loop of a converter}
- H02M 3/156: with automatic control of output voltage or current, e.g. switching regulators
- H02M 7/06: using discharge tubes without control electrode or semiconductor devices without control electrode
- H02M: APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC, OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUT POWER; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF (transformers H01F; dynamo-electric converters H02K47/00; controlling transformers, reactors or choke coils, control or regulation of electric motors, generators or dynamo-electric converters H02P)
- G05F: SYSTEMS FOR REGULATING ELECTRIC OR MAGNETIC VARIABLES
- H03K: PULSE TECHNIQUE (measuring pulse characteristics G01R; modulating sinusoidal oscillations with pulses H03C; transmission of digital information H04L; discriminator circuits detecting phase difference between two signals by counting or integrating cycles of oscillation H03D3/04; automatic control, starting, synchronisation or stabilisation of generators of electronic oscillations or pulses where the type of generator is irrelevant or unspecified H03L; coding, decoding or code conversion, in general H03M)

## Abstract

A voltage-regulating circuit comprising: a voltage regulator, a switch, a first comparing circuit for comparing the amplitude deviation between the input voltage and the output voltage to a first threshold, a second comparing circuit for comparing the amplitude of the output voltage to a second threshold, and a control circuit for commanding the switch to open or close depending on the comparisons made by the first comparing circuit and by the second comparing circuit. Also disclosed is a regulated power-supply module comprising such a voltage-regulating circuit.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A voltage-regulating circuit comprising at least an input terminal, a reference terminal and an output terminal, a voltage source, which is connected between the input terminal and the reference terminal, delivering an input voltage, said voltage-regulating circuit delivering a regulated output voltage across the output terminal and the reference terminal, and comprising:
a voltage regulator,
a switch, connected in series with the voltage regulator between the input terminal and the output terminal, said switch and said voltage regulator forming a first assembly,
a first comparing circuit connected to the input terminal and to the output terminal, said first comparing circuit being arranged to compare the amplitude deviation between the input voltage and the output voltage to a first threshold,
a second comparing circuit connected to the output terminal and to the reference terminal, said second comparing circuit being arranged to compare the amplitude of the output voltage to a second threshold, and
a control circuit connected to the first comparing circuit, to the second comparing circuit and to the switch, said control circuit being arranged to command the switch to open or close,
wherein the control circuit controls the switch to open or close depending:
on the comparison of the amplitude deviation between the input voltage and the output voltage to the first threshold, and
on the comparison of the amplitude of the output voltage to the second threshold.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The voltage-regulating circuit according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit commands:
the switch to open when the amplitude deviation between the input voltage and the output voltage is greater than or equal to the first threshold,
the switch to close when the amplitude deviation between the input voltage and the output voltage is less than the first threshold, and
the switch to close when the amplitude deviation between the input voltage and the output voltage is greater than or equal to the first threshold and the output voltage is less than the second threshold.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The voltage-regulating circuit according to claim 1, wherein the first assembly comprising the switch connected in series with the voltage regulator is formed by:
a first transistor, the collector of which is connected to the input terminal, and the emitter of which is connected to the output terminal,
a first resistor, a first end of said first resistor being connected to the base of the first transistor, a second end of the first resistor being connected to the collector of the first transistor, and
a first voltage reference, the anode of which is connected to the reference terminal and the cathode of which is connected to the base of the first transistor.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The voltage-regulating circuit according to claim 3, wherein the amplitude of the output voltage is set by the reference voltage delivered by the first voltage reference.

### Claim 5 (depends on 3)

The voltage-regulating circuit according to claim 3, wherein the first comparing circuit is formed from an NPN bipolar second transistor, the collector of which is connected to the base of the first transistor and the base of which is connected to a first end of a second assembly formed by a second resistor connected in series with a second voltage reference, a second end of the second assembly being connected to the input terminal, the anode of the second voltage reference being oriented toward the base of the first transistor.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The voltage-regulating circuit according to claim 5, wherein the amplitude of the first threshold is set by the reference voltage delivered by the second voltage reference.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The voltage-regulating circuit according to claim 5, wherein the second comparing circuit is formed from a PNP bipolar third transistor the emitter of which is connected to the emitter of the second transistor, the collector of said third transistor being connected to the output terminal, the base being connected to a first end of a third assembly formed by a third resistor connected in series with a third voltage reference, a second end of the third assembly being connected to the reference terminal, the anode of said third voltage reference being oriented toward the reference terminal.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The voltage-regulating circuit according to claim 7, wherein the amplitude of the second threshold is set by the reference voltage delivered by the third voltage reference.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The voltage-regulating circuit according to claim 7, wherein a fourth resistor is connected in parallel between the base and the emitter of the second transistor and in that a fifth resistor is connected in parallel between the base and the emitter of the third transistor.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The voltage-regulating circuit according to claim 1, wherein a capacitor is connected between the output terminal and the reference terminal.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

A regulated power-supply module, comprising:
a voltage-regulating circuit according to claim 1,
at least two network connection terminals connected to a network for distributing electrical power delivering an AC voltage,
a bridge rectifier comprising AC inputs, a positive output and a negative output, the AC inputs being connected to the network connection terminals, the positive output being connected to the input terminal of the voltage-regulating circuit, the negative output being connected to the reference terminal of the voltage-regulating circuit.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The regulated power-supply module according to claim 11, further comprising a buck switch-mode converter, an input of said buck switch-mode converter being connected to the output terminal of the voltage-regulating circuit and an output of the buck switch-mode converter delivering a regulated supply voltage.