US 11,539,286 B2Granted

Clamping circuit

AssigneeQuanta Computer Inc.

InventorsKuo-Chan Hsu, Yun-Teng Shih, Shou-Fu Li

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Abstract

A power supply circuit includes a power converter, an input voltage source, and a clamping circuit. The power converter has an input pin, an output pin, and an enable pin. The input voltage source is electrically connected to the input pin, and provides an input voltage to the input pin. The clamping circuit is electrically connected to the enable pin of the power converter. When the input voltage increases to at least a threshold input voltage, the clamping circuit is configured to activate the power converter to provide an output voltage at the output pin. When the input voltage decreases below the threshold input voltage, the clamping circuit is configured to deactivate the power converter and prevent the power converter from being re-activated within a predefined time period.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A power supply circuit comprising:

a power converter having an input pin, an output pin, and an enable pin;
an input voltage source electrically connected to the input pin of the power converter, the input voltage source being configured to provide an input voltage, the input voltage including a ripple component that causes the input voltage to have a periodic variation with a ripple frequency and a ripple period;
and
a clamping circuit electrically connected to the enable pin of the power converter, the clamping circuit including a transistor electrically connected to the input voltage source and the enable pin of the power converter, the transistor being configured to transition between an “on” state and an “off” state to activate and deactivate the power converter, wherein:
in response to the input voltage increasing to at least a threshold input voltage, the transistor transitions from the “off” state to the “on” state and causes a threshold enable voltage to be provided to the enable pin of the power converter, such that the clamping circuit activates the power converter to provide an output voltage at the output pin, and
in response to the input voltage decreasing below the threshold input voltage, the clamping circuit deactivates the power converter and prevents the power converter from being re-activated within a predefined time period.

3 more elements

A power supply circuit comprising:

a power converter having an input pin, an output pin, and an enable pin;
an input voltage source electrically connected to the input pin of the power converter, the input voltage source being configured to provide an input voltage, the input voltage including a ripple component that causes the input voltage to have a periodic variation with a ripple frequency and a ripple period;
and
a clamping circuit electrically connected to the enable pin of the power converter, the clamping circuit including a transistor electrically connected to the input voltage source and the enable pin of the power converter, the transistor being configured to transition between an “on” state and an “off” state to activate and deactivate the power converter, the transistor having a switching frequency that defines a time required for the transistor to transition between the “on” state and the “off” state, the switching frequency being less than the ripple frequency of the ripple component of the input voltage, wherein:
in response to the input voltage increasing to at least a threshold input voltage, the clamping circuit activates the power converter to provide an output voltage at the output pin, and
in response to the input voltage decreasing below the threshold input voltage, the clamping circuit deactivates the power converter and prevents the power converter from being re-activated within a predefined time period.

3 more elements

A power supply circuit comprising:

a power converter having an input pin, an output pin, and an enable pin;
an input voltage source electrically connected to the input pin of the power converter, the input voltage source being configured to provide an input voltage, the input voltage including a ripple component that causes the input voltage to have a periodic variation with a ripple frequency and a ripple period;
and
a clamping circuit electrically connected to the enable pin of the power converter, the clamping circuit including a transistor electrically connected to the input voltage source and the enable pin of the power converter, the transistor including a base, an emitter, and a collector, the base being electrically connected to the input voltage source, the emitter being electrically connected to the input voltage source through an emitter-side resistor, and the collector being electrically connected to the enable pin of the power converter, the transistor being configured to transition between an “on” state and an “off” state to activate and deactivate the power converter, wherein:
in response to the input voltage increasing to at least a threshold input voltage, the clamping circuit activates the power converter to provide an output voltage at the output pin, and
in response to the input voltage decreasing below the threshold input voltage, the clamping circuit deactivates the power converter and prevents the power converter from being re-activated within a predefined time period.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.