Gate driver
AssigneeDyson Technology Limited
InventorStephen Greetham
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A gate driver is described for driving switches. The gate driver includes an input for receiving a signal indicative of a polarity of a voltage or current, and outputs for outputting gate signals for driving the switches. In response to a fault condition, the gate driver generates gate signals at the outputs that depend on the polarity of the voltage or current.
Claims13
A gate driver for driving switches, the gate driver comprising:
- a first input for receiving a first signal indicative of a polarity of a voltage;
- a second signal indicative of a polarity of a current;
- and
- a plurality of outputs for outputting gate signals for driving the switches,
- wherein, in response to a fault condition, the gate driver generates gate signals at the plurality of outputs that depend on the polarity of the voltage received in the first signal and the polarity of the current received in the second signal.
A gate driver for driving a plurality of switches, the gate driver comprising a first input for receiving a first control signal indicative of a polarity of a voltage and a second input for receiving a second control signal indicative of a polarity of a current, a plurality of outputs for outputting gate signals for driving the switches, and fault protection logic for generating a sequence of gate signals in response to a fault condition, wherein the fault protection logic generates a first sequence of gate signals when the polarity of the voltage or current is positive and a second different sequence of gate signals when the polarity of the voltage or current is negative.
A drive circuit for a brushless motor, the drive circuit comprising an converter for connection to a phase winding of the motor, and a control unit for controlling the converter, wherein:
- the converter comprises a plurality of switches;
- the control unit comprises a gate driver, a sensor, and a controller;
- the sensor generates a first signal indicative of a polarity of a voltage of the converter and a second signal indicative of a polarity of a current of the converter;
- the controller generates one or more control signals for controlling the switches;
- the gate driver in response to the control signals generates gate signals for driving the switches;
- and the gate driver, in response to a fault condition, generates gate signals that depend on the polarity of the voltage and the current.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.