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US 12,695,450 B2Granted
Paralleling power switches
AssigneePower Integrations, Inc.
InventorsVikram Balakrishnan, Michael Anton Brumann, Matthias Peter, Andreas Volke
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A power switching system includes a plurality of power switching units each including a respective power switch, a communication system configured to convey a system-wide switching command to the power switching units along a communication channel, and circuitry, included in each of the power switching units, that is configured to delay execution of the system-wide switching command by a delay.
Claims20
A power switching system comprising:
- a plurality of power switching units coupled in parallel, each of the power switching units including
- a respective power switch and
- sense circuitry configured to sense voltages between main terminals of the respective power switch;
- a communication system configured to convey a system-wide switching command to the power switching units along a communication channel;
- circuitry for determining magnitudes of delays that are to be applied to the execution of the system-wide switching command the plurality of power switching units, wherein each of the delays is tailored to a respective power switching unit and the circuitry for determining the magnitudes of the delays comprises
- circuitry for comparing times needed for the sensed voltages at the different power switching units to reach or cross a threshold during a switching transition that is responsive to a previous system-wide switching command, or
- circuitry for comparing values of the sensed voltages at the different power switching units at a time defined with respect to a previous system-wide switching command, and
- circuitry, included in each of the power switching units, that is configured to delay execution of the system-wide switching command by the delay that is tailored to that power switching unit.
5 more elements
A method comprising:
- sensing voltages between the main terminals of a plurality of power switches coupled in parallel in a power switching system;
- determining either
- times needed for the sensed voltages to reach or cross a threshold during a switching transition that is responsive to a system-wide switching command, or
- values of the sensed voltages at a time defined with respect to the system-wide switching command;
- determining, for a first of the power switches in the power switching system, an adjustment to be applied to execution of the system-wide switching command in a subsequent switching cycle, wherein the adjustment is tailored to the first of the power switches;
- and
- at a driver of the first power switch, applying the adjustment to the execution of the system-wide switching in the subsequent switching cycle.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.