Multi-bit digital signal isolator
AssigneeAnalog Devices, Inc.
InventorEric C. Gaalaas, JR.
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention is directed to a multi-bit digital signal isolation system including a plurality of micro-transformers, each having a primary winding and a secondary winding, a transmitter circuit receiving a multi-bit signal and transmitting an encoded logic signal across the plurality of micro-transformers corresponding to the multi-bit signal, the primary winding of each micro-transformer receiving a signal corresponding to one of at least three possible states, and a receiver circuit receiving the encoded logic signal from the secondary windings of the plurality of transformers, decoding the encoded logic signal and reconstructing the received multi-bit signal based upon the decoded signal.
Claims22
A multi-bit isolation system, comprising:
- a plurality of isolation channels, each to transmit a respective signal in parallel across a galvanic isolation barrier;
- a transmitter circuit, provided on a first side of the galvanic isolation barrier and having outputs coupled to the respective isolation channels, the transmitter circuit receives a multi-bit input signal and provides a multi-symbol output signal to the outputs in parallel representing the input signal, one symbol to each output, and each symbol having one of at least three possible states;
- and
- a receiver circuit provided on a second side of the galvanic isolation barrier and having inputs coupled to the isolation channels, the receiver circuit decoding the received multi-symbol output signal and providing a reconstructed multi-bit input signal.
A method of transmitting multi-bit signals across a digital signal isolator system, comprising:
- receiving an input multi-bit word;
- developing a multi-symbol output signal corresponding to the input multi-bit word;
- transmitting the multi-symbol output signal in parallel across a plurality of isolation channels forming a galvanic isolation barrier, one symbol of the multi-symbol output signal transmitted across each of the plurality of isolation channels and each channel receiving a symbol corresponding to one of at least three possible states;
- decoding the received multi-symbol output signal;
- and
- reconstructing a received multi-bit word based upon the decoded multi-symbol output signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.