US 2019/0296727 A1Published application

Digital Active Diode Circuit

AssigneeDialog Semiconductor GmbH

InventorsMarinus Wilhelmus Kruiskamp, Petrus Hendrikus Seesink

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Abstract

A digital active diode circuit for letting current pass in one direction and substantially blocking current in the opposite direction is presented. The circuit contains switching means comprising an array of switches, a first comparison unit coupled to the digital active diode circuit input and output. The first comparison unit updates its output if the difference between their inputs is higher than a first threshold voltage, and a second comparison unit being coupled to the digital active diode circuit output and input. The second comparison unit updates its output if the difference between its inputs is lower than a second threshold voltage. The switching means switches on or off at least one switch based on the comparisons performed by the first comparison unit and the second comparison unit and wherein the first threshold voltage is different from the second threshold voltage.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A digital active diode circuit for letting current pass in one direction and substantially blocking current in the opposite direction, the digital active diode circuit comprising:

a digital active diode circuit input terminal;
a digital active diode circuit output terminal;
switching means comprising an input terminal being coupled to the digital active diode circuit input terminal, an output terminal being coupled to the digital active diode circuit output terminal, and an array of switches comprising a plurality of switches;
a first comparison unit comprising a first input terminal being coupled to the digital active diode circuit input terminal, a second input terminal being coupled to the digital active diode circuit output terminal, and an output terminal being coupled to the switching means, wherein the first comparison unit is further configured to update the output terminal if the difference between the first input terminal and the second input terminal is higher than a first threshold voltage;
and
a second comparison unit comprising a first input terminal being coupled to the digital active diode circuit output terminal, a second input terminal being coupled to the digital active diode circuit input terminal, and an output terminal being coupled to the switching means, wherein the second comparison unit is further configured to update the output terminal if the difference between the first input terminal and the second input terminal is lower than a second threshold voltage;
wherein the switching means is further configured to switch on or off at least one of the plurality of switches based on the comparisons performed by the first comparison unit and the second comparison unit, and wherein the first threshold voltage is different from the second threshold voltage,
wherein the switching means comprises further a selecting unit comprising a first input coupled to the output of the first comparison unit, a second input coupled to the output of the second comparison unit and a plurality of outputs, wherein each output of the plurality of outputs of the selecting unit is coupled to a different switch of the plurality of switches.

5 more elements

A method of providing a digital active diode circuit for letting current pass in one direction and substantially blocking current in the opposite direction, the digital active diode circuit comprising the steps of:

providing a digital active diode circuit input terminal;
providing a digital active diode circuit output terminal;
providing switching means comprising an input terminal being coupled to the digital active diode circuit input terminal, an output terminal being coupled to the digital active diode circuit output terminal, and an array of switches comprising a plurality of switches;
providing a first comparison unit comprising a first input terminal being coupled to the digital active diode circuit input terminal, a second input terminal being coupled to the digital active diode circuit output terminal, and an output terminal being coupled to the switching means, wherein the first comparison unit updates the output terminal if the difference between the first input terminal and the second input terminal is higher than a first threshold voltage;
and
providing a second comparison unit comprising a first input terminal being coupled to the digital active diode circuit output terminal, a second input terminal being coupled to the digital active diode circuit input terminal, and an output terminal being coupled to the switching means, wherein the second comparison unit updates the output terminal if the difference between the first input terminal and the second input terminal is lower than a second threshold voltage;
wherein the switching means switches on or off at least one of the plurality of switches based on the comparisons performed by the first comparison unit and the second comparison unit, and wherein the first threshold voltage is different from the second threshold voltage,
wherein the switching means comprises further a selecting unit comprising a first input coupled to the output of the first comparison unit, a second input coupled to the output of the second comparison unit and a plurality of outputs, wherein each output of the plurality of outputs of the selecting unit is coupled to a different switch of the plurality of switches.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.