Back to results
US 5,943,223 AGranted
Electric switches for reducing on-state power loss
AssigneeReliance Electric Industrial Company
InventorRobert J. Pond
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeReliance Electric Industrial Company
InventorRobert J. Pond
Estimating the term…
A power application circuit utilizes microelectromechanical (MEM) switches to reduce power loss in energy conversion equipment. The MEM switches can be integrated on a single substrate with a diode or semiconductor switch. The MEM switches can be included in a single circuit package with another semiconductor device and may include a control circuit which turns each MEM switch on or off. The MEM switch is controlled so that it is opened and closed only when a relatively low voltage drop occurs across the switch. The MEM switch can be utilized in AC to AC converters, DC to AC converters, AC to DC converters, matrix converters, motor controllers, resonant motor controllers, or other power application devices. The MEM switch can also be included in a single package with an IGBT which is optimized for low-switching losses. It can be included in a single package with a diode to reduce conduction loss in power diode bridges.
A power conversion circuit, comprising:
A power conversion circuit, comprising:
A method of reducing conduction losses in a power application circuit including a power semiconductor device and a microelectromechanical system switch in parallel with the power semiconductor device, the method comprising:
An integrated circuit package including a semiconductor device, a first terminal, a second terminal, and a microelectromechanical switch, the switch being coupled between the first terminal and the second terminal, the semiconductor device being coupled between the first terminal and the second terminal, the switch being controlled by a switch control signal, whereby the switch reduces the conduction losses associated with the semiconductor device.
A rectifier circuit, comprising:
A motor control circuit, comprising:
A motor control circuit, comprising:
A power application device, comprising a microelectromechanical switch having an input, an output, a control terminal, and a control circuit coupled to the control terminal, the control circuit providing a control signal to the control terminal to open and to close a circuit path between the input and the output, the control circuit providing the control signal so the switch is opened and closed when a voltage below a threshold level is across the input and the output.
A power application circuit, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.