Temperature protection circuit for power converter and method of operation thereof
AssigneeLucent Technologies Inc.
InventorsGreg H. Fasullo, Jin He, Greg P. Jorgenson, Nhon D. Le
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Abstract
A temperature protection circuit, a method of protecting a power converter and a power converter employing the circuit or the method. In one embodiment, the circuit includes: (1) a temperature sensor, located in thermal communication with the power converter, that produces a signal based on a temperature associated with the power converter and (2) a current controller, coupled to the temperature sensor, that reduces an output current of the power converter to an intermediate level based on the signal.
Claims20
For use with a power converter, a temperature protection circuit, comprising:
- a temperature sensor, located in thermal communication with said power converter, that produces a signal based on a temperature associated with said power converter;
- and
- a current controller, coupled to said temperature sensor, that reduces an output current of said power converter to an intermediate level based on said signal and a temperature-dependent output capacity of said power converter.
A method of providing temperature protection to a power converter, comprising:
- producing a signal based on a temperature associated with said power converter;
- and
- reducing an output current of said power converter to an intermediate level based on said signal and a temperature-dependent output capacity of said power converter.
A power converter, comprising:
- a power switch;
- a converter controller that toggles said power switch to control an output current of said power converter;
- and
- a temperature protection circuit associated with said converter controller and including:
- a temperature sensor, located in thermal communication with said power switch, that produces a signal based on a temperature associated with said power switch, and a current controller, coupled to said temperature sensor, that reduces said output current to an intermediate level based on said signal and a temperature-dependent output capacity of said power converter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.