System for sharing power and signal pins on a motor controller
AssigneeAsahi Kasei Microsystems Co., Ltd.
InventorsSumner B. Marshall, III, Mark E. Collins
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention in the simplest form is a technique to provide for sharing of power and signal pins on a motor controller. The switching simply follows the magnetic switching detected by the Hall sensor as the motor magnet passes and uses a diode or resistor instead of a switch. The power transistors are respectively connected to a voltage regulator through a diode or resistor and there are no switches in the circuit. To avoid simultaneous switching, one embodiment is designed by turning “On” slowly and turn “Off” quickly. Slow “On” is accomplished by using a resistor/capacitor (RC) delay such that the gate drive ramps slowly. Fast “OFF” is obtained by discharging the gate capacitance with an N-CH transistor that bypasses the RC delay.
Claims22
A pin sharing controller for a DC motor, comprising:
- a supply voltage;
- a magnetic sensor that generates a sensor output signal based upon an imposed magnetic field;
- a first transistor coupled to said sensor output for switchably coupling to said supply voltage through a first output pin;
- a second transistor coupled to an inverted sensor output for switchably coupling to said supply voltage through a second output pin;
- a voltage regulator coupled to a first diode and to said first output pin, and coupled to a second diode and said second output pin, wherein said voltage regulator provides an operating voltage for said magnetic sensor.
A pin sharing controller for a DC motor, comprising:
- a supply voltage;
- a magnetic sensor that generates a sensor output signal based upon an imposed magnetic field;
- a first transistor coupled to said sensor output for switchably coupling to said supply voltage through a first output pin;
- a second transistor coupled to an inverted sensor output for switchably coupling to said supply voltage through a second output pin;
- a voltage regulator coupled to a first resistor and to said first output pin, and coupled to a second resistor and said second output pin, wherein said voltage regulator provides an operating voltage for said magnetic sensor.
A pin sharing controller for a DC motor, comprising:
- a supply voltage;
- a magnetic sensor that generates a sensor output signal based upon an imposed magnetic field;
- a first transistor coupled to said sensor output for switchably coupling to said supply voltage through a first output pin;
- a second transistor coupled to an inverted sensor output for switchably coupling to said supply voltage through a second output pin;
- a first voltage regulator coupled to a first diode and to said first output pin;
- and
- a second voltage regulator coupled to a second diode and to said second output pin.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.