Ground fault detection circuit for use in high voltage motor drive applications

An integrated ground fault detection circuit for use in an inverter circuit connected to a motor comprises:

• a shunt resistor provided on a positive rail of a DC bus used to power the motor;
• a high voltage pocket including a sensory circuit connected to the shunt resistor and operable to detect a fault condition indicating a short circuit in at least one of the inverter circuit and the motor, and a transmitter section operable to continuously transmit a fault condition signal indicating the fault condition;
• and
• a low voltage pocket including a receiver operable to receive the fault condition signal from the sensory circuit and a logic unit, connected to the receiver and operable to provide a fault output signal indicating the presence of the fault condition based on the fault condition signal;
• the high voltage pocket and the low voltage pocket being integrated in the same chip.