Bizarre Patents
A method for inducing cats to exercise consists of directing a beam of invisible light produced by a hand-held laser apparatus onto the floor or wall.
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8184413 | Fault condition protection A regulator for a switched mode power supply includes switching regulator logic, a counter and a switching transistor. The switching regulator logic is coupled to receive a feedback signal and to generate a switching signal in response. The feedback signal periodica... | 05/22/2012 |
| 8174852 | Asymmetric switch forward converter A switching circuit for use in a power converter in one aspect includes a first and second active switch and a first and second passive switch. The first active switch can be coupled to a first terminal of a primary winding of a transformer. The second active switch... | 05/08/2012 |
| 8169003 | Termination and contact structures for a high voltage GaN-based heterojunction transistor A semiconductor device is provided that includes a substrate, a first active layer disposed over the substrate, and a second active layer disposed on the first active layer. The second active layer has a higher bandgap than the first active layer such that a two-dim... | 05/01/2012 |
| 8164125 | Integrated transistor and anti-fuse as programming element for a high-voltage integrated circuit A semiconductor device includes an N type well region in a P type substrate. A source region of a MOSFET is laterally separated from a boundary of the well region, which includes the drain of the MOSFET. An insulated gate of the MOSFET extends laterally from the sou... | 04/24/2012 |
| 8159843 | Method and apparatus to regulate an output voltage of a power converter at light/no load conditions An example apparatus to regulate an output voltage of a power converter at light/no load conditions includes a driver circuit, a feedback circuit, and an adjustable voltage reference circuit. The driver circuit is coupled to output a drive signal to switch a power s... | 04/17/2012 |
| 8159839 | Method and apparatus for implementing an unregulated dormant mode in a power converter A control circuit for use in a power converter with an unregulated dormant mode of operation is disclosed. In one aspect a power converter includes a drive signal generator that is coupled to generate a drive signal to control switching of a power switch coupled to ... | 04/17/2012 |
| 8154371 | Method and apparatus for adjusting displacement current in an energy transfer element A method includes calculating a number of turns of a shield winding included in an energy transfer element of a power supply, where the calculating is to have a low noise current in an input conductor of the power supply. The method further includes: increasing the ... | 04/10/2012 |
| 8154321 | Method and apparatus for time-differential comparison of an analog signal A time-differential analog comparator is disclosed. An example apparatus according to aspects of the present invention includes a source of a variable frequency signal having a frequency responsive to an analog input. A counting circuit is coupled to count cycles of... | 04/10/2012 |
| 8148968 | Method and apparatus for a power supply controller responsive to a feedforward signal An apparatus and method of switching a switch of a power supply in response to an input voltage signal are disclosed. According to aspects of the present invention, a power supply controller includes a switch duty cycle controller coupled to receive a feedback signa... | 04/03/2012 |
| 8144487 | Apparatus and method for sensing of isolated output A controller for use in a power converter providing sensing of an isolated output is disclosed. An example controller includes a current controller to be coupled to an energy transfer element and an input of the power converter. A control circuit is included that ge... | 03/27/2012 |
| 8144484 | Electronic circuit control element with tap element A technique for controlling a power supply with power supply control element with a tap element. An example power supply control element includes a power transistor that has first and second main terminals, a control terminal and a tap terminal. A control circuit is... | 03/27/2012 |
| 8143875 | Method and apparatus to limit output power in a switching power supply An example integrated circuit controller for a power supply includes a modulator, a drive signal generator, a comparator, and a variable current limit generator. The modulator generates an enable signal having logic states responsive to a feedback signal. The drive ... | 03/27/2012 |
| 8139384 | Method and apparatus for input charge control of a power supply An example controller includes a constant current control circuit and an integrator included in the constant current control circuit. The constant current control circuit is to be coupled to receive an input current sense signal, an input voltage sense signal, and a... | 03/20/2012 |
| 8138810 | Method and apparatus for pulse width modulation An apparatus and method of providing a pulse width modulated signal that is responsive to a current are disclosed. A circuit according to aspects of the present invention includes a capacitor to convert a first current to a first voltage on the capacitor during a fi... | 03/20/2012 |
| 8134817 | Electrostatic discharge conducting pathway having a noise filter spark gap A printed circuit board includes a primary region, a secondary region and an isolation region disposed between the primary region and the secondary region to galvanically isolate the primary region from the secondary region. The primary region is to be coupled to an... | 03/13/2012 |
| 8130517 | Forward converter transformer saturation prevention A power converter in one aspect limits the magnetic flux in a transformer. A control circuit included in the power converter includes a pulse width modulator, logic circuits and saturation prevention circuits. The saturation prevention circuits assert a first signal... | 03/06/2012 |
| 8125801 | Method and apparatus for increasing the power capability of a power supply Techniques are disclosed to extend an on time period of switch to regulate a transfer of energy from an input of a power supply to an output of a power supply. One example integrated circuit includes an energy transfer element coupled between an input and an output ... | 02/28/2012 |
| 8125265 | Temperature independent reference circuit A temperature independent reference circuit includes first and second bipolar transistors with commonly coupled bases. First and second resistors are coupled in series between the emitter of the second bipolar transistor and ground. The first and second resistors ha... | 02/28/2012 |
| 8120097 | Method and apparatus for controlling a circuit with a high voltage sense device A control circuit with a high voltage sense device. In one embodiment, a circuit includes a first transistor disposed in a first substrate having first, second and third terminals. A first terminal of the first transistor is coupled to an external voltage. A voltage... | 02/21/2012 |
| 8116106 | Method and apparatus to select a parameter/mode based on a measurement during an initialization period Techniques are disclosed to select functional parameters and/or operating modes of a circuit based on a measurement during an initialization period. In one aspect an integrated circuit includes a threshold detection circuit coupled to measure during an initializatio... | 02/14/2012 |
| 8115465 | Method and apparatus for a high voltage power supply circuit A power converter is disclosed. An example power converter includes an energy transfer element coupled between a power converter input and a power converter output. A power switch is coupled to the energy transfer element. A control circuit is coupled to receive a f... | 02/14/2012 |
| 8115457 | Method and apparatus for implementing a power converter input terminal voltage discharge circuit A circuit to discharge a capacitance between input terminals of a power system is disclosed. An example circuit includes a control circuit coupled to an input of a power system. The control circuit is coupled to detect whether an electrical energy source is coupled ... | 02/14/2012 |
| 8102683 | Phase angle measurement of a dimming circuit for a switching power supply An example controller for a switched mode power supply includes a zero-crossing detector, a feedback reference circuit, and a drive signal generator. The zero-crossing detector is coupled to generate a zero-crossing signal representative of a length of time that a z... | 01/24/2012 |
| 8102237 | Low profile coil-wound bobbin A low profile coil-wound bobbin is disclosed. A low profile coil-wound bobbin includes a spool and a terminal. The spool is configured to have a coil-wire arrangement wound around the spool. The terminals are to be coupled to the coil-wire arrangement and a first si... | 01/24/2012 |
| 8102164 | Power factor correction converter control offset Power factor correction converter control offset apparatus and methods are disclosed. In one aspect, an apparatus includes a control unit to generate a control signal to control a duty cycle of a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) switching signal that controls a switch i... | 01/24/2012 |
| 8098506 | Single-stage power supply with power factor correction and constant current output An example controller includes first, second and third inputs, a delayed ramp generator and a drive signal generator. The first, second and third inputs are coupled to receive an input voltage sense signal, an output voltage sense signal, and an input current sense ... | 01/17/2012 |
| 8098503 | Method and apparatus to control a power converter having a low loop bandwidth A power converter controller is disclosed. An example power converter controller includes a feedback sensor circuit coupled to receive a feedback signal representative of an output of the power converter. The controller also includes a feedback sampling signal gener... | 01/17/2012 |
| 8097512 | MOSFET having a JFET embedded as a body diode A field effect transistor, in accordance with one embodiment, includes a metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) having a junction field effect transistor (JFET) embedded as a body diode. ... | 01/17/2012 |
| 8094055 | Compact digital-to-analog converter A digital-to-analog converter is disclosed. An example digital-to-analog converter circuit includes a reference scaling circuit coupled to receive a first reference current. The reference scaling circuit is coupled to generate a second reference current in response ... | 01/10/2012 |
| 8093621 | VTS insulated gate bipolar transistor In one embodiment, a power transistor device comprises a substrate that forms a PN junction with an overlying buffer layer. The power transistor device further includes a first region, a drift region that adjoins a top surface of the buffer layer, and a body region.... | 01/10/2012 |
| 8089781 | Method and apparatus to limit maximum switch current in a switching power supply An example integrated circuit for use in a power supply includes a switch, a terminal and a controller. The controller is coupled to control switching of the switch to regulate the output of the power supply in response to a feedback signal received at the terminal.... | 01/03/2012 |
| 8081496 | Method and apparatus for limiting maximum output power of a power converter An example power converter includes an energy transfer element, a switch, a controller, and a current offset circuit. The controller is coupled to switch the switch between an ON state and an OFF state to regulate the output of the power converter. The controller is... | 12/20/2011 |
| 8077486 | Method and apparatus for power converter fault condition detection An example controller includes a fault detector and a control. The fault detector is to be coupled to a feedback circuit of a power converter to detect a fault condition in the power converter in response to an input voltage of the power converter. The control is co... | 12/13/2011 |
| 8077484 | Apparatus and method for detecting a change in output voltage of an isolated power converter A controller for use in a power converter to detect changes in output voltage. An example controller includes a drive circuit to generate a switching signal. The switching signal is coupled to be received by a power switch to be coupled to an energy transfer element... | 12/13/2011 |
| 8077483 | Method and apparatus for sensing multiple voltage values from a single terminal of a power converter controller An example controller for a power converter according to aspects of the present invention includes a switching control that switches a power switch to regulate an output of a power converter. The controller also includes a sensor coupled to receive a signal from a s... | 12/13/2011 |
| 8076723 | Method of fabricating a deep trench insulated gate bipolar transistor In one embodiment, a method comprises forming an epitaxial layer over a substrate of an opposite conductivity type, the epitaxial layer being separated by a buffer layer having a doping concentration that is substantially constant in a vertical direction down to the... | 12/13/2011 |
| 8063672 | Method and apparatus for simplifying the control of a switch A technique for simplifying the control of a switch is presented. In one embodiment, a method of controlling a switch as a function of the voltage across the switch is presented. In one embodiment a method of controlling a switch as a function of the slope of the vo... | 11/22/2011 |
| 8063622 | Method and apparatus for implementing slew rate control using bypass capacitor A circuit to control the slew rate of charging a capacitance using the capacitance is disclosed. An example circuit includes a regulator circuit to regulate a supply voltage during a normal operation mode of the circuit. A capacitance circuit is coupled to the regul... | 11/22/2011 |
| 8040705 | Circuit with isolation interface and remote on/off A circuit with an isolation interface and a remote on/off function is disclosed. The circuit includes a controller included in a primary side of the circuit. The controller is coupled to receive a primary side feedback signal and the controller is configured to ente... | 10/18/2011 |
| 8040114 | Method and apparatus to increase efficiency in a power factor correction circuit A controller for use in a power factor correction (PFC) converter includes a power factor correction controller circuit coupled to output a drive signal to switch a power switch between an on state and an off state to transfer energy to an output of the PFC converte... | 10/18/2011 |
