17809238. ADAPTING SPLIT-TRANSISTOR SWITCHING POWER SUPPLY BASED ON CONDITION simplified abstract (Texas Instruments Incorporated)
ADAPTING SPLIT-TRANSISTOR SWITCHING POWER SUPPLY BASED ON CONDITION
Organization Name
Texas Instruments Incorporated
Inventor(s)
Robert A. Neidorff of Bedford NH (US)
ADAPTING SPLIT-TRANSISTOR SWITCHING POWER SUPPLY BASED ON CONDITION - A simplified explanation of the abstract
This abstract first appeared for US patent application 17809238 titled 'ADAPTING SPLIT-TRANSISTOR SWITCHING POWER SUPPLY BASED ON CONDITION
Simplified Explanation
The patent application describes techniques for controlling a switching converter, which includes a switching element and a logic circuit. The switching element consists of multiple parallel-coupled transistors. The logic circuit initially provides gate drive signals to some of the transistors based on certain conditions associated with the converter, such as RdsOn (drain-source on-resistance) and temperature. After a delay period, the logic circuit provides gate drive signals to all or a larger number of the transistors.
- The switching converter includes a switching element with multiple parallel-coupled transistors.
- The logic circuit provides gate drive signals to some transistors initially, based on conditions like RdsOn and temperature.
- After a delay period, the logic circuit provides gate drive signals to all or a larger number of the transistors.
- This adaptive sizing of the switching transistors helps dampen ringing initially and reduce conduction loss later.
Potential Applications
- Power electronics
- Renewable energy systems
- Electric vehicles
- Industrial automation
Problems Solved
- Damping ringing in switching converters
- Reducing conduction loss in switching converters
Benefits
- Improved efficiency in switching converters
- Enhanced performance in power electronics systems
- Better control over power conversion processes
Original Abstract Submitted
Techniques for controlling a switching converter. In an example, the converter includes a switching element and a logic circuit. The switching element includes a plurality of parallel-coupled transistors. The logic circuit is configured to initially provide one or more gate drive signals to one or more of the parallel-coupled transistors, respectively, but not to all of the transistors. After a delay period, the logic circuit is further configured to provide a respective gate drive signal to all or an otherwise larger number of the transistors. The initially-provided one or more gate signals is/are based on one or more conditions associated with the converter, such as RdsOn associated with the switching element and/or temperature. In this manner, a switching transistor that is adaptively-sized based on the condition(s) is initially switched to damp ringing, and a larger switching transistor (e.g., all transistors in parallel) is subsequently switched for low conduction loss.