Modular redundant threshold circuit and method
US11791831B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 19, 2023 |
| Grant date | Oct 17, 2023 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 19, 2043 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03K19/23
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Systems and methods for fault-tolerant threshold circuits used in converting an analog input to a single-bit digital output employ N-modular redundancy of either inverting or non-inverting threshold circuits whose inputs are connected to a single input, and apply majority voting of their outputs to provide correction of transient or permanent faults in up to floor[(N−1)/2] of the individual threshold circuits. Using summation to perform analog majority voting averages the N threshold circuit outputs and provides resilience to single-event transients, but may exhibit an output characteristic having intermediate voltage levels. A digital majority voter having N inputs connected to the outputs of N threshold circuits restores well-defined logic levels and clean hysteresis for Schmitt trigger threshold circuits. A single point of failure at the digital majority voter may be eliminated using an analog majority voter to sum the outputs of three or more redundant digital majority voters.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.