DC to DC converter with a single-fault tolerant clamp
US5861738A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 13, 1997 |
| Grant date | Jan 19, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 13, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH02M1/0045
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A single-fault tolerant DC-to-DC converter having an output voltage clamp is capable of sourcing current to and sinking current from a load while maintaining a well regulated secondary bus voltage V.sub.bus. The clamp is disabled when the DC-to-DC converter is sourcing current so that all of the current is delivered to the load and is enabled when V.sub.bus exceeds a clamp set point voltage V.sub.clamp to sink the excess current and clamp V.sub.bus at V.sub.clamp. To provide single fault tolerance, the clamp includes a fault detection clamp element that is controlled by the DC-to-DC converter so that they operate mutually exclusively and a regulator clamp element whose resistance is set in a negative feedback control loop so that, when the fault protection clamp element is activated, both clamp elements sink the excess current and control the secondary bus voltage.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.