Patent · US Active

Bidirectional current sense

US8796998B2 · kind B2 · utility

3Cited by

14References

24Claims

0Family size

Assignee

DIALOG SEMICONDUCTOR INC. · DE

Inventors

Christian Wolf · Arlington, US
Stefano Scaldaferri · Munich, DE

Key dates

Filing date	May 5, 2011
Grant date	Aug 5, 2014
Priority date	—
Expiry date	Nov 20, 2032

Classification

Technology area (CPC G)Physics
CPC primaryG01R31/3832
WIPO fieldMeasurement
WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

Method and circuits for sensing a bidirectional current without requiring an external sense resistor are disclosed. In a preferred embodiment the invention is applied for fuel gauging of one or more batteries and comprises a charger/active diode, which can source current into the battery and sink current from the battery to supply a mobile electronic device. The invention can be applied to any other application requiring sensing of bidirectional currents. A regulated cascode forces a voltage drop over a power transistor and a sense transistor to be the same. A feedback current is measured by an ADC. The integration of these current measurements over time is equal to the actual charge of the battery.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.