Monitoring and recoverable protection of switching circuitry for smart-home devices
First Claim
1. A smart-home device comprising:
- a switching circuit configured to operate in an on state and an off state, the switching circuit further configured to actuate a flow of electrical power through a load when switched to the on state;
one or more processors; and
a fault-protected driver chip configured to;
monitor one or more electrical properties associated with the switching circuit;
receive an enable signal from the one or more processors to actuate the flow of electrical power through the load;
provide a drive signal to the switching circuit to cause the switching circuit to switch to the on state to actuate the flow of electrical power through the load;
determine if an electrical anomaly associated with the switching circuit is present based at least in part on the monitored one or more electrical properties, wherein the electrical anomaly comprises an over-current or over-voltage anomaly;
cause the switching circuit to switch to the off state if an electrical anomaly is detected;
provide a fault signal to the one or more processors;
determine, while the switching circuit remains in the off state, if the electrical anomaly has been corrected; and
subsequent to a determination that the anomaly has been corrected, cause the switching circuit to switch to the on state.
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Abstract
A method may include operating a switching circuit in an on state and an off state to actuate a flow of electrical power through a load when switched to the on state; monitoring an electrical property associated with the switching circuit; receiving an enable signal from a processor to power the load; providing a drive signal to the switching circuit to switch to the on state and power the load; determining if an electrical anomaly is present based on the monitored electrical properties; causing the switching circuit to switch to the off state if an electrical anomaly is detected; providing a fault signal to the processor; determining while the switching circuit is off, if the electrical anomaly has been corrected; and after the anomaly has been corrected, causing the switching circuit to switch to the on state.
140 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A smart-home device comprising:
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a switching circuit configured to operate in an on state and an off state, the switching circuit further configured to actuate a flow of electrical power through a load when switched to the on state; one or more processors; and a fault-protected driver chip configured to; monitor one or more electrical properties associated with the switching circuit; receive an enable signal from the one or more processors to actuate the flow of electrical power through the load; provide a drive signal to the switching circuit to cause the switching circuit to switch to the on state to actuate the flow of electrical power through the load; determine if an electrical anomaly associated with the switching circuit is present based at least in part on the monitored one or more electrical properties, wherein the electrical anomaly comprises an over-current or over-voltage anomaly; cause the switching circuit to switch to the off state if an electrical anomaly is detected; provide a fault signal to the one or more processors; determine, while the switching circuit remains in the off state, if the electrical anomaly has been corrected; and subsequent to a determination that the anomaly has been corrected, cause the switching circuit to switch to the on state. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method comprising:
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operating a switching circuit configured to operate in an on state and an off state, the switching circuit further configured to actuate a flow of electrical power through a load when switched to the on state; monitoring, by a fault-protected driver chip, one or more electrical properties associated with the switching circuit; receiving, by the fault-protected driver chip from one or more processors, an enable signal from the one or more processors to actuate the flow of electrical power through the load; providing, by the fault-protected driver chip, a drive signal to the switching circuit to cause the switching circuit to switch to the on state to actuate the flow of electrical power through the load; determining, by the fault-protected driver chip, if an electrical anomaly associated with the switching circuit is present based at least in part on the monitored one or more electrical properties, wherein the electrical anomaly comprises an over-current or over-voltage anomaly; causing, by the fault-protected driver chip, the switching circuit to switch to the off state if an electrical anomaly is detected; providing, by the fault-protected driver chip, a fault signal to the one or more processors; determining, by the fault-protected driver chip, while the switching circuit remains in the off state, if the electrical anomaly has been corrected; and subsequent to a determination that the anomaly has been corrected, causing, by the fault-protected driver chip, the switching circuit to switch to the on state. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification