Circuits and methods for providing power and data communication in isolated system architectures
First Claim
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1. A switch controller, comprising:
- a microcontroller external to said switch controller;
a monolithic substrate;
a first and second drive circuit located on said monolithic substrate and configured to drive a respective first and second power switch, wherein said respective first and second power switch drives a respective first and second load;
a diagnostics block located on said monolithic substrate and configured to provide diagnostic signals indicating at least one attribute associated with said first and second power switch; and
a control block located on said monolithic substrate and configured to drive said first and second drive circuits in response to separate first and second control signals from said external microcontroller based on said diagnostic signals.
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Abstract
A switch controller, an isolated system incorporating an integrated circuit (IC) and a method of operating a power switch. In one embodiment, the IC includes: (1) a monolithic substrate, (2) a drive circuit supported by the monolithic substrate and configured to drive a power switch, (3) a diagnostics block supported by the monolithic substrate and configured to provide diagnostic signals indicating at least one attribute associated with the power switch and (4) a control block supported by the monolithic substrate and configured to drive the drive circuit in response to control signals developed based on the diagnostic signals.
51 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A switch controller, comprising:
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a microcontroller external to said switch controller; a monolithic substrate; a first and second drive circuit located on said monolithic substrate and configured to drive a respective first and second power switch, wherein said respective first and second power switch drives a respective first and second load; a diagnostics block located on said monolithic substrate and configured to provide diagnostic signals indicating at least one attribute associated with said first and second power switch; and a control block located on said monolithic substrate and configured to drive said first and second drive circuits in response to separate first and second control signals from said external microcontroller based on said diagnostic signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 16)
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9. An isolated system, comprising:
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a monolithic substrate; first and second gate drive circuits located on said monolithic substrate and configured to drive respective first and second power transistors, wherein said first and second power transistors drives a respective first and second load; a control block located on said monolithic substrate and configured to drive said first and second gate drive circuits with separate first and second control signals based on diagnostic signals; and a microcontroller external to said monolithic substrate and coupled to said control block and configured to receive said diagnostic signals and provide said control signals. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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17. A method of operating a first and second power switch, comprising:
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driving said first and second power switch with a first and second drive circuit, respectively, wherein said respective first and second power switch drives a respective first and second load; providing diagnostic signals indicating at least one attribute associated with said first and second power switch to a microcontroller external to said power switch; and driving said first and second drive circuit in response to separate first and second control signals from said external microcontroller based on said diagnostic signals and in response to a current sampled from a power bus coupled to said drive circuit. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification