System and method for circuit protection
First Claim
1. A method for operating a gate driver circuit comprising:
- supplying power to the gate driver circuit from a power supply comprising a positive power supply voltage and a negative power supply voltage;
comparing the negative power supply voltage with a first voltage at an output terminal of a transistor, wherein the gate driver circuit is coupled to a gate terminal of the transistor;
operating the gate driver circuit when the negative power supply voltage is more negative than a trigger voltage, wherein the trigger voltage is a predetermined voltage above the first voltage based on the comparing; and
deactivating at least a portion of the gate driver circuit when the negative power supply voltage is more positive than the trigger voltage based on the comparing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for operating a gate driver circuit includes supplying power to the gate driver circuit from a power supply including a positive power supply voltage and a negative power supply voltage. The method also includes comparing the negative power supply voltage with a first voltage at an output terminal of a transistor, wherein the gate driver circuit is coupled to a gate terminal of the transistor. The method also includes operating the gate driver circuit when the negative power supply voltage is more negative than a trigger voltage, wherein the trigger voltage is a predetermined voltage above the first voltage. The method also includes deactivating at least a portion of the gate driver circuit when the negative power supply voltage is more positive than the trigger voltage.
1 Citation
30 Claims
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1. A method for operating a gate driver circuit comprising:
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supplying power to the gate driver circuit from a power supply comprising a positive power supply voltage and a negative power supply voltage; comparing the negative power supply voltage with a first voltage at an output terminal of a transistor, wherein the gate driver circuit is coupled to a gate terminal of the transistor; operating the gate driver circuit when the negative power supply voltage is more negative than a trigger voltage, wherein the trigger voltage is a predetermined voltage above the first voltage based on the comparing; and deactivating at least a portion of the gate driver circuit when the negative power supply voltage is more positive than the trigger voltage based on the comparing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A gate driver circuit, comprising:
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a first voltage reference terminal configured to be coupled to an output terminal of a transistor; a voltage detection circuit coupled to a power supply terminal and the first voltage reference terminal, wherein the voltage detection circuit is configured to detect a first supply voltage condition, a second supply voltage condition, and a third supply voltage condition wherein; in the first supply voltage condition, a voltage at the power supply terminal is negative relative to the voltage at the first voltage reference terminal; in the second supply voltage condition, the voltage at the power supply terminal is positive relative to the voltage at the first voltage reference terminal and the voltage at the power supply terminal is less than a positive trigger voltage; and in the third supply voltage condition, the voltage at the power supply terminal is positive relative to the voltage at the first voltage reference terminal and the voltage at the power supply terminal is greater than the positive trigger voltage; and a shutdown circuit coupled to the voltage detection circuit, the shutdown circuit configured to deactivate at least a portion of the gate driver circuit when the voltage detection circuit detects the third supply voltage condition. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A circuit comprising:
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a voltage monitoring circuit, comprising; a comparator; a first voltage divider coupled between a reference voltage node and a first power supply terminal, wherein an output of the first voltage divider is coupled to a first input of the comparator; and a second voltage divider coupled between the reference voltage node and an output terminal of a transistor, wherein an output of the second voltage divider is coupled to a second input of the comparator; and a gate driver circuit coupled to the voltage monitoring circuit, wherein a portion of the gate driver circuit is configured to be active when the output of the comparator is in a first state, wherein the portion of the gate driver circuit is configured to be inactive when the output of the comparator is in a second state, wherein the output of the comparator is in the first state when the first power supply terminal has a voltage more negative than a positive trigger voltage, and wherein the output of the comparator is in the second state when the first power supply terminal has a voltage greater than or equal to the positive trigger voltage. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification