Circuit and method for controlled independent recycle of discharge current of multiple inductive loads
First Claim
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1. A circuit for recycling discharge current of an inductive load, the inductive load having a first terminal coupled to a first power supply terminal and a second terminal, the circuit comprising:
- an active element having a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the inductive load, a second terminal coupled to a second power supply terminal, and a control terminal that is responsive to a control signal; and
a regulator including;
a turn-on circuit having a first terminal coupled to the control terminal of the active element and a second terminal; and
a blocking and triggering element having a first terminal that receives a reference potential, having a second terminal that provides a turn-on signal to the second terminal of the turn-on circuit when a potential at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude greater than a magnitude of the reference potential, so as to begin recycling of current through the active element and to discharge the inductive load, and having a diode that is forward biased to allow current flow through the diode when a potential at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is greater than the magnitude of the reference potential.
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Abstract
A circuit controllably and independently recycles the discharge current of a plurality of inductive loads that are connected between first and second power supply terminals. For each of the loads, an active element for driving the inductive load is provided, as well as a regulator for controlling the recycling of the discharge current from the respective load, which is connected to the control terminal of the active element and to a node for connection between the active element and the respective inductive load.
61 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A circuit for recycling discharge current of an inductive load, the inductive load having a first terminal coupled to a first power supply terminal and a second terminal, the circuit comprising:
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an active element having a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the inductive load, a second terminal coupled to a second power supply terminal, and a control terminal that is responsive to a control signal; and a regulator including; a turn-on circuit having a first terminal coupled to the control terminal of the active element and a second terminal; and a blocking and triggering element having a first terminal that receives a reference potential, having a second terminal that provides a turn-on signal to the second terminal of the turn-on circuit when a potential at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude greater than a magnitude of the reference potential, so as to begin recycling of current through the active element and to discharge the inductive load, and having a diode that is forward biased to allow current flow through the diode when a potential at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is greater than the magnitude of the reference potential. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for controlling a discharge of current from an inductive load having a first terminal coupled to a first voltage reference and a second terminal, the method comprising the steps of:
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allowing a control current to flow from the second terminal of the inductive load to a second voltage reference when a voltage at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is greater than a predetermined magnitude; controlling a discharge device to recycle the current from the inductive load in response to the control current; blocking the control current when the voltage at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is not greater than the predetermined magnitude; and wherein; the step of allowing includes forward biasing a diode; and the step of blocking includes reverse biasing the diode. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A method for controlling a discharge of current from an inductive load having a first terminal coupled to a first voltage reference and a second terminal, the method comprising the steps of:
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allowing a control current to flow from the second terminal of the inductive load to a second voltage reference when a voltage at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is greater than a predetermined magnitude; controlling a discharge device to recycle the current from the inductive load in response to the control current; blocking the control current when the voltage at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is not greater than the predetermined magnitude; and wherein; the step of allowing includes forward biasing a diode; the step of blocking includes reverse biasing the diode; and the step of controlling includes a step of mirroring the control current to provide an activation signal to activate a transistor, so that the transistor discharges current from the second terminal of the inductive load.
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14. A method for controlling a discharge of current from an inductive load having a first terminal coupled to a first voltage reference and a second terminal, the method comprising the steps of:
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allowing a control current to flow from the second terminal of the inductive load to a second voltage reference when a voltage at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is greater than a predetermined magnitude; controlling a discharge device to recycle the current from the inductive load in response to the control current; and wherein the step of controlling includes a step of mirroring the control current to provide an activation signal to activate a transistor, so that the transistor discharges current from the second terminal of the inductive load.
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15. A method for controlling a discharge of current from an inductive load having a first terminal coupled to a first voltage reference and a second terminal, the method comprising the steps of:
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allowing a control current to flow from the second terminal of the inductive load to a second voltage reference when a voltage at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is greater than a predetermined magnitude; controlling a discharge device to recycle the current from the inductive load in response to the control current; and wherein the step of allowing includes forward biasing a diode having a terminal coupled to a third voltage reference. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. An apparatus for controlling a discharge of current from an inductive load having a first terminal coupled to a first voltage reference and a second terminal, the apparatus comprising:
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means for allowing a control current to flow from the second terminal of the inductive load to a second voltage reference when a voltage at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is greater than a predetermined magnitude; means for controlling a discharge device to recycle the current from the inductive load in response to the control current; and wherein the means for allowing includes means for blocking the control current when the voltage at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is not greater than the predetermined magnitude and a diode that is forward biased when the voltage at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is greater than the predetermined magnitude and that is reversed biased when the voltage at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is not greater than the predetermined magnitude. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. An apparatus for controlling a discharge of current from an inductive load having a first terminal coupled to a first voltage reference and a second terminal, the apparatus comprising:
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means for allowing a control current to flow from the second terminal of the inductive load to a second voltage reference when a voltage at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is greater than a predetermined magnitude; means for controlling a discharge device to recycle the current from the inductive load in response to the control current; and wherein; the means for allowing includes means for blocking the control current when the voltage at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is not greater than the predetermined magnitude; the means for allowing includes a diode that is forward biased when the voltage at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is greater than the predetermined magnitude and that is reversed biased when the voltage at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is not greater than the predetermined magnitude; and the means for controlling includes means for mirroring the control current to provide an activation signal to activate a transistor, so that the transistor discharges current from the second terminal of the inductive load.
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20. An apparatus for controlling a discharge of current from an inductive load having a first terminal coupled to a first voltage reference and a second terminal, the apparatus comprising:
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means for allowing a control current to flow from the second terminal of the inductive load to a second voltage reference when a voltage at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is greater than a predetermined magnitude; means for controlling a discharge device to recycle the current from the inductive load in response to the control current; and wherein the means for controlling includes means for mirroring the control current to provide an activation signal to activate a transistor, so that the transistor discharges current from the second terminal of the inductive load.
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21. An apparatus for controlling a discharge of current from an inductive load having a first terminal coupled to a first voltage reference and a second terminal, the apparatus comprising:
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means for allowing a control current to flow from the second terminal of the inductive load to a second voltage reference when a voltage at the second terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is greater than a predetermined magnitude; means for controlling a discharge device to recycle the current from the inductive load in response to the control current; and wherein the means for allowing includes means for forward biasing a diode having a terminal coupled to a third voltage reference. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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23. A circuit for recycling current from an inductive load through a control device that is coupled in series with the inductive load, the apparatus comprising:
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a control circuit having a first terminal coupled to a control terminal of the control device and a second terminal; a nonlinear device having a first terminal that receives a signal of a predetermined magnitude and a second terminal that provides an activation signal to the second terminal of the control circuit when a voltage at a first terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is greater than the predetermined magnitude, so that the control circuit controls the control device to recycle the current from the inductive load; and wherein the nonlinear device includes a diode that is forward biased when the voltage at the first terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is greater than the predetermined magnitude and that is reverse biased when the voltage at the first terminal of the inductive load has a magnitude that is not greater than the predetermined magnitude. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification