Switch controlled current sensing using a hall effect sensor
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- an integrated circuit comprising;
a Hall sensor configured to sense a magnetic field of a controlled current; and
a controller coupled to the Hall sensor, wherein at least during operation the controller is configured to;
(i) receive information from the Hall sensor, (ii) sample the information at a sample frequency sufficiently greater than a frequency of Hall sensor noise voltage to effectively cancel out the Hall sensor noise voltage from the information received from the Hall sensor, and (ii) use the information to determine a time to cause a switch, which controls the controlled current, to conduct.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electronic system includes a Hall sensor to sense a controlled current. The Hall sensor is positioned proximate to a signal path and develops a voltage that includes a component corresponding to a controlled current. A controller generates a switch control signal to control conductivity of a switch, and the switch controls drive current for a load. The controller receives information either directly or indirectly from the Hall sensor corresponding to the controlled current and utilizes the information from the Hall sensor to control conductivity of the switch. Controlling conductivity of the switch controls the drive current for the load. The frequency of the switch control signal is sufficiently higher than a Hall sensor noise voltage to allow the controller to sufficiently cancel out the noise voltage for control purposes.
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Citations
44 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
an integrated circuit comprising; a Hall sensor configured to sense a magnetic field of a controlled current; and a controller coupled to the Hall sensor, wherein at least during operation the controller is configured to;
(i) receive information from the Hall sensor, (ii) sample the information at a sample frequency sufficiently greater than a frequency of Hall sensor noise voltage to effectively cancel out the Hall sensor noise voltage from the information received from the Hall sensor, and (ii) use the information to determine a time to cause a switch, which controls the controlled current, to conduct.- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method comprising:
in an integrated circuit; sensing a magnetic field of a controlled current using a Hall sensor in the integrated circuit; receiving information from the Hall sensor; sampling the information received from the Hall sensor at a frequency sufficiently greater than a frequency of Hall sensor noise voltage to effectively cancel out the Hall sensor noise voltage from the information received from the Hall sensor; and utilizing the information to determine a time to cause a switch, which controls the controlled current, to conduct. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. An apparatus comprising:
an integrated circuit that includes; means for sensing a magnetic field of a controlled current using a Hall sensor in the integrated circuit; means for receiving information from the Hall sensor; means for sampling the information received from the Hall sensor at a frequency sufficiently greater than a frequency of Hall sensor noise voltage to effectively cancel out the Hall sensor noise voltage from the information received from the Hall sensor; and means for utilizing the information to determine a time to cause a switch, which controls the controlled current, to conduct.
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31. An apparatus comprising:
an integrated circuit comprising; a Hall sensor configured to sense a magnetic field of a controlled current; and a controller coupled to the Hall sensor, wherein the controller is configured to; sense a voltage V0 from the Hall sensor while the switch is nonconductive (“
off”
);generate a switch control signal at time t1 to cause the switch to conduct (“
on”
) and the controlled current to flow;sense a voltage V1 from the Hall sensor while the switch is conductive; and determine a time t3 to turn the switch “
off”
based on a time t2, wherein time t2 is when the sensed voltage V1 plus the sensed voltage V0 equals a target voltage; andgenerate the switch control signal at time t3 to turn the switch “
off”
.- View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method comprising:
in an integrated circuit; sensing a magnetic field of a controlled current using a Hall sensor in the integrated circuit; sensing a voltage V0 from the Hall sensor while the switch is nonconductive (“
off”
);generating a switch control signal at time t1 to cause the switch to conduct (“
on”
) and the controlled current to flow;sensing a voltage V1 from the Hall sensor while the switch is conductive; and determining a time t3 to turn the switch “
off”
based on a time t2, wherein time t2 is when the sensed voltage V1 plus the sensed voltage V0 equals a target voltage; andgenerating the switch control signal at time t3 to turn the switch “
off”
.- View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
Specification