Power converters with quasi-zero power consumption
First Claim
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1. A power converter system for powering a load when coupled to the load and for drawing a quasi-zero amount of power when not coupled to the load, the system comprising:
- a. a power supply for supplying an input power;
b. a power converter coupled with the power supply, wherein the power converter produces an output voltage from the input power; and
c. a wake-up element coupled to the power converter, wherein when the load is disconnected from the power converter and the output voltage drops below a threshold voltage, the wake-up element causes the power converter to recharge the output voltage to a predefined sleep voltage by causing the power converter to operate for a predetermined number of the switching signal cycles, wherein the predetermined number of switching signal cycles equals the number of cycles required to maximize the ratio of the time that the output voltage takes to drop to the threshold voltage versus the combined period of the predetermined number of switching signal cycles.
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Abstract
A power converter system, method and device powers a load when coupled to the load and draws a quasi-zero amount of power from the power supply when not coupled to the load. The power converter system maintains an output voltage such that the power converter system is able to properly “wake-up” when a load is coupled by intermittently operating the power converter for a preselected number of cycles when it is detected that the output voltage has fallen below a threshold level.
144 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A power converter system for powering a load when coupled to the load and for drawing a quasi-zero amount of power when not coupled to the load, the system comprising:
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a. a power supply for supplying an input power; b. a power converter coupled with the power supply, wherein the power converter produces an output voltage from the input power; and c. a wake-up element coupled to the power converter, wherein when the load is disconnected from the power converter and the output voltage drops below a threshold voltage, the wake-up element causes the power converter to recharge the output voltage to a predefined sleep voltage by causing the power converter to operate for a predetermined number of the switching signal cycles, wherein the predetermined number of switching signal cycles equals the number of cycles required to maximize the ratio of the time that the output voltage takes to drop to the threshold voltage versus the combined period of the predetermined number of switching signal cycles. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A power converter device for powering a load when coupled to the load and for drawing a quasi-zero amount of power when not coupled to the load, the device comprising:
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a. a power converter configured to produce an output voltage from an input power; and b. a wake-up element coupled to the power converter, wherein when the load is disconnected from the power converter and the output voltage drops below a threshold voltage, the wake-up element causes the power converter to recharge the output voltage to a predefined sleep voltage by causing the power converter to operate for a predetermined number of the switching signal cycles, wherein the predetermined number of switching signal cycles equals the number of cycles required to maximize the ratio of the time that the output voltage takes to drop to the threshold voltage versus the combined period of the predetermined number of switching signal cycles. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of powering a load with a power supply when coupled to the load and for drawing a quasi-zero amount of power from the power supply when not coupled to the load, the method comprising:
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a. detecting if the load is coupled with a power converter with a wake-up element; b. detecting an output voltage of the power converter with the wake-up element; c. transmitting a recharge signal from the wake-up element to the power converter if the load is not coupled with the power converter and the output voltage is below a threshold voltage; and d. recharging the output voltage to a predefined sleep voltage with the power converter upon receiving the recharge signal, wherein the recharging comprises operating the power converter for a predetermined number of the switching signal cycles, wherein the predetermined number of switching signal cycles equals the number of cycles required to maximize the ratio of the time that the output voltage takes to drop to the threshold voltage versus the combined period of the predetermined number of switching signal cycles. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification