Semiconductor element temperature detecting system and semiconductor module and semiconductor module system

• US 9,121,772 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2013
• Issued: 09/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Tanaka, Teruaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen, Sibin
• Assistant Examiner(s): RETEBO, METASEBIA T
• Application Number:
  US14/359,156
• Publication Number:
  US 20140306749A1
• Time in Patent Office: 949 Days
• Field of Search: 327/378
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 13/00 Thermometers specially adapted for specific purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 2219/00 Thermometers with dedicated analog to digital converters
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 7/01 using semiconducting elements having PN junctions G01K7/02, G01K7/16, G01K7/30 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/14 Modifications for compensating variations of physical values, e.g. of temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2017/0806 against excessive temperature

Abstract

A temperature data coding unit 100 increases the data resolution in a high temperature range and reduces the data resolution in a low temperature range, and makes the data length of the temperature data a fixed length. When carrying out numerical estimation of the fixed length code value in terms of a 2'"'"'s complement numerical code value, the temperature data coding unit 100 generates coded data that increases with an increase of the pre-coded temperature data in terms of the 2'"'"'s complement numerical code value.

Claims

1. A semiconductor element temperature detecting system comprising:

a digital temperature data measuring unit that detects temperature of a semiconductor element as digital temperature data; and

a temperature data coding unit that codes the digital temperature data to coded data with a common prescribed length, which coded data of the common prescribed length in a low temperature range domain has lower data resolution than coded data of the common prescribed length in a high temperature range domain, and increases with an increase of the digital temperature data when estimating the digital temperature data as 2'"'"'s complement numbers.

5. The semiconductor element temperature detecting system according to claim 1, wherein

the coded data comprises a combination of a pre-code and a data code, wherein the combination is determined so as to cover a data range including a predetermined lowest limit value of the temperature detection, the pre-code is arranged by setting an upper limit value of detection of the high temperature range as a reference value, by setting a temperature range domain for each range of some power of two using minimum detection resolution as a basic unit from the upper limit value of the detection, and by placing bits of 0 before a bit of 1 for each temperature range domain beginning from the high temperature range while increasing the number of bits of 0 with a number of the temperature range domain, and the data code is formed by halving the detection resolution by deleting lower-order bits of the temperature data by one bit for each temperature range domain beginning from the high temperature range.

6. The semiconductor element temperature detecting system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a temperature data threshold comparator that compares the temperature data coded by the temperature data coding unit with a post-coding threshold obtained by coding a predetermined temperature threshold, and that obtains a comparison result of the temperature data with the threshold.

7. The semiconductor element temperature detecting system according to claim 1, wherein

the temperature data coding unit employs asynchronous transmission as a communication method with a temperature data receiving unit that receives the coded data generated by the temperature data coding unit.

8. The semiconductor element temperature detecting system according to claim 1, wherein all coded data in a temperature range of the low temperature range domain has the same data resolution.

9. The semiconductor element temperature detecting system according to claim 8, wherein all coded data in a temperature range of the high temperature range domain has the same data resolution.

2. A semiconductor element temperature detecting system comprising:

a digital temperature data measuring unit that detects temperature of a semiconductor element as digital temperature data; and

a temperature data coding unit including;

a pre-code converting unit that determines a plurality of temperature range domains in accordance with prescribed lower-order bits of the digital temperature data, and generates a pre-code from higher-order bits of the digital temperature data other than the prescribed lower-order bits;

a significant data acquiring unit that obtains significant data corresponding to the temperature range domain from the prescribed lower-order bits of the digital temperature data; and

a connecting unit that generates coded data by combining the pre-code with the significant data.

3. he semiconductor element temperature detecting system according to claim 2, wherein

the pre-code converting unit generates the pre-code consisting of N−

1 bits of 0 followed by one bit of 1 for an N-th highest temperature range domain (N is a positive integer) with respect to a prescribed temperature range domain used as a reference.

4. The semiconductor element temperature detecting system according to claim 2, wherein

the significant data acquiring unit obtains the significant data by deleting lowest-order N−

1 bits for the N-th highest temperature range domain (N is a positive integer) with respect to a prescribed temperature range domain used as a reference.

10. A semiconductor module comprising:

a semiconductor element;

a digital temperature data measuring unit that detects temperature of the semiconductor element as digital temperature data; and

a temperature data coding unit including;

a pre-code converting unit that determines a plurality of temperature range domains in accordance with prescribed lower-order bits of the digital temperature data, and generates a pre-code from higher-order bits of the digital temperature data other than the prescribed lower-order bits;

a significant data acquiring unit that obtains significant data corresponding to the temperature range domain from the prescribed lower-order bits of the digital temperature data; and

a connecting unit that generates coded data by combining the pre-code with the significant data.

11. A semiconductor module system comprising:

a semiconductor element;

a controller that outputs an instruction signal for controlling a gate of the semiconductor element;

a digital temperature data measuring unit that detects temperature of the semiconductor element as digital temperature data;

a temperature data coding unit including;

a pre-code converting unit that determines a plurality of temperature range domains in accordance with prescribed lower-order bits of the digital temperature data, and generates a pre-code from higher-order bits of the digital temperature data other than the prescribed lower-order bits;

a significant data acquiring unit that obtains significant data corresponding to the temperature range domain from the prescribed lower-order bits of the digital temperature data; and

a connecting unit that generates coded data by combining the pre-code with the significant data;

a control unit that decides validity of the instruction signal of the controller in accordance with the digital temperature data and generates a control signal; and

a driving signal generating unit that generates a driving signal for driving the gate of the semiconductor element in response to the control signal.