Switching circuits for extracting power from an electric power source and associated methods

• US 9,806,523 B2
• Filed: 05/18/2015
• Issued: 10/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/18/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Volterra Semiconductor LLC (Analog Devices, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Volterra Semiconductor LLC (Analog Devices, Inc.)
• Inventors: Stratakos, Anthony J., McJimsey, Michael D., Jergovic, Ilija, Ikriannikov, Alexandr, Der Minassians, Artin, Yao, Kaiwei, Lidsky, David B., Zuniga, Marco A., Borisavljevic, Ana
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, MATTHEW VAN
• Application Number:
  US14/714,850
• Publication Number:
  US 20150256077A1
• Time in Patent Office: 897 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/16225 the item being non-metallic, e.g. insulating substrate with or without metallisation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48091 Arched
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48227 connecting the wire to a bond pad of the item
• 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 2924/00014 the subject-matter covered by the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group, being disclosed without further technical details
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/13091 Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor [MOSFET]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 1/102 being switching converters H02J1/108, H02J1/12 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 1/106 for load balancing, symmetrisation, or sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2300/24 of photovoltaic origin
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/381 Dispersed generators
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/158 including plural semiconductor devices as final control devices for a single load
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/102 in field-effect transistor switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/122 in field-effect transistor switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/145 in field-effect transistor switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/693 Switching arrangements with several input- or output-terminals, e.g. multiplexers, distributors logic circuits H03K19/00; code converters H03M5/00, H03M7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/0036 Means reducing energy consumption
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/0054 Gating switches, e.g. pass gates
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/56 Power conversion systems, e.g. maximum power point trackers

Abstract

A switching circuit for extracting power from an electric power source includes (1) an input port for electrically coupling to the electric power source, (2) an output port for electrically coupling to a load, (3) a first switching device configured to switch between its conductive state and its non-conductive state to transfer power from the input port to the output port, (4) an intermediate switching node that transitions between at least two different voltage levels at least in part due to the first switching device switching between its conductive state and its non-conductive state, and (5) a controller for controlling the first switching device to maximize an average value of a voltage at the intermediate switching node.

Claims

1. A method for operating a switching circuit including an input port, an output port, an energy storage device, a first switching device, and a second switching device electrically coupled across the output port, comprising:

in a first operating mode of the switching circuit, controlling switching of the first switching device between its conductive and non-conductive states to transfer power from the input port to the output port; and

in a second operating mode of the switching circuit;

charging the energy storage device with energy extracted from a circuit including the output port, and

using energy stored in the energy storage device to power a controller of the switching circuit and cause the second switching device to operate in its conductive state.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising alternating the steps of charging and using, in the second operating mode of the switching circuit.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling switching of the first switching device to at least substantially maximize an amount of electric power extracted from an electric power source electrically coupled to the input port, in the first operating mode of the switching circuit.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising using the energy stored in the energy storage device to power the controller when an electric power source electrically coupled to the input port provides insufficient power to operate the controller.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising powering the controller from an electric power source electrically coupled to the input port, in the first operating mode.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in the second operating mode, up-converting a voltage across a diode electrically coupled in parallel with the second switching device to a voltage with a sufficiently large magnitude to (a) at least partially power the controller and (b) operate the second switching device.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising operating the second switching device in its conductive state in response to a voltage across a diode exceeding a predetermined threshold value for a predetermined amount of time, the diode being electrically coupled in parallel with the second switching device.