Programmable alternator regulation circuitry
First Claim
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1. A method, comprising:
- providing circuitry operable to regulate an alternator in accordance with any of three or more different multibit control word values, the circuitry including an analog-to-digital converter;
selecting one of at least three different multibit control word values; and
programming the circuitry with the one of the multibit control word values by providing an analog input to the analog-to-digital converter, the analog-to-digital converter being responsive to at least three different levels of the analog input to correspondingly generate each of the at least three multibit control word values.
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Abstract
Among the embodiments of the present invention is an apparatus that includes an alternator and circuitry operable to regulate electrical power output by the alternator. This circuitry includes an analog-to-digital converter with an analog signal input node. The converter is responsive to three or more different analog signal levels provided to this input node to correspondingly generate three or more different multibit control word values. The circuitry is programmable with any of these values to correspondingly operate in three or more different operating configurations depending on the value selection.
43 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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providing circuitry operable to regulate an alternator in accordance with any of three or more different multibit control word values, the circuitry including an analog-to-digital converter;
selecting one of at least three different multibit control word values; and
programming the circuitry with the one of the multibit control word values by providing an analog input to the analog-to-digital converter, the analog-to-digital converter being responsive to at least three different levels of the analog input to correspondingly generate each of the at least three multibit control word values. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus, comprising:
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an integrated circuit operable to regulate an electrical output of an alternator, said integrated circuit including a first analog-to-digital converter with a first analog signal input, said first analog-to-digital converter being responsive to three or more different analog signal levels provided to said first input to correspondingly generate three or more different values for a multibit control word; and
a first analog programming device electrically coupled to said integrated circuit to provide a first analog signal input to said first input to select one of said three or more different values of said multibit control word. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An apparatus, comprising:
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an alternator; and
circuitry operable to regulate an electrical output of said alternator, said circuitry including a first analog-to-digital converter with a first analog signal input node, said first analog-to-digital converter being responsive to three or more different analog signal levels provided to said first input node to correspondingly generate three or more different multibit word values, said circuitry being programmable with any of said three or more multibit word values to correspondingly operate in three or more different operating configurations. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An apparatus, comprising:
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an integrated circuit operable to regulate an electrical output of an alternator, said integrated circuit being programmable with different values of a multibit control word, said integrated circuit including three or more comparators each defining a different bit of the multibit control word; and
an analog programming device electrically coupled to said integrated circuit to input an analog signal to each of said comparators, said analog programming device being operable to select one of the different values of said multibit control word. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method, comprising:
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providing an integrated circuit including an analog input;
supplying an analog signal to the analog input to select among three or more different values of a multibit control word to program the integrated circuit; and
regulating an alternator output with the integrated circuit. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification