Power transmission, gate driving, and / or protection functions performed across isolation barriers

Abstract

To provide a power transfer, a gate drive, and / or a protective function across an insulation barrier.SOLUTION: An apparatus 200 comprises an energy transfer device and a monitoring component. The energy transfer device supplies power from a primary side of an insulation barrier through the isolation barrier to a secondary side of the isolation barrier for driving a gate of a switch for controlling output of the switch at the secondary side. The apparatus also comprises the monitoring component. The monitoring component monitors an operating state of the switch, evaluates the operating state to determine whether or not a fault has occurred, executes a countermeasure, and / or transmits a signal of the fault to a fault manager on the primary side.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of providing power transmission, gate drive, and / or protection functions across an insulating barrier.

Background Art

[0002] Various types of devices can utilize switches such as solid-state switches. The switches can be controlled from the power domain of the device. The power domain can be insulated from the area of the device where the switches are located. Optical insulating barriers can be used to achieve insulation. The optical insulating barrier is positioned within the device between a first side of the device including the power domain and a second side of the device including the switches. In order to control the switches via the optical insulating barrier, information and / or energy must be transmitted across this optical insulating barrier. Unfortunately, optically insulated switches can inevitably result in high manufacturing costs and may only provide limited gate drive capabilities with respect to achievable drive voltages and drive currents.

[0003] Many existing solutions, such as alternatives to optical isolation using galvanic isolation based on capacitive or transformer coupling, have various drawbacks, both of which require integration capabilities. One such drawback is the need for additional, specific power supply pins on one or more sides of the isolation barrier. Another drawback is the inability to integrate the isolation barrier and solid-state switch within the same package. Yet another drawback is the inability to provide pin compatibility with other isolation devices for driving solid-state switches, such as optocouplers or solid-state relays, which typically do not require any specific power supply pins on the isolation side where the drive switch is located. Furthermore, existing isolation solutions cannot always generate a voltage higher on the secondary side of the isolation barrier (e.g., the second side where the switch is located) than the voltage on the primary side of the isolation barrier (e.g., the first side where the power domain is located). This severely restricts the types of switches that can be used, as such switches must have a threshold voltage compatible with the input voltage range, which can be extremely low with respect to the voltage used to operate the switch. One drawback of capacitive isolation is the common-mode transient withstand voltage between the two sides of the isolation barrier, which can cause their potentials to quickly shift in opposite directions. Although some products can combine one or more of these isolation solutions and / or features, no product currently exists that addresses all of the aforementioned drawbacks simultaneously while providing integrated protection, safety measures, and / or fault communication. [Overview of the Initiative] [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] This summary is provided to introduce, in a simplified form, an excerpt of the concepts that will be further discussed later in a more detailed explanation. This summary is not intended to identify any major elements or essential features of the subject matter covered by the claims, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the subject matter covered by the claims.

[0005] According to one embodiment of the technology presented herein, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes an energy transmission device, which is configured to supply power from the primary side of an insulating barrier through the insulating barrier to the secondary side of the insulating barrier and to directly drive the gate of the switch in order to control the output of the switch on the secondary side. The apparatus includes a monitoring component, which is configured to monitor the operating state of the switch and to evaluate the operating state in order to determine whether or not a fault has occurred.

[0006] According to one embodiment of the technology presented herein, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes an energy transmission device, which is configured to supply power from the primary side of an isolation barrier through the isolation barrier to the secondary side of the isolation barrier, and to supply power to an isolated gate driver that drives the gate of the switch in order to control the output of the switch on the secondary side. The apparatus includes a monitoring component, which is configured to monitor the operating state of the switch and to evaluate the operating state in order to determine whether or not a fault has occurred.

[0007] According to one embodiment of the technology presented herein, a method is provided. This method includes the step of controlling a monitoring component of an isolated power converter to determine the operating state of a switching component associated with the secondary side of the device. The switching component is driven based on power transmitted from the primary side of the device to the secondary side through an isolation barrier. The operating state is evaluated to determine whether a failure has occurred in the switching component. In response to a failure in the switching component, countermeasures are taken.

[0008] According to one embodiment of the technology presented herein, a device is provided. The device includes means for controlling a monitoring component of an isolated power converter to determine the operating state of a switching component associated with the secondary side of the device. The switching component is driven based on power transmitted from the primary side of the device to the secondary side through an isolation barrier. The device includes means for evaluating the operating state to determine whether a failure has occurred in the switching component. The device includes means for taking countermeasures in response to a failure in the switching component.

[0009] To achieve the aforementioned and related objectives, the following description and accompanying drawings illustrate specific exemplary embodiments and implementations. These represent only a few of the various methods, and one or more embodiments may be employed in those methods. Other embodiments, advantages, and novel features of this disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This figure shows an exemplary method for providing power transmission, gate driving, and / or protection functions across an isolation barrier, in accordance with the technology presented in this specification. [Figure 2] This is a component block diagram showing a device that provides power transmission, gate driving, and / or protection functions across an isolation barrier, according to the technology presented herein. [Figure 3] This is a component block diagram showing a device that provides protection functions implemented by power transmission, direct gate driving, and / or monitoring components across an isolation barrier, according to the technology presented herein. [Figure 4] This is a component block diagram showing a device that provides power transmission, direct gate driving, protection functions, and / or fault communication to the primary side across an isolation barrier, according to the technology presented herein. [Figure 5] This is a component block diagram showing a device that provides power transmission, direct gate driving, protection functions, and / or fault communication to the primary side across an isolation barrier, according to the technology presented herein. [Figure 6] This specification shows a block diagram of components illustrating a solid-state relay device that provides power transmission, direct gate driving, and / or protection functions across an isolation barrier, according to the technology presented herein. [Figure 7] This specification presents a block diagram of components illustrating a solid-state relay device that provides power transmission, direct gate driving, protection functions, and / or fault communication to the primary side across an isolation barrier, according to the technology presented herein. [Figure 8] This specification presents a block diagram of components illustrating a solid-state relay device that provides power transmission across an isolation barrier, direct gate drive, protection functions, and fault communication to the primary side, according to the technology presented herein. [Figure 9] This specification presents a block diagram of components illustrating a solid-state relay device that provides power transmission, direct gate driving, protection functions, and / or fault communication to the primary side across an isolation barrier, according to the technology presented herein. [Figure 10] This is a component block diagram showing a device that uses a single transformer to provide power transmission, protection, and / or fault communication across an isolation barrier, in accordance with the technology presented herein. [Figure 11] This is a block diagram of the components of a device that provides power transmission and indirect gate drive. [Figure 12] This is a component block diagram showing a device that provides power transmission, indirect gate drive, protection functions, and / or fault communication to the primary side, according to the technology presented herein. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Next, the subject matter of the claims will be described with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals will be used throughout to refer to the same elements. For explanatory purposes, numerous specific details are mentioned in the following description to ensure a complete understanding of the subject matter of the claims. However, as is obvious, the subject matter of the claims can be implemented even without these specific details. Furthermore, for the purpose of facilitating the explanation of the subject matter of the claims, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form.

[0012] In the field of electronics, a device includes a switch to be controlled from a predetermined area of ​​the device, such as a power domain area of ​​the device that should be isolated from the switch. The ability to operate the switch is improved by using electrical isolation, such as capacitive coupling, a transformer such as a core transformer or coreless transformer or any other type of transformer, or other electrical isolation barriers. Electrical isolation barriers can be used in a manner that does not introduce topological differences or penalties to the device, and thus the device can be easily replaced with other existing devices without introducing significant differences in the size, package, or pin arrangement of the device. Pin compatibility is provided, for example, because additional pins that would otherwise be used to provide specific power supplies on both sides of the electrical isolation barrier are not required.

[0013] The energy transmission device can transfer an appropriate amount of energy from a first side of the device (e.g., the side where the power domain area is located) to a second side of the device where the switch is located, across an electrical isolation barrier. During a series of switching cycles applied to the primary side of the isolation barrier element, energy is transmitted to the secondary side of the isolation barrier element, and thus a switch, such as a solid-state switch, can be turned on properly and reliably at a sufficient speed without requiring additional energy from the secondary side. Furthermore, power to the switch can be safely turned off at a sufficient speed without the need to transmit energy across the electrical isolation barrier and without the need for external components.

[0014] The technologies and devices provided herein can provide power transmission, gate drive, and / or monitoring solutions. According to some embodiments, these capabilities can be part of a single chip solution. Power transmission is provided using isolated power converters capable of supplying power to switches across an isolation barrier. Direct gate drive and / or indirect gate drive are provided using isolated gate drivers or solid-state relays, with or without integrated protection functions, independent safety measures, and / or fault communication to the primary side of the device. Isolated monitoring solutions are provided using isolated amplifiers or isolated comparators, isolated analog-to-digital converters, non-isolated amplifiers, and / or analog-to-digital converters located on the secondary side and coupled to analog or digital isolators.

[0015] According to some embodiments, a direct gate drive function is provided. This direct gate drive function involves the integration of gate drive function with secondary power supply generation having a higher voltage level than the primary side. The gate drive function can be provided for solid-state relay applications, which are particularly relevant to applications where the switching speed and turn-on time of the driven switch are not particularly fast, such as switching frequencies of less than 1 kHz. Therefore, in these applications, the power conversion function and secondary power supply generation can be matched with the power conversion function and secondary power supply generation for gate drive of the switch. The gate of the switch is directly controlled by the output of the power converter. Thus, if power conversion is started from the primary side, this directly triggers gate drive on the secondary side without the use of a specific gate driver in between. If the power converter is restarted from its turn-off state, the startup time of the power converter itself is directly reflected in the turn-on time of the switch, so this direct gate drive function may be suitable for relatively slow switching. Since switching speed is not necessarily the most important factor in solid-state relay applications, power transmission strength is not necessarily a critical parameter; in this case, higher power transmission leads to faster turn-on of the controlled switch. Therefore, a wide variety of power converters can be considered for solid-state relays, and in some cases, the advantages of chip integration (complexity and size) are preferred over power transmission capability or efficiency. Thus, the direct gate drive function powers the switch by the output voltage of the power converter.

[0016] According to some embodiments, an indirect gate drive function is provided. This indirect gate drive function enhances the gate drive function to enable faster switching speeds and higher frequencies, such as above 1 kHz. This is achieved by separating the functions of isolated power conversion (and secondary power generation) from the functions of isolated gate drive. This separation is achieved by combining a transformer-based isolated power converter and an isolated gate driver on the same chip (monolithically or in a system-in-package (SiP)). This transformer-based isolated power converter provides a voltage conversion ratio greater than 1 so that a switch can be driven on the secondary side, in which case the switch drive voltage is higher than the voltage class of the controller controlling the switching on the primary side. A voltage conversion ratio greater than 1 can be achieved by utilizing various isolated power conversion topologies, such as flyback converters and / or various types of resonant converters where the secondary transformer winding / primary transformer winding ratio is greater than 1. If the secondary power supply is always available, and the power converter is started and operated independently of the isolated gate driver, the isolated gate driver coupled to the primary controller can operate independently and control the gates of the connected switches at higher switching frequencies and speeds. When considering switching speed, the strength and efficiency of power transmission are important parameters. Therefore, a transformer-based integrated isolated power converter can be a suitable choice. Thus, the indirect gate drive function is related to the combination of a transformer-based integrated isolated converter with a voltage conversion ratio greater than 1 and an isolated gate driver.

[0017] Whether the integrated isolated power converter is coupled to or isolated from the switchgate drive, if the integrated isolated power converter operates independently, it can start the power conversion only once and keep it active to generate the secondary power supply throughout the entire system operation.

[0018] According to some embodiments, a safety monitoring and / or related countermeasure function is provided. The secondary power supply generated by the integrated insulated power converter can also be used to supply power to other functions that can, for example, monitor the safety state on the secondary side. These other functions can be implemented regardless of whether an integrated insulated gate driver is added for faster switching, whether the gate of the switch is directly coupled to the secondary power supply, and / or whether the switch is not connected / controlled at all. The safety function can be, for example, at the switch driven by the insulated power converter or by an insulated gate driver combined with the insulated power converter, or at any other component arranged on the secondary side, for monitoring to determine whether critical temperature thresholds, current thresholds and / or voltage thresholds have been reached.

[0019] When the monitoring function detects a fault, countermeasures can be quickly determined and applied directly on the secondary side without waiting for any reporting delay to the controller on the primary side and without waiting for a delay in decision-making from the controller on the primary side. For example, when the switch is directly driven by the insulated power converter or by an insulated gate driver, detecting a fault situation may mean that this switch is turned off. Thus, this safety monitoring and / or related countermeasure function aims to integrate the safety monitoring function and possibly related countermeasures with the insulated power converter for their power supply. According to some embodiments, this safety monitoring and / or related countermeasure function can be implemented separately by its independent secondary power supply (e.g., implemented without integrating other functions), and thus, even before energy is supplied to the secondary power domain, safety monitoring of the secondary power domain with power supplied in another way becomes possible.

[0020] According to some embodiments, a reporting function is provided. The reporting function is implemented to report information to a controller operating on the primary side for the purpose of notifying the controller about some known critical situation satisfied on the secondary side and / or whether any countermeasure has been applied. For example, the reporting function can be implemented to flag a fault detected on the secondary side and / or whether any countermeasure has been implemented for that fault and inform the primary side. According to some embodiments, a fault can be reported by changing the current or voltage at an output pin. According to some embodiments of flagging a fault, an internal pin can change its logical state based on the detection of the fault or in response to the fault. According to some embodiments, an additional insulation barrier can be utilized as part of the reporting function. Thus, this reporting function is related to the integration of communication of detected faults and / or implemented countermeasures from the secondary side to the primary side.

[0021] According to some embodiments, an integrated power drive switch function is provided. The integrated power drive switch function is related to integrating the switch to be driven with a device used to generate a secondary-side power supply used to control the gate of this switch.

[0022] By combining / integrating one or more of these functions together, various advantages are achieved, such as integrating the integrated power drive switch function, the reporting function, and / or the function of safety monitoring and / or related countermeasures into a device having either a direct gate drive function or an indirect gate drive function. By combining / integrating one or more of these functions, advantages related to the reduction of the bill of materials (BOM), system size, cost, complexity, and / or the overall system safety from the perspective of fault response are brought about.

[0023] An exemplary method 100 in Figure 1 illustrates one embodiment that provides power transmission, gate driving, protection functions, and / or fault communication to the primary side across an isolation barrier, and is further described in relation to Figure 2. An apparatus such as the apparatus 200 in Figure 2 includes an isolation barrier 208 that isolates the primary side 202 of the apparatus 200 from the secondary side 216 of the apparatus 200. According to some embodiments, the apparatus 200 can correspond to an isolated power converter. The isolation barrier 208 may include an electrical isolation device that provides electrical isolation between the primary side 202 and the secondary side 216 of the apparatus 200. According to one embodiment, the isolation barrier 208 includes a transformer such as a coreless transformer or core-type transformer (e.g., transformer 316 in Figure 3). According to one embodiment, the isolation barrier 208 includes capacitive coupling. The isolation barrier 208 provides galvanic isolation between the primary side 202 and the secondary side 216.

[0024] The primary side 202 includes an input source 204. The input source 204 can be associated with an input power domain that supplies an input voltage for the primary side 202. The primary side 202 may include one or more input switches 218 (e.g., a first input switch SW1A 308, a second input switch SW1B 310, a third input switch SW2A 312, and a fourth input switch SW2B 314 in Figure 3). The primary side 202 includes an energy transmission device 206, which is configured to operate one or more input switches 218 to perform a plurality of switching cycles for transmitting energy to the secondary side 216 through an isolation barrier 208, for the purpose of controlling a switch 212 located on the secondary side 216 of the device 200. The plurality of switching cycles corresponds to a sequence of multiple switch cycles in which energy transmission is either active or inactive. The energy transmission device 206 can operate one or more input switches 218 according to a predetermined frequency (e.g., switching frequency) and a predetermined duty cycle in order to transmit energy through the isolation barrier 208 during a switching cycle for activating the switch 212. According to one embodiment, on / off keying technique is used by the energy transmission device 206 to perform multiple switching cycles for transmitting energy through the isolation barrier 208 for the purpose of operating the switch 212.

[0025] Therefore, one or more input switches 218 are operated according to a predetermined frequency and duty cycle to transmit energy across the isolation barrier 208 during a sequence of switching cycles to activate the switch 212. According to one embodiment, on / off keying is applied by operating one or more input switches 218 according to a predetermined frequency and duty cycle. Within one switching cycle, the frequency can be set to a sufficiently high value for the purpose of limiting the flow of current through the primary winding of the isolation barrier 208 (e.g., a transformer). Different duty cycles can be used depending on whether a flyback converter or a voltage multiplier is used as the voltage converter 210 on the secondary side 216. For example, the duty cycle can be set to 50% for a voltage multiplier in which energy is driven by the energy transmission device 206 in a push-pull manner. According to this embodiment, the switching cycle includes a first phase in which the input current flows from the upper terminal of the isolation barrier 208 to the lower terminal of the isolation barrier 208. The switching cycle includes a second phase in which the input current flows from the lower terminal to the upper terminal. For flyback converters, the duty cycle can be set based on the switching frequency to prevent the inductance beyond the isolation barrier 208 from reaching a saturation point or to prevent reliability issues.

[0026] If one or more input switches 218 remain off by the energy transmission device 206, no energy transmission occurs. If one or more input switches 218 are turned on by the energy transmission device 206, energy is transmitted to the secondary side 216 via the isolation barrier 208 to turn on switch 212. In this way, a sequence of multiple switching cycles, either active or inactive, is performed for energy transmission.

[0027] According to some embodiments, the device 200 includes a voltage converter 210 located on the secondary side 216 of the device 200. The voltage converter 210 may include a flyback converter, a voltage multiplier such as a Cockcroft-Walton voltage multiplier, or other voltage converters. The voltage converter 210 can be configured to convert the energy transmitted by the energy transmission device 206 from an input voltage associated with an input source 204 to a controllable output voltage, such as turning on a switch 212. According to one embodiment, the voltage converter 210 can convert the input voltage to a relatively high voltage as an output voltage that can turn on a switch 212 (e.g., turning on the gate of a solid-state switch). In this way, various types of switches 212 can be used that would otherwise be inoperable / incompatible with a relatively low input voltage associated with the input source 204. The voltage converter 210 outputs an output voltage when energy transmission by the energy transmission device 206 is active. In this way, energy is converted from the input voltage of the primary side 202 to the output voltage in order to control the switch 212 when energy transmission is active.

[0028] The device 200 includes a pull-down device 214, such as a passive turn-off device, on the secondary side 216 of the device 200. According to one embodiment, the pull-down device 214 includes a depletion MOSFET (e.g., a depletion n-channel MOSFET or a depletion p-channel MOSFET). When energy transfer is not being performed by the energy transfer device 206 that otherwise activates the switch 212, the pull-down device 214 passively deactivates the switch 212 and turns it off (e.g., without needing to supply power to the pull-down device 214). For example, when no energy transfer is taking place, the capacitor on the secondary side 216 is discharged, so that the source and gate of the pull-down device 214 are at the same / similar potential, and according to some embodiments, this forms a conduction channel between the source and drain of the pull-down device 214 in a depletion MOSFET. According to some embodiments, the pull-down device 214 can be a depletion MOSFET, a p-MOSFET, or other device. The conduction channel behaves like a resistor sized according to the dimensions of the pull-down device 214, which applies a predetermined turn-off strength between the gate and source of switch 212 to turn off switch 212 (for example, by short-circuiting the gate of switch 212 to the source of switch 212). In this way, the pull-down device 214 passively deactivates switch 212 without being actively driven by power when no energy transmission is taking place.

[0029] When energy transmission is active, the pull-down device 214 can be prevented from passively deactivating the switch 212. According to one embodiment, when energy transmission is active, a charge pump 220 (for example, a positive charge pump for a depletion p-channel MOSFET, or a negative charge pump for a depletion n-channel MOSFET) can be used to prevent the pull-down device 214 from passively deactivating the switch 212. For a depletion n-channel MOSFET, when energy transmission is active, a negative charge pump is used to actively pull down the gate of the depletion n-channel MOSFET using a negative voltage to prevent the depletion n-channel MOSFET from passively deactivating the switch 212. Thus, when energy transmission is active, the pull-down device 214 is prevented from passively deactivating the switch 212. If energy transmission is inactive, the load at the output of the negative charge pump discharges a negative voltage, allowing the depletion n-channel MOSFET to passively deactivate switch 212. When there is no switching operation, the negative charge pump is inactive. Thus, when energy transmission is inactive, the pull-down device 214 is in a state where it can passively deactivate switch 212.

[0030] According to some embodiments, the energy transmission device 206 is configured to supply power to the switch 212 using the output voltage from the voltage converter 210, following a direct gate drive function. That is, the energy transmission device 206 is configured to supply power from the primary side 202 of the isolation barrier 208 through the isolation barrier 208 to the secondary side of the isolation barrier 208, and to directly drive the gate of the switch 212 to control the output of the switch 212 on the secondary side 216. According to some embodiments, the energy transmission device 206 is configured to supply power through the isolation barrier 208, and to power an isolated gate driver that drives the gate of the switch 212 to control the output of the switch 212 on the secondary side 216, following an indirect gate drive function. An isolated power converter (e.g., a flyback converter, a resonant converter, etc.) can be configured to provide a voltage conversion ratio greater than 1 to drive the gate of the switch 212.

[0031] In some embodiments, the switch 212 can be located inside the device 200, as shown in Figure 2, while in other embodiments, the switch 212 can be located outside the device 200. In some embodiments, the switch 212 and the device 200 can be housed in a multi-die package.

[0032] According to some embodiments, the monitoring component 222 can be configured so that safety monitoring and / or related countermeasure functions for the device 200 are integrated. According to some embodiments, the monitoring component 222 can be integrated into the secondary side 216 of the device 200. According to some embodiments where the isolation barrier 208 is a transformer, the monitoring component 222 can be powered by energy from the secondary winding of the transformer. The monitoring component 222 can implement protective functions for the purpose of providing safety monitoring and / or related countermeasure functions for the device 200. According to one embodiment, the monitoring component 222 can implement protective functions to monitor the operating state of the switch 212 or other components, such as by measuring current, temperature, voltage and / or other operating information of the switch 212 or other components. Thus, during operation 102 of method 100, the monitoring component 222 of the isolated power converter is controlled to determine the operating state of the switch 212 (e.g., a switching component associated with the secondary side 216 of the device 200).

[0033] During operation 104 of method 100, the monitoring component 222 is controlled to evaluate its operating state to determine whether a fault has occurred. For example, the monitoring component 222 may implement a protection function 224 to determine whether a measured current, measured temperature, measured voltage, or other operating state information has exceeded one or more thresholds by comparing it to one or more thresholds. In response to the monitoring component 222 determining that a fault has occurred in the switch 212 or other component, the protection function 224 of the monitoring component 222 may be used to implement countermeasures during operation 106 of method 100. According to one embodiment of implementing countermeasures, the monitoring component 222 may utilize the protection function 224 to turn off the switch 212. For example, a pull-down device 214 on the secondary side 216 may be used to turn off the switch 212.

[0034] According to some embodiments, the monitoring component 222 is configured to integrate a reporting function for the device 200. According to one embodiment, the monitoring component 222 can transmit a signal to the primary side 202, for example to a fault manager 226, to indicate that a fault in the switch 212 has been detected. According to one embodiment, the monitoring component 222 can transmit a signal to the primary side 202, for example to a fault manager 226, to indicate that a countermeasure has been taken. Thus, during operation 108 of method 100, the monitoring component 222 transmits a signal indicating that a fault has been detected and / or that a countermeasure has been taken. The monitoring component 222 can transmit a signal representing an operating state detected by the monitoring component 222, which may represent information other than the detected fault or the countermeasure taken. According to some embodiments, a signal is transmitted via the isolation barrier 208, for example, by short-circuiting the secondary winding of the isolation barrier 208. This is detected on the primary side 202 as an increase in current consumption. In some cases, to compensate for limited power availability on the secondary side, a buffer capacitor used as an energy reservoir during fault information transmission from the secondary side to the primary side can be used to transmit signals via different isolation barrier-compatible communications from the secondary side 216 to the primary side 202. According to some embodiments, the fault manager 226 can be configured to temporarily suspend the power supply to the secondary side 216 for a predetermined period, provided that the power transmission interruption does not impair the functionality on the secondary side, thereby allowing the fault manager 226 to receive signals from the monitoring component 222 via the isolation barrier 208 during this period. According to some embodiments, the fault manager 226 is located on the primary side 202 and is configured to take action in response to receiving a signal from the monitoring component 222 indicating that a fault has been detected. According to some embodiments, the fault manager 226 can be configured to convert fault communications into signals (e.g., logic signals) that can be acquired by the primary side μC.

[0035] Figure 3 shows one embodiment of a device that provides power transmission, direct gate driving, protection functions, and / or fault communication to the primary side across an isolation barrier. The device 300 includes a transformer 316 which acts as an isolation barrier to isolate the primary side 302 of the device 300 from the secondary side 304 of the device 300, for example, to electrically isolate it. The transformer 316 includes a primary side 318 connected to the primary side 302 of the device 300 and a secondary side 320 connected to the secondary side 304 of the device 300. The transformer 316 provides electrical isolation between the primary side 302 and the secondary side 304 of the device 300.

[0036] The device 300 utilizes a voltage multiplier 322 (even a Cockcroft-Walton multiplier) as a voltage converter to convert energy from the input voltage of the primary side 302 (e.g., energy transferred from the power supply 306 to the secondary side 304 through an isolation barrier) into an output voltage for controlling the switch 326. The voltage multiplier 322 has one or more stages. Each stage includes a diode and a capacitor / capacitance (e.g., capacitor CP1 and diode D2 as the first stage, capacitor CP2 and diode D3 as the second stage, capacitor CP3 and diode D4 as the third stage, etc.). The voltage multiplier 322 converts the input voltage into an output voltage that can be higher than the input voltage for the purpose of turning on the switch 326.

[0037] The device 300 may include one or more input switches located on the primary side 302, for example, a first input switch SW1A 308, a second input switch SW1B 310, a third input switch SW2A 312, and a fourth input switch SW2B 314, which are controlled by on / off keying to transmit energy from the primary side 302 to the secondary side 304 by performing a sequence of multiple switching cycles for the purpose of controlling, for example, a switch 326 on the secondary side 304.

[0038] One or more input switches are operated to drive the primary side 302 of the isolation barrier (e.g., the primary side 318 of the transformer 316) in a push-pull configuration. During the first phase of the switching cycle, the input current flows from the upper terminal of the isolation barrier (e.g., the connection on the primary side 302 to the upper terminal of the primary side 318 of the transformer 316) to the lower terminal of the isolation barrier (e.g., the connection on the primary side 302 to the lower terminal of the primary side 318 of the transformer 316). In particular, the upper terminal is pulled up and the lower terminal is pulled down. Capacitors CP1, CP3, and CP5 are charged via diodes D2, D4, and D6, while diodes D3 and D5 are reverse-biased. During the second phase of the switching cycle, the current flows from the lower terminal to the upper terminal of the isolation barrier. In particular, the upper terminal is pulled down and the lower terminal is pulled up. Capacitors CP2 and CP4 are charged via diodes D3 and D5, while diodes D2, D4, and D6 are reverse-biased. For symmetry, a 50% duty cycle can be set. The switching frequency can be set to a frequency value during each phase that prevents the isolation barrier from reaching / exceeding saturation and / or causing reliability issues.

[0039] A passive turn-off device 324 (e.g., a depletion NMOS DpN), a diode DR 333 associated with a voltage rectifier, a buffer capacitor 336, a monitoring component 328, a function to activate the passive turn-off device 324 and deactivate the switch 326 when a specific condition (e.g., current, voltage, or temperature exceeding a threshold) is detected, and a signal output 338 for communication with an external controller, for example, is integrated into the secondary side 304 of the device 300 as a solid-state relay application. The monitoring component 328 can be made to correspond to a sensor used to monitor internal parameters, or to a sensor used to monitor system and application parameters of external components outside the device 300, such as the current flowing through the switch 326 (measured by an external monitoring component Rs 332) or the temperature of the switch 326 (measured by an external monitoring component NTC 330). According to this embodiment, the switch 326, the external monitoring component Rs 332, and the external monitoring component NTC 330 are located outside the device 300, while other parameters can be monitored internally by the monitoring component 328. According to another embodiment, the switch 326 and / or the monitoring component can be integrated into the device 300. According to some embodiments, a signal output 338 for fault signaling can be located on the secondary side 304. A passive turn-off device 324 can be used to perform countermeasures such as turning off the switch 326.

[0040] According to some embodiments, a portion of the power transmitted to the secondary winding of the transformer 316 (or to the secondary side of another isolation barrier, such as a capacitive barrier) is used to power several monitoring components or sensors, such as the monitoring component 328, via a dedicated rectifier (diode DR 333, buffer capacitor CBUF 336). The power supplied to the monitoring components can be made free from the power bottleneck of the voltage multiplier, thereby reducing the constraints on the power consumption of the monitoring components. The monitoring component 328 may include references, amplifiers, filters, comparators, and other circuits to adjust sensed internal or external signals and compare those signals to thresholds to determine whether the operating condition is critical to the switch 326. If a condition is critical, a decision can be made to deactivate the switch 326 by activating a turn-off device, such as a passive turn-off device 324 (e.g., a depletion NMOS DpN) or another similar device that performs the same function (e.g., an active device connected in parallel with the passive device). This can be achieved by transmitting an appropriate current via RG 335, thereby raising the gate of the passive turn-off device 324 above the threshold voltage. If this injected current is not present, the gate of the passive turn-off device 324 is pulled down via DN 334. When this countermeasure is applied to switch 326, a signal can be transmitted to signal output 338. According to some embodiments, the voltage multiplier can be replaced with another type of power converter to achieve even higher power transmission. In this case, power to the monitoring component (sensor) can be derived from the output of this power converter.

[0041] Figure 4 shows one embodiment of a device 400 that provides power transmission, direct gate driving, protection functions, and / or fault communication to the primary side across an isolation barrier. Device 400 is similar to device 300 in Figure 3, but with the addition of a reporting function for fault communication to the primary side 302. This can be achieved by adding a second transformer 402, an associated transmitter 406, and an associated receiver 404 for signal transmission. To indicate that a fault has been detected, the transmitter 406 can drive the secondary side of the second transformer 402 with a sufficiently high frequency pulse (e.g., a carrier or modulated carrier). The transmitted pulse, carrier or modulated carrier can be detected by the receiver 404 on the primary side 302 so that the fault condition on the secondary side 304 is signaled via the fault output pin 408 on the primary side 302. The pulse polarity or carrier modulation index can be varied to encode various detected fault events (e.g., temperature exceeding a threshold, current exceeding a threshold, voltage exceeding a threshold, etc.). An external buffer capacitor CBUF 410 can be used to maintain the current consumption of fault transmissions from the secondary side 304 (an internal buffer capacitor can also be used, e.g., behind diode DR 333, although this is not shown in this embodiment). While no fault is present, or before fault transmissions are made and before safety monitoring sensors integrated into the secondary side 304 (e.g., sensors used by monitoring component 328) are activated, this buffer capacitor CBUF 410 is normally charged to a sufficient voltage level during operation.

[0042] Figure 5 shows one embodiment of a device 500 that provides power transmission, direct gate driving, protection functions, and / or fault communication to the primary side across an isolation barrier. Device 500 is similar to device 300 in Figure 3, but with the addition of a reporting function for fault communication to the primary side 302, and furthermore, the secondary side 304 does not include a driven switch (e.g., switch 326), sensing pins, and fault output. This is achieved by a single isolation transformer 316, which is also used for power transmission. When a fault is detected and countermeasures are taken to switch off the controlled switch by a passive turn-off device 324 (e.g., depletion NMOS DpN), it is not actually necessary to maintain power transmission across the transformer 316 via a voltage multiplier. Therefore, the secondary winding of the transformer 316 can be short-circuited via switch SWF 502. This increases the current consumption on the primary side 302, but this current consumption can be detected by a suitable threshold comparator in the fault sensor 504, and thus the fault condition can be signaled on a dedicated pin 506. To ensure proper functioning under normal operation, a diode 512 is used, connected in series with the drain of the switch SWF 502. If diode 512 were not provided, in the case where a negative bias is applied to the body diode of the switch SWF 502, this body diode would short-circuit the secondary winding of the transformer 316. This could interfere with the proper functioning of the device used to deactivate the passive turn-off device 324 (e.g., a depletion NMOS DpN, in this case DN would not sufficiently pull down the gate of the DpN).

[0043] An external buffer capacitor CBUF 510 can be used to maintain the current consumption of the sensors of the monitoring component 328 and the device that switches off the controlled switches while the secondary winding is short-circuited and power cannot be supplied. Alternatively, the buffer capacitor can be integrated into the device 500. While no fault is present, or before a fault transmission occurs and before activating the safety monitoring sensors integrated into the secondary side 304, this buffer capacitor is normally charged to a sufficient voltage level during normal operation. In addition, control pins independent of the power supply 306 on the primary side 302 can be used to control the push-pull drive of the transformer 316 and, consequently, the activation of the switches driven on the secondary side 304.

[0044] According to some embodiments, a transformer-based isolation barrier can be implemented for fault reporting to the primary side 302. According to some embodiments, an isolation capacitor can be used similarly to an isolation transformer by coupling it via a pulsed signal (e.g., a carrier wave or a modulated carrier wave). This can be detected / demodulated by short-circuiting the capacitor terminals on the other side of the isolation or on the secondary side. According to some embodiments, an optical isolation barrier can be used for fault reporting to the primary side 302.

[0045] In some embodiments of the fault reporting system from the secondary side 304 to the primary side 302, time-division multiplexing can be performed with energy transmission from the primary side 302 to the secondary side 304. In this implementation, a buffer capacitor can be used as an energy reservoir to maintain the secondary side monitoring function active while power transmission from the primary side to the secondary side is interrupted. A sufficiently short time frame can be implemented so that the voltage applied to the gate of the driven switch does not fall below a critical level, thereby interrupting energy transmission from the primary side 302 to the secondary side 304. During the interruption, a time pulse or carrier wave is applied to the secondary winding, which can be detected in the primary winding as an indicator of a fault occurring in the secondary side 304. In some embodiments, a single (inductive or capacitive) isolation barrier can be used by time-division multiplexing.

[0046] Figure 6 shows one embodiment of a device 600 that provides power transmission, direct gate driving, and protection functions. The device 600 includes a voltage source 606, a transformer driver and logic 602 used to control a transformer 604, a rectifier and gate driver component 608 for driving the gate of a controlled switch 612, and protection functions 610 provided by a monitoring component. According to some embodiments, the controlled switch 612 is integrated into a chip or package, and therefore sensing of relevant parameters can be achieved by functions integrated into the circuit or package. For example, monitoring of temperature, voltage, or current can be performed on the chip or within the package by an integrated structure that performs the protection function 610, rather than relying on external components.

[0047] In some embodiments, the controlled switch 612 is integrated into the solid-state relay device together with the protection function 610. In some embodiments, a device consisting of two driven switches (e.g., controlled switch 612 and controlled switch 614) is shown for the purpose of implementing a bidirectionally controlled switch. This device is suitable for switching AC signals.

[0048] Figure 7 shows one embodiment of a device 700 that provides power transmission, direct gate driving, protection functions, and / or fault communication to the primary side across an isolation barrier. The device 700 includes a voltage source 702, a transformer driver and logic 704 used to control a first transformer 706, a rectifier and gate driver component 708 for driving the gate of a controlled switch 716, a buffer capacitor CBUF 718, a protection function 710 provided by a monitoring component, a fault manager 714, and a second transformer 712 through which a fault detection signal is transmitted from the protection function 710 to the fault manager 714, which is used to output the fault detection signal via a fault output pin 720.

[0049] According to some embodiments, the device 700 is configured according to a solid-state relay device, which integrates a controlled switch 716 along with a protection function 710, fault communication to the primary side, and signaling on the primary side by the solid-state relay device. A first transformer 706 is used for power transmission from the primary side to the secondary side, while a second transformer 712 is used for fault signal transmission from the secondary side to the primary side.

[0050] Figure 8 shows one embodiment of a device 800 that provides power transmission, direct gate driving, protection functions, and / or fault communication to the primary side across an isolation barrier. The device 800 includes a voltage source 802, a transformer driver and logic 804 used to control a transformer 806, a rectifier and gate driver component 808 for driving the gate of a first controlled switch 816, a buffer capacitor CBUF 818, protection functions 810 provided by a monitoring component, a fault manager 814, and a fault output pin 820.

[0051] According to some embodiments, the device 800 is configured according to a solid-state relay device, which has bidirectional controlled power switches (e.g., a first controlled switch 816 and a second controlled switch 812) along with a protection function 810, fault communication to the primary side, and signaling on the primary side by the solid-state relay device. A single transformer 806 is used for power transmission from the primary side to the secondary side. This single transformer is also used to signal faults by short-circuiting the secondary winding of the transformer and detecting an increase in current consumption on the primary side as a signal that a fault has occurred.

[0052] Figure 9 shows one embodiment of a device 900 that provides power transmission, direct gate driving, protection functions, and / or fault communication to the primary side across an isolation barrier. The device 900 includes a voltage source 902, a CT driver and logic 904, a transformer 906, a rectifier and gate driver component 908 for driving the gate of a controlled switch 916, a buffer capacitor 918, protection functions 910 provided by a monitoring component, a fault manager 914, a fault output pin 920, and a capacitive isolation barrier 912.

[0053] According to some embodiments, the device 900 is configured according to a solid-state relay device, which integrates a controlled switch 916 with a protection function 910, fault communication to the primary side, and signaling on the primary side by the solid-state relay device. The transformer 906 is used for power transmission from the primary side to the secondary side, while the capacitive isolation barrier 912 is used for fault signal transmission from the secondary side to the primary side. According to some embodiments, an isolation capacitor can be used in the same way as an isolation transformer by coupling the isolation capacitor via a pulsed signal (e.g., a carrier wave or a modulated carrier wave) that can be detected / demodulated on the other side of the isolation.

[0054] Figure 10 shows one embodiment of a device 1000 that provides power transmission, protection functions, and / or fault communication to the primary side across an isolation barrier. The device 1000 includes a voltage source 1002, a transformer driver and logic 1004, a transformer 1006, a rectifier component 1008, a protection function 1010 provided by a monitoring component, a fault manager 1014, a primary side fault output pin 1016, a secondary side fault output pin 1020, an input 1012 for the protection function 1010, and a buffer capacitor CBUF 1018.

[0055] According to some embodiments, the device 1000 is configured with an isolated safety monitor. A single transformer 1006 is used for power transmission from the primary to the secondary side. The secondary winding of the transformer is short-circuited, and an increase in current consumption on the primary side is detected as a signal that a fault has occurred. According to some embodiments, a second transformer (not shown) may be implemented for fault signal transmission.

[0056] Figure 11 shows one embodiment of a device 1100 that provides power transmission, indirect gate driving, and / or protection functions. According to some embodiments, the device 1100 is comprised of an integrated isolated gate driver and a transformer-based isolated power converter 1108. This results in an output-to-input voltage conversion ratio greater than 1 such that the voltage generated to supply power to the secondary side is higher than the voltage on the primary side. According to some embodiments, the device 1100 can be comprised of a flyback converter, a single-phase flyback converter, a two-phase interleaved flyback converter, a resonant converter (e.g., LLC, LCC, etc.), etc. Power transmission to the secondary domain (secondary side) of the device 1100 and sufficient power conversion efficiency allow the generated secondary power supply to be used to power the isolated gate driver and its associated auxiliary functions, such as auxiliary protection functions.

[0057] The device 1100 includes a voltage source 1102, a transformer driver and logic 1104, a first transformer 1106, a power converter 1108, an isolated gate driver logic 1110, a second transformer 1112, input logic 1114, a buffer capacitor CBUF 1116, and / or other components. According to some embodiments, the device 1100 is configured with an integrated transformer-based isolated power converter together with an isolated gate driver associated with the isolated gate driver logic 1110. The power converter topology is configured such that the voltage difference VDD2-VGND2 is substantially larger than VDD1-VGND1. The device with the integrated power converter and isolated gate driver can utilize an external energy tank or filter represented by the buffer capacitor CBUF 1116. The second transformer 1112 is part of the isolated gate driver associated with the isolated gate driver logic 1110. According to some embodiments, the second transformer 1112 can be replaced with a capacitive isolation barrier or an optical isolation barrier. According to some embodiments, the device 1100 includes dedicated pins for gate driver assistance functions.

[0058] According to some embodiments, isolated gate drivers can also provide fault signaling on the primary side. This can be achieved by adding an isolation barrier (transformer, capacitive, or optical-based) to perform fault communication from the secondary side to the primary side. Alternatively, an isolated gate driver implementation that supports bidirectional communication (e.g., by time-division multiplexing of the primary or secondary transformer windings) for gate drive control signals from the primary side to the secondary side and for fault report signals from the secondary side to the primary side can use a single galvanic isolation barrier. This is generally advantageous in terms of the area of ​​the integrated silicon die shown in Figure 12.

[0059] Figure 12 shows one embodiment of a device 1200 that provides power transmission across an isolation barrier, direct gate driving, protection functions, and / or fault communication to the primary side. According to some embodiments, the device 1200 consists of an integrated isolated gate driver and a transformer-based isolated power converter 1208, the isolated gate driver resulting in an output-to-input voltage conversion ratio greater than 1 such that the voltage generated to supply power to the secondary side is higher than the voltage on the primary side. The device 1200 includes a voltage source 1202, a transformer driver and logic 1204, a first transformer 1206, a power converter 1208, gate driver logic and safety functions 1210, a second transformer 1212, input logic 1214, a buffer capacitor CBUF 1224, a fault output pin 1220, and / or other components.

[0060] According to some embodiments, the device 1200 is configured by integrating a transformer-based isolated power converter with an isolated gate driver associated with isolated gate driver logic and safety function 1210. The power converter topology is configured such that the voltage difference VDD2-VGND2 is substantially larger than VDD1-VGND1. A second transformer 1212 is part of the isolated gate driver associated with the isolated gate driver logic and safety function 1210. In this case, a single galvanic isolation barrier is used for bidirectional communication in the isolated gate driver. According to some embodiments, the device 1200 includes dedicated pins for gate driver auxiliary functions. The isolated gate driver logic and safety function 1210 can perform safety monitoring and / or associated countermeasure functions. According to some embodiments, the device 1200 can perform reporting functions and / or integrated power drive switch functions, which can be done by integrating unidirectional or bidirectional electronic switches.

[0061] One embodiment of the technology disclosed herein includes a device, which includes an energy transmission device and a monitoring component, the energy transmission device being configured to supply power from the primary side of an isolation barrier through the isolation barrier to the secondary side of the isolation barrier and to directly drive the gate of the switch to control the output of the switch on the secondary side, and the monitoring component being configured to monitor the operating state of the switch and to evaluate the operating state to determine whether a fault has occurred.

[0062] According to some embodiments, the monitoring component is configured to take countermeasures in response to an operational state that represents a fault.

[0063] According to some embodiments, the monitoring component is configured to implement countermeasures to turn off the switch, and a pull-down device on the secondary side is activated to turn off the switch.

[0064] According to some embodiments, the isolation barrier includes a transformer, and energy from the secondary side of this transformer supplies power to the monitoring component.

[0065] According to some embodiments, the monitoring component is configured to send a signal to the primary side indicating that a fault has been detected.

[0066] According to some embodiments, the monitoring component is configured to transmit a signal to the primary side indicating that countermeasures have been taken.

[0067] According to some embodiments, the switch and the device are located within a multi-die package.

[0068] According to some embodiments, the monitoring components are integrated into the secondary side of the device.

[0069] According to some embodiments, the device includes a fault manager located on the primary side, which is configured to take action in response to receiving a signal from a monitoring component indicating that a fault has been detected.

[0070] According to some embodiments, the monitoring component is configured to transmit a signal regarding the operating status to the primary side through the isolation barrier by short-circuiting the secondary side of the isolation barrier, and this signal is detected on the primary side as an increase in current consumption.

[0071] According to some embodiments, the monitoring component is configured to transmit signals relating to the operating status through a second isolation barrier.

[0072] According to some embodiments, the device includes a fault manager located on the primary side, which is configured to temporarily cut off the power supply to the secondary side for a predetermined period of time, and during this period receive signals from a monitoring component via an isolation barrier, derived from the operating status of the switch.

[0073] One embodiment of the technology disclosed herein includes a device comprising an energy transmission device and a monitoring component, the energy transmission device being configured to supply power from the primary side of an isolation barrier through the isolation barrier to the secondary side of the isolation barrier, and to supply power to an isolated gate driver that drives the gate of the switch in order to control the output of the switch on the secondary side, and the monitoring component being configured to monitor the operating state of the switch and to evaluate the operating state in order to determine whether or not a fault has occurred.

[0074] According to some embodiments, the device includes an isolated power converter configured to provide a voltage conversion ratio greater than 1 for driving the gate of a switch.

[0075] According to some embodiments, the monitoring component is configured to take countermeasures in response to an operational state that represents a fault.

[0076] According to some embodiments, the monitoring component is configured to transmit a signal to the primary side indicating at least one of the following: that a fault has been detected, or that countermeasures have been taken in response to the fault.

[0077] According to some embodiments, the switch is integrated into the secondary side of the device.

[0078] One embodiment of the technology disclosed herein includes a method, the method comprising: controlling a monitoring component of an isolated power converter to determine the operating state of a switching component associated with the secondary side of the device, the switching component being driven on power transmitted from the primary side of the device to the secondary side through an isolation barrier; evaluating the operating state to determine whether a failure has occurred in the switching component; and taking countermeasures in response to a failure in the switching component.

[0079] According to some embodiments, the process includes sending a signal to the primary side indicating that a fault has been detected or that countermeasures have been taken.

[0080] According to some embodiments, the method includes the steps of temporarily suspending power transmission to the secondary side for a predetermined period of time, and during this period receiving a signal from a monitoring component via an isolation barrier that corresponds to the operating status of the switching component.

[0081] One embodiment of the technology disclosed herein includes a device which includes means for controlling a monitoring component of an isolated power converter to determine the operating state of a switching component associated with the secondary side of the device, wherein the switching component is driven based on power transmitted from the primary side of the device to the secondary side through an isolation barrier, and further includes means for evaluating the operating state to determine whether a failure has occurred in the switching component, and means for taking countermeasures in response to a failure in the switching component.

[0082] Up to this point, the subject matter of protection has been described using terminology specific to structural features and / or the operation of a method. However, as is obvious, the subject matter of protection as defined in the attached claims is not necessarily limited to the aforementioned specific features or operations. Rather, the aforementioned specific features and operations are disclosed as exemplary forms for implementing the claims.

[0083] The terms “component,” “module,” “system,” and “interface” as used in this application are generally intended to refer to computer-related entities that are either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or running software. One or more components can be located on one computer and / or distributed across two or more computers.

[0084] Furthermore, the protected subject matter described in the claims can be implemented as a method, apparatus, or product by using standard programming and / or engineering techniques to generate software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof that controls a computer to implement the disclosed protected subject matter. As used herein, the term “product” is intended to encompass computer programs accessible from any computer-readable device, computer-readable carrier, or computer-readable medium. Those skilled in the art will, of course, recognize that many modifications can be made to this configuration without departing from the scope or idea of ​​the protected subject matter described in the claims.

[0085] This specification provides various operations of embodiments. According to one embodiment, one or more of the operations described herein may constitute a computer-readable instruction stored on one or more computer-readable media, which, when executed by a computing device, causes the computing device to perform the operations described herein. The order in which some or all of the operations are described should not be construed as meaning that these operations must necessarily be in a specific order. An alternative order will be recognized by those skilled in the art who benefit from this specification. Furthermore, as is obvious, not all operations necessarily exist in each embodiment provided herein.

[0086] Any idea or design described herein as an “example” should not necessarily be construed as being superior to other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of the term “example” is intended to present one possible mode and / or implementation that may belong to the art presented herein. Such examples are not essential to or intended to limit the art. Various embodiments of the art may include such examples alone or in combination with other features, and / or may vary and / or omit the examples shown.

[0087] The term “or” as used in this application is intended to mean inclusive, not exclusive. That is, unless otherwise specified or evident from the context, “X uses A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural, inclusive sortings. In other words, if X uses A, if X uses B, or if X uses both A and B, “X uses A or B” is satisfied in any of the above examples. In addition, unless otherwise specified or evident from the context, singular indefinite articles used in this application and the attached claims can generally be interpreted as meaning “one or more.” Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, “first,” “second,” etc., are not intended to mean temporal, spatial, sequential, etc. Rather, such terms are used solely as identifiers, names, etc., for features, elements, items, etc. For example, the first and second elements generally correspond to elements A and B, or two different elements, or two identical elements, or the same element.

[0088] Furthermore, although this disclosure has been illustrated and described with reference to one or more implementations, those skilled in the art will be able to conceive of equivalent changes and modifications based on their understanding of this specification and the accompanying drawings. This disclosure, including all such modifications and modifications, is limited only to the following claims. More specifically, with respect to the various functions performed by the above-mentioned components (e.g., elements, resources, etc.), the terms used to describe such components are intended, unless otherwise specified, to correspond to any component (e.g., a functionally equivalent component) that performs a specified function of the above-described component, even if it is not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure that performs the function in the exemplary implementation of this disclosure shown herein. Furthermore, while certain features of this disclosure may have been described in relation to only one of several implementations, such features can be combined with one or more other features of other implementations if it is desirable and potentially advantageous for a given or specific application. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “include,” “possess,” “have,” “equipped,” or any variant thereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a similar manner to the term “include.”

Claims

1. A power device including an energy transmission device, a pull-down device, a charge pump, and a monitoring component, The energy transmission device is configured to supply power from the primary side of the insulating barrier through the insulating barrier to the secondary side of the insulating barrier, and to directly drive the gate of the switch in order to control the output of the switch on the secondary side. When no power transmission is being performed from the energy transmission device to drive the gate of the switch, the pull-down device is configured to passively deactivate the switch. When the power transmission is being performed, the charge pump is configured to prevent the pull-down device from passively deactivating the switch, and when the power transmission is not being performed, the load on the charge pump is configured to allow the pull-down device to passively deactivate the switch. The aforementioned monitoring component is The operating status of the switch is monitored, In order to determine whether or not a malfunction has occurred, the operating state is evaluated, The system is configured to take countermeasures to turn off the switch in response to the aforementioned operating state indicating a fault, and the pull-down device on the secondary side is activated to turn off the switch. Power equipment.

2. The insulating barrier includes a transformer, and power is supplied to the monitoring component by energy from the secondary side of the transformer. The power device according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned monitoring component is It is configured to send a signal to the primary side indicating that a fault has been detected. The power device according to claim 1.

4. The aforementioned monitoring component is It is configured to transmit a signal to the primary side indicating that the aforementioned countermeasure has been implemented. The power device according to claim 1.

5. The switch and the power device are located within a multi-die package. The power device according to claim 1.

6. The aforementioned monitoring component is integrated into the secondary side of the power device. The power device according to claim 1.

7. The power device includes a fault manager located on the primary side, and the fault manager is configured to take action in response to receiving a signal from the monitoring component indicating that a fault has been detected. The power device according to claim 1.

8. The monitoring component is configured to transmit a signal relating to the operating state to the primary side via the isolation barrier by short-circuiting the secondary side of the isolation barrier, and the signal is detected on the primary side as an increase in current consumption. The power device according to claim 1.

9. The monitoring component is configured to transmit signals relating to the operating state through a second isolation barrier. The power device according to claim 1.

10. The power device includes a fault manager located on the primary side, and the fault manager is The power supply to the secondary side will be temporarily suspended for a specified period. During the aforementioned period, the monitoring component receives signals derived from the operating state of the switch via the insulating barrier. It is structured in such a way. The power device according to claim 1.

11. A power device including an energy transmission device, a pull-down device, a charge pump, and a monitoring component, The energy transmission device is configured to supply power from the primary side of the insulating barrier through the insulating barrier to the secondary side of the insulating barrier, and to supply power to an isolated gate driver that drives the gate of the switch in order to control the output of the switch on the secondary side. When no power transmission is being performed from the energy transmission device to drive the gate of the switch, the pull-down device is configured to passively deactivate the switch. When the power transmission is being performed, the charge pump is configured to prevent the pull-down device from passively deactivating the switch, and when the power transmission is not being performed, the load on the charge pump is configured to allow the pull-down device to passively deactivate the switch. The aforementioned monitoring component is The operating status of the switch is monitored, In order to determine whether or not a malfunction has occurred, the operating state is evaluated, The system is configured to take countermeasures to turn off the switch in response to the aforementioned operating state indicating a fault, and the pull-down device on the secondary side is activated to turn off the switch. Power equipment.

12. The power device includes an isolated power converter configured to provide a voltage conversion ratio greater than 1 for driving the gate of the switch. The power device according to claim 11.

13. The aforementioned monitoring component is It is configured to transmit a signal to the primary side indicating at least one of the following: that a fault has been detected, or that countermeasures have been taken in response to the fault. The power device according to claim 11.

14. The aforementioned switch is integrated into the secondary side of the power device. The power device according to claim 11.

15. A step of controlling a monitoring component of an isolated power converter in order to determine the operating state of a switching component associated with the secondary side of the device, wherein the switching component is driven based on power transmitted from the primary side of the device to the secondary side through an isolation barrier, The steps include: passively deactivating the switching component on the secondary side by a pull-down device when there is no power transmission being performed to drive the switching component; A step in which, when the power transmission is being performed, the charge pump prevents the pull-down device from passively deactivating the switching component, and when the power transmission is not being performed, the load on the charge pump prevents the pull-down device from passively deactivating the switching component. In order to determine whether or not a failure has occurred in the switching component, the step is to evaluate the operating state, The steps include: taking countermeasures by activating the pull-down device to turn off the switching component in response to a failure occurring in the switching component; A protection method that includes [this].

16. The protection method includes the step of transmitting a signal to the primary side indicating at least one of the following: that a fault has been detected or that countermeasures have been taken. The protection method according to claim 15.

17. The aforementioned protection method is, A step of temporarily stopping power transmission to the secondary side for a predetermined period of time, During the aforementioned period, the step of receiving a signal corresponding to the operating state of the switching component from the monitoring component via the isolation barrier, Further including, The protection method according to claim 15.

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