VCONN and CC Pin Over Current Protection Circuit

The patent implements preliminary protective actions by placing sense switches in series with VCONN supply to CC pins before power delivery begins. These sense switches monitor current flow and enable fault detection before damage occurs. The gate control unit pre-configures the protective circuitry to activate immediately upon fault detection, preventing over current, over voltage, reverse current and short circuit conditions from affecting the CC pins and connected devices.

The patent replaces traditional mechanical protection devices (circuit breakers with thermal and magnetic elements) with electronic protection circuitry. The sense switches, gate control unit, and comparators form an electronic system that detects faults and activates protection without the mechanical complexity and thermal lag of traditional breakers. This substitution provides faster response time and reduced circuit complexity while maintaining over current protection functionality.

The patent merges multiple protection functions into a single integrated gate control unit that controls both the sense switch and VCONN switch. The gate control unit receives fault signals from comparators monitoring both VCONN and CC lines and coordinates the switching actions to provide independent protection for both pins simultaneously. This merging approach reduces overall system complexity compared to separate protection circuits for each pin while maintaining independent protection capability.