US 12,244,242 B2
Switched capacitors for AC-DC applications
David M. Giuliano, Brookline, MA (US); and David Kunst, Cupertino, CA (US)
Assigned to pSemi Corporation, San Diego, CA (US)
Filed by pSemi Corporation, San Diego, CA (US)
Filed on Jan. 4, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/646,875.
Application 17/646,875 is a continuation of application No. 16/077,827, granted, now 11,258,371, previously published as PCT/US2017/018144, filed on Feb. 16, 2017.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/295,660, filed on Feb. 16, 2016.
Prior Publication US 2022/0337170 A1, Oct. 20, 2022
Int. Cl. H02M 7/217 (2006.01); H02M 1/00 (2007.01); H02M 1/42 (2007.01); H02M 3/07 (2006.01)
CPC H02M 7/2176 (2013.01) [H02M 1/4208 (2013.01); H02M 3/07 (2013.01); H02M 1/007 (2021.05)] 33 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus comprising:
a switched-capacitor circuit configured to operate in a plurality of switching patterns and to be coupled to a plurality capacitors, the switched-capacitor circuit comprising:
a first terminal to be coupled to a pre-regulator circuit that is configured to convert an input voltage to a first voltage, wherein the input voltage is an AC voltage and the first voltage is a DC voltage to be received by the first terminal;
a second terminal to be coupled to an inductor; and
switching circuitry comprising a first set of switches connected in series between the first terminal and the second terminal and a second set of switches connected in series between the first terminal and the second terminal,
the first set of switches comprising:
a first switch coupled to the first terminal,
a second switch coupled to the first switch and to be coupled to a first capacitor terminal of a first capacitor of the plurality of capacitors and a first capacitor terminal of a second capacitor of the plurality of capacitors,
a third switch coupled to the second switch, the first capacitor terminal of the second capacitor and the second terminal; and
the second set of switches comprising:
a fourth switch coupled to the third switch and the second terminal, and to be coupled to a second capacitor terminal of the first capacitor,
a fifth switch coupled to the fourth switch and to the second capacitor terminal of the first capacitor; and
a sixth switch coupled to the fifth switch, the first terminal, and the second capacitor terminal of the second capacitor; and
a controller configured to control the pre-regulator circuit and configured to control the switched-capacitor circuit to operate in the plurality of switching patterns to cause the first voltage to be transformed to a second voltage at the second terminal, wherein the controller comprises:
a primary section configured to control a switch configured to selectively pass current through a primary winding of a transformer in the pre-regulator circuit;
a secondary section configured to control the switched-capacitor circuit; and
an isolation barrier to separate the secondary section from the primary section.