CN113760027B

CN113760027B - Circuit, corresponding system, vehicle and operating method

Info

Publication number: CN113760027B
Application number: CN202110615817.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: A·奥奇平蒂; C·鲁塞尔; F·布克哈特; I·特斯托尼
Original assignee: STMicroelectronics Application GmbH; STMicroelectronics Alps SAS; STMicroelectronics SRL
Current assignee: STMicroelectronics Application GmbH; STMicroelectronics Alps SAS; STMicroelectronics SRL
Priority date: 2020-06-03
Filing date: 2021-06-02
Publication date: 2023-08-18
Anticipated expiration: 2041-06-02
Also published as: CN216390831U; CN113760027A

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to circuits, corresponding systems, vehicles, and methods of operation. For example, one embodiment driver circuit includes: a power pin configured to receive a power supply voltage; and a set of control pins configured to provide a set of control signals for controlling the switches of the set of switches of the H-bridge circuit, the H-bridge circuit comprising a pair of high side switches and a pair of low side switches. The driver circuit includes: control circuitry coupled to the control pins and configured to generate control signals; and sensing circuitry coupled to the power pin and configured to generate a detection signal indicative of the power supply voltage exceeding a threshold. The control circuitry is sensitive to the detection signal and is configured to generate a control signal to activate one of the pair of high-side switches and the pair of low-side switches and deactivate the other of the pair of high-side switches and the pair of low-side switches.

Description

Circuit, corresponding system, vehicle and operating method

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a drive motor (e.g., a DC motor) and related methods.

Background

Direct Current (DC) motors are used in a variety of applications. For example, they may be used to automatically operate (e.g., open and close) luggage cases, tailgates, and generally any type of motorized latch in a vehicle.

Such a DC motor may be driven by a known circuit arrangement such as an H-bridge circuit. The conventional H-bridge circuit includes: a first branch (or limb) comprising a first high-side switch and a first low-side switch; a second branch (or leg) comprising a second high side switch and a second low side switch. The two branches are connected in parallel between a power supply node and a voltage reference node (e.g., a ground node). The DC motor is connected between intermediate nodes of the first and second branches. The switches in the H-bridge circuit may comprise solid state switches, such as MOS transistors.

When an H-bridge circuit is used to drive a DC motor in a conventional electric luggage application (e.g., in a vehicle), manually moving the luggage (e.g., by a user operation) may cause the motor to act as a generator. This in turn can lead to an Over Voltage (OV) at the supply voltage pin of the driver circuit driving the H-bridge circuit. Such over-voltage may exceed the Absolute Maximum Rating (AMR) of the supply voltage pins. Thus, a recirculation current may be generated, possibly damaging the driver circuit.

This scenario may occur when the supply voltage pin of the driver circuit is connected to a power source (e.g., a battery conventionally provided in the vehicle), which corresponds to normal operation of the DC motor, or when the supply voltage pin is not connected to a power source (e.g., when an electric trunk Electronic Control Unit (ECU) may be installed in the vehicle and the battery has not yet been installed or connected during the manufacturing process (EOL) for manufacturing the vehicle).

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of one or more embodiments to provide an H-bridge driver circuit with improved robustness against possible overvoltage events.

Such objects may be achieved, according to one or more embodiments, by a circuit having the features set forth in the following.

One or more embodiments may relate to a corresponding system (e.g., a system for driving a motor).

One or more embodiments may relate to a corresponding vehicle.

One or more embodiments may relate to a corresponding method of operating a circuit.

Is an integral part of the teachings provided herein with respect to the embodiments.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, a circuit may include: a power pin configured to receive a power supply voltage; and a set of control pins configured to provide respective sets of control signals for controlling switching behavior of respective sets of switches of the H-bridge circuit. The respective switch sets may include a pair of high-side switches and a pair of low-side switches.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, the circuit may include: control circuitry coupled to the set of control pins and configured to generate a set of control signals; and sensing circuitry coupled to the power supply pin and configured to generate a detection signal indicative of the power supply voltage exceeding a threshold.

According to one or more embodiments, the control circuitry may be sensitive to the detection signal and may be configured to generate the control signal to activate one of the pair of high-side switches and the pair of low-side switches and deactivate the other of the pair of high-side switches and the pair of low-side switches as a result of the detection signal indicating that the supply voltage exceeds a threshold.

Accordingly, one or more embodiments may advantageously provide a cost-effective solution for driving an H-bridge circuit with overvoltage protection.

Drawings

One or more embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exemplary circuit block diagram of an apparatus for driving a motor;

FIG. 2 is an example of a possible application of one or more embodiments;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary circuit block diagram of an H-bridge driver circuit in accordance with one or more embodiments; and

FIG. 4 is a simplified state machine example of a possible operation of one or more embodiments.

Detailed Description

In the following description, one or more specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of examples of embodiments of the present description. Embodiments may be obtained without one or more of the specific details, or by other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the embodiments.

Reference in the frame of the present specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" is intended to mean that a particular configuration, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, phrases such as "in one embodiment" that may occur in one or more points of the present specification do not necessarily refer to one or the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular forms, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

In the drawings attached hereto, like parts or elements are denoted by like reference numerals/numerals and corresponding description is not repeated for the sake of brevity.

The headings/references used herein are for convenience only and thus do not limit the scope of the embodiments.

By introducing a detailed description of an exemplary embodiment, reference may first be made to fig. 1. Fig. 1 is an exemplary circuit block diagram of an apparatus 10 for driving a motor M (e.g., a DC motor) in accordance with one or more embodiments.

The apparatus 10 may include an H-bridge circuit for operating the motor M. The H-bridge circuit may include: a first branch (or limb) comprising a first high-side switch HS1 and a first low-side switch LS1; and a second branch (or limb) comprising a second high-side switch HS2 and a second low-side switch LS2. These two branches may be connected in parallel between the power supply node 100 and a voltage reference node GND (e.g., a ground node). Motor M may be coupled between a first node 102a intermediate switches HS1 and LS1 and a second node 102b intermediate switches HS2 and LS2. As illustrated in fig. 1, the switches HS1, HS2, LS1, LS2 in the H-bridge circuit may comprise solid state switches, such as MOS transistors.

The device 10 may further include a driver circuit 30 (e.g., an integrated circuit IC) configured to drive the H-bridge circuit. As illustrated in fig. 1, a driveThe actuator circuit 30 may include: a power supply pin 300 configured to receive a power supply voltage V _S The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the A first high-side control pin 302a configured to control switching of the first high-side switch HS1; a second high side control pin 302b configured to control the switching of the second high side switch HS 2; a first low-side control pin 304a configured to control the switching of the first low-side switch LS1; a second low-side control pin 304b configured to control the switching of the second low-side switch LS 2; a first sense pin 306a configured to sense a voltage signal at node 102a intermediate switches HS1, LS1 and facilitate activation (e.g., turn on) of high-side switch HS1; and a second sense pin 306b configured to sense a voltage signal at node 102b intermediate switches HS2, LS2 and facilitate activation (e.g., turn on) of high-side switch HS2.

In one or more embodiments in which switches HS1, HS2, LS1, and LS2 comprise MOS transistors, control pins 302a, 302b, 304a, and 304b may be coupled to respective gate terminals.

In one or more embodiments as illustrated in fig. 1, the power supply node 100 of the H-bridge circuit and the power supply pin 300 of the driver circuit 30 may be configured to receive the power supply voltage V from the output node 200 of the reverse battery circuit 20 _S 。

The reverse battery circuit 20 may be configured to receive a particular supply voltage V at the input node 202 _BAT (e.g., from a power source such as a 12V battery BAT conventionally provided in a vehicle V, see fig. 2), and provides a power supply voltage V at its output node 200 _S 。

In one or more embodiments, the reverse battery circuit 20 may be configured to provide a voltage at the power supply voltage V _BAT The apparatus 10 is protected in the event of a polarity reversal. This may occur, for example, during a maintenance operation on the vehicle V or during a start-up operation of the vehicle V.

In various applications (e.g., as illustrated in fig. 2, the luggage case in the vehicle V is automatically operated using the motor M), the motor M may be forced to move (e.g., rotate) due to the application of an external force (e.g., due to a user manually opening or closing the luggage case of the vehicle).

As previously discussed, this may result in an Over Voltage (OV) being generated at node 100 and propagated to power pin 300 of driver circuit 30, which may exceed the Absolute Maximum Rating (AMR) of power pin 300 (e.g., in the range of-0.3V to +28v).

According to certain conventional solutions, the H-bridge driver circuit may be provided with protection against overvoltage events by using high voltage capability elements (i.e., electrical components capable of withstanding additional voltages applied thereto) and/or using additional passive components, such as zener diodes, in order to limit the maximum voltage that may be applied to the internal circuit devices of the driver circuit.

It should be noted that such conventional solutions may be costly.

Accordingly, one or more embodiments illustrated in fig. 3 may relate to a driver circuit 30 for an H-bridge circuit (H-bridge circuit not shown in fig. 3), wherein the driver circuit 30 is configured to selectively operate in a so-called "generator mode" to provide improved robustness against overvoltage events.

When operating in the generator mode, the driver circuit 30 may sense the occurrence of an overvoltage event at the power supply pin 300, and as a result of the sensing of the overvoltage event, the low side switches LS1 and LS2 of the H-bridge circuit connected thereto may be activated (e.g., switched to the on state) (i.e., connect both terminals of the motor M to the reference voltage node GND). By shorting the two terminals of motor M to the same voltage node, a braking action can be applied to motor M, reversing the overvoltage at supply voltage pin 300 and protecting driver circuit 30.

As illustrated in fig. 3, a driver circuit 30 in accordance with one or more embodiments may include: a first power supply pin 300 configured to receive a power supply voltage V _S As described previously with reference to fig. 1; control pins 302a, 302b, 304a, 304b and sense pins 306a,306b are configured to control the H-bridge circuit, as previously described with reference to fig. 1; a second power supply pin 308 configured to receive a supply voltage V from the charge pump circuit _CP (the charge pump circuit is not visible in the figure and may be included in the driver circuit 30); a first input pin 310 configured to slave processingUnit 50 (e.g., a microcontroller unit in vehicle V) receives digital signal DIRH; a second input pin 312 configured to receive a digital signal PWMH from the processing unit 50; and an output power pin 314 configured to provide a regulated power supply voltage (e.g., a 5V regulated voltage) to the processing unit 50.

As illustrated in fig. 3, a driver circuit 30 in accordance with one or more embodiments may include: a first high-side gate driver circuit 32a configured to provide control signals to the control pins 302 a; a second high-side gate driver circuit 32b configured to provide control signals to the control pins 302 b; a first low side gate driver circuit 34a configured to provide control signals to the control pin 304 a; a second low side gate driver circuit 34b configured to provide control signals to the control pin 304 b; an interface, logic and diagnostic circuit 36 configured to control activation of the gate driver circuits 32a, 32b, 34a and 34 b; and an overvoltage detector circuit 38 coupled to the power pin 300 to detect an overvoltage event.

In one or more embodiments, the gate driver circuits 32a, 32b, 34a, and 34b may include a push-pull stage (push-pull) configured to drive gate terminals of the MOS transistors HS1, HS2, LS1, LS2.

As illustrated in fig. 3, the high-side gate driver circuits 32a and 32b may be configured to receive a supply voltage V from a charge pump circuit _CP (which may be higher than the supply voltage V _S For example, than the supply voltage V _S About 10V high) to be able to drive the high side switches HS1, HS2 correctly. Due to the detection of an overvoltage event at the power pin 300, the charge pump circuit may be deactivated for safety reasons. Thus, while a braking action may be notionally applied to motor M by activating high-side switches HS1, HS2 simultaneously instead of low-side switches LS1, LS2, which would cause both terminals of motor M to short to the same voltage node 100, the preferred embodiment may rely on the activation of the low-side switches in order to protect driver circuit 30 from an overvoltage event during which activation of the high-side switches is not possible.

The digital signal DIRH received at the logic circuit 36 may be a binary signal for controlling the direction of movement (i.e. clockwise or counter-clockwise) of the motor M. For example, a first value (e.g., 0) of signal DIRH may enable activation of a pair of switches HS1, LS2, while a second value (e.g., 1) of signal DIRH may enable activation of a pair of switches HS2, LS 1.

The digital signal PWMH received at the logic circuit 36 may be a signal for controlling the activation of the motor M (e.g., controlling the amount of torque transferred by the motor M or its rotational speed). For example, signal PWMH may comprise a square wave signal having a duty cycle varying between 0% (corresponding to zero torque delivered by motor M) and 100% (corresponding to maximum torque delivered by motor M).

Thus, in one or more embodiments, logic circuitry 36 may be configured (e.g., via internal configuration registers) to activate gate driver circuits 32a, 32b, 34a, and 34b in accordance with the values of signals DIRH and PWMH.

Further, in one or more embodiments, the gate driver circuits 32a, 32b, 34a, and 34b may be configured to report diagnostic information to the diagnostic circuit 36 via the respective signals D2a, D2b, D4a, D4 b.

In one or more embodiments, the overvoltage detector circuit 38 may include an analog comparator circuit configured to compare the supply voltage V _S Compared to an analog threshold (possibly with hysteresis) to provide an output signal to logic circuit 36 indicative of an over-voltage event detected at power pin 300.

By way of non-limiting example only, in circuit 38, supply voltage V _S Can be in the range of 22.5V to 25.5V _A,H (preferably equal to 24.0V) and a lower threshold V in the range of 21.0V to 25.0V _A,L (preferably equal to 22.5V) to produce hysteresis. The hysteresis value may be in the range of 0.5V to 1.5V, with a preferred value of about 1.0V.

In one or more embodiments, detection of an overvoltage event at the overvoltage detector circuit 38 may thus be implemented as a "field" (or "real-time") function, i.e., the output signal of the overvoltage detector circuit 38 may be based (only) on the supply voltage VS and the one or more thresholds V _A,H 、V _A,L Is asserted (asserted) and deasserted.

The overvoltage detector circuit 38 may absorb approximately 1 μa of additional quiescent current.

As illustrated in fig. 3, the logic circuit 36 may be configured to run a logic routine 360, which may be referred to herein as a "supply voltage monitoring" routine. Specifically, the logic routine 360 may include comparing the supply voltage V with an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) operating at a determined sampling rate within the logic circuit 36 _S And compares the sampled value with a digital threshold, which may have hysteresis, to monitor for an overvoltage event at the power pin 300.

By way of non-limiting example only, the supply voltage V may be sampled by the logic circuit 36 _S And an upper threshold V in the range of 19.5V to 22.5V _D,H And a lower threshold V in the range of 18.5V to 22.5V _D,L The comparison is performed, resulting in a hysteresis behavior. The hysteresis value may be in the range of 0.5V to 1.5V, with a preferred value of about 1.0V.

The supply voltage monitoring routine 360 may sink additional quiescent current of approximately 250 μa.

Accordingly, one or more embodiments may be provided with both the analog overvoltage detector circuit 38 and the digital supply voltage monitoring routine 360 to detect and/or monitor overvoltage events at the supply node 300. Furthermore, as described in further detail below, the analog detector circuit 38 and the digital monitoring routine 360 may be selectively activated depending on the operational state of the driver circuit 30, taking into account their differing power consumption.

In one or more embodiments, the driver circuit 30 may be configured to operate according to different operating states. For example, the operation of the driver circuit 30 may be managed by a state machine 40 as illustrated in fig. 4, the state machine 40 including an active operation state a, a standby operation state SB, and a fail-safe operation state FS.

In the active operating state a, the device 10 and the driver circuit 30 may be fully functional, e.g. all available functions may be activated.

In the standby operation state SB, some functions of the driver circuit 30 may not be activated in order to reduce power consumption. For example, communication between the driver circuit 30 and the processing unit 50 may be disabled, and the operation of the driver circuit 30 may be reduced to reduce power consumption.

In the fail-safe operating state FS, the apparatus 10 is set to a safe condition, such as a condition harmless to the passengers of the vehicle V. Further, in this state, some functions of the driver circuit 30 may not be activated.

For example, in the standby operating state SB and the fail-safe operating state FS, the logic circuit 36 may not be able to drive any of the gate driver circuits 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b to activate any of the switches in the H-bridge circuit and provide the supply voltage V _CP May be turned off. In the standby state SB and the fail-safe operating state FS, the logic circuit 36 may not be able to run the supply voltage monitoring routine 360 because the ADC in the logic circuit 36 may be deactivated. In the standby operating state SB and the fail-safe operating state FS, the overvoltage detector circuit 38 may be operative to detect an overvoltage event at the power pin 300.

As illustrated in fig. 4, driver circuit 30 operating in active state a may switch to standby state SB (arrow 400) due to a received command (e.g., a command received from processing unit 50 via an SPI interface). Alternatively, the driver circuit 30 operating in the active state a may (automatically) switch to the fail-safe state FS (arrow 402) due to the detection of a fault condition, e.g. the detection of a watchdog fault. The switch from the standby state SB to the fail-safe state FS may also be made (arrow 404) under the same conditions that the fault condition is detected.

It should be noted that an overvoltage event may occur at the power pin 300 when the driver circuit 30 is operating in any of the active, standby, and fail-safe operating states.

It should be noted that in one or more embodiments, the activation of the low side switches LS1, LS2 for the brake motor M may occur (only) if the driver circuit 30 is operating in the active operating state a, as in other operating states the logic circuit 36 may not be able to drive any gate driver circuits 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b.

Thus, in one or more embodiments, the driver circuit 30 may switch to the active operating state (e.g., it may "wake up": see arrows 406, 408 in FIG. 4) due to the occurrence of an over-voltage event and detection by the analog monitoring circuit 38 while the driver circuit 30 is operating in the standby or fail-safe operating state.

Upon switching to the active operating state a, the driver circuit 30 may then activate the low side switches LS1, LS2 for braking the motor M according to the result of the supply voltage monitoring routine 360.

In one or more embodiments, when operating in active operating state a, driver circuit 30 may be configured to manage Time Cross Current Protection (TCCP) to avoid cross current conduction between high-side and low-side switches in the H-bridge circuit. For example, such a cross current protection feature may be digitally managed by logic circuit 36, inhibiting simultaneous activation of two switches in the same branch of the H-bridge circuit.

In one or more embodiments, the control registers (e.g., included in interface, logic, and diagnostic circuitry 36) of driver circuitry 30 may include dedicated configuration bits (e.g., GENERATOR_MODE_EN). Depending on the value of the dedicated configuration bit, the GENERATOR MODE of driver circuit 30 may be enabled (e.g., if generaw_mode_en=1) or disabled (e.g., if generaw_mode_en=0). The overvoltage detector circuit 38 may be enabled or disabled accordingly. In one or more embodiments, the supply voltage monitoring routine 360 may be enabled as a result of the driver circuit 30 operating in the active operating state a, regardless of whether the generator mode is enabled.

Thus, in one or more embodiments, the overvoltage detector circuit 38 and the supply voltage monitoring routine 360 may be enabled or disabled as illustrated in table I below:

table I

In an active operating state, in response to detection of an overvoltage event by the monitoring routine 360 and the GENERATOR MODE being enabled (generator_mode_en=1), a low-side switch in the H-bridge circuit may be activated and the charge pump circuit may be turned off.

In an active operating state, the H-bridge circuit may be turned off and the charge pump circuit may be turned off in response to detection of an over-voltage event by the monitoring routine 360 and the GENERATOR MODE being disabled (generator_mode_en=0).

It may be advantageous to provide the possibility to selectively activate the generator mode, for example in case the driver circuit 30 is used for a power trunk (POT) application. For example, the driver circuit 30 may include additional circuitry configured to manage the electronics of other latches of the vehicle (e.g., the doors of a motor vehicle). In this case, it may not be necessary to enable the generator mode. In one or more embodiments, the default value of the dedicated configuration bit generaw_mode_en may be equal to 1, such that the GENERATOR MODE is enabled by default at device start-up.

One or more embodiments may benefit from the fact that the implementation of the "generator mode" may be embedded within the driver circuit 30 and may be entirely autonomous, so that the reaction to an overvoltage event may be rapid, so long as it does not involve the operation of any components external to the driver circuit 30 itself (e.g., the operation of the processing circuit 50). Accordingly, one or more embodiments may facilitate timely activation of the low-side switches LS1, LS2 due to the detection of an overvoltage event at the supply voltage pin 300.

Furthermore, one or more embodiments may provide a cost-effective driver circuit and arrangement for an H-bridge with overvoltage protection if compared to previous solutions.

Furthermore, one or more embodiments may provide overvoltage protection implemented in hardware without the need to develop specific software for this purpose.

As illustrated herein, a circuit (e.g., 30) may include: a power supply pin (e.g., 300) configured to receive a power supply voltage (e.g., V _S ) The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the A set of control pins (e.g., 302a, 302b, 304a304 b) configured to provide a set of respective control signals to control switching behavior of respective sets of switches (e.g., HS1, HS2, LS1, LS 2) of the H-bridge circuit, wherein the respective sets of switches include a pair of high-side switches (e.g., HS1, HS 2) and a pair of low-side switches (e.g., LS1, LS 2); control circuitry (e.g., 36) coupled to the set of control pins (e.g., 32a, 32b, 34a, 34 b) and configured to generate a set of control signals (e.g., based on at least one input signal such as DIRH, PWMH received from a processing unit such as 50); and sensing circuitry (e.g., 38, 360) coupled to the power supply pin and configured to generate a detection signal indicative of the power supply voltage exceeding a threshold.

As illustrated herein, the control circuitry may be sensitive to the detection signal and may be configured to generate the control signal to activate one of the pair of high-side switches and the pair of low-side switches and deactivate the other of the pair of high-side switches and the pair of low-side switches as a result of the detection signal indicating that the supply voltage exceeds the threshold.

As illustrated herein, the sensing circuitry coupled to the power supply pin may include an analog comparator circuit (e.g., 38) configured to compare the power supply voltage to at least one respective threshold.

As illustrated herein, the analog comparator circuit may include a comparator circuit with hysteresis having a lower threshold (preferably between 21.0V and 25.0V, more preferably equal to 22.5V) and an upper threshold (preferably between 22.5V and 25.5V, more preferably equal to 24.0V).

As illustrated herein, the analog comparator circuit may be selectively enabled or disabled, preferably according to a value stored in a control register of the driver circuit.

As illustrated herein, a sensing circuit arrangement coupled to a power pin may include: an analog-to-digital converter circuit configured to provide a digital representation of a supply voltage; and a digital circuit (e.g., 360) configured to compare the digital representation of the supply voltage to at least one corresponding threshold (e.g., at the determined sampling rate).

As illustrated herein, the digital circuit may include a digital comparator circuit with hysteresis having a lower threshold (preferably between 18.5V and 22.5V) and an upper threshold (preferably between 19.5V and 22.5V).

As illustrated herein, the control circuitry may be configured to alternately operate (e.g., 40) in an active operating state (e.g., a) in which the control circuitry is enabled to generate the set of control signals and the digital circuitry is enabled, and at least one inactive operating state (e.g., SB, FS) in which the control circuitry is not enabled to generate the set of control signals and the digital circuitry is not enabled.

As illustrated herein, the control circuitry may be configured to switch from the at least one inactive operating state to the active operating state as the detection signal generated by the analog comparator circuit indicates that the supply voltage exceeds the threshold.

As illustrated herein, since the detection signal indicates that the supply voltage exceeds the threshold, the control circuitry may be configured to generate a control signal to activate the low-side switch pair and deactivate the high-side switch pair.

As illustrated herein, a system may include: a motor (e.g., M); an H-bridge circuit coupled to the motor and configured to drive the motor; a circuit according to one or more embodiments, coupled to the H-bridge circuit; a power supply (e.g., BAT) configured to provide a supply voltage to a power supply pin of the circuit and the H-bridge circuit; and a processing unit (e.g., 50) coupled to the circuitry and configured to generate at least one input signal (e.g., DIRH, PWMH) for controlling the circuitry.

As illustrated herein, a vehicle (e.g., V) may include a system according to one or more embodiments, wherein the motor may operate an electric trunk of the vehicle.

As illustrated herein, a method of operating a circuit in accordance with one or more embodiments may include: receiving a power supply voltage; providing a set of control signals for controlling switching behavior of a respective set of switches of the H-bridge circuit, wherein the respective set of switches comprises a pair of high-side switches and a pair of low-side switches; generating a set of control signals from at least one input signal received from a processing unit; generating a detection signal indicating that the supply voltage exceeds a threshold; and generating a set of control signals to activate one of the pair of high-side switches and the pair of low-side switches and deactivate the other of the pair of high-side switches and the pair of low-side switches, as the detection signal indicates that the supply voltage exceeds the threshold.

Without prejudice to the underlying principles, the details and the embodiments may vary, even significantly, with respect to what has been described by way of example only, without departing from the scope of the protection.

Claims

1. A driver circuit, comprising:

a power pin configured to receive a power supply voltage;

a set of control pins configured to provide a respective set of control signals for controlling switching behavior of a respective set of switches of the H-bridge circuit, wherein the respective set of switches comprises a pair of high-side switches and a pair of low-side switches;

a sensing circuit arrangement coupled to the power supply pin and configured to generate a detection signal indicative of the power supply voltage exceeding a threshold value; and

control circuitry coupled to the set of control pins and sensitive to the detection signal and configured to generate the control signal to activate one of the pair of high-side switches and the pair of low-side switches and deactivate the other of the pair of high-side switches and the pair of low-side switches as a result of the detection signal indicating that the supply voltage exceeds the threshold,

wherein the sensing circuit arrangement comprises:

an analog comparator circuit configured to compare the supply voltage to at least one respective threshold;

an analog-to-digital converter circuit configured to provide a digital representation of the supply voltage; and

a digital circuit configured to compare the digital representation of the supply voltage with at least one corresponding threshold value,

wherein the control circuitry is configured to alternately operate in:

activating an operational state wherein the control circuitry is enabled to generate the respective set of control signals and the digital circuitry is enabled; and

at least one inactive operating state, wherein the control circuitry is not enabled to generate the respective set of control signals and the digital circuitry is not enabled;

wherein the control circuitry is configured to switch from the at least one inactive operating state to the active operating state as a result of the detection signal generated by the analog comparator circuit indicating that the supply voltage exceeds the threshold value.

2. The driver circuit of claim 1, wherein the analog comparator circuit comprises a comparator circuit with hysteresis having a lower threshold between 21.0V and 25.0V and an upper threshold between 22.5V and 25.5V.

3. The driver circuit of claim 1, wherein the analog comparator circuit is selectively enabled or disabled according to a value stored in a control register of the driver circuit.

4. The driver circuit of claim 1, wherein the digital circuit comprises a digital comparator circuit with hysteresis having a lower threshold between 18.5V and 22.5V and an upper threshold between 19.5V and 22.5V.

5. The driver circuit of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is configured to generate the control signal to activate the pair of low-side switches and deactivate the pair of high-side switches as a result of the detection signal indicating that the supply voltage exceeds the threshold.

6. A system for a drive, comprising:

a motor;

an H-bridge circuit coupled to the motor and configured to drive the motor, wherein the H-bridge circuit includes a respective set of switches including a pair of high-side switches and a pair of low-side switches;

a driver circuit coupled to the H-bridge circuit, the driver circuit comprising:

a power pin configured to receive a power supply voltage;

a set of control pins configured to provide a respective set of control signals for controlling switching behavior of the respective set of switches of the H-bridge circuit;

control circuitry coupled to the set of control pins and sensitive to the detection signal and configured to generate the control signal to activate one of the pair of high-side switches and the pair of low-side switches and deactivate the other of the pair of high-side switches and the pair of low-side switches as a result of the detection signal indicating that the supply voltage exceeds the threshold;

a power supply configured to provide the power supply voltage to the power supply pin of the driver circuit and the H-bridge circuit; and

a processing unit coupled to the driver circuit and configured to generate at least one input signal for controlling the driver circuit,

wherein the sensing circuit arrangement comprises:

wherein the control circuitry is configured to alternately operate in:

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the analog comparator circuit comprises a comparator circuit with hysteresis having a lower threshold between 21.0V and 25.0V and an upper threshold between 22.5V and 25.5V.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the analog comparator circuit is selectively enabled or disabled according to a value stored in a control register of the driver circuit.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the digital circuit comprises a digital comparator circuit with hysteresis having a lower threshold between 18.5V and 22.5V and an upper threshold between 19.5V and 22.5V.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the control circuitry is configured to generate the control signal to activate the pair of low-side switches and deactivate the pair of high-side switches as a result of the detection signal indicating that the supply voltage exceeds the threshold.

11. The system of claim 6, wherein the system is a vehicle further comprising an electric luggage case, and the motor is configured to operate the electric luggage case.

12. A method of operating the driver circuit of any one of claims 1 to 5, the method comprising:

receiving a power supply voltage;

generating a detection signal indicating that the supply voltage exceeds a threshold; and

controlling switching behavior of a respective set of switches of an H-bridge circuit, the respective set of switches including a pair of high-side switches and a pair of low-side switches, the controlling the switching behavior comprising:

in response to the detection signal, a set of control signals is generated from at least one input signal received from the processing unit to activate one of the pair of high-side switches and the pair of low-side switches and deactivate the other of the pair of high-side switches and the pair of low-side switches.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: an analog value of the supply voltage is compared with at least one corresponding threshold value.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

generating a digital representation of the supply voltage; and

the digital representation of the supply voltage is compared to at least one respective threshold.