| Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
|---|
| 324548000 | Capacitor | 39 |
| 20080218176 | Power Supply Device - A power supply device has a capacitor unit in which capacitors are interconnected in series, a charging unit for charging the capacitor unit at a constant current, a detecting unit for detecting voltage on the high potential side of each of the capacitors, a determining unit for determining the existence of an abnormality based on the voltage detected by the detecting unit. The determining unit determines the abnormality when the difference between respective voltages on the high potential sides of some adjacent capacitors exceeds upper-limit voltage value Va, when the difference is lower than lower-limit voltage value Vb, or when a voltage is negative. | 09-11-2008 |
| 20080246492 | Processing tantalum capacitors on assembled PWAs to yield low failure rate - A method of conditioning tantalum capacitors on printed wire assemblies is disclosed. According to the method, each of the capacitors on an assembly is subjected to the same conditioning level during testing. To condition the tantalum capacitors, surge currents are induced in the capacitors in a controlled manner as a means of aging the capacitors so that they can be used without de-rating rating with low failure rates. The level of voltage, timing and current levels are set by circuitry used to perform the testing. The same circuits that are used with the capacitors in a system application are also used for the tantalum capacitor test circuit during the conditioning process. | 10-09-2008 |
| 20080284449 | Power converters with component stress monitoring for fault prediction - A power converter includes a controller and at least one circuit component. The controller is configured for monitoring stress on the circuit component during operation of the power converter and estimating a remaining life of the circuit component based on the monitored stress. | 11-20-2008 |
| 20080290879 | CAPACITIVE MEASUREMENTS WITH FAST RECOVERY CURRENT RETURN - An apparatus and method for measuring the leakage current of capacitive components. A switch that grounds a terminal of a component being tested is closed while the component is charged to a desired test voltage. When this charging is complete, the switch opens so that the diode terminal is at the same potential as the input amplifier's virtual ground. An accurate and fast measurement of the leakage current of the component can be measured. | 11-27-2008 |
| 20090072839 | Apparatus and method to detect failure of smoothing electrolytic capacitor - An apparatus and method to detect failure of an electrolytic capacitor that smoothes a DC voltage in an inverter circuit. The apparatus detects failure of a smoothing electrolytic capacitor in a motor drive inverter circuit that rectifies and smoothes an AC voltage through a rectifier and the smoothing electrolytic capacitor and converts a rectified and smoothed DC voltage into a 3-phase voltage to drive a motor. The apparatus includes a voltage meter, a current sensing unit, and a controller. The voltage meter measures a DC voltage of an inverter when the motor is not in operation. The current sensing unit measures a phase current of the motor when the motor is not in operation. The controller estimates an ESR value of the smoothing electrolytic capacitor from the DC voltage of the inverter and the motor phase current to detect failure of the smoothing electrolytic capacitor. | 03-19-2009 |
| 20090189616 | POLYMERIC STRUCTURES AND METHODS FOR PRODUCING AND MONITORING POLYMERIC STRUCTURES - A method for monitoring a component formed of a polymer material, and the polymer component. The component includes an electrically-conductive polymer sensing element integrally incorporated into the component. An electric potential is applied to the polymer sensing element, and an electric signal generated by the polymer sensing element is sensed in response to the polymer sensing element physically responding to a transitory or permanent distortion of the component. A signal can then be generated if the electric signal exceeds a predetermined threshold value for the component. | 07-30-2009 |
| 20090237088 | METHOD FOR INSPECTING INSULATION PROPERTY OF CAPACITOR - A method for inspecting insulation property of a capacitor, comprises the steps of: applying a DC voltage V | 09-24-2009 |
| 20100026313 | Capacitance Structures for Defeating Microchip Tampering - Apparatus, method and program product may detect an attempt to tamper with a microchip by detecting an unacceptable alteration in a measured capacitance associated with capacitance structures proximate the backside of a microchip. The capacitance structures typically comprise metallic shapes and may connect using through-silicon vias to active sensing circuitry within the microchip. In response to the sensed change, a shutdown, spoofing, self-destruct or other defensive action may be initiated to protect security sensitive circuitry of the microchip. | 02-04-2010 |
| 20100079150 | APPARATUS FOR THE DYNAMIC DETECTION, SELECTION AND DESELECTION OF LEAKING DECOUPLING CAPACITORS - Embodiments of the invention generally provide methods, systems, and apparatus for testing decoupling capacitors of an integrated circuit. A decoupling capacitor may be disconnected from the power grid of the integrated circuit during testing. The voltage of the decoupling capacitor may be compared to the voltage of a reference capacitor to determine whether the decoupling capacitor is defective. If the decoupling capacitor is determined to be defective, the decoupling capacitor is not reconnected to the power grid, thereby reducing the leakage currents in the integrated circuit. | 04-01-2010 |
| 20100188099 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SCREENING ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORS - A method for screening electrolytic capacitors places a capacitor in series with a resistor, applying a test voltage and following the charge curve for the capacitor. A high voltage drop across the capacitor indicates high reliability and a low voltage drop is used to reject the piece. The leakage current is not adversely affected during the test. | 07-29-2010 |
| 20100219839 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TESTING A CAPACITIVE TRANSDUCER AND/OR ASSOCIATED ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY - A method of testing a capacitive transducer circuit, for example a MEMS capacitive transducer, by applying a test signal via one or more capacitors provided in the transducer circuit. | 09-02-2010 |
| 20100295554 | METHOD FOR MONITORING THE CONDITION OF THE CAPACITORS OF A DC-VOLTAGE INTERMEDIATE CIRCUIT - Method and system for monitoring the condition of the capacitor arrangement ( | 11-25-2010 |
| 20110018551 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DETERMINING DEGRADATION STATE OF ELECTRICAL STORAGE DEVICE IN HYBRID CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT - The degradation of an electrical storage device | 01-27-2011 |
| 20110062962 | Topology Surveying a Series of Capacitors - A topology for surveying the integrity of a plurality of capacitors connected in series between a pair of bus lines arranged to be connected to a DC-power source comprises a plurality of resistors connected in series between the pair of bus lines, the plurality of resistors being connected in parallel to the plurality of capacitors; and a comparator comparing the electric potential of an intermediate point between two capacitors of the plurality of capacitors with the electric potential of an intermediate point between two resistors of the plurality of resistors. The comparator provides a signal signaling a difference between these two electric potentials, which indicates a loss of integrity of one capacitor of the plurality of capacitors. | 03-17-2011 |
| 20110199094 | Gas Sensor Age Compensation and Failure Detection - A method, system ( | 08-18-2011 |
| 20110241695 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR MONITORING CAPACITOR BANKS - A method of monitoring a capacitor bank comprising a plurality of capacitor strings connected in parallel, each capacitor string comprising a plurality of capacitors connected in series is provided. The method includes energizing the capacitor bank. The method includes determining dissipation factors of each of the plurality of the capacitor strings. The method further includes comparing each of the determined dissipation factors with an expected dissipation factor and estimating a health state of the plurality of the capacitor strings based, at least in part, on the comparison of the determined and expected dissipation factors. | 10-06-2011 |
| 20110291665 | TIMER CIRCUIT - A timer circuit is provided with a comparator CMP | 12-01-2011 |
| 20120013347 | CAPACITOR MONITORING SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF METERING AND MONITORING CAPACITOR BANK - The present invention relates to a capacitor bank monitoring system for monitoring the status of a capacitor bank in a power distribution system. The capacitor bank monitoring system includes a current transformer, a metering connection, and a housing for an electric utility meter. The current transformer is in electrical communication with a neutral terminal of the distribution system and can measure the current carried by the neutral terminal. The meter connection subsystem can provide electrical communication between the electric utility meter and the current transformer, such that the electric utility meter communicates the status of the capacitor bank. | 01-19-2012 |
| 20120133374 | METHOD FOR DETECTING CAPACITOR LOSS - A method for detecting a capacitor loss is applicable to detecting a plurality of by-pass capacitors connected in parallel to each other. The detection method includes the following steps, an alternating current (AC) signal is input into the by-pass capacitors, in which the AC signal has a plurality of test frequencies; test voltages of the by-pass capacitors at each of the test frequencies are recorded, so as to form a test result table; it is determined whether the test result table is the same as a standard voltage table; and when a result of the determination is NO, a fail signal is output. By applying the detection method, whether a loss exists in the by-pass capacitors can be effectively identified, thereby solving the problem that small capacitors are undetectable when large capacitors are connected in parallel to the small capacitors. | 05-31-2012 |
| 20120153965 | DC CAPACITOR DEGRADATION ALARM CIRCUIT - A DC capacitor degradation alarm circuit is a capacitor degradation detection device including two filter circuits and a degradation detection element. The two filter circuits, which receive a rectified voltage and perform filtering operation, are coupled in parallel and include a plurality of capacitor modules coupled in series. Each capacitor module can be a single capacitor or includes a plurality of capacitors coupled in series or parallel to allow users to arrange construction thereof to receive required capacitance. The degradation detection element electrically bridges the two filter circuits with connection nodes located between the capacitor modules to instantly detect a voltage difference value of the two filter circuits online and perform operation by incorporating with total output voltage to get voltage difference value percentage. In the event that the obtained percentage exceeds a preset range, the degradation detection element automatically generates a capacitor degradation alarm signal to alert users. | 06-21-2012 |
| 20120153966 | APPARATUS FOR DETECTING FAULT OF FLYING CAPACITOR OF INSULATED CONDITION DETECTING UNIT - An apparatus for detecting a fault of a flying capacitor of an insulated condition detecting unit measures (step S | 06-21-2012 |
| 20120161781 | MEASUREMENT CIRCUIT FOR CAPACITOR - A measurement circuit includes a switch unit with a number of keys selectively pressed to output different resistance regulating signals. A resistance setting circuit receives the resistance regulating signals and connects different resistances to a voltage circuit and a current circuit. The voltage circuit outputs different voltages. The current voltage receives a voltage from the voltage circuit and outputs a current to a capacitor. A detecting circuit measures a temperature of the capacitor and outputs the temperature to the resistance setting circuit. The resistance setting circuit compares the received temperature with a preset temperature. If the received temperature is equal to or greater than the preset temperature, the resistance setting circuit outputs short-circuit information of the capacitor. If the received temperature is less than the preset temperature, the resistance setting circuit outputs normal information of the capacitor. A display unit displays the information of the capacitor. | 06-28-2012 |
| 20120194202 | DRIVE FAILURE PROTECTION - The present techniques include methods and systems for detecting a failure in a capacitor bank of an electrical drive system. Embodiments include using discharge resistors to discharge capacitors in the capacitor bank, forming a neutral node of the capacitor bank. In different capacitor configurations, the neutral node is measured, and the voltage is analyzed to determine whether a capacitor bank unbalance has occurred. In some embodiments, the node is a neutral-to-neutral node between the discharged side of the discharge resistors and a neutral side of the capacitor bank, or between the discharged side of the discharge resistors and a discharged side of a second set of discharge resistors. In some embodiments, the node is a neutral-to-ground node between the discharged side of the discharge resistors and a ground potential. | 08-02-2012 |
| 20120299602 | ELECTRONIC DEVICE, AND OPEN CIRCUIT DETECTING SYSTEM, DETECTING METHOD THEREOF - An open circuit detecting system configured to connect to an object circuit for getting an electrical signal through a virtual ground induced by characteristic impedance of a parasitic capacitor and determining whether the object circuit is open according to the electrical signal. | 11-29-2012 |
| 20130002263 | RELIABILITY ASSESSMENT OF CAPACITOR DEVICE - A method of reliability testing of a semiconductor device is described. The embodiment, includes providing a capacitor including an insulating layer interposing two conductive layers. A plurality of voltages are provided to the capacitor including providing a first voltage and a second voltage greater than the first voltage. A leakage associated with the capacitor is measured while applying the second voltage. In an embodiment, the leakage measured while applying the second voltage indicates that a failure of the insulating layer of the capacitor has occurred. In an embodiment, the capacitor is an inter-digitated metal-oxide-metal (MOM) capacitor. The reliability testing may be correlated to TDDB test results. The reliability testing may be performed at a wafer-level. | 01-03-2013 |
| 20130057297 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTING POWER CONVERTER CAPACITOR DEGRADATION USING NEGATIVE SEQUENCE CURRENTS - Power converters and control techniques are presented in which capacitor degradation is detected according to negative sequence current by computing an uncompensated negative sequence current and a negative sequence voltage, compensating the negative sequence current based on the negative sequence voltage, comparing the compensated or uncompensated negative sequence current with an automatically calculated threshold and selectively identifying suspected degradation of one or more capacitors if the compensated negative sequence current exceeds the threshold value. The method can be used for power converters, control devices or protection relays for shunt capacitors or filters used in power systems. | 03-07-2013 |
| 20130187664 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DIAGNOSTICS OF A CAPACITIVE SENSOR - In at least one embodiment, an apparatus for diagnosing a state of a capacitive sensor is provided. The apparatus includes a control unit for being operably coupled to a decoupling device that exhibits a drift condition and to the capacitive sensor. The control unit being configured to determine an impedance of the capacitive sensor and to determine a characteristic of the capacitive sensor based on at least the impedance. The control unit being further configured to determine a characteristic of the decoupling device based on the characteristic of the capacitive sensor and to provide an estimated capacitance based on the characteristic of the decoupling device, the estimated capacitance being indicative of the state of the capacitive sensor. | 07-25-2013 |
| 20130314101 | Presence and Operability Test of a Decoupling Capacitor - Electronic device ( | 11-28-2013 |
| 20140002104 | APPARATUS FOR DIAGNOSING DC LINK CAPACITOR OF INVERTER | 01-02-2014 |
| 20140015542 | MEASUREMENT CIRCUIT FOR LEAKAGE CURRENT OF CAPACITOR - A measurement circuit includes an instruction input unit, a charging circuit to charge a capacitor, a charging and discharging circuit to control the capacitor to leakage discharge, a control circuit, a first amplifying circuit, and a display unit. The control circuit receives a measurement instruction through the instruction input unit to control the charging circuit to charge the capacitor, and receives a stop charging signal from the charging circuit when a voltage of the capacitor reaches a saturation voltage for controlling the charging circuit to stop charging the capacitor. The first amplifying circuit measures a leakage voltage of the capacitor, amplifies the measured leakage voltage, and outputs the amplified leakage voltage to the control circuit. The display unit displays the leakage voltage of the capacitor. | 01-16-2014 |
| 20140159742 | INPUT DEVICE TRANSMITTER PATH ERROR DIAGNOSIS - A processing system configured for capacitive sensing comprises transmitter circuitry, a first internal diagnostic mechanism, and a determination module. The transmitter circuitry is coupled with a first transmitter path of a plurality of transmitter paths and configured to transmit a first transmitter signal with the first transmitter path, wherein each transmitter path of the plurality of transmitter paths is configured for capacitive sensing. The first internal diagnostic mechanism is coupled to a second transmitter path of the plurality of transmitter paths. The first internal diagnostic mechanism is configured to acquire a first resulting signal while the transmitter circuitry transmits the first transmitter signal with the first transmitter path, wherein the first internal diagnostic mechanism comprises a selectable leakage path coupled to the transmitter circuitry. The determination module is further configured to determine that the first transmitter path is ohmically coupled to the second transmitter path of the plurality of transmitter paths based upon the first resulting signal. | 06-12-2014 |
| 20150355259 | FILTER CAPACITOR DEGRADATION IDENTIFICATION USING MEASURED AND EXPECTED VOLTAGE - Methods and apparatus are presented for detecting degrading filter capacitors in motor drives or other power converters, in which an expected DC equivalent voltage and a measured DC equivalent voltage are computed according to sampled filter circuit currents and voltages, and compared to selectively identify filter capacitor degradation conditions in a power converter filter circuit. | 12-10-2015 |
| 20160061877 | CAPACITOR COMBINATION STRESS TESTING - A method of evaluating at least one parameter of a first capacitor. The method couples a number of capacitors in a capacitor network to a common node, the number of capacitors comprising at least three capacitors. Further, the method first applies a first voltage range to the capacitor network for causing a first voltage drop across the first capacitor, and it evaluates the at least one parameter in response to the first voltage range. The method second applies a second voltage range to the capacitor network for causing a second voltage drop across the first capacitor, the second voltage drop greater than the first voltage drop, and it evaluates the at least one parameter in response to the second voltage range. | 03-03-2016 |
| 20160073212 | HIGH-VOLTAGE RESET MEMS MICROPHONE NETWORK AND METHOD OF DETECTING DEFECTS THEREOF - A method of detecting defects in a high impedance network of a MEMs microphone sensor interface circuit. The method includes adding a high-voltage reset switch to a high-voltage high impedance network, closing the high-voltage reset switch during a start-up phase of the MEMs microphone sensor interface circuit, simultaneously closing a low-voltage reset switch of a low-voltage high impedance network during the start-up phase, simultaneously opening the high-voltage reset switch and the low-voltage reset switch at the end of the start-up phase, and detecting a defect in the high-voltage high impedance network or the low-voltage high impedance network immediately after opening the high-voltage reset switch and the low-voltage reset switch. | 03-10-2016 |
| 20160077144 | ELECTRONIC DEVICE - According to one embodiment, an electronic device includes a variable capacitor includes first and second electrodes, and indicating a first state in which a distance between the first and second electrodes is a first distance and a second state in which the distance between the first and second electrodes is a second distance shorter than the first distance, in accordance with a voltage applied between the first and second electrodes, a voltage applying circuit applying a voltage between the first and second electrodes, and a voltage detecting circuit detecting a first voltage based on an interelectrode voltage between the first and second electrodes. The variable capacitor, the voltage applying circuit and the voltage detecting circuit are provided in a same chip. | 03-17-2016 |
| 20160252558 | CIRCUITS AND METHODS OF TESTING A DEVICE UNDER TEST USING THE SAME | 09-01-2016 |
| 20160252559 | DETERIORATION DETECTING APPARATUS AND DETERIORATION DETECTING METHOD | 09-01-2016 |
| 20180024181 | CAPACITOR DETECTION SYSTEM AND ACTIVE-TYPE PIN-DIVERGING MODULE THEREOF | 01-25-2018 |
| 20220137155 | CAPACITOR DIAGNOSIS DEVICE AND CAPACITOR DIAGNOSIS METHOD - According to an embodiment, a capacitor diagnosis device includes a sensor, a frequency spectrum analysis unit, a frequency component extraction unit, and a diagnosis processing unit. The sensor detects a physical quantity that changes with an current flowing through a capacitor in a power conversion unit (PCU) for converting DC power smoothed by the capacitor connected in parallel to DC link(s) into AC power according to a power running operation. The frequency spectrum analysis unit generates a frequency spectrum based on a detection result of the sensor detected during the power running operation of the PCU. The frequency component extraction unit extracts a component of a specific frequency band related to a frequency depending on a configuration of the PCU based on the frequency spectrum. The diagnosis processing unit diagnoses a state of the capacitor based on at least a magnitude of the extracted component of the specific frequency band. | 05-05-2022 |
