STMicroelectronics Assigned Patent

STMicroelectronics S.R.L., Agrate Brianza, Italy, has been assigned a patent (10,749,455) developed by Boscolo Berto, Michele, Sesto San Giovanni, Italy, and Galbiati, Ezio, Agnadello, Italy, for “method for current control and corresponding system and apparatus.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”An ohmic-inductive electrical load, such as an electric motor, for example, for a hard-disk drive, is driven by supplying thereto a load current via a switching power stage supplied with a source current delivered by a supply source. The driving action may include sensing the load current, estimating the source current starting from the load current sensed, generating a feedback signal that assumes different values as a function of the result of the comparison between the source current estimated and a source-current threshold value, and driving the switching power stage via the feedback signal, increasing or decreasing, respectively, as a function of the different values assumed by the feedback signal, the load current, thereby controlling the source current.”

The patent application was filed on October 22, 2015 (14/920,042).