A powered surgical stapling assembly comprising a motor, an end effector, a sensor, a display, and a control circuit is disclosed. The end effector comprises a first jaw and a second jaw movable relative to the first jaw. The end effector is configured to clamp tissue between the first jaw and the second jaw. The sensor is configured to measure a parameter of the tissue clamped within the end effector. The control circuit is configured to monitor the parameter sensed by the sensor and identify when the monitored parameter stabilizes within a stabilization range. The monitored parameter is considered stable when a rate at which the monitored parameter changes falls below a predetermine threshold rate of change. The control circuit is further configured to display to a user when the parameter stabilizes.

Described are apparatus and methods for control of multi-channel load switches with synchronized power up/down timing sequences. The slew rate control methods of the PMOS load switches contained in the N Multi-channel configuration is also described. A preferred slew rate control circuit includes a power PMOS transistor that is capable of handling load currents of several amperes along with an integrated controller. The integrated controller allows the user to program the power on/off sequences of each of the load switch channels by simply using a single or multiple input enable input pins.

Systems and methods for gate driver with field-adjustable undervoltage lockout (UVLO) are disclosed. A gate driver system comprises a control circuit and a driver circuit. The driver circuit incorporates a field-adjustable UVLO, a control logic, and an inverter. The level of the field-adjustable UVLO is adjustable by an external circuit, which can be a resistor based voltage divider. By setting the UVLO level externally adjustable and by moving a reference ground to the external voltage divider, the gate driver system is able to implement gate control for various load without needing extra ground pin.

A circuit protection method comprises operating a range extender in a normal mode, wherein the range extender comprises at least one DC-to-DC converter having an input side and an output side and at least one bypass device coupled between the input side and the output side. The operating of the range extender in the normal mode comprises converting an input voltage at the input side into an output voltage at the output side by the DC-to-DC converter, wherein the output voltage is higher than a critical voltage. The method further comprises operating the range extender in a safety mode when the output voltage is lower than the critical voltage. The operating of the range extender in the safety mode comprises bypassing the DC-to-DC converter by the bypass device, wherein the critical voltage is lower than or equal to the input voltage.

A surgical stapling system including a shaft assembly transmits actuation motions from an actuator and an end effector compresses and staples tissue. The end effector comprises an elongated channel; an anvil having a staple forming surface is moveable relative to the elongated channel between an open position and a closed position; and a staple cartridge removably positioned within the elongated channel. The staple cartridge comprises a body having a tissue contacting surface in a confronting relationship with the staple forming surface; a plurality of staple drivers within the cartridge body each supporting a staple; and a tissue thickness compensator positionable between the anvil and the cartridge, the tissue thickness compensator is captured by the staples and assumes different compressed heights within the different staples. The tissue compensator comprises first conductive elements. The system determines properties of tissue compressed between the anvil and the cartridge.

A switch device includes a switching element that connects/disconnects a current path from a power supply terminal to a ground terminal via a load, and an overcurrent protection circuit that limits output current flowing in the switching element to be an overcurrent limit value or less. When an output short circuit of the load is detected, the overcurrent protection circuit decreases the overcurrent limit value to be lower as a power supply voltage is higher. In addition, the switch device preferably includes a switching element that connects/disconnects a current path from a power supply terminal to a ground terminal via a load, an intermittent control unit that intermittently drives the switching element when an abnormality is detected, and an output voltage monitoring portion that disables the intermittent control unit until an output voltage applied to the load reaches its target value.

There is disclosed a method comprising providing a first signal to an apparatus comprising a protection circuit and an output for providing electric power. The protection circuit comprises at least an overdischarge detection element and a discharging control output. The first signal is used to change a voltage level at an input of the overdischarge detection element of the protection circuit. The change of the voltage level at the input of overdischarge detection element is detected, and a second signal is provided at the discharging control output to switch off the output of the apparatus. There is also disclosed an apparatus comprising a protection circuit comprising at least an overdischarge detection element and a discharging control output. The apparatus also comprises an output for providing electric power; the protection circuit; and a first signal input adapted to receive a first signal to change a voltage level at an input of the overdischarge detection element of the protection circuit. The overdischarge detection element is configured for detecting the change of the voltage level at the input of the overdischarge detection element, and for providing a second signal at the discharging control output to switch off the output of the apparatus.

A fan motor stopping apparatus includes a conversion circuit that converts alternating-current voltage supplied from an alternating-current power supply into direct-current voltage, a smoothing capacitor that is connected to a fan motor included in an air conditioner and smooths the direct-current voltage from the conversion circuit, a voltage detection circuit that detects a voltage across the smoothing capacitor, and a fan motor shutdown circuit that suspends the fan motor in operation when the voltage detection circuit detects a voltage less than or equal to a threshold that is preset for suspending the operation of the fan motor.

The present invention relates to a system and a method for controlling photovoltaic balancing, the system comprising: photovoltaic modules wherein the photovoltaic modules are connected in series with each other; node balancing control units for blocking and switching the connected photovoltaic modules when measured data fall below current, voltage, and power control data set to control; a gateway unit for storing the measured data; a real-time control module for classifying, comparing, and analyzing the measured data, storing same in a database, and transmitting a control command to the gateway unit; and an integrated information server for monitoring photovoltaic component devices and measured values, analyzing and processing profile information of the component devices, and providing same to the real-time control module.

An undervoltage detection circuit includes a voltage divider, a voltage-to-current (V-to-I) converter and a current comparator. The voltage divider divides a supply voltage to generate a divided voltage. The V-to-I converter converts the divided voltage into a first current based on a first V-to-I transfer function, and converts the divided voltage into a second current based on a second V-to-I transfer function different from the first V-to-I transfer function. The current comparator compares the first and second currents to generate a comparison signal that indicates whether the supply voltage is sufficiently large.