Patent ID: 9603206
Date: 2017-03-21
CPC Classifications: H02M,H03K,H05B,Y02B

Claim:
1. A method, comprising: switching on a control signal to operate a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) for a first time period to charge an energy storage device; driving forward base current to a base of the bipolar junction transistor (BJT) during the first time period at a first current level; switching off the control signal to operate the bipolar junction transistor (BJT) for a second time period to discharge the energy storage device to a load; determining a time period for a current through the bipolar junction transistor (BJT) to decay to below a threshold current value after switching off the control signal by determining a time period from a first time when switching off the control signal to a second time when the current through the bipolar junction transistor (BJT) crosses the threshold current value; and adjusting the first current level based, at least in part, on the determined time period.