Patent ID: 8630076

Claim:
A circuit for regulating the operation of an integrated power module (IPM) in response to detection of harmful input signal conditions, the circuit comprising: a switching circuit, electrically isolated from the IPM, the switching circuit being operative to receive a pulsed input signal to the switching circuit and to generate a switching circuit output signal in response to the amplitude and duration of the input signal; and an optical coupler circuit in electric communication with the switching circuit and the IPM, the optical coupler circuit being operative to generate an optical coupler output signal, for regulating the operation of the IPM in response to the switching circuit output signal; and an RC circuit for maintaining the optical coupler output signal at an IPM disabling level until such time as the switching circuit detects that the pulsed input signal has an amplitude of in excess of a preset amplitude threshold and a pulse duration in excess of a preset duration threshold dictated by the RC circuit.