Multichannel Programmable Protection Device with Flexible Characteristic

The paper describes a new approach for creating programmable protection devices using modern mixed-signal systems on a chip. The combination of programmable logic, analog signal processing, and a microcontroller computational core provides flexibility, a determined time response, and power efficiency. In previous generations of electronic components, this task required a minimum of three components, including logic chips or an FPGA, a microcontroller, and an analog comparator. Advanced modern systems on a chip combine these three parts and provide an integrated solution. The developed protection device can be used to process any electrical signal from a sensor, with an immediate response to signal deviations outside of allowed limits. Furthermore, limits can be programmed in a flexible way over any communication interface available in the system on a chip. The presented device is able to simultaneously process two sensing channels, providing up to four independent threshold and time settings, while maintaining a reaction time of less than 5 microseconds.