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Appli cation information
Under-Voltage Lockout (UVLO)
Under-voltage lockout function (UVLO) guarantees that the internal power switch is initially off during start-up. The UVLO functions only when the
power supply has reached at least 2.5V (TYP). Whenever the input voltage falls below approximately 2.5V, the power switch is turned off. This
facilit at es the design of hot-insertion systems where it is not possible to turn off the power switch before input power is removed.
Over-Current and Short-Circuit Protection
An internal sensing FET is employed to check for over current conditions. Unlike current-sense resistors, sense FETs do not increase the series
resistance of the current path. When an over current condition is detected, the device maintains a constant output current and reduces the output
voltage accordingly. Complete shutdown occurs only if the fault stays long enough to activate thermal limiting.
The different overload conditions and the corresponding response of the AP2331 are outlined below:
1
-circuit condition at start-up
Output is shorted before input
voltage is applied or before the
part is powered up.
The IC senses the short circuit and immediately clam ps output
current to a certain safe level namely ILIMIT
2
-circuit or Over current
Short-Circuit or Overl oad
conditi on that occurs when the
part is powered up and above
UVLO.
At the instance the overload occurs, higher c urrent may flow for a
very short peri od of t ime before the current limit functi on can react.
After the current limit functi on has tripped (reac hed the over-
current tri p threshold), the devic e switches int o current limiting
mode and the current is clamped at I
.
3
from nominal
LIMIT Load increases gradually until
the current-limit threshold.
The current rises until ILIMIT. Once the threshold has been
reached, the device switc hes into its current limit i ng mode and is
Reverse-Curren t P rotection
The USB specification does not allow an output device to source current back into the USB port. In a normal MOSFET switch, current will flow in
reverse direct ion (from the output side to the input side) when the output side voltage is higher than the i nput side. A reverse current l imit feature is
implement ed in the AP2331 to limit such back currents. Reverse current limit is always ac tive in AP2331. Reverse current is l imited at IROCP level
and when the fault exists for more than 700µs, output device is disabled and s hut down. This is c alled the "Degl itch time from revers e current trigger
to MOSFET turn off.” Recovery from IROCP occurs when the output voltage falls to 101% of input voltage.
Over-Vol tage Protection
The device has an output over-voltage protection that triggers when the output voltage reaches 5.3V (MIN). When this fault condition stays on
for longer than 15µs, (This is called the “Debounce time from output over voltage to MOSFET turn off”) output device is disabled and shut down.
Recovery from ROVP occurs when the output voltage falls to 101% of input voltage.
Thermal Protection
Thermal protect i on prevents the IC from dam age when the die temperature exceeds safe margins. This mainl y occurs when heavy-overl oad or short-
circuit faults are present for extended periods of time. The AP2331 implements a thermal sensing to monitor the operating junction temperature of
the power distribut ion switch. Once the die temperature ris es to approximat ely +150°C, the Thermal protection feat ure gets activated as follows: The
internal thermal sense circuitry turns the power switch off thus preventing the power switch from damage. Hysteresis in the thermal sense circuit
allows the device to cool down to approximately +20°C before the output is turned back on. This built-in thermal hysteresis feature is an excellent
feature, as it avoids undesirable oscillations of the thermal protection circuit. The switch continues to cycle in this manner until the load fault is
removed, resulting i n a pulsed output.
Discharge Function
When input voltage falls below UVLO, the discharge function is active. The output capacitor is discharged through an internal NMOS that has a
discharge resistance of 800Ω. Hence, the output voltage drops down to zero. The time taken for discharge is dependent on the RC time constant of
the resistance and the output capacit or. Disc harge time is calculat ed when UVLO falli ng thres hol d is reached to output voltage reaching 300mV.
AP2331
Document Number: DS35529 Rev. 5 - 2 7 of 12
www.diodes.com September 2014
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