(408) 867-1233 (V)
(408) 867-1299 (F)
email: kensmall@ix.netcom.com
WHO WE ARE
SMALL SERVICES is an independent power supply design and consulting practice specializing in power electronics, power supplies, and related technologies.
Ken Small is the principal consultant and project manager.
Ken Small has 32 years of industry experience in electronic design, engineering management, and consulting assignments. His career reflects extensive power electronics proficiency. He has demonstrated creativity and innovation in a variety of organizational settings. He received his engineering degree from The Ohio State University. During 8 years at Computer Products Inc./ Boschert Inc. (a major power supply manufacturer) he held positions as Engineering Manager and Manager of Advanced Development. He holds 15 U.S. patents in power conversion technology.
WHAT WE DO
We provide a cost-effective resource of advice, technical expertise, engineering design services, and solutions in the power electronics field.
OUR CLIENTS
Our client companies range from start-ups to major high-technology companies. Typically, they utilize power electronics as a subsystem in their products.
OUR SERVICES
Our services bring results because they are tailored to the client’s needs. We can assist you to define the task, to provide specifications, architecture, and hardware designs, to support and monitor progress, and to verify the results. Often, we provide guidance or a solution to an immediate problem.
CAPABILITIES
POWER SYSTEM AND POWER SUPPLY DESIGN
| Switching regulators. Magnetic component design. EMC compliance. |
| -48V telecom, battery, and DC distributed power design. |
| Computer power systems. AC PDUs & UPS. Rack power. |
| VRMs and DC/DC bricks, hot-swap, inrush-limit, load-share circuitry. |
| High-availability, fault tolerant, and redundant n+1 power. |
| Hardware design reviews, failure analysis, lab testing. |
| PCB layout support. Thermal and package design. |
POWER SUPPLY OUTSOURCING
| Knowledge about major power supply manufacturers. |
| Familiar with power supply manufacturing technology. |
| Generation of power supply purchase specifications. |
| Design reviews, power supply qualification, and problem resolution. |
REGULATORY COMPLIANCE SUPPORT
| Test failure analysis and improvements. |
| Abnormal testing. |
| Agency interface support. |
MANUFACTURING SUPPORT
| Component engineering and selection. |
| Second sources and industry standard components. |
| Cost reduction. |
| Test equipment. |
| Magnetic component outsourcing and manufacture. |
LAB ASSETS
| Power supply design and prototype lab. |
| Component parts-base library. |
UNITED STATES PATENTS
Inventor: Ken Small, Sept, 2001
PATENT NO. ISSUE DATE TITLE
4,277,692 1981 Continuous Power Source with Bi-directional Converter
4,609,828 1986 Single-Wire Current Share Paralleling of Power Supplies
4,616,301 1986 Regulator Control System
4,628,432 1986 Proportional Transistor Base Drive
4,631,653 1986 Capacitor-Coupled Current-Mode Balance Circuit
4,694,389 1987 Proportional Transistor Base Drive
4,717,833 1988 Single-Wire Current Share Paralleling of Power Supplies
4,884,186 1989 Power Supply With Reduced Switching Losses
4,901,216 1990 Power Supply Regulated By Modulating The Inductance In A Resonant L-C Circuit
5,391,932 1995 Source Power Coupler
5,491,402 1996 Apparatus And Method For Providing AC Isolation, While Supplying DC Power
5,568,373 1996 Tolerant Power Converter
5,731,969 1998 Three-Phase AC Power Converter With Power Factor Correction
6,232,675 2001 A Power Distribution Unit Comprising Relay Devices
6,229,691 2001 Apparatus And Method For Mounting A Power Distribution Unit Within An Equipment Enclosure
HIGHLIGHTS OF CONSULTING CONTRACTS, 1988-2001
SMALL SERVICES, INC., September, 2001
MAPLE OPTICAL SYSTEMS. Complete -48V power system, including board power supplies and rack power distribution.
BEAMREACH NETWORKS / RADIX WIRELESS. Complete -48V power system.
LUMINOUS NETWORKS. Design review & recommendations for improvements on -48V rack & card power system for new product.
BROCADE COMMUNICATIONS. Designed 48V board power systems including hot-swap, and output voltage sequence control circuits
for rack & card distributed power system.REDBACK NETWORKS. Designed -48V telecom power system for new high-end product. Designed fault tolerant blower regulator module.
SIARA SYSTEMS. Designed complete –48V rack & card power system for telecom product.
CENTERPOINT BROADBAND TECHNOLOGIES. Designed complete -48V telecom power system for new product. Low-noise PCB layout support. Provided –48V board power designs to Cadence Design Systems (subcontractor).
FINISAR CORPORATION. Design of dual-input AC/48VDC telecom power supply card.
WESTERN MULTIPLEX. Design of new 200W, -48V input power supply. Power upgrades and additional output rail for 24VDC input power supply.
SPECTRIAN CORPORATION. Designed complete -48V/+24V power system for new 750W compact MCPA cell phone base station power amplifier. Redesign of assorted DC input switching regulator power supply circuits.
RADIX TECHNOLOGY. Design of inrush limiting and over-voltage control circuits for 3-phase AC
500W and 1500W, 400Hz aircraft radio receiver power supplies. Design of low-noise DC/DC converter circuits.
HEWLETT-PACKARD
1. NSD (Network Server Division) 1999-2001. Specification and vendor qualification, review of testing of 7 custom power supplies for low and mid-range NT servers. Designed circuit improvements for vendor’s PSUs including load-share, inrush limiting, and PFC. Provided power supply expertise for division.
2. ENSD (Enterprise Network Server Division) 1998-1999. Custom PSU specification and vendor qualification and testing of custom PSU for mass-storage module. Technical support for rack AC power infrastructure. Qualification & introduction of redundant AC switch from UPS vendor. UPS technical support.
3. ESSD (Enterprise Storage Solutions Division) 1998. Complete electrical & mechanical design for 30 & 60 amp, 1 & 3 phase power distribution units for increased rack AC power capability. Two patents filed.
4. EPPO (Enclosures & Peripheral Products Organization) 1998. Design 16A and 30A amp AC rack power distribution units for use by NSD.
5. STD (Systems Technology Division) 1995-1997. Specification, design support, and vendor (Best Power) qualification of custom hot-swap 5.5 kVA UPS for HP-UX, AC rack power.
DFX ENGINEERING. Designed a DC/DC converter for memory card. Designed for HP Systems Technology Division (STD).
TANDEM COMPUTERS (COMPAQ). Power system architecture design for large NT server. PSU, UPS, and PDU technology and hardware capability transfer from Compaq to Tandem.
CISCO SYSTEMS. Failure analysis and ESD circuit design fix for vendor’s PSU.
SUNPOWER TECHNOLOGIES. Designed PFC add-on module for existing PSU.
SOTCHER MEASUREMENT. Designed capacitive current cancellation circuit for hi-pot tester,
Designed 500V PSU. Designed precision high-current source for low resistance ohmmeter.
VADEM. Battery backup PSU architecture and circuit design.
CIPHERGEN BIOSYSTEMS. Technical support on power system & EMC for mass spectrometer.
FREEGATE. Battery backup PSU architecture and circuit design.
DIABLO RESEARCH. Designed inverter PSU using thermocouple source and reed relay vibrator.
BOC COATING TECHNOLOGY. Technical support & design analysis on 50 kW plasma supplies.
CELLNET DATA SYSTEMS. Technical support on watt-hour meter PSU.
BIOQUEST. Complete power system for swimming pool water chlorinator. Complete PSU for SPA bromine generator.
BASLER ELECTRIC COMPANY. Design review of new 300W PSU.
nVIEW CORPORATION. Complete low-cost LCD projector lamp SCR power supply.
STORED ENERGY SYSTEMS. Complete 3-phase PFC 7.5 kW, 48V telecom PSU modules.
MICRO LINEAR CORPORATION. Designed 5V, 500W PSU breadboard and application note using Micro-Linear, resonant-mode power supply control IC.
NEONIX. Complete electrical & mechanical design of high-frequency AC neon sign power supply.
ECHELON. Designed power interface circuit to connect standard PSUs to a digital transmission line.
INNOTECH DESIGN GROUP. Analysis and design support for plasma oven PSU.
UNIPHASE. Design & package of PSU for 3KW argon-ion laser.
PROLINX. Designed electronics for a high power PROM link fuse blower.
ILC CORPORATION. 300W xenon lamp PSU improvements.
FC INNOVATIONS. PSU design using 12V automotive input power.
PEARSON ELECTRONICS. Evaluation of competitors products involving possible trade secret litigation.
BRANDT ELECTRONICS. Protection circuits improvements on avionics PSU.
METRICOM. Failure analysis and fix on existing PSU. Designed watt-hour meter PSU.
RAYNET CORPORATION. PSU analysis & design support.
TRIMBLE NAVIGATION LIMITED. PSU analysis & design support.
APPLE COMPUTER. PSU magnetics design support.
SEMTECH CORPORATION. Design analysis for linear regulator used for CPU VRM.
MODUPOWER, INC. Designed DC/DC converter product family.
COMPUTER PRODUCTS INC. Design support for PSU EMC problem.
APPLIED INSTRUMENTS. Power supply output noise measurements.
CONNEX (Div. of Western Digital) Failure analysis & improvement of vendor PSU.
KEN SMALL 1969-1988 EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
1980-1988, COMPUTER PRODUCTS, INC / BOSCHERT, INC, Fremont, CA
(Manufacturer of switching power supplies)
Manager of Advanced Development 1986-1988
 | 600 watt, 1-MHz power supply (PSU). |
| Power factor corrector module. |
| Battery backup converter module. |
| Internal design support. |
Engineering Manager (high-power group) 1980-1986
| New products: concept through $5M/year sales. |
| 500-1500 watt single & multiple output, modular PSU family. |
1973-1980, TAB PRODUCTS CO. (Electronic Office Products Division) Palo Alto, CA
(Manufacturer of data entry products)
Engineering Manager 1977-1980
| 300 watt switcher PSU for data entry system. |
| 50 watt switcher PSU for terminal. |
| 600 watt UPS for data entry system. |
| Custom 22-hole cardpunch. (Modified 12-hole punch) |
| 1000 watt and 2000 watt UPS standard product. |
Engineering Project Manager 1973-1977
| CRT alpha-numeric controller. CRT vendor selection. |
| Punch-card reader with electronic servo for mechanical error correction. |
| Stepper motor system for card punch incrementer. |
| Solid-state relay with dynamic braking for small positioning motors. |
| Printer hammer drivers and solenoid drivers. |
| 400-watt linear/SCR PSU design for keypunch. Produced 5K units. |
| Line driver/receiver for daisy-chain terminal communication link, |
1972-1973, NUCLEAR SEMICONDUCTOR, Menlo Park, CA
(Manufacturer of x-ray spectrometers for elemental analysis)
Project Engineer
| Testing and tuning of cryogenic, silicon x-ray detectors with FET pre-amps. |
| Construction of custom spectrometers for scanning electron microscopes. |
1970-1972 CARTRIDGE TELEVISION, INC. San Jose, CA
(Manufacturer of first VCR and pre-recorded video tapes)
Electronic Engineer
| Designed audio duplication and audio Q.C. electronics for pre-recorded tapes. |
| Designed analog & logic controls for pre-recorded tape loading machine. |
| Designed electronics and performed tests on video head "wear-test" transport. |
1969-1970 ELECTRO-SOUND, INC. Sunnyvale, CA
(Manufacturer of audio magnetic tape duplicating equipment)
Electronic Engineer
| Designed record electronics for 240 in/sec audio tape duplicator, 500 kHz linear record amplifiers, and 2 MHz tape bias amplifier. |
| Designed low-noise playback electronics for recorded tape QA machine. |
| Designed controls for synchronous 35/70mm film soundtrack duplicator. |