Hughes Aircraft Company

James M Hamilton

Craig L Carrison

Arthur J Porter

Bruce S Eisenhart

Ronald Brent Burbank

James R Hall

A charge coupled device multiplexed parallel channel storage array useful with a serial input register having a storage density unconstrained by the serial register and effective for storing analog information. The same serial register cell reads charge packets sequentially to successive parallel channels by means of a single multiplexer electrode overlying the entrances to the parallel channels in a staircase configuration to which the entrances themselves conform.

Charge coupled device staircase electrode multiplexer

Charge packet refreshment in a charge transfer device is performed by comparing an input charge packet to be refreshed with a reference level to form a corresponding signal and reference potential barrier and by ejecting charge from beneath a ramp electrode between said signal and reference potential barriers over the lesser of the two barriers. The area of the ramp electrode may be sufficiently large to generate refreshed charge packet of amplified size to spill over one of the two potential barriers in reponse to an input charge packet.

Charge coupled device charge comparator refresher

Charge refreshment in a charge transfer device is accomplished by a charge comparator in which charge is ejected over the lower one of two potential barriers, one of the potential barriers having a height controlled by input charge packets to be refreshed, the other potential barrier establishing a reference level for the comparison. The device includes a bistable latch to increase the comparison speed, the feedback nodes of the latch being isolated from the output nodes of the charge refresher comparator so that substantially none of the output charge is diverted to furnish feedback for the latch.

Charge comparator output driver

A circuit for driving capacitive loads which utilizes the temporary storage characteristics of an inductor in a resonant LC configuration to force current to flow from a low potential location to a high potential location at selected switching times. The circuit is controlled by an externally activated switching network in series with the inductor and capacitive load which network comprises two unidirectional conducting branches oriented to allow current flow in opposite directions through the respective branches. By appropriately opening and closing switches in the two branches, the switching network can regulate the flow of current through the inductor to either charge or discharge the capacitive load without the necessity of dissipating energy when the capacitive load is either charged or discharged. Components are also included for replacing the inherent power losses of the circuit.

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Hawthorne, CA, United States of America

James M Hamilton