The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 12, 1978
Filed:
Jul. 19, 1976
Larry J Kendall, San Jose, CA (US);
Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation, Mountain View, CA (US);
Abstract
A circuit for sensing the polarity of a net input current at a current summing node. The circuit has low impedance differential voltage outputs, accepts large input current overloads, has fast recovery, low input impedence, wide bandwidth and high sensitivity. The circuit is particularly well suited for improving the performance of analog-to-digital converters of the type which match, through successive trials at a summing node, the output of a digital-to-analog converter with an unknown input signal. The invention replaces a voltage comparator conventionally connected at such a summing node and allows such improved converters to be clocked faster. Higher speed operation is possible because the effect of the capacitance at the output of the digital-to-analog converter is reduced thereby shortening the voltage settling time at the summing node.