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:
Apr. 05, 1994
Filed:
Jun. 26, 1992
Bruce J Tesch, Melbourne, FL (US);
Harris Corporation, Melbourne, FL (US);
Abstract
A bridge-configured precision voltage reference circuit includes a first voltage supply terminal, a second voltage supply terminal, first and second bridge nodes, and a bridge resistor connected between the first and second bridge nodes. A Zener diode is coupled between the first bridge node and the first voltage supply terminal, and a voltage divider circuit is coupled between the first voltage supply terminal and the second bridge node. An output voltage terminal is coupled to the voltage divider circuit, so that a precision output voltage is derived as a fraction of the voltage differential between the second bridge node and the potential of the first voltage supply terminal. A fixed magnitude current source is coupled between the first bridge node and the second voltage supply terminal, and an adjustable current source is coupled between the second voltage supply terminal and the second bridge node. The adjustable current source supplies a bias current to the voltage divider circuit, so as to establish a prescribed voltage drop thereacross and thereby establish a precision output voltage. A temperature-compensating current supply circuit is coupled to the first and second nodes. At a first calibration temperature, parameters of the temperature-compensating current supply circuit, the adjustable current source and the voltage divider circuit are set such that such that there is no current flow through the bridge resistor and the output voltage is at the desired value. At a second calibration temperature, the value of the bridge resistor is adjusted such that there is a voltage drop across the bridge resistor, so that the output voltage is maintained at its intended value.