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:
Feb. 27, 1996
Filed:
Oct. 19, 1994
Kenneth E Wojciechowski, Folsom, CA (US);
Mase J Taub, Elk Grove, CA (US);
Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
A voltage detector circuit for detecting when an input voltage exceeds a trip-point voltage. The voltage detector circuit includes a nonvolatile memory cell having a select gate coupled to the input voltage, a drain coupled to a first node, a source coupled to system ground, and a floating gate. The nonvolatile memory cell is used primarily as a pull-down transistor, and the threshold voltage of nonvolatile memory is programmed to be the trip-point voltage such that the first node is set to system ground if the input voltage exceeds the trip-point voltage. The voltage detector circuit also includes a first transistor having a control electrode coupled to a biasing voltage, a first terminal coupled to the first node, and a second terminal coupled to a supply voltage. The control electrode is operative to couple the first terminal to the second terminal in response to the biasing voltage. The first transistor sets the first node to the input voltage if the input voltage is less than the trip-point voltage. The voltage detector further includes an output circuit coupled to the first node. The output circuit is operative to indicate whether the input voltage exceeds the trip-point voltage in response to the voltage of the first node.