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:
Aug. 25, 1998
Filed:
Jun. 20, 1996
Applicant:
Inventor:
Jean Nicolai, Chateauneuf le Rouge, FR;
Assignee:
SGS-Thomson Microelectronics S.A., Gentilly, FR;
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G05F / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
364483 ; 324609 ;
Abstract
This device determines a quantity corresponding to a linear function of a voltage to be detected, and includes a circuit for charging with a determined time constant a capacitor, and a microcontroller. The microcontroller compares the voltage across the capacitor to a predetermined threshold and then resets the voltage across the capacitor. A counter counts the time duration between the end of a capacitor reset and the time when it reaches the predetermined threshold and calculates the inverse of said duration. This data can then be used to signal the end of a process, such as the proper charging of rechargeable batteries.