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. 08, 1998
Filed:
Dec. 26, 1996
Joseph James Cahill, Rochester, MN (US);
Robert Russell Williams, Rochester, MN (US);
Daniel Guy Young, Rochester, MN (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
The present invention is a driver circuit for interfacing electronic components which have different supply voltages. The driver circuit includes a source terminal for receiving a source voltage, an output terminal connected to an off-chip electronic component, and a pull up circuit disposed between the source and output terminals for providing a field effect controlled current path between the source terminal and the output terminal. The pull up circuit includes a first transistor in series with a second transistor, the second transistor providing overvoltage stress relief for the first transistor.