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:
Oct. 26, 1999
Filed:
Oct. 01, 1997
Jeffrey B Van Auken, Littleton, MA (US);
Sipex Corporation, Billerica, MA (US);
Abstract
A power sensor circuit including an input terminal, a switch, a nonlinear voltage drop element, and a switching unit, wherein the switching unit provides an output voltage. In response to a voltage difference between a first reference voltage and a second reference voltage, the power sensor circuit outputs a voltage that varies between two states. In one embodiment, the first state is substantially equal to the second reference voltage and the second state is substantially equal to ground. In another embodiment, the power sensor circuit is composed of four metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) that compare a first reference voltage with a second reference voltage and determine whether the second reference voltage exceeds the first reference voltage by a predetermined voltage. If so, then the second reference voltage is produced at the output terminal of the power sensor circuit. Conversely, if the second reference voltage does not exceed the first reference voltage by the same predetermined level, then the output terminal is substantially at ground. The invention also relates to a method for generating a power sensing circuit.