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. 11, 2000
Filed:
Oct. 14, 1997
James Lutley, Portswood, GB;
Sandeep Pant, Basingstoke, GB;
Cypress Semiconductor Corp., San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
The invention relates to a voltage reference source used to control an overvoltage tolerant input/output buffer for a mixed voltage bus system. The voltage source comprises a voltage tracking circuit having a first input receiving a variable voltage, and a second input receiving a reference voltage, the voltage tracking circuit being adapted to generate an output voltage in response to the difference between the variable voltage and the reference voltage, wherein where the variable voltage is less than the reference voltage, the output voltage is held at substantially zero volts. When the variable voltage exceeds the reference voltage, the output tracks the voltage at the variable voltage input.