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. 13, 2001
Filed:
Oct. 22, 1998
Shukri Souri, Fremont, CA (US);
Chris McCoy, Foster City, CA (US);
Hugh Duffy, Cupertino, CA (US);
Adrian I. Cogan, San Carlos, CA (US);
Ram G. Bommakanti, Union City, CA (US);
Other;
Abstract
The present invention provides a two-terminal, transistor-PTC, circuit protection device that has a reduced size and weight and is particularly suitable for use, for example, in portable electronic devices and high density electronic circuits. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a circuit protection device comprises a positive coefficient temperature (PTC) element and a bipolar transistor having base, collector, and emitter terminals. The PTC element is connected between the base and collector terminals of the transistor. The PTC element may be thermally coupled to the transistor and packaged with the transistor as a hybrid device. An electrical load may be connected to the collector terminal of the transistor. According to another embodiment of the present invention, a circuit protection device comprises a PTC element and a Darlington circuit having base, collector and emitter terminals. The PTC element is connected between the base and collector terminals of the Darlington circuit. The PTC element may be thermally coupled to the Darlington circuit and packaged with the Darlington circuit as a hybrid device. An electrical load may be connected to the collector terminal of the Darlington circuit. The Darlington circuit may also be a complementary Darlington circuit.