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:
May. 08, 2001
Filed:
Jan. 29, 1999
Applicant:
Inventors:
David B. Bell, Los Altos, CA (US);
Samuel H. Nork, Andover, MA (US);
Assignee:
Linear Technology Corporation, Milpitas, CA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H01L 2/500 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
H01L 2/500 ;
Abstract
The present invention enables a pin on an integrated circuit to provide multiple duties. The internal circuit coupled to the selected pin is placed into a high impedance or sampling state based on a recurring signal so that the terminal pin can be sampled. The sampled signal is used to control the operation of the circuit, such as turning off the internal clock to place the circuit in shutdown mode. In that specific example, the integrated circuit exits shutdown mode when the sampled signal changes.