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:
Aug. 21, 2001
Filed:
Dec. 16, 1999
Luan Vu, San Jose, CA (US);
National Semiconductor Corporation, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
A band-gap filter circuit is disclosed for use in a voltage regulator. A capacitor charger (or “cap charger”) circuit quickly charges a filter capacitor when power is applied to the voltage regulator circuit. At start-up, the cap charger begins charging the filter capacitor. Once an output node equals or nearly equals the voltage at the input node, the cap charger shuts off. The circuit provides a very fast turn-on time, reaching 95% of its steady state value within 200 microseconds, thus overcoming the long turn-on times associated with other designs. The present invention may be utilized in power sensitive applications, such as cellular telephones, that wish to shut off the voltage regulator in order to conserve power.