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:
Sep. 11, 2001
Filed:
Aug. 17, 1999
John A. Melvin, Westerville, OH (US);
James D. Sullivan, Westerville, OH (US);
Other;
Abstract
A voltage regulator protecting both the regulator and the electrical system. A flyback diode is protected by an autoprotected MOSFET in series with the flyback diode and controlling it by a drive circuit connected to the vehicle ignition switch. Protection against overcurrent is provided by a resettable fuse, having a thermal protection circuit, in series with the power switch. A relay is in series with the resettable fuse. The controlled switch is controlled by the output of a voltage detector. A latching circuit holds it open as long as the circuit remains connected to the battery. Overvoltage protection is provided by a voltage detector which opens the relay if the battery voltage exceeds a pre-selected voltage. To accommodate lead-acid and maintenance-free batteries, the regulator has two input ignition terminals one of which controls the set point voltage. The resettable fuse is physically mounted in thermal connection to the power switch which switches the field.