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:
Jun. 18, 2002
Filed:
Apr. 03, 2001
Robert Callaghan Taft, Munich, DE;
Chris William Papalias, Redwood City, CA (US);
National Semiconductor Corporation, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
An electronic circuit generates additional clock edges from a reference clock signal utilizing switch-capacitor techniques. The electronic circuit includes a first capacitance circuit and a second capacitance circuit separated by a switch. During a first time period, the switch is open and the first capacitance circuit is charged. During a second time period, the switch is closed and at least a portion of the charge stored in the first capacitance circuit is transferred to the second capacitance circuit. The amount of charge transferred depends upon the relative sizes of the capacitance circuits. During another time period, the second capacitance circuit is discharged until its associated potential reaches a threshold level corresponding to a threshold set by a level detector. Upon reaching the threshold level, the level detector outputs a logic signal. A high frequency clock signal is produced by combining the logic signal with the reference clock signal.