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. 16, 2003
Filed:
Dec. 03, 2001
Nick M. Johnson, Los Altos, CA (US);
National Semiconductor Corp., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
The present invention relates to a method for over-current protection of an amplifier circuit, which comprises driving an electronic load with the output of the amplifier circuit and sensing for a fault condition in the load, such as a short or over-current condition. The amplifier is switched off in response to the fault condition and can stay off for a specified time delay and the amplifier is then switched on. The fault condition is tested for again and, if cured, the amplifier can remain on until a new fault condition is detected. If the fault condition remains, testing and switching the amplifier on and off over very short time periods results in an effectively limited current in the load.