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:
Nov. 11, 2008
Filed:
May. 15, 2006
Viola Schaffer, Erlangen, DE;
Rodney T. Burt, Tucson, AZ (US);
Jürgen Metzger, Pliezhausen, DE;
Texas Instruments Deutschland GmbH, Freising, DE;
Abstract
An integrated voltage controlled current source device is provided, that extends the high accuracy, low drift output current over a large current range, and provides more headroom and better power efficiency than the standard shunt resistor and INA (instrumentation amplifier) current source arrangement. The device has a control voltage input, a load current output and a current set terminal for a connection of a current set resistor. It contains a selected leg biasing set voltage, corresponding to a control voltage applied to the control voltage input of a regulating driver amplifier providing a regulated voltage to be applied across the current set resistor, thereby causing a reference current to flow through the current set resistor and selected leg(s) of a current mirror. Furthermore, the device contains a dynamically matched current mirror that mirrors the reference current to the load output current. The algorithm for selecting the current mirror legs may be a pseudo-random or a defined pattern.