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:
Dec. 22, 2009
Filed:
Dec. 06, 2006
Matthew A. Tyler, Kaysville, WA (US);
John J. Naughton, Idaho Falls, ID (US);
Matthew A. Tyler, Kaysville, WA (US);
John J. Naughton, Idaho Falls, ID (US);
Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC, Phoenix, AZ (US);
Abstract
A current protection circuit that uses a sequence of bipolar transistors to provide or draw current from a protected circuit node. An initial bipolar transistor has its emitter terminal coupled to the protected circuit node, with its collector terminal coupled to a current source or sink. One or more additional intermediary bipolar transistors are also provided in the sequence. Each additional intermediary bipolar transistor has its emitter terminal coupled to the base terminal of the previous bipolar transistor in the sequence, and has its collector terminal coupled to the current source or sink. To complete the sequence, a reverse-biased diode is coupled between the base terminal of the final intermediary bipolar transistor and the current source or sink. This allows for effective triggering of current protection for a protected circuit node without requiring a zener diode.