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:
Jan. 29, 2013
Filed:
Jan. 23, 2009
Andreas Baier, Steinbach am Wald, DE;
Ralf Förster, Regensburg, DE;
Christoph Haggenmiller, Regensburg, DE;
Gunther Wolfarth, Regensburg-Harting, DE;
Sami Zaki, Regensburg, DE;
Andreas Baier, Steinbach am Wald, DE;
Ralf Förster, Regensburg, DE;
Christoph Haggenmiller, Regensburg, DE;
Gunther Wolfarth, Regensburg-Harting, DE;
Sami Zaki, Regensburg, DE;
Continental Automotive GmbH, Hannover, DE;
Abstract
A circuit for controlling an inductive load, e.g. of a fuel injection valve, includes supply terminals for supplying a voltage, output terminals for connecting the load, and a detection device which is connected to at least one of the output terminals and is used for detecting the point in time at which the operation of the load is discontinued and/or detecting at least one fault case during a non-operational phase of the load. In order to render the detection process more reliable while using less circuitry, the detection device encompasses a current mirror with a first current source and a second current source. The current first is connected to one of the two output terminals during a detection phase. The current supplied by the second current source is evaluated as a signal of the detected result.