Microcontroller with on-chip linear temperature sensor
US5619430A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 10, 1995 |
| Grant date | Apr 8, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 10, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH02J7/00047
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A microcontroller for use in battery charging and monitoring applications is disclosed. The microcontroller includes a microprocessor and various front-end analog circuitry including a slope A/D converter and a multiplexer for allowing a plurality of analog input signals to be converted to corresponding digital counts indicative of signal level. The microcontroller further includes an on-chip temperature sensor, used in conjunction with the A/D converter, to monitor the temperature of the microcontroller. The temperature sensor generates and uses a differential voltage that is obtained across the base-emitter functions of two compatible bipolar transistors having dissimilar emitter areas. This differential voltage is proportional to temperature and may be sampled by the A/D converter to obtain a digital count indicative of the temperature of the microcontroller.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.