Patent · US Expired

Precision oscillator circuit having a controllable duty cycle and related methods

US5990753A · kind A · utility

33Cited by
18References
16Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 30, 1997
Grant dateNov 23, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 30, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH03K3/0231
  • WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A precision oscillator includes a capacitor, a charging current source, a discharging current source, a switch for alternatingly connecting the capacitor to the charging current source and the discharging current source, and a hysteretic comparator connected to the capacitor for producing an oscillating signal responsive to charging and discharging the capacitor. The oscillator may also preferably include a duty cycle controller connected to at least one of the charging current source and the discharging current source for setting the charging current and/or the discharging current to thereby set a duty cycle of the oscillating signal by setting a ratio of the charging and discharging currents. The charging current source may have a current setting input for permitting setting of a charging current to the capacitor, and the discharging current source may have a current setting input for permitting setting of a discharging current from the capacitor. The current setting inputs are connected to the duty cycle controller which, in one embodiment, may be provided by a processor and respective digital-to-analog converters.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.