Low voltage current monitoring circuit
US6992523B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 27, 2004 |
| Grant date | Jan 31, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 13, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG05F3/242
- WIPO fieldControl
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A current monitor (360) having a high performance, simple, and cost effective design that is independent of process, temperature and voltage is disclosed herein. The current monitor (360) includes a sensing transistor (340) that couples to the main transistor (312) of an adjoining voltage regulator. Specifically, the control and source nodes of each transistor couple to each other, respectively. The size of the main transistor (312) is a predetermined multiple integer n of the size of the sensing transistor. A first resistor (RS3) couples between a supply voltage and the drain node of the main transistor (312). A second resistor (RS1) couples between a supply voltage and the drain node of the sensing transistor (340), wherein the size of the second resistor (RS1) is equal to the size of the first resistor (RS3) multiplied by the predetermined multiple integer n. An inverting input of an amplifier (342) couples to the drain node of the sensing transistor (340), while a third resistor (RS2) connects between the supply voltage and a non-inverting input of the amplifier (342). The amplifier (342) drives a transistor (344) within a closed feedback loop to equalize the value of the volta…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.