Invention Grant
- Patent Title: Discharge circuit for voltage multipliers
- Patent Title (中): 放电电路用于电压倍增器
-
Application No.: US13222775Application Date: 2011-08-31
-
Publication No.: US08797092B2Publication Date: 2014-08-05
- Inventor: Guido De Sandre , Luca Bettini , Gianni Giacomi
- Applicant: Guido De Sandre , Luca Bettini , Gianni Giacomi
- Applicant Address: IT Agrate Brianza (MB)
- Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.
- Current Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.
- Current Assignee Address: IT Agrate Brianza (MB)
- Agency: Graybeal Jackson LLP
- Priority: ITMI2010A001588 20100831
- Main IPC: H03K3/01
- IPC: H03K3/01 ; G05F1/10

Abstract:
An embodiment of a discharge circuit for evacuating electric charge accumulated in circuit nodes of a charge pump during a discharge phase consequent to a shutdown of the charge pump is proposed. The charge pump is configured to bias each circuit node with a corresponding pump voltage during an operational phase of the charge pump. The discharge circuit includes a generator circuit configured to generate a discharge current during the discharge phase. The discharge circuit further includes means for evacuating the electric charge stored in each circuit node of the charge pump during a corresponding portion of the discharge phase; such means for evacuating include a respective discharge stage for each circuit node of the charge pump. Each discharge stage includes a first discharge circuit branch and a second discharge circuit branch coupled to the corresponding circuit node. The discharge stage is configured to cause the discharge current flowing through the first discharge circuit branch—during the portion of the discharge phase of the corresponding circuit node—when the pump voltage of the corresponding circuit node is higher than a respective threshold, and through the second discharge circuit branch when the pump voltage of the corresponding circuit node is lower than said respective threshold.
Public/Granted literature
- US20120075010A1 DISCHARGE CIRCUIT FOR VOLTAGE MULTIPLIERS Public/Granted day:2012-03-29
Information query