Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm William H. Kempler
  • Patent number: 6577173
    Abstract: The objective of the invention is to provide an inductive load driving circuit that can prevent occurrence of surge voltage. Output transistor 5 and auxiliary transistor 6 are connected in parallel with each other. When output transistor 5 is turned off, auxiliary transistor 6 is kept on. The energy remaining in inductive load 26 is consumed with current flowing to auxiliary transistor 6. When the output transistor is turned off after the current flowing to output transistor 5 has attenuated, since the counterelectromotive force occurring in inductive load 26 is small, the counterelectromotive power can be clamped by the threshold voltage of auxiliary transistor 6.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2003
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Katsuya Ikezawa