Patents by Inventor Dan Lee Todd

Dan Lee Todd has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5844440
    Abstract: A circuit for limiting the current flow in a "pluggable" circuit during start-up or circuit fault conditions employs a MOSFET in conjunction with a feedback system, wherein a source terminal of the MOSFET is connected to a power supply bus and a drain terminal of the MOSFET is connected to the circuit to be current limited, respectively. A gate terminal of the MOSFET is controlled by a pair of op amps, wherein the first op amp amplifies the voltage across a current sensing resistor between the MOSFET and the circuit and outputs this pre-amplified voltage into the second op amp, and the second op amp amplifies the difference between this pre-amplified voltage and a first reference voltage. The output of the second op amp is connected to the gate terminal of the MOSFET, thereby varying the voltage at the gate terminal, as the output of the second op amp varies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 1, 1998
    Assignee: Ericsson, Inc.
    Inventors: Ronald J. Lenk, Dan Lee Todd