Site News  |   Monitor Keywords  |   Monitor Archive  |   Organizer  |   Account Info  |

Integrated multi-function analog circuit including voltage, current, and temperature monitor and gate-driver circuit blocks

Integrated multi-function analog circuit including voltage, current, and temperature monitor and gate-driver circuit blocks description/claims

This application is a Continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/562,049, filed Nov. 21, 2006, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/016,699, filed Dec. 17, 2004, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,138,824, which is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/843,701, filed May 10, 2004, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,170,315, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth herein.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to integrated circuits. More particularly, the present invention relates to an integrated circuit device including a multi-function analog circuit that contains voltage, current, and temperature monitor blocks and a gate-driver circuit block.

2. Background

Integrated circuits that perform both analog and digital functions are known in the art. Recent developments include system-on-a-chip integrated circuits that include programmable logic that may be programmably coupled to one or more analog circuits disposed on the same integrated circuit, multichip module or flip-chip assembly.

Traditionally, FPGAs and other programmable logic devices (PLDs) have been limited to providing digital logic functions programmable by a user. Recently, however, FPGA manufacturers have experimented with adding application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) blocks onto their devices (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,150,837). Such ASIC blocks have included analog circuits (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,821,776). In addition, ASIC manufacturers have embedded programmable logic blocks in their devices to add programmable functionality to otherwise hardwired devices (See, e.g., devices offered (or formerly offered) by Triscend Corporation, Adaptive Silicon Inc., and Chameleon Systems.

An integrated multi-function analog circuit includes at least one MOSFET gate-drive circuit coupled to a first I/O pad. At least one voltage-sensing circuit is coupled to a second I/O pad. At least one current-sensing circuit is coupled to the second I/O pad and a third I/O pad. At least one temperature-sensing circuit is coupled to a fourth I/O pad.

According to one aspect of the invention, at least one of the first through fourth I/O pads may be used to provide a digital input to the integrated circuit. According to another aspect of the invention, the gate-drive circuit is configured to drive either p-channel or n-channel external transistors. According to another aspect of the invention, the gate-drive circuit is also configured to provide a switched ground for driving an external load. According to another aspect of the invention, a scaling circuit may be provided between at least one of the second third and fourth I/O pads and the sensing circuits to which they are connected. According to another aspect of the invention, the outputs of the sensing circuits according to the present invention may be input to an analog-to-digital converter to produce a digital output to be used by digital circuitry on the integrated circuit.

A better understanding of the features and advantages of the present invention will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description of the invention and accompanying drawings, which set forth an illustrative embodiment in which the principles of the invention are utilized.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an illustrative integrated circuit employing the integrated multi-function analog circuit of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one illustrative embodiment of an integrated multi-function analog circuit according to one aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a pre-scaler circuit that can scale external voltages by one of eight factors.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an illustrative configuration for the amplifier in the current-sensing circuit of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an illustrative temperature sensing circuit that may be usefully employed in the multi-function analog circuit of FIG. 1.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

• What Is a Patent?
• What Is a Trademark or Servicemark?
• What Is a Copyright?
• Patent Laws