Battery drain reducer
AssigneeThreepenny Electronics Corporation
InventorWilliam A. Johnson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A current drain reducer for an electronic circuit system such as an electronic amplifier operated through controlling selected circuit branches therein in response to sensing a selected position of a potentiometer used therein. Such circuit branches each has a control conductivity device located therein which has a control therefore connected to a shutdown signal generator which can be a power supply. The potentiometer can have its low terminals in one such circuit branch which may be in a first electronic amplifier circuit and its wiper connected to another such circuit branch which may be in a second electronic amplifier. A sensing circuit for sensing the position of the wiper provides an output signal to the shutdown signal generator.
Claims16
A current drain reducer for reducing current drain in selected electronic circuit systems, said current drain reducer comprising:
- a controlled current path system in a said electronic circuit system having first and second power supply connection regions and at least one operation direction region between selected pairs of which a plurality of electrical circuit branches are electrically connected such that selected ones of said electrical circuit branches electrically connected between said first and second power supply regions each include a corresponding one of a plurality of controlled conductivity means electrically connected in series therein at first and second terminating regions thereof, said plurality of controlled conductivity means each having a control region therein by which it is capable of being directed, through electrical energization thereof, to effectively provide a conductive path of a selected conductivity between its said first and second terminating regions, said plurality of controlled conductivity means each having its control region electrically coupled to a said operation direction region at which a shutdown signal can be provided directing such controlled conductivity means to provide occurrences of relatively low conductivity, and to alternatively provide occurrences of relatively high conductivity, between said first and second terminating regions thereof, said plurality of electrical circuit branches having at least one thereof with a potentiometer means electrically connected in series therewith at end terminals thereof, said potentiometer means effectively having a wiper variably electrically contacting a resistor means electrically connected between said end terminals thereof and having said wiper electrically connected to another of said electrical circuit branches;
- a wiper position sensing means having an input electrically connected to said wiper and having an output, said wiper position sensing means being capable of sensing said wiper taking a position sufficiently close to one of said end terminals and of providing an output signal at said output thereof having indicators therein of such occurrences;
- and
- a non-mechanical switched shutdown generation means having an input electrically connected to said wiper position sensing means output and having a corresponding output for each said operation direction region with there being an electrical interconnection therebetween, said shutdown signal generation means being capable of receiving said wiper position sensing means output signal and of providing said shutdown signal in correspondence therewith.
A current drain reducer for reducing current drain in an electronic amplifier system, said current drain reducer comprising:
- a plurality of electronic amplifiers each having an input and an output and electrically connected input of one to output of another in a cascade, said plurality of electronic amplifiers having at least some circuits therein through which magnitudes of electrical current flow depend on magnitudes of externally supplied electrical currents to externally controlled transistors therein, there being a potentiometer means with end terminals and a wiper terminal such that at least one of said end terminals and said wiper terminal are electrically connected to selected ones of said amplifiers;
- a wiper position sensing means having an input electrically connected to said wiper terminal and having an output, said wiper position sensing means being capable of sensing said wiper effectively being selected to take a position sufficiently close to one of said potentiometer end terminals and of providing an output signal at said output thereof having indicators therein of such occurrences;
- and
- a controllable voltage regulator means suited for electrical connection to a source of electrical power and capable of providing voltages of selected values at output thereof which can be reduced in magnitude in response to signals provided at a control input thereof which is electrically connected to said wiper position sensing means output, said electronic amplifiers being electrically connected to one or more of said voltage regulator means outputs to be supplied electrical currents for operating said amplifiers including supplying electrical currents to said externally controlled transistors, said voltage regulator means being capable of receiving said wiper position sensing means output signal at said control input thereof and changing voltages at one or more outputs thereof to thereby change current flowing through said externally controlled transistors in said electronic amplifiers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.