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US 6,333,604 B1Granted
Integrated ignition circuit and method
AssigneeSemiconductor Components Industries, LLC
InventorStephen P. Robb
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An integrated circuit (10) for driving an ignition coil (14) has a first transistor (30) providing a coil current (ICOIL) at a first lead (22) of the integrated circuit. A second transistor (32) has a collector coupled to the first lead and an emitter coupled to a gate electrode of the first transistor. A gate electrode of the second transistor is coupled to a second lead (23) of the integrated circuit for receiving a control signal (VENABLE).
Claims19
An integrated ignition circuit, comprising:
- a first transistor coupled to a first lead of the integrated ignition circuit for supplying a coil current in response to an ignition signal;
- and
- a second transistor having an emitter coupled to a gate electrode of the first transistor, and a gate electrode coupled to a second lead of the integrated ignition circuit for receiving a control signal, wherein the second transistor is formed in a p-well biased to ground potential.
An integrated circuit, comprising:
- a first transistor having a conduction path coupled to a first lead of the integrated circuit and a gate for controlling a coil current;
- a second transistor formed in a p-well of the integrated circuit and having a collector coupled to the first lead, an emitter coupled to the gate of the first transistor, and a gate coupled to a second lead of the integrated circuit for receiving an enabling signal;
- and
- an integrated circuit package for housing the first and second transistors.
1 more element
A method of driving a coil, comprising the steps of:
- applying a first control signal to a first transistor to produce a charging current through the coil;
- developing a sense current indicative of a coil voltage to produce an enabling signal when the coil voltage exceeds a defined level;
- and
- activating a second transistor with a second control signal to route the enabling signal to the first transistor for discharging the coil.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.