# US 7,466,167 B2 · Driver circuit for reducing the effects of disturbances on the duty cycle of a digital signal on a bus conductor > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 7,466,167 B2 - Document ID: US7466167B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 11/577,714 - Filed: 2005-10-17 - Published: 2008-04-10 - Granted: 2008-12-16 - Earliest claimed: 2004-10-20 - Assignees: NXP B.V. - Inventors: Ruurd A. Visser; Marcellinus W. M. Oosterhuis; Gerrit J. Bollen - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7466167B2 ## CPC - H04L 25/0288: {the shape being matched to the transmission line (pre-equalisation per se H04L25/03343)} - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) ## Abstract An electronic circuit contains a driver circuit (12) with an output coupled to a digital communication conductor (14), for driving changes of a potential at the digital communication conductor (14) to and from a digital signal level. The driver circuit (12) comprises a control circuit (120), to generate selection signals that select increasingly stronger drive strengths and increasingly weaker drive strengths during changes to and from the digital level respectively. A controllable current supply circuit (122, 124), has a current control input coupled to the control circuit (120) for receiving the selection signals and a current supply output coupled to the digital communtication conductor (14). A detector circuit (126) has an input coupled to the digital communtication conductor (14) and an output coupled to the control circuit (120), and arranged to detect whether a potential at the digital communication conductor (12) has reached a required range. The control circuit (120) stores information about the drive strength that was selected when the detector circuit (126) indicated that the range was reached during the change to the digital level, and during the change it restores the drive strength to the last stored drive strength as a first step during the change away from the digital level. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An electronic circuit comprising a digital communication conductor and a driver circuit with an output coupled to the digital communication conductor, for driving changes of a potential at the digital communication conductor to and from a digital signal level, the driver circuit comprising: a control circuit, arranged to generate selection signals that select increasingly stronger drive strengths and increasingly weaker drive strengths during changes to and from the digital level respectively; a controllable current supply circuit, with a current control input coupled to the control circuit for receiving the selection signals and a current supply output coupled to the digital communication conductor; a detector circuit with an input coupled to the digital communication conductor and an output coupled to the control circuit, and arranged to detect whether a potential at the digital communication conductor had reached a required range; wherein the control circuit is arranged to store information about the drive strength that was selected when the detector circuit indicated that the range was reached during the change to the digital level, and to select the stored drive strength as a first step during the change away from the digital level. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) An electronic circuit according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit is arranged to increase the selected drive strength to a predetermined value upon detection that the range was reached, and to return the selected drive strength from the predetermined value to the stored drive strength as the first step of the change away from the digital level. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) An electronic circuit according to claim 2, wherein the control circuit comprises a counter circuit, with a count output coupled to control how many of the driving elements are activated in parallel, the counter circuit being arranged to count up during switching to the digital level and down during switching away from the digital level, the control circuit disabling counting in response to detection that the range has been reached. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) An electronic circuit according to claim 3, wherein the control circuit comprises an overrule circuit arranged to activate a predetermined number of the driving elements, irrespective of a count reached by the counter, in response to detection that the range has been reached. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) An electronic circuit according to claim 1, wherein the adjustable current supply circuit comprises a plurality of driving elements of predetermined strength coupled in parallel to the digital communication conductor, the control circuit being arranged to control which of the driving elements will be active, said information being indicative of a count of number of driving elements that were active when the detector circuit indicated that the digital level had been detected. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) An electronic circuit according to claim 5, wherein the control circuit is arranged to activate an additional number of driving elements in response to detection that the range is reached, so that in total a predetermined number of driving elements is activated, and to deactivate said additional number of driving elements substantially simultaneously as said first step. ### Claim 7 An method of controlling transitions of a potential on a digital communication conductor to and from a digital level, the method comprising: progressively increasing a drive strength when the potential of the communication is changed to the digital level; detecting whether the potential has reached a predetermined range; storing information about a drive strength that was used when the predetermined range was reached; restoring the drive strength to the drive strength represented by the stored information at a start of a change away from the digital level. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) A method accord to claim 7, wherein the drive strength is stepped up to a predetermined level in response to detection that the potential has reached the predetermined range.