High Voltage Power Switches Using Low Voltage Transistors
First Claim
1. A switching regulator having an input voltage and comprising:
- a first power switch comprising;
at least two transistors connected in series, the transistors having at least a first nodes at the point where two of the transistors are connected; and
at least a first control circuit for setting the voltage at the first node to a first intermediate voltage when the first power switch is turned off; and
a second power switch comprising;
at least two transistors connected in series, and the transistors having at least a second node at the point where two of the transistors are connected; and
at least a second control circuit for setting the voltage at the second node to a second intermediate voltage when the second power switch is turned off.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A switching regulator having first and second power switches. The first power switch has at least two transistors connected in series, the transistors having a first maximum voltage across their terminals which is less than the input voltage of the regulator. The transistors have at least a first node at the point where they are connected, and a first control circuit controls the voltage at the first node so that the voltages across the terminals of the transistors of the first power switch do not exceed the first maximum voltage. The second power switch also has at least two transistors connected in series, the transistors having a maximum voltage across their terminals that is less than the input voltage. The transistors have at least a second node at the point where they are connected, and a second control circuit controls the voltage at the second node so that the voltages across the terminals of the transistors of the second power switch do not exceed the second maximum voltage.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A switching regulator having an input voltage and comprising:
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a first power switch comprising; at least two transistors connected in series, the transistors having at least a first nodes at the point where two of the transistors are connected; and at least a first control circuit for setting the voltage at the first node to a first intermediate voltage when the first power switch is turned off; and a second power switch comprising; at least two transistors connected in series, and the transistors having at least a second node at the point where two of the transistors are connected; and at least a second control circuit for setting the voltage at the second node to a second intermediate voltage when the second power switch is turned off. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for operating a switching regulator having an input voltage, the switching regulator comprising first and second power switches each comprising at least two transistors connected in series, the transistors having a maximum permitted voltage across their terminals which is less than the input voltage, the transistors in the first power switch having a first node at the point where two of the transistors are connected, and the transistors in the second power switch having a second node at the point where two of the transistors are connected,
the method comprising the steps of: -
setting the voltage at the first node to a first intermediate voltage when the first power switch is turned off, so that the voltages across the terminals of the transistors of the first power switch do not exceed the maximum permitted voltage; and setting the voltage at the second node to a second intermediate voltage when the second power switch is turned off, so that the voltages across the terminals of the transistors of the second power switch do not exceed the maximum permitted voltage. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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Specification