Miscellaneous active electrical nonlinear devices – circuits – and – Signal converting – shaping – or generating – Generating sawtooth or triangular output
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-17
2001-05-01
Nuton, My-Trang (Department: 2816)
Miscellaneous active electrical nonlinear devices, circuits, and
Signal converting, shaping, or generating
Generating sawtooth or triangular output
C327S530000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06225842
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a control device having a forced operation function by which an output circuit provided within the control device so as to operate in response to an output control signal generated within the control device is forcibly activated from the outside, and to a semiconductor integrated circuit device having such a control device.
BACKGROUND ART
A conventional control device having a forced operation function will be described with reference to FIG.
3
.
FIG. 3
is a circuit diagram showing, in particular, that portion of the control device which operates in response to an output control signal S
1
. The output control signal S
1
is, for example, an interruption signal as generated by a control circuit (not shown). The output control signal S
1
is fed through an OR circuit
1
to a number n of output circuits C
1
-Cn.
The output circuits C
1
-Cn are, for example, buffer circuits, delay circuits, or triangular wave generating circuits. There are provided as many output circuits C
1
-Cn as are required by a personal computer or the like that is connected to terminals T
1
-Tn so as to be controlled by the control device. In response to the output control signal S
1
, the output circuits C
1
-Cn generate signals, such as signals delayed by a predetermined length of time or triangular waves, and feed those signals out via the terminals T
1
-Tn.
To make testing of the operation of the output circuits C
1
-Cn possible, the control device is provided with a switch terminal T
0
. The switch terminal T
0
is connected to the non-inverting input terminal (+) of a comparator
2
. At its inverting input terminal (−), the comparator
2
receives a voltage higher by a predetermined voltage Vref than the ground level.
When a voltage higher than the voltage Vref is applied to the terminal T
0
, the comparator
2
outputs a high level and thereby generates a forced operation signal S
2
. The output control signal S
1
and the forced operation signal S
2
are fed to an OR circuit
1
, and therefore, as long as the OR circuit
1
is receiving at least one of those two signals, it outputs a high level. This makes it possible to operate the output circuits C
1
-Cn forcibly and thereby test their operation.
However, this conventional control device (
FIG. 3
) requires provision of an extra terminal, specifically the switch terminal T
0
. Moreover, to provide the switch terminal T
0
, it is inevitable to provide an extra wire pad (i.e. an electrode provided on a chip for connection with a wire). This leads to an increase in the chip size and thus in the manufacturing costs. For this reason, in ICs (integrated circuits) having a relatively few number of terminals, it is impossible to provide a switch terminal, and thus the control devices provided in such ICs cannot be operated forcibly.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a control device having a forced operation function that does not require provision of an additional terminal, and to provide a semiconductor integrated circuit device having such a control device.
To achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, a control device is provided with: an output circuit that operates in response to an output control signal generated within the control device; a terminal for feeding a signal from the output circuit to outside the control device; and signal detection means for producing a forced operation signal with which the output circuit is forcibly operated when a predetermined signal is fed from the outside to the terminal.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a semiconductor integrated circuit device is provided with: an OR circuit that receives an output control signal generated within the semiconductor integrated circuit device; an output circuit that operates in response to the output of the OR circuit; a terminal for feeding a signal from the output circuit to outside the semiconductor integrated circuit device; a comparator for comparing a signal fed from the outside to the terminal with a predetermined voltage; and means for feeding the output of the comparator to the OR circuit.
In the control device and the semiconductor integrated circuit device described above, for example, when a signal having a predetermined voltage is fed from the outside to the above-mentioned terminal, the signal detection means, which is realized by the use of a comparator or the like, detects the signal and generates a forced operation signal. The forced operation signal and the output control signal are fed, for example, to an OR circuit, and the output of the OR circuit is fed to an output circuit such as a buffer circuit. This makes it possible to operate the output circuit forcibly in response to the signal fed from the outside. Moreover, since it is not necessary to provide an additional terminal, there is no need to increase the chip size at extra costs.
The semiconductor integrated circuit device described above may be additionally provided with overcharge detection means for detecting overcharge of a battery, so that, when the voltage of the battery is higher than a overcharge voltage, the overcharge detection means feeds the output control signal to the OR circuit.
With this semiconductor integrated circuit device, it is possible to monitor the voltage of, for example, a lithium-ion battery, so that, when the voltage reaches an overcharge voltage, the overcharge detection means, which is realized by the use of a comparator or the like, outputs the output control signal. The output circuit is, for example, a delay circuit that, in response to the output control signal, generates a delayed signal to be used, for example, to inhibit the use of the battery. In a semiconductor integrated circuit device such as a power-source monitoring IC used to monitor the status of a battery for safety's sake, by making the IC generate an output control signal when the voltage of the battery reaches the overcharge voltage, it is possible, for example by the use of an unresponsive circuit, to feed a personal computer or the like with a signal that determines the timing with which the personal computer or the like is turned off sequentially.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5528125 (1996-06-01), Marshall et al.
patent: 5666066 (1997-09-01), Jo
patent: 5982209 (1999-11-01), Magazzu′ et al.
patent: 58-207648 (1983-12-01), None
patent: 3-137581 (1991-06-01), None
patent: 7-241040 (1995-09-01), None
Fujita Hiroyuki
Inoue Koichi
Arent Fox Kintner & Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC
Nuton My-Trang
Rohm & Co., Ltd.
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