Patent ID: 8488288

Claim:
A protection circuit comprising: an input node configured to receive an input signal; an output node configured to couple to a system; a control circuit configured to operate according to a specified trip-point voltage corresponding to a specified threshold voltage, wherein the specified trip point voltage is selectable independently of the input signal from among at least a first and a second different trip-point voltage respectively corresponding to a first and a second different threshold voltage; and a first switching element configured to couple/decouple the input node to/from the output node; wherein the control circuit is configured to control the first switching element to decouple the input node from the output node when a control voltage exceeds the specified trip-point voltage as a result of the level of the input signal exceeding the specified threshold voltage, to prevent the input signal from propagating from the input node to the output node wherein the control circuit is configured to automatically select the specified trip-point voltage in response to a specific operating voltage range being selected for the system.