Patent ID: 7636226

Claim:
A current protection circuit configured to provide current protection to a circuit node, comprising: a first bipolar transistor having emitter, collector, and base terminals, the emitter terminal of the first bipolar transistor coupled to the circuit node, the collector terminal of the first bipolar transistor coupled to a current source or sink; a second bipolar transistor having emitter, collector, and base terminals, the emitter terminal of the second bipolar transistor coupled to the base terminal of the first bipolar transistor, the collector terminal of the second bipolar transistor coupled to the current source or sink; and a diode coupled between the base terminal of the second bipolar transistor and the current source or sink, wherein the diode is a voltage dependent triggering element that is independent of the time rate of change of a voltage at a node formed by the base of the second transistor and a terminal of the diode.