Patent ID: 7804436

Claim:
A current measuring system for producing a digital representation of an electrical current from an electrical component configured to provide an electrical current representative of a parameter of interest at an output node, said system comprising; an analog to digital converter having a current input node for electrical communication with said output node of said electrical component; wherein said analog to digital converter comprises a differential current comparator that is configured to compare said electrical current from said current input node with one or more reference currents to produce a digital representation of said electrical current; and wherein said differential current comparator comprises a separate current comparator circuit for comparing each said reference current to said electrical current from said current input node, each said current comparator circuit comprising a pair of cross-coupled metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) inverters such that a source of an nMOS transistor in each said inverter is electrically coupled to a respective current mirror, a first of said current mirrors being configured to mirror said electrical current from said current input node and a second of said current mirrors being configured to mirror said reference current corresponding to said comparator circuit.