Patent ID: 7372314

Claim:
A voltage level conversion circuit for converting an input signal having a logical voltage level corresponding to a first power supply voltage into an output signal having a logical voltage level corresponding to a second power supply voltage that is lower than the first power supply voltage, said voltage level conversion circuit being for use with a circuit that is to be driven by the second power supply voltage, said voltage level conversion circuit comprising: a first P channel MOS transistor, having the second power supply voltage as a breakdown voltage, and a first N channel MOS transistor, having the first power supply voltage as a breakdown voltage, connected in series between the second power supply voltage and a ground voltage; a second P channel MOS transistor, having the second power supply voltage as a breakdown voltage, and a second N channel MOS transistor having the first power supply voltage as a breakdown voltage, connected in series between the second power supply voltage and the ground voltage; a first connection node, between the first P channel MOS transistor and the first N channel MOS transistor, connected to a gate of the second P channel MOS transistor; and a second connection node, between the second P channel MOS transistor and the second N channel MOS transistor, connected to a gate of the first P channel MOS transistor; wherein said output signal is to be supplied via the second connection node to the circuit that is to be driven by the second power supply voltage; the driving abilities of the first P channel MOS transistor and the second P channel MOS transistor are smaller than the driving abilities of the first N channel MOS transistor and the second N channel MOS transistor; and the voltage level conversion circuit further comprising: a first resistor connected between the first P channel MOS transistor and the first connection node; and a second resistor connected between the second P channel MOS transistor and the second connection node.