Patent ID: 8339181

Claim:
A low-side driver circuit, comprising: a low-side driver integrated circuit including a high-side terminal, a low-side terminal, and a control terminal, the control terminal adapted to receive an on-off command input signal, the low-side driver integrated circuit configured, upon receipt of the on-off command input signal, to selectively operate in an ON mode, in which current may flow from the high-side terminal to the low-side terminal may occur, and an OFF mode, in which current flow from the high-side terminal to the low-side terminal is at least substantially prevented; and a controllable switch connected between the low-side terminal and circuit common, the controllable switch adapted to receive the on-off command signal and configured, in response thereto, to selectively operate in a CLOSED mode, in which the low-side terminal is electrically connected to circuit common, and an OPEN mode, in which the low-side terminal is electrically isolated from circuit common, the controllable switch comprising a metal-oxide field effect transistor (MOSFET) having a source terminal, a gate terminal, and a drain terminal, the drain terminal connected to the low-side terminal, the gate terminal adapted to receive the on-off command input signal, the source terminal connected to circuit common; and a resistor connected between the drain terminal and the control terminal, wherein the low-side driver integrated circuit and the controllable switch are configured to simultaneously operate in the ON mode and the CLOSED mode, respectively, and in the OFF mode and the OPEN mode, respectively.