Voltage regulator including a nonlinear mixing network to limit the power dissipation of a continuously conducting series regulating transistor

Claim 1

A REGULATED POWER SUPPLY HAVING AN INPUT FOR RECEIVING AN UNREGULATED VOLTAGE AND AN OUTPUT FOR DELIVERING REGULATED VOLTAGE, ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS FROM SAID INPUT TO SAID OUTPUT, A REGULATING TRNSISTOR HAVING BASE, COLLECTOR AND EMITTER ELECTRODES, A CONTROLLED CONDUCTING PATH COMPRISING TWO OF SAID ELECTRODES INCLUDES IN SERIES IN SAID CONNECTIONS AND A CONTROL CIRCUIT INCLUDING THE THIRD OF SAID ELECTRODES, OUTPUT VOLTAGE REGULATING MEANS RESPONSIVE TO VARIATIONS OF THE OUTPUT VOLTAGE FROM A PREDETERMINED VALUE FOR SUPPLYING A CONTROL CURRENT TO SAID CONTROL CIRCUIT TO MAINTAIN SAID OUTPUT VOLTAGE SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT, AND MEANS FOR LIMITING POWER DISSIPATION IN SIAD TRANSISTOR TO A CRITICAL VALUE HAVING A GENERALLY LINEAR CHARCTERISTIC IN THE RELATIVELY LOW VALVE REGION OF TRANSISTOR CURRENT AND A GENERALLY CONSTANT WATT CHARACTERISTIC IN THE ADJACENT RELATIVELY HIGHER VALUE REGION THEREOF, SAID POWER DISSIPATION LIMITING MEANS COMPRISING MEANS FOR DERIVING ELECTRICAL QUANTITIES REPRESENTATIVE OF CURRENT