Voltage regulator employing a nonlinear impedance and negative temperature coefficient impedance to prevent leakage current

Claim 1

IN A VOLTAGE REGULATION CIRCUIT; A SOURCE OF UNREGULATED VOLTAGE DIRECT CURRENT; A LOAD CIRCUIT; A SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE HAVING A PRINCIPAL CURRENT PATH INCLUDING COLLECTOR AND EMITTER ELECTRODES AND A CONTROL CURRENT PATH INCLUDING SAID EMITTER ELECTRODE AND A CONTROL ELECTRODE; MEANS FOR CONNECTING SAID PRINCIPAL CURRENT PATH AND SAID LOAD CIRCUIT IN SERIES ACROSS SAID SOURCE; MEANS FOR SENSING VARIATIONS IN THE VOLTAGE APPLIED TO SAID LOAD CIRCUIT; MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID SENSING MEANS FOR APPLYING A CONTROL CURRENT TO SAID CONTROL CURRENT PATH AS A FUNCTION OF THE VOLTAGE APPLIED TO SAID LOAD CIRCUIT SO THAT THE IMPEDANCE OF SAID PRINCIPAL CURRENT PATH IS VARIED AS A FUNCTION OF THE LOAD CIRCUIT VOLTAGE; A NON-LINEAR IMPEDANCE VOLTAGE DROPPING MEANS CONNECTED IN SERIES WITH SAID PRINCIPAL CURRENT PATH BETWEEN SAID EMITTER AND SAID SOURCE FOR DEVELOPING A RELATIVELY CONSTANT BIASING POTENTIAL IN RESPONSE TO A PREDETERMINED RANGE OF LOAD CURRENTS FLOWING THERETHROUGH; AND NEGATIVE TEMPERATURE COEFFICICENT RESISTANCE MEANS CONNECTED ACROSS THE SERIES COMBINATION OF SAID CONTROL CURRENT PATH AND SAID VOLTAGE DROPPING MEANS FOR SHUNTING A GREATER PORTION OF SAID CONTROL CURRENT AROUND SAID SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE IN RESPONSE TO INCREASED AMBIENT TEMPERATURE AND VICE VERSA.