Transistorized voltage regulator

Claim 1

IN A VOLTAGE REGULATOR CIRCUIT FOR THE COMBINATION OF: (A) A PAIR OF INPUT TERMINALS FOR THE RECEPTION OF AN UNREGULATED UNIDIRECTIONAL SUPPLY VOLTAGE, (B) A PAIR OF OUTPUT TERMINALS FOR THE SUPPLY OF A REGULATED VOLTAGE TO A LOAD, (C) A TRANSISTOR HAVING AN EMITTER, A BASE AND A COLLECTOR, (D) CIRCUIT MEANS PROVIDING CONNECTIONS RESPECTIVELY BETWEEN ONE OF SAID INPUT TERMINALS AND THE COLLECTOR OF THE TRANSISTOR, BETWEEN THE EMITTER OF THE TRANSISTOR AND ONE OF SAID OUTPUT TERMINALS AND BETWEEN THE OTHER ONES OF SAID TWO PAIRS OF TERMINALS, (E) A BY-PASS CIRCUIT CONNECTED BETWEEN THE COLLECTOR AND EMITTER OF THE TRANSISTOR COMPRISING A SERIES COMBINATION OF A PLURALITY OF CIRCUIT MEMBERS, THE MEMBER ADJACENT THE EMITTER BEING ONE ACROSS WHICH A SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT VOLTAGE DROP IS MAINTAINED WITH OPERATIONAL CHANGES OF THE CURRENT THERETHROUGH, (F) A ZENER CIRCUIT INCLUDING A DIODE RECTIFIER SELECTED AND POLARIZED RELATIVE TO THE MAGNITUDE AND POLARITY OF THE SUPPLY VOLTAGE TO OPERATE AS A ZENER DIODE TOGETHER WITH A RESISTOR IN SERIES THEREWITH, SAID CIRCUIT BEING CONNECTED BETWEEN A PAIR OF POINTS RESPECTIVELY INCLUDED IN THE CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID BYPASS MEMBER ADJACENT THE TRANSISTOR EMITTER AND THE BY-PASS MEMBER ADJACENT THERETO AND IN THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE OTHER ONES OF SAID TWO PAIRS OF TERMINALS, REFERRED TO IN (D), ABOVE, WITH THE RESISTOR ADJACENT SAID FIRST POINT OF CONNECTION OF SAID ZENER CIRCUIT, AND (G) CIRCUIT MEANS CONNECTING A POINT IN THE CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID TWO MEMBERS IN THE ZENER CIRCUIT AND THE BASE OF THE TRANSISTOR.