Logic circuits utilizing transistor as level shift means

Claim 1

THE COMBINATION COMPRISING: AN OUTPUT TRANSISTOR OF ONE CONDUCTIVITY TYPE CONNECTED IN THE COMMON EMITTER CONFIGURATION AND HAVING A BASE ELECTRODE AND A COLLECTOR ELECTRODE; A LOGIC GATE HAVING A PLURALITY OF GATE TRANSISTORS OF SAID ONE CONDUCTIVITY TYPE CONNECTED AS EMITTER FOLLOWERS; A JUNCTION POINT; CIRCUIT MEANS CONNECTING THE EMITTER ELECTRODES OF ALL OF SAID GATE TRANSISTORS TO SAID JUNCTION POINT; A FIRST CURRENT DEVICE CONNECTED AT SAID JUNCTION POINT; A LEVEL SHIFT TRANSITOR OF SAID ONE CONDUCTIVITY TYPE HAVING ITS EMITTER CONNECTED TO SAID JUNCTION POINT AND HAVING ITS COLLECTOR CONNECTED TO THE BASE ELECTRODE OF SAID OUTPUT TRANSISTOR; A SECOND CURRENT DEVICE CONNECTED AT THE BASE ELECTRODE OF SAID LEVEL SHIFT TRANSISTOR, ONE OF THE FIRST AND SECOND CURRENT DEVICES BEING A CURRENT SOURCE AND THE OTHER BEING A CURRENT SINK; MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY APPLYIIN INPUT SIGNALS AT THE BASE ELECTRODES OF SAID GATE TRANSISTORS TO VARY THE VOLTAGE AT SAID JUNCTION POINT BETWEEEN FIRST AND SECOND VALVES FOR FORWARD BIASING AND REVERSE BIASING RESPECTIVELY, THE EMITTER-BASE JUNCTION OF SAID LEVEL SHIFT TRANSISTOR; AND UNIDIRECTIONAL CONDUCTING MEANS CONNECTED BETWEEN THE BASE ELECTRODE OF SAID LEVEL SHIFT TRANSISTOR AND THE COLLECTOR ELECTRODE OF SAID OUTPUT TRANSISTOR TO CONTROL THE VOLTAGE AT SAID COLLECTOR ELECTRODE IN THE "ON" CONDITION OF SAID OUTPUT TRANSISTOR.