Protection circuitry for high voltage drivers

Claim 1

A load protection circuit interposed between a power source and a load comprising: a high voltage input terminal, a high voltage output terminal and a reference terminal, current sensing means, voltage risetime control means and output control means serially connected between said high voltage input terminal and said high voltage output terminal, a capacitive filter connected between the junction of said voltage risetime control means and said output control means and said reference terminal, current comparison and limiter means coupled to said current sensing means for providing a first logic signal when the load current is within a predetermined maximum limit, first gating means for providing a second logic signal during the simultaneous presence of said first logic signal and a first low voltage, second gating means for providing a third logic signal during the simultaneous presence of said second logic signal and a second low voltage, and means for applying said third logic signal to said output control means to activate said output control means whereby said power source is coupled to said load.