Totem-pole load driving circuit with potential rise characteristics control

Claim 1

A load driving circuit comprising: a totem-pole output circuit including a first pull-up transistor for connection to a power source and having a control gate for receiving an input signal to render said first transistor conductive, and a second pull-down transistor for connection to ground potential and having a control gate for receiving a controlled input signal to render said second transistor conductive; a connection node between said first transistor and said second transistor; a rise characteristics control circuit including a coupling capacitor connected to the connection node between said first transistor and said second transistor, and a constant-current circuit connected to the control gates of said first and second transistors for dampening the rise in potential at the connection node between said first transistor and said second transistor in response to current from said coupling capacitor by increasing the turn-on time of said first transistor when the rise in potential at the connection node between said first transistor and said second transistor exceeds a predetermined threshold level; the constant-current circuit of said rise characteristics control circuit further controlling the magnitude of the controlled input signal to the control gate of said second transistor to regulate the operation of said second transistor between non-conductive and conductive states.