Reverse power protection circuit and relay

Claim 1

A reverse power protection circuit comprising: a first and second reverse biased diodes coupled respectively between a signal line and a first and second AC grounding patch; a first and second plurality of capacitors coupled between the AC grounding patch and a first and second ground plane; a first and second transient absorber coupled respectively between the AC grounding patch and the ground plane; a resistive voltage divider network coupled to at least one of the AC grounding patches and a first comparator, the first comparator having a predefined voltage trigger threshold; a flip-flop circuit for providing a logic signal output when the threshold of the first comparator is exceeded; a first transistor coupled through an inverter to the flip-flop circuit, the first transistor acting as a switch and changing state in response to the logic signal output of the flip-flop circuit; a second transistor coupled to the first transistor, the second transistor acting as a switch and changing state in response to the first transistor's changing state; and a relay having an input and output, the relay being opened and closed by the de-energizing and energizing of a electromagnetic coil in the relay, the coil being de-energized when the second transistor changes state.