| 摘要 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a semiconductor device and a circuit protection method wherein the continuation of abnormally high-temperature state is prevented and reliability can be guaranteed for a long time. SOLUTION: The semiconductor device includes a current supply section, an overcurrent detecting circuit, an overheat detecting circuit, and a drive control circuit. The current supply section controls the passage of current through a load circuit. The overcurrent detecting circuit detects the inflow of overcurrent to the load circuit based on current and outputs an overcurrent signal. The overheat detecting circuit detects that a peripheral temperature exceeds a detection temperature the setting for which is changed in response to the overcurrent signal and outputs an overheat detection signal. The overheat detecting circuit has a hysteresis to the detection temperature. The detection temperature contains an overheat detection temperature used to detect an overheat state and a recovery temperature used to detect escape from the overheat state. The drive control circuit outputs the current control signal which indicates the quantity of the current flowing through the load circuit to the current supply section based on the overcurrent signal and the overheat detection signal. COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT
|
