Series pass voltage regulator with overcurrent protection

摘要

A series pass voltage regulator compares the output voltage with a reference voltage and adjusts the base bias of a PNP series pass transistor coupled between an unregulated voltage source and a load to maintain the output voltage at a predetermined constant value. A current sensing resistor senses the base current of the PNP series pass transistor and limits the base current to a predetermined value indicative of a maximum allowable load current.