HIGH SIDE DRIVER WITH SHORT TO GROUND PROTECTION

1 . A protection circuit for a high side driver comprising:

an exclusive-OR gate adapted to receive a first input and a second input, analyze each of the inputs and transmit an output in response to the analysis of the inputs, wherein the first input represents an electric power output of the high side driver and the second input represents a control signal for operating the high side driver; and

a switching device adapted to control an electrical output of the high side driver in response to the output of the exclusive-OR gate.

2 . The protection circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the switching device is a transistor having a pre-determined switching time.

3 . The protection circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the switching device is at least one of a field-effect transistor and a bi-polar junction transistor.

4 . The protection circuit according to claim 1 , further comprising a filter having a pre-determined delay for regulating the output of the exclusive-OR gate.

5 . The protection circuit according to claim 4 , wherein the filter includes at least one of a capacitor and a resistor.

6 . The protection circuit according to claim 2 , further comprising a filter having a pre-determined delay for regulating the output of the exclusive-OR gate, wherein the delay is greater than the switching time of the switching device.

7 . The protection circuit according to claim 6 , wherein the filter includes at least one of a capacitor and a resistor.

8 . A high side driver comprising:

a driver circuit including a first switching device and a second switching device, wherein the first switching device and the second switching device cooperate to control an electrical output of the high side driver; and

a protection circuit including:

an exclusive-OR gate adapted to receive a first input and a second input, analyze each of the inputs and transmit an output in response to the analysis of the inputs, wherein the first input represents the electric power output of the high side driver and the second input represents a control signal for operating the high side driver; and

a third switching device in electrical communication with at least one of the first switching device and the second switching device and adapted to control the at least one of the switching devices in response to the output of the exclusive-OR gate.

9 . The high side driver according to claim 8 , wherein at least one of the first, second, and third switching devices is a transistor having a pre-determined switching time.

10 . The high side driver according to claim 8 , wherein each of the first, second, and third switching devices is at least one of a field-effect transistor and a bi-polar junction transistor.

11 . The high side driver according to claim 8 , further comprising a filter having a pre-determined delay for regulating the output of the exclusive-OR gate.

12 . The high side driver according to claim 11 , wherein the filter includes at least one of a capacitor and a resistor.

13 . The high side driver according to claim 9 , further comprising a filter having a pre-determined delay for regulating the output of the exclusive-OR gate, wherein the delay is greater than the switching time of the at least one of the first, second, and third switching devices.

14 . The high side driver according to claim 13 , wherein the filter includes at least one of a capacitor and a resistor.

15 . A high side driver comprising:

a driver circuit including a first transistor and a second transistor, wherein the first transistor and the second transistor cooperate to control an electrical output of the high side driver; and

a protection circuit including:

an exclusive-OR gate adapted to receive a first input and a second input, analyze each of the inputs and transmit an output in response to the analysis of the inputs, wherein the first input represents the electric power output of the high side driver and the second input represents a control signal for operating the high side driver; and

a third transistor in electrical communication with at least one of the first transistor and the second transistor and adapted to control the at least one of the switching devices in response to the output of the exclusive-OR gate.

16 . The high side driver according to claim 15 , wherein the first transistor is a field-effect transistor, the second transistor is a field-effect transistor, and the third transistor is a bi-polar junction transistor.

17 . The high side driver according to claim 16 , wherein the first, second, and third transistors have the following electrical configuration:

a source of the first transistor is coupled to a supply input of the high side driver and a drain of the first transistor is coupled to an output of the high side driver;

a source of the second transistor is coupled to a ground and a drain of the second transistor is coupled to a gate of the first transistor; and

a collector of the third transistor is coupled to the gate of the second transistor, an emitter of the third transistor is coupled to a ground, and a base of the third transistor is coupled to the output node of the exclusive-OR gate.

18 . The high side driver according to claim 15 , further comprising a filter having a pre-determined delay for regulating the output of the exclusive-OR gate.

19 . The high side driver according to claim 18 , wherein the filter includes at least one of a capacitor and a resistor.

20 . The high side driver according to claim 17 , further comprising a filter having a pre-determined delay for regulating the output of the exclusive-OR gate, wherein the delay is greater than the switching time of the at least one of the first, second, and third transistors.