Electronic circuit breaker for interrupting load current when breaker transistor is driven out of saturation

Claim 1

AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT BREAKER FOR INTERRUPTING CURRENT FLOW IN A CURRENT PATH WHEN THE CURRENT THERETHROUGH EXCEEDS A PREDETERMINED VALUE COMPRISING: A SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE HAVING A CURRENT PATH AND A CONTROL ELECTRODE, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING CURRENT TO SAID CURRENT PATH, A BISTABLE DEVICE HAVING AN INPUT CIRCUIT AND AN OUTPUT CIRCUIT, MEANS INTERCOUPLING SAID OUTPUT CIRCUIT WITH SAID CONTROL ELECTRODE FOR BIASING SAID SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE TO PROVIDE SATURATED CURRENT FLOW THROUGH SAID CURRENT PATH AS LONG AS THE CURRENT THERETHROUGH DOES NOT EXCEED A PREDETERMINED VALUE WHILE ALLOWING SAID CURRENT PATH TO BECOME UNSATURATED WHEN THE CURRENT THERETHROUGH EXCEEDS SAID PREDETERMINED VALUE WHEN SAID BISTABLE DEVICE IS IN A FIRST STABLE STATE AND FOR BIASING SAID SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE TO RENDER SAID CURRENT PATH NONCONDUCTIVE WHEN SAID BISTABLE DEVICE IS IN A SECOND STABLE STATE, AND MEANS COUPLED BETWEEN SAID CURRENT PATH AND SAID INPUT CIRCUIT FOR TRIGGERING SAID BISTABLE DEVICE TO SAID SECOND STABLE STATE WHEN THE CURRENT THROUGH SAID CURRENT PATH EXCEEDS SAID PREDETERMINED VALUE AND SAID CURRENT PATH THEREBY BECOMES UNSATURATED.