Switched capacitor voltage converters with current sense circuits coupled to tank circuits

• US 10,404,176 B2
• Filed: 04/03/2018
• Issued: 09/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Inventors: Hu, Zhiyuan, Liu, Jian
• Primary Examiner(s): Torres-Rivera, Alex
• Application Number:
  US15/944,623
• Publication Number:
  US 20190115834A1
• Time in Patent Office: 518 Days
• Field of Search: 363 59, 363 60, 307109, 307110, 327 56
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/0054 Transistor switching losses periodically suspending operation of switching converter in low power mode H02M1/0035
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/07 using capacitors charged and discharged alternately by semiconductor devices with control electrode , e.g. charge pumps
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/1588 comprising at least one synchronous rectifier element H02M3/1582, H02M3/1584 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/10 Technologies improving the efficiency by using switched-mode power supplies [SMPS], i.e. efficient power electronics conversion e.g. power factor correction or reduction of losses in power supplies or efficient standby modes

Abstract

A switched capacitor voltage converter comprises: an input port; an output port; a first control field-effect transistor (FET) comprising a first terminal coupled to the input port; a second control FET comprising a first terminal coupled to a second terminal of the first control FET; a first tank circuit coupled to the second terminal of the first control FET and to the first terminal of the second control FET; a first high-side sync FET comprising a first terminal coupled to the output port, a second terminal coupled to the first tank circuit; a first low-side sync FET comprising a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the first high-side sync FET and to the first tank circuit; and a first current sense circuit coupled to the first tank circuit.

Claims

1. A switched capacitor voltage converter comprising:

an input port;

an output port;

a first control field-effect transistor (FET) comprising a first terminal coupled to the input port, a second terminal, and a gate;

a second control FET comprising a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the first control FET, a second terminal, and a gate;

a first tank circuit coupled to the second terminal of the first control FET and to the first terminal of the second control FET;

a first high-side sync FET comprising a first terminal coupled to the output port, a second terminal coupled to the first tank circuit, and a gate;

a first low-side sync FET comprising a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the first high-side sync FET and to the first tank circuit, a second terminal, and a gate;

a first current sense circuit coupled to the first tank circuit, the first current sense circuit configured to determine a direction of current flow in the first tank circuit; and

a controller configured to;

provide the first gating signal to turn on the first control FET and the first high-side sync FET in response to a turn-on edge of a first pulse width modulation (PWM) signal, and to turn off the first control FET and the first high-side sync FET in response to a turn-off edge of the first PWM signal or the first current sense circuit detecting a change in direction of the current flow in the first tank circuit; and

provide the second gating signal to turn on the second control FET and the first low-side sync FET in response to a turn-on edge of a second PWM signal, and to turn off the second control FET and the first low-side sync FET in response to a turn-off edge of the second PWM signal or the first current sense circuit detecting a change in direction of the current flow in the first tank circuit.

2. The switched capacitor voltage converter of claim 1, wherein the controller is coupled to the first current sense circuit, the controller is configured to provide a first gating signal to the gate of the first control FET and to the gate of the first high-side sync FET, and a second gating signal to the gate of the second control FET and to the gate of the first low-side sync FET.

3. The switched capacitor voltage converter of claim 1, wherein the turn-on edge of the first PWM signal is shifted 180°

with respect to the turn-on edge of the second PWM signal.

4. The switched capacitor voltage converter of claim 3, further comprising:

a ground, wherein the second terminal of the first low-side sync FET is coupled to the ground.

5. The switched capacitor voltage converter of claim 4, further comprising:

a power source coupled to the input port.

6. The switched capacitor voltage converter of claim 3, further comprising:

a third control FET comprising a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the second control FET, a second terminal, and a gate;

a fourth control FET comprising a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the third control FET, a second terminal, and a gate;

a capacitor comprising a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the second control FET and to the first terminal of the third control FET, and comprising a second terminal;

a second tank circuit coupled to the second terminal of the third control FET and to the first terminal of the second control FET;

a second high-side sync FET comprising a first terminal coupled to the output port, a second terminal coupled to the second terminal of the capacitor, and a gate;

a second low-side sync FET comprising a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the second high-side sync FET and to the second terminal of the capacitor, a second terminal, and a gate;

a third high-side sync FET comprising a first terminal coupled to the output port, a second terminal coupled to the second tank circuit, and a gate;

a third low-side sync FET comprising a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the third high-side sync FET and to the second tank circuit, a second terminal, and a gate; and

a second current sense circuit coupled to the second tank circuit.

7. The switched capacitor voltage converter of claim 6, the controller coupled to the second current sense circuit, the controller configured to:

provide the second gating signal to the second high-side sync FET;

provide a third gating signal to the gate of the third control FET, to the gate of the second low-side sync FET, and to the gate of the third high-side sync FET; and

provide a fourth gating signal to the gate of the fourth control FET, and to the gate of the third low-side sync FET.

8. The switched capacitor voltage converter of claim 7, the second current sense circuit to determine a direction of current flow in the second tank circuit, the controller configured to:

provide the second gating signal to turn on the second high-side sync FET in response to the turn-on edge of the second PWM signal, and to turn off the second high-side sync FET in response to the turn-off edge of the second PWM signal or the first current sense circuit detecting a change in direction of the current flow in the first tank circuit;

provide the third gating signal to turn on the third control FET, the second low-side sync FET, and the third high-side sync FET in response to the turn-on edge of the first PWM signal, and to turn off the third control FET, the second low-side sync FET, and the third high-side sync FET in response to the turn-off edge of the first PWM signal or the second current sense circuit detecting a change in direction of the current flow in the second tank circuit; and

provide the fourth gating signal to turn on the fourth control FET, and the third low-side sync FET in response to the turn-on edge of the second PWM signal, and to turn off the fourth control FET, and the third low-side sync FET in response to the turn-off edge of the second PWM signal or the second current sense circuit detecting a change in direction of the current flow in the second tank circuit.

9. The switched capacitor voltage converter of claim 8, further comprising:

a ground coupled to the second terminal of the first low-side sync FET, the second terminal of the second low-side sync FET, and the second terminal of the third low-side sync FET.

10. The switched capacitor voltage converter of claim 9, further comprising:

a power source coupled to the input port.

11. A switched capacitor voltage converter comprising:

an input port;

an output port;

a set of serially-connected control field-effect transistors (FETs), a first field-effect transistor (FET) in the set of serially-connected control FETs coupled to the input port;

a set of tank circuits coupled to the serially-connected control FETs;

a set of rectifier half-bridge circuits coupled to the set of tank circuits, each rectifier half-bridge circuit coupled to the output port;

a set of current sense circuits coupled to the set of tank circuits and configured to determine changes in current direction in each tank circuit; and

a controller configured to control a switching frequency for the set of serially-connected control FETs and the set of rectifier half-bridge circuits, the controller configured to decrease the switching frequency if a current sense circuit in the set of current sense circuits indicates that a change in current direction occurs after a one-half duty cycle, provided the switched capacitor voltage converter is not in a soft start state.

12. The switched capacitor voltage converter of claim 11, the controller further configured to increase the switching frequency if each current sense circuit in the set of current sense circuits indicates that the current direction in each tank circuit occurs before the one-half duty cycle, provided the switched capacitor voltage converter is not in a soft start state.

13. The switched capacitor voltage converter of claim 12, further comprising a power source coupled to the input port.