Intelligent voltage regulator
First Claim
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
- a voltage regulator having an external interface; and
one or more devices coupled to the voltage regulator via the external interface, the one or more devices including a device regulated by the voltage regulator, wherein the voltage regulator includes;
a variable voltage generator configured to receive an input voltage and to generate an output voltage selected from a plurality of output voltages based, at least in part, on a selection signal corresponding to a plurality of power operational states of the device regulated by the voltage regulator; and
a processor configured to execute instructions, wherein the processor is further configured to obtain programming instructions via an input of the external interface and to provide the selection signal to the variable voltage generator according to the programming instructions to cause the variable voltage generator to generate the selected output voltage in accordance with a selected one of the power operational states and provide the selected output voltage to the output of the external interface.
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Abstract
A voltage regulator includes a programming interface via which programming instructions may be applied to a processor of the voltage regulator. The voltage regulator operates the processor according to the programming instructions to select one of multiple active internally-generated analog voltage levels to determine an output voltage level of the voltage regulator.
236 Citations
25 Claims
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
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a voltage regulator having an external interface; and one or more devices coupled to the voltage regulator via the external interface, the one or more devices including a device regulated by the voltage regulator, wherein the voltage regulator includes; a variable voltage generator configured to receive an input voltage and to generate an output voltage selected from a plurality of output voltages based, at least in part, on a selection signal corresponding to a plurality of power operational states of the device regulated by the voltage regulator; and a processor configured to execute instructions, wherein the processor is further configured to obtain programming instructions via an input of the external interface and to provide the selection signal to the variable voltage generator according to the programming instructions to cause the variable voltage generator to generate the selected output voltage in accordance with a selected one of the power operational states and provide the selected output voltage to the output of the external interface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An apparatus, comprising:
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a bus; and a voltage regulator having an external interface with an input coupled to the bus, the voltage regulator including; a variable voltage generator configured to receive an input voltage and to generate an output voltage selected from a plurality of output voltages to power a device; and a processor configured to execute instructions, wherein the processor is configured to obtain programming instructions received over the input and via the bus to control the variable voltage generator according to the programming instructions to cause the variable voltage generator to generate the selected output voltage. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A system, comprising:
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a bus; a central processing unit (CPU) attached to the bus; and a voltage regulator having an external interface with an input attached to the bus, wherein the voltage regulator is configured to generate a selected output voltage to power the CPU, and wherein the voltage regulator includes; a variable voltage generator configured to receive an input voltage and to generate the output voltage selected from a plurality of output voltages; and a processor configured to; communicate directly with the CPU using one or more digital signals transmitted over the bus to obtain programming instructions; and control the variable voltage generator according to the programming instructions to cause the variable voltage generator to generate the selected output voltage. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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Specification