Charge pump circuit and controlling method thereof

• US 10,615,688 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2019
• Issued: 04/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Shenzhen Goodix Technology Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Shenzhen Goodix Technology Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Wang, Wen-Chi, Ng, Si Herng
• Primary Examiner(s): Skibinski, Tomi
• Application Number:
  US16/452,456
• Publication Number:
  US 20190319533A1
• Time in Patent Office: 287 Days
• Field of Search: 327536
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/08 Circuits specially adapted for the generation of control voltages for semiconductor devices incorporated in static converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/36 Means for starting or stopping converters
• 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: H03F 1/02 Modifications of amplifiers to raise the efficiency, e.g. gliding Class A stages, use of an auxiliary oscillation
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/0211 with control of the supply voltage or current
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/305 in case of switching on or off of a power supply
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/20 Power amplifiers, e.g. Class B amplifiers, Class C amplifiers H03F3/26 - H03F3/30 take precedence

Abstract

The application provides a charge pump circuit, including a switch module, including a plurality of switches and a soft ramp-up switch, configured to generate a first output voltage and a second output voltage according to an input voltage; and a digital control circuit, coupled to the switch module, configured to receive a up digital signal and a down digital signal, and adjust the first output voltage to a voltage level of the input voltage and adjust the second output voltage to a ground voltage level according to the up digital signal and the down digital signal. The charge pump circuit of application has advantages of minimizing inrush currents to avoid circumstances of distortions caused by the pop noises or clipping and optimizing the efficiency of the amplifier.

Claims

1. A charge pump circuit, comprising:

a switch module, comprising a plurality of switches, a plurality of output capacitors, a loading resistor and a soft ramp-up switch, configured to generate a first output voltage and a second output voltage according to an input voltage; and

a digital control circuit, coupled to the switch module, configured to receive a up digital signal and a down digital signal, and adjust the first output voltage to a voltage level of the input voltage and adjust the second output voltage to a ground voltage level according to the up digital signal and the down digital signal;

wherein the up digital signal and the down digital signal are varied with time.

2. The charge pump circuit of claim 1, wherein the digital control circuit comprises:

a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), configured to generate a corresponding up reference voltage and a corresponding down reference voltage according to the up digital signal and the down digital signal; and

a voltage follower, comprising a plurality of operational amplifiers and a plurality of transistor switches, configured to lock the first output voltage and the second output voltage according to the up reference voltage and the down reference voltage.

3. The charge pump circuit of claim 2, further comprising:

a balance release circuit, coupled to the digital control circuit and the switch module, configured to maintain a common mode voltage of the first output voltage and the second output voltage at a fixed value through a common mode feedback loop, when the first output voltage and the second output voltage is discharging or charging;

wherein the common mode voltage is half of the input voltage;

wherein the common mode feedback loop includes a plurality of operational amplifiers and a plurality of resistors.

4. The charge pump circuit of claim 3, wherein the switch module receives a digital control signal to control the plurality of switches and the soft ramp-up switch to transform the first output voltage and the second output voltage with a first mode, a ramp-up mode, a second mode and a balance release mode.

5. The charge pump circuit of claim 4, wherein when the charge pump circuit is transformed from the first mode to the ramp-up mode, the first output voltage is adjusted to the voltage level of the input voltage according to the up reference voltage and the second output voltage is adjusted to the ground voltage level according to the down reference voltage.

6. The charge pump circuit of claim 4, wherein when the charge pump circuit is transformed from the ramp-up mode to the second mode, the plurality of transistor switches of the digital control circuit are turned on to connect the input voltage and the ground voltage level to enter the second mode.

7. The charge pump circuit of claim 6, wherein the first output voltage and the second output voltage are only related to the up reference voltage and the down reference voltage.

8. The charge pump circuit of claim 6, wherein the digital control circuit is connected to the first output voltage and the second output voltage.

9. The charge pump circuit of claim 4, wherein when the charge pump circuit is transformed from the second mode to the balance release mode, the first output voltage is discharged and the second output voltage is charged by the loading resistor and the plurality of capacitors, the common mode voltage of the first output voltage and the second output voltage is maintained at the fixed value by the common mode feedback loop of the balance release circuit.

10. The charge pump circuit of claim 9, wherein when the charge pump circuit is transformed from the second mode to the balance release mode, a switching operation of the plurality of switches of the switch module is stopped, and a switch of the common mode feedback loop is turned on.

11. The charge pump circuit of claim 10, the fixed value is half of the input voltage.

12. The charge pump circuit of claim 4, wherein when the first output voltage and the second output voltage are completely discharged, the charge pump circuit is transformed from the balance release mode to the first mode.

13. The charge pump circuit of claim 12, wherein when the first output voltage is determined smaller than ⅔

of the input voltage or when the second output voltage is determined larger than ⅓

of the input voltage by a logic circuit, a voltage level of a logic signal is changed;

the charge pump circuit is transformed from the balance release mode to the first mode according to a variation of the voltage level of the logic signal; and

a charge pump controller is notified by the logic signal.

14. The charge pump circuit of claim 13, the charge pump controller is configured to output the up digital signal and the down digital signal.

15. The charge pump circuit of claim 12, wherein when the charge pump circuit is transformed from the balance release mode to the first mode, the first output voltage is ⅔

of the input voltage and the second output voltage HPVSS is ⅓

of the input voltage, so as to achieve a stable state voltage of the first mode.

16. A controlling method for a charge pump circuit, wherein the charge pump circuit comprises a switch module, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), a digital control circuit and a balance release circuit, the controlling method comprising:

generating a first output voltage and a second output voltage according to an input voltage and transforming the first output voltage and the second output voltage by the charge pump circuit among a first mode, a ramp-up mode, a second mode and a balance release mode according to an input voltage.

17. The controlling method of claim 16, wherein when the charge pump circuit is transformed from the first mode to the ramp-up mode, the first output voltage is adjusted to a voltage level of the input voltage according to a up reference voltage and the second output voltage is adjusted to a ground voltage level according to a down reference voltage.

18. The controlling method of claim 16, wherein when the charge pump circuit is transformed from the ramp-up mode to the second mode, a plurality of transistor switches of the digital control circuit are turned on to connect the input voltage and a ground voltage level to enter the second mode.

19. The controlling method of claim 16, wherein when the charge pump circuit is transformed from the second mode to the balance release mode, the first output voltage is discharged and the second output voltage is charged by a loading resistor and a plurality of capacitors and a common mode voltage of the first output voltage and the second output voltage is maintained at a fixed value by a common mode feedback loop of the balance release circuit.

20. The controlling method of claim 16, wherein when the first output voltage and the second output voltage completely discharged, the charge pump circuit is transformed from the balance release mode to the first mode.