Charge pump regulation control for improved power efficiency
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A voltage generation circuit, comprising:
- a charge pump circuit that receives an input voltage and outputs an output voltage at an output terminal, the output voltage being greater than the input voltage, and the charge pump circuit having a control terminal;
a switch operatively connected to the output terminal of the charge pump circuit; and
a feedback circuit operatively connected to the switch and to the control terminal of the charge pump circuit, the feedback circuit providing a feedback signal that is supplied to the control terminal of the charge pump circuit, wherein the switch serves to enable or disable operation of the feedback circuit.
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Abstract
Techniques for efficiently generating an output voltage for use within an electronic device, such as a memory system, are disclosed. A voltage generation circuit generates the output voltage. The voltage generation circuit includes regulation circuitry that controls regulation of the output voltage to maintain the output voltage at a substantially constant level. According to one aspect, regulation is enabled when needed but disabled when regulation is not necessary, thereby reducing power consumption by the regulation circuitry. The voltage generation circuit is therefore able to operate with improved power efficiency.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A voltage generation circuit, comprising:
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a charge pump circuit that receives an input voltage and outputs an output voltage at an output terminal, the output voltage being greater than the input voltage, and the charge pump circuit having a control terminal;
a switch operatively connected to the output terminal of the charge pump circuit; and
a feedback circuit operatively connected to the switch and to the control terminal of the charge pump circuit, the feedback circuit providing a feedback signal that is supplied to the control terminal of the charge pump circuit, wherein the switch serves to enable or disable operation of the feedback circuit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A voltage generation circuit, comprising:
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a charge pump circuit that receives an input voltage and outputs an output voltage at an output terminal, the output voltage being greater than the input voltage, and the charge pump circuit having a control terminal;
a switch operatively connected to the output terminal of the charge pump circuit;
a resister divider operatively connected to the switch to provide a divided voltage; and
a comparator operatively connected to the resister divider and to a reference voltage, the comparator comparing the divided voltage to the reference voltage to produce a first control signal that is supplied to the control terminal of the charge pump circuit. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A voltage generation circuit, comprising:
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a charge pump circuit that receives an input voltage and outputs an output voltage at an output terminal, the output voltage being greater than the input voltage, and the charge pump circuit having a control terminal;
a switch operatively connected to a ground terminal;
a resister divider operatively connected to the switch and to the output terminal of the charge pump circuit, the resister divider providing a divided voltage, the divided voltage being less than the output voltage from the charge pump circuit; and
a comparator operatively connected to the resister divider and to a reference voltage, the comparator comparing the divided voltage to the reference voltage to produce a first control signal that is supplied to the control terminal of the charge pump circuit.
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20. A voltage generation circuit, comprising:
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a charge pump circuit that receives an input voltage and outputs an output voltage at an output terminal, the output voltage being greater than the input voltage, and the charge pump circuit having a control terminal; and
switchable feedback means for providing a feedback signal that is supplied to the control terminal of the charge pump circuit based on the output voltage at the output terminal of the charge pump circuit, wherein switching of the switchable feedback means operates to enable or disable regulation of the output voltage by the charge pump circuit, and wherein the voltage generation circuit operates with substantially reduced power when the regulation of the output voltage is disabled.
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21. A memory product, comprising:
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data storage elements;
a controller for performing data storage and retrieval with respect to the data storage elements; and
at least one voltage generation circuit, the voltage generation circuit comprising;
a charge pump circuit that receives an input voltage and outputs an output voltage at an output terminal, the output voltage being greater than the input voltage, and the charge pump circuit having a control terminal;
a switch operatively connected to the output terminal of the charge pump circuit; and
a feedback circuit operatively connected to the switch and to the control terminal of the charge pump circuit, the feedback circuit providing a feedback signal that is supplied to the control terminal of the charge pump circuit, the switch serving to enable or disable operation of the feedback circuit. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. An electronic system, comprising:
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a data acquisition device; and
a data storage device removably coupled to the data acquisition unit, the data storage device storing data acquired by the data acquisition device, and the data storage device including at least;
data storage elements;
a controller for performing data storage and retrieval with respect to the data storage elements; and
at least one voltage generation circuit, the voltage generation circuit including at least;
a charge pump circuit that receives an input voltage and outputs an output voltage at an output terminal, the output voltage being greater than the input voltage, and the charge pump circuit having a control terminal;
a switch operatively connected to the output terminal of the charge pump circuit; and
a feedback circuit operatively connected to the switch and to the control terminal of the charge pump circuit, the feedback circuit providing a feedback signal that is supplied to the control terminal of the charge pump circuit, the switch serving to enable or disable operation of the feedback circuit. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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Specification