Power supplies for RF power amplifier
First Claim
1. A control method, comprisingmeasuring a battery voltage inputted to a cascade connection of a boost-type switched-mode power supply and a buck-type switched-mode power supply providing a supply voltage to a radio frequency power amplifier;
- comparing the measured battery voltage with a threshold corresponding an input supply voltage which is needed for the buck-type switched-mode power supply;
bypassing the boost-type switched-mode power supply and coupling the battery voltage directly to the buck-type switched-mode power supply, if the measured battery voltage exceeds the needed input supply voltage;
controlling the boost-type switched-mode power supply to raise the battery voltage to at least the needed input supply voltage, if the measured battery voltage is below the needed input supply voltage;
controlling the buck-type switched-mode power supply to operate in one of at least two section modes according to one or more of the following;
a mode of operation of the power amplifier, a frequency band of the power amplifier, a modulation method, and a transmission power of the power amplifier.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
Switched-mode power supplies (SMPSs) and their control methods for radio frequency (RF) power amplifiers in battery-powered wireless transmitter devices involve a Boost-type SMPS and a Buck-type SMPS in cascade connection which are controlled so that high efficiency is maintained for various loads and transmission power levels. The Boost SMPS and the Buck SMPS can be controlled based on the mode of operation of the transmitter, such as the actual battery voltage, the needed output power, the selected frequency band, the selected RF power amplifier (PA), the selected modulation method of the transmission signal, and/or the selected PA voltage control method, such as the envelope elimination and restoration (EER) technique, the envelope tracking (ET) technique, or the power-level tracking (PT) technique.
151 Citations
49 Claims
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1. A control method, comprising
measuring a battery voltage inputted to a cascade connection of a boost-type switched-mode power supply and a buck-type switched-mode power supply providing a supply voltage to a radio frequency power amplifier; -
comparing the measured battery voltage with a threshold corresponding an input supply voltage which is needed for the buck-type switched-mode power supply; bypassing the boost-type switched-mode power supply and coupling the battery voltage directly to the buck-type switched-mode power supply, if the measured battery voltage exceeds the needed input supply voltage; controlling the boost-type switched-mode power supply to raise the battery voltage to at least the needed input supply voltage, if the measured battery voltage is below the needed input supply voltage; controlling the buck-type switched-mode power supply to operate in one of at least two section modes according to one or more of the following;
a mode of operation of the power amplifier, a frequency band of the power amplifier, a modulation method, and a transmission power of the power amplifier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium, the computer program comprising a program code for controlling a processor to execute a routine comprising
measuring a battery voltage inputted to a cascade connection of a boost-type switched-mode power supply and a buck-type switched-mode power supply providing a supply voltage to a radio frequency power amplifier; -
comparing the measured battery voltage with a threshold corresponding an input supply voltage which is needed for the buck-type switched-mode power supply; bypassing the boost-type switched-mode power supply and coupling the battery voltage directly to the buck-type switched-mode power supply, if the measured battery voltage exceeds the needed input supply voltage; controlling the boost-type switched-mode power supply to raise the battery voltage to at least the needed input supply voltage, if the measured battery voltage is below the needed input supply voltage; controlling the buck-type switched-mode power supply to operate in one of at least two section modes according to one or more of the following;
a mode of operation of the power amplifier, a frequency band of the power amplifier, a modulation method, and a transmission power of the power amplifier.
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7. An apparatus, comprising
at least one radio frequency power amplifier; -
a boost-type switched-mode power supply having an input for a battery voltage from a battery; a buck-type switched-mode power supply connected in cascade with the boost-type switched-mode power supply and having a supply voltage output for the radio frequency power amplifier; a bypass switch controllable to bypass the boost-type switched-mode power supply and to couple the battery voltage directly to the buck-type switched-mode power supply, if the battery voltage exceeds a threshold corresponding to an input supply voltage which is needed for the buck-type switched-mode power supply; the boost-type switched-mode power supply being controllable to raise the battery voltage to at least the needed input supply voltage, if the battery voltage is below the threshold; and the buck-type switched-mode power supply comprising at least two section modes selectable according to one or more of the following;
a mode of operation of the power amplifier, a frequency band of the power amplifier, a modulation method, and a transmission power of the power amplifier. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A control method, comprising
providing a cascade connection of a boost-type switched-mode power supply and a buck-type switched-mode power supply to provide a supply voltage to a radio frequency power amplifier from a battery voltage; -
controlling the boost-type switched-mode power supply to raise the battery voltage to at least an input supply voltage which is needed for the buck-type switched-mode power supply; controlling the buck-type switched-mode power supply to operate in one of at least two section modes according to one or more of the following;
a mode of operation of the power amplifier, a frequency band of the power amplifier, a modulation method, and a transmission power of the power amplifier. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 43)
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41. A control method, comprising
providing a cascade connection of a boost-type switched-mode power supply and a buck-type switched-mode power supply to provide a supply voltage to a radio frequency power amplifier from a battery voltage; -
controlling the boost-type switched-mode power supply to raise the battery voltage to at least an input supply voltage which is needed for the buck-type switched-mode power supply; controlling the buck-type switched-mode power supply to operate at a higher switching frequency, when the power amplifier operates in an envelope elimination and restoration (EER) mode or in an envelope tracking (ET) mode, and to operate at a lower switching frequency, when the power amplifier operates in a linear mode. - View Dependent Claims (42)
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44. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium, the computer program comprising a program code for controlling a processor to execute a routine comprising
providing a cascade connection of a boost-type switched-mode power supply and a buck-type switched-mode power supply to provide a supply voltage to a radio frequency power amplifier from a battery voltage; -
controlling the boost-type switched-mode power supply to raise the battery voltage to at least an input supply voltage which is needed for the buck-type switched-mode power supply; controlling the buck-type switched-mode power supply to operate in one of at least two section modes according to one or more of the following;
a mode of operation of the power amplifier, a frequency band of the power amplifier, a modulation method, and a transmission power of the power amplifier.
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45. A controller comprising
means for measuring a battery voltage inputted to a cascade connection of a boost-type switched-mode power supply and a buck-type switched-mode power supply providing a supply voltage to a radio frequency power amplifier; -
means for comparing the measured battery voltage with a threshold corresponding an input supply voltage which is needed for the buck-type switched-mode power supply; means for bypassing the boost-type switched-mode power supply and coupling the battery voltage directly to the buck-type switched-mode power supply, if the measured battery voltage exceeds the needed input supply voltage; means for controlling the boost-type switched-mode power supply to raise the battery voltage to at least the needed input supply voltage, if the measured battery voltage is below the needed input supply voltage; means for controlling the buck-type switched-mode power supply to operate in one of at least two section modes according to one or more of the following;
a mode of operation of the power amplifier, a frequency band of the power amplifier, a modulation method, and a transmission power of the power amplifier. - View Dependent Claims (46)
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47. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium, the computer program comprising a program code for controlling a processor to execute a routine comprising
providing a cascade connection of a boost-type switched-mode power supply and a buck-type switched-mode power supply to provide a supply voltage to a radio frequency power amplifier from a battery voltage; -
controlling the boost-type switched-mode power supply to raise the battery voltage to at least an input supply voltage which is needed for the buck-type switched-mode power supply; controlling the buck-type switched-mode power supply to operate at a higher switching frequency, when the power amplifier operates in an envelope elimination and restoration (EER) mode or in an envelope tracking (ET) mode, and to operate at a lower switching frequency, when the power amplifier operates in a linear mode.
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48. A controller comprising
means for providing a cascade connection of a boost-type switched-mode power supply and a buck-type switched-mode power supply to provide a supply voltage to a radio frequency power amplifier from a battery voltage; -
means for controlling the boost-type switched-mode power supply to raise the battery voltage to at least an input supply voltage which is needed for the buck-type switched-mode power supply; means for controlling the buck-type switched-mode power supply to operate at a higher switching frequency, when the power amplifier operates in an envelope elimination and restoration (EER) mode or in an envelope tracking (ET) mode, and to operate at a lower switching frequency, when the power amplifier operates in a linear mode. - View Dependent Claims (49)
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Specification