CONTROLLING POWER LOSS IN A SWITCHED-CAPACITOR POWER CONVERTER
First Claim
1. A method for actively controlling a power loss in a switched-capacitor power converter, the method comprising:
- operating the switched-capacitor power converter, wherein the switched-capacitor power converter includes one or more switched-capacitor blocks (SCBs) and a clocking circuit which produces gate drive signals for switching transistors in the one or more SCBs; and
while the switched-capacitor power converter is operating, actively controlling the gate drive signals from the clocking circuit to substantially minimize the power loss for the switched-capacitor power converter.
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Abstract
The disclosed embodiments relate to a system that implements a switched-capacitor power converter which is configured to actively control power loss while converting an input voltage to an output voltage. This system includes one or more switched-capacitor blocks (SCBs), wherein each SCB includes a first capacitor and a set of switching devices configured to couple a constant-potential terminal and a time-varying-potential terminal of the first capacitor between the input voltage, the output voltage and a reference voltage. The system also includes a clocking circuit which produces gate drive signals for switching transistors in the one or more SCBs. The system additionally includes a controller configured to actively control the gate drive signals from the clocking circuit to substantially minimize the power loss for the switched-capacitor power converter.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method for actively controlling a power loss in a switched-capacitor power converter, the method comprising:
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operating the switched-capacitor power converter, wherein the switched-capacitor power converter includes one or more switched-capacitor blocks (SCBs) and a clocking circuit which produces gate drive signals for switching transistors in the one or more SCBs; and while the switched-capacitor power converter is operating, actively controlling the gate drive signals from the clocking circuit to substantially minimize the power loss for the switched-capacitor power converter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20)
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11. A switched-capacitor power converter configured to actively control a power loss involved in converting an input voltage to an output voltage, comprising:
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one or more switched-capacitor blocks (SCBs), wherein each SCB includes a first capacitor and a set of switching devices configured to couple a constant-potential terminal and a time-varying-potential terminal of the first capacitor between the input voltage, the output voltage and a reference voltage; a clocking circuit which produces gate drive signals for switching transistors in the one or more SCBs; and a controller configured to actively control the gate drive signals from the clocking circuit to substantially minimize the power loss for the switched-capacitor power converter. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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21. A power supply, comprising:
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a battery that provides an input voltage; an output that provides an output voltage; and a switched-capacitor power converter configured to actively control a power loss while converting the input voltage to the output voltage, wherein the switched-capacitor power converter comprises, one or more switched-capacitor blocks (SCBs), wherein each SCB includes a first capacitor and a set of switching devices configured to couple a constant-potential terminal and a time-varying-potential terminal of the first capacitor between the input voltage, the output voltage and a reference voltage; a clocking circuit which produces gate drive signals for switching transistors in the one or more SCBs; and a controller configured to actively control the gate drive signals from the clocking circuit to substantially minimize the power loss for the switched-capacitor power converter. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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Specification