Apparatus for the control of a switched power regulator

• US 4,529,927 A
• Filed: 10/07/1983
• Issued: 07/16/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/1983
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Agence Patiale Europeenne Intergovernmental Organization
• Original Assignee: Agence Spatiale Europeenne
• Inventors: O'Sullivan, Dermot, Schreuders, Jan
• Primary Examiner(s): Pellinen, A. D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jennings, Derek S.
• Application Number:
  US06/540,205
• Time in Patent Office: 648 Days
• Field of Search: 307/52, 307/125, 307/130, 307/131, 323/222, 323/282, 323/284, 323/285, 323/299
• US Class Current: 323/222
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/1563 without using an external clock H02M3/158 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/351 Pulse width modulation being used in an amplifying circuit

Abstract

A controller apparatus comprising a phase-locked loop circuit which includes a phase comparator and a low-pass filter connected to accept a signal representing the switching frequency of the apparatus and an external frequency signal to produce a control signal for a controllable switch serving to vary the threshold levels of a reference signal, said control signal being a function of the phase difference between the input signals. The hysteresis of the apparatus is thereby changed over a few synchronization cycles in order to pull the controller into synchronization.

Claims

1. In an apparatus for the control of a switched power regulator including an inductor through which an electric current flows, and a regulating switch arranged for being switched between a first non-conducting logic state and a second conducting logic state in response to a drive signal with a predetermined time elapsing between said first and second logic states, an electric controller operating in a conductance control mode, comprising:

reference signal generator means (1,10) responsive to a command signal (Vc) for generating a reference signal (V₁) the amplitude of which is a function of the command signal, said reference signal having an upper threshold level and a lower threshold level;

current sensor means (2) connected to sense said electric current (I) and to generate a sensor signal (V₂) representing said current;

comparator means (20) connected to compare the sensor signal to the reference signal for producing said drive signal for the regulating switch (Qo), said drive signal (V_D) having a first state when the increasing sensor signal is lower than the upper threshold level of the reference signal and a second state when the decreasing sensor signal is greater than the lower threshold level of the reference signal;

means (30) for switching the reference signal from one level to the other in response to the drive signal swinging from one state to the other;

controllable switching means (40) responsive to a control signal (Vx) to vary the threshold levels of the reference signal, thereby to vary the time elapsing between said first and second logic states of the regulating switch;

phase-locked loop circuit means (7) comprising phase comparator and low-pass filter means connected to accept a signal (f_LC3) representing the switching frequency of the apparatus and an external frequency signal (f_S) and to produce a control signal (Vx) for said controllable switching means (40), said control signal being a function of the phase difference between the input signals thereto.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controllable switching means (40) is a switch connected in series with the means (30) for switching the reference signal, and having a control input for accepting said control signal (Vx).