Method and apparatus for digital voltage regulation
First Claim
1. A method of operating a voltage regulator having an input terminal to be coupled to an input voltage source, an output terminal to be coupled to a load, and a plurality of switching circuits to alternately couple and decouple the input terminal to the output terminal, comprising:
- a) calculating an estimated current for each switching circuit, each estimated current representing a current passing through an inductor associated with the switching circuit;
b) calculating a total desired output current to pass through the inductors which will maintain an output voltage at the output terminal substantially constant; and
c) controlling the switching circuits based on the estimated current and the total desired output current so that a total current passing through the inductors is approximately equal to the total desired output current.
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Abstract
A digital voltage regulator has an input terminal coupled to an input voltage source, an output terminal coupled to a load, and a plurality of switching circuits to alternately couple and decouple the input terminal to the output terminal. An estimated current is calculated for each switching circuit, each estimated current representing a current passing through an inductor associated with the switching circuit. A total desired output current to pass through the inductors is calculated which will maintain an output voltage at the output terminal substantially constant. The switching circuits are controlled based on the estimated current and the total desired output current so that a total current passing through the inductors is approximately equal to the total desired output current.
122 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method of operating a voltage regulator having an input terminal to be coupled to an input voltage source, an output terminal to be coupled to a load, and a plurality of switching circuits to alternately couple and decouple the input terminal to the output terminal, comprising:
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a) calculating an estimated current for each switching circuit, each estimated current representing a current passing through an inductor associated with the switching circuit; b) calculating a total desired output current to pass through the inductors which will maintain an output voltage at the output terminal substantially constant; and c) controlling the switching circuits based on the estimated current and the total desired output current so that a total current passing through the inductors is approximately equal to the total desired output current. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A voltage regulator having an input terminal to be coupled to an input voltage source and an output terminal to be coupled to a load, comprising:
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a) a plurality of switching circuit to intermittently couple the input terminal and the output terminal in response to a digital control signal; b) a plurality of filters to provide a generally DC output voltage at the output terminal, each filter including an inductor; c) a plurality of current sensors to generate a plurality of feedback signals derived from the currents passing through the switching circuits; and d) a digital controller which receives and uses the plurality of feedback signals to i) calculate an estimated current for each switching circuit, each estimated current representing a current passing through the inductor associated with the switching circuit, ii) calculate a total desired output current to pass through the inductors which will maintain an output voltage at the output terminal substantially constant, and iii) generate the digital control signal based on the estimated current and the total desired output current so that a total current passing through the inductors is approximately equal to the total desired output current.
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23. A method of determining a total desired current through a switching circuit in a voltage regulator in order to maintain an output voltage at an output terminal substantially constant, the switching circuit intermittently coupling an input terminal to be coupled to an input voltage source to the output terminal to be coupled to a load, the voltage regulator including at least one capacitor coupled to the output terminal, comprising:
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measuring a first output voltage at the output terminal at a first time; measuring a second output voltage at the output terminal at a second time; calculating an estimated current representing the current flowing through the inductor; calculating a capacitance current representing a current flowing to or from the at least one capacitor based on a difference between the first output voltage and the second output voltage; calculating a correction current based on a difference between a desired voltage and one of the first and second output voltages; and calculating a total desired current for the voltage regulator from a difference between a sum of the estimated current and the correction current, and the capacitance current.
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24. A method of operating a voltage regulator having an input terminal to be coupled to an input voltage source, an output terminal to be coupled to a load, and a plurality of switching circuits to alternately couple and decouple the input terminal to the output terminal, comprising:
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a) calculating with a digital controller an estimated current for each switching circuit, each estimated current representing a current passing through an inductor associated with the switching circuit; b) calculating with the digital controller a total desired output current to pass through the inductors which will maintain an output voltage at the output terminal substantially constant; and c) controlling the switching circuits with the digital controller based on the estimated current and the total desired output current so that a total current passing through the inductors is approximately equal to the total desired output current.
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Specification