Programmable soft-start control for charge pump
First Claim
1. A programmable soft-start control for a charge pump comprising at least one programmable register for controlling charging duration of the charge pump, the charging duration being changeable by said at least one programmable register, the charge pump being charged in a series of discrete ramp steps which provide increasing charge current during each discrete ramp step.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A programmable soft-start control circuit having two memory registers for regulating the ramp-up time period of charging current in a charge pump of an integrated circuit. The two memory registers are programmed to provide two different soft-start settings for two distinct charge pump turn-on conditions, initial power-up and flash programming. Charge pump feedback logic is employed to detect the charge pump turn-on condition and activate the proper pre-programmed soft-start setting loaded in the memory registers.
28 Citations
19 Claims
- 1. A programmable soft-start control for a charge pump comprising at least one programmable register for controlling charging duration of the charge pump, the charging duration being changeable by said at least one programmable register, the charge pump being charged in a series of discrete ramp steps which provide increasing charge current during each discrete ramp step.
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13. A method of programmably controlling a charge pump comprising:
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providing at least one programmable register for controlling charging duration of the charge pump; setting a changeable charging duration by writing an n-bit word to said at least one programmable register; and using feedback logic to detect a turn-on condition of the charge pump. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. A method of programmably controlling a charge pump comprising;
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providing at least one programmable register for controlling charging duration of the charge pump; setting a changeable charging duration by writing an n-bit word to said at least one programmable register; driving a charging-series output with a clock signal pulse at a specific frequency, and providing a charging-series output to the charge-strength selector inputs of the charge pump to vary a voltage ramp-up rate of an output voltage of the charge pump.
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17. A method of programmably controlling a charge pump comprising:
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providing programmable registers for controlling charging duration of the charge pump; setting a changeable charging duration by writing an n-bit word to at least one of said programmable registers; detecting a specific soft-start condition of the charge pump; and providing a clock signal pulse produced according to digital logic of one of said programmable registers for the specific soft-start condition.
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18. A method of programmably controlling a charge pump comprising:
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providing at least one programmable register for controlling charging duration of the charge pump; and setting a changeable charging duration by writing an n-bit word to said at least one programmable register; wherein the charge pump charges in a series of discrete ramp steps of increasing current, and wherein duration of said each discrete ramp step is controlled by said n-bit word written to said at least one programmable register.
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19. A method of programmably controlling a charge pump comprising:
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providing a pair of programmable registers for controlling charging duration of the charge pump; setting a changeable charging duration by writing an n-bit word to at least one of said programmable registers; assigning a distinct turn-on condition of the charge pump to each of said programmable registers.
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Specification