Step-up/step-down switching regulator

• US 7,560,911 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2007
• Issued: 07/14/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Nishida, Junji
• Primary Examiner(s): HAN, YOUNGHUIE JESSICA
• Application Number:
  US11/935,799
• Publication Number:
  US 20080116868A1
• Time in Patent Office: 616 Days
• Field of Search: 323/259, 323/271, 323/282, 323/284, 323/285, 323/290, 323/351
• US Class Current: 323/259
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/1582 Buck-boost converters H02M3/1584 takes precedence

Abstract

A disclosed step-up/step-down switching regulator includes a step-up/step-down part using an inductor for stepping up or stepping down an input voltage from an input terminal and outputting the stepped-up/stepped-down voltage from an output terminal according to a control signal, and a control part for controlling the stepping-up/stepping-down by the step-up/step-down part according to a voltage difference between a voltage proportional to the voltage output from the step-up/step-down part and a predetermined reference voltage. The control part includes an error amplifier circuit part for amplifying the voltage difference between the proportional voltage and the reference voltage and outputting the amplified voltage, an inverting amplifier circuit part for performing inverting amplification on the voltage output from the error amplifier circuit and outputting the inverted voltage, and an output control part for performing a step-down operation on the step-up/step-down part according to the voltage output from the error amplifier circuit part and performing a step-up operation on the step-up/step-down part according to the voltage output from the inverting amplifier circuit part.

Claims

1. A step-up/step-down switching regulator comprising:

a step-up/step-down part using an inductor for stepping up or stepping down an input voltage from an input terminal and outputting the stepped-up/stepped-down voltage from an output terminal according to a control signal; and

a control part for controlling the stepping-up/stepping-down by the step-up/step-down part according to a voltage difference between a proportional voltage proportional to the voltage output from the step-up/step-down part and a predetermined reference voltage;

wherein the control part includes

an error amplifier circuit part for amplifying the voltage difference between the proportional voltage and the reference voltage and outputting the amplified voltage,

an inverting amplifier circuit part for performing inverting amplification on the voltage output from the error amplifier circuit and outputting the inverted voltage, and

an output control part for performing a step-down operation on the step-up/step-down part according to the voltage output from the error amplifier circuit part and performing a step-up operation on the step-up/step-down part according to the voltage output from the inverting amplifier circuit part.

2. The step-up/step-down switching regulator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inverting amplifier circuit part includes a shift voltage generating circuit for generating a predetermined shift voltage and adding the generated shift voltage to the voltage output from the inverting amplifier circuit.

3. The step-up/step-down switching regulator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step-up/step down part includes

a step-down switching transistor switching on and off in performing the step-down operation and charging the inductor with the input voltage according to the voltage output from the error amplifier circuit part,

a step-down rectifier element for allowing the inductor to discharge in performing the step-down operation,

a step-up switching transistor switching on and off in performing the step-up operation and charging the inductor with the input voltage according to the voltage output from the inverting amplifier circuit part, and

a step-up rectifier element for allowing the inductor to discharge in performing the step-up operation,

wherein the output control part is configured to control the step-down switching transistor and the step-up switching transistor so that an on-duty cycle of the step-down switching transistor becomes 100% while the on-duty cycle of the step-up switching transistor becomes 0% when the voltage output from the error amplifier circuit part is equal to the voltage output from the inverting amplifier circuit part.

4. The step-up/step-down switching regulator as claimed in claim 3, wherein the output control part includes

a triangular wave oscillator circuit for generating a predetermined triangular wave voltage and outputting the generated triangular wave voltage,

a step-down output control circuit for comparing the voltage output from the error amplifier circuit part and the triangular wave voltage and controlling the switching of the step-down switching transistor according to the comparison result between the voltage output from the error amplifier circuit part and the triangular wave voltage,

a step-up output control circuit for comparing the voltage output from the inverting amplifier circuit part and the triangular wave voltage and controlling the switching of the step-up switching transistor according to the comparison result between the voltage output from the inverting amplifier circuit part and the triangular wave voltage,

wherein when the voltage output from the error amplifier circuit part is equal to the voltage output from the inverting amplifier circuit part, the equal voltage is greater than an upper limit voltage of the triangular wave voltage.

5. The step-up/step-down switching regulator as claimed in claim 3, wherein the step-down switching transistor, the step-down rectifier element, the step-up switching transistor, the step-up rectifier element, and the control part are integrated on a single IC.