Noise resistant regulator including an encoded control signal
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A power supply comprising:
- a non-isolated DC/DC converter supplying a regulated DC voltage to a load including;
a power switch driven by a smart gate driver;
a control loop carrying a load condition signal and a control signal; and
a controller that generates the control signal responsive to the load condition signal;
wherein;
the controller is located on a first integrated circuit package;
the smart gate driver is located on a second integrated circuit package;
an analog to digital converter located on the second integrated circuit package;
an encoder located on the first integrated circuit package, the encoder encoding the control signal and embedding a synchronization signal in the control signal, the synchronization signal providing a precise timing window for timing and sampling of the load condition signal; and
a decoder located on the second integrated circuit package, the decoder decoding the control signal and providing the synchronization signal to the analog to digital converter; and
the load condition signal is encoded on the second integrated circuit package in proximity to the load to reduce noise sensitivity on the control loop between the first and second integrated circuit packages,the encoded load condition signal is decoded by a second decoder on the first integrated circuit package prior to being passed to the controller.
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Abstract
A converter for supplying a regulated voltage from an input to a load is disclosed. The converter supplies a regulated DC voltage from an input to a load using a power switch driven by a gate driver. It also includes a control loop for carrying a load condition signal and a control signal. The converter also includes a controller located on the control loop that generates the control signal based on the load signal. The controller is located on a first integrated circuit. The gate driver is located on a second integrated circuit. The load condition signal is encoded on the first integrated circuit and is decoded on the second integrated circuit.
39 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A power supply comprising:
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a non-isolated DC/DC converter supplying a regulated DC voltage to a load including; a power switch driven by a smart gate driver; a control loop carrying a load condition signal and a control signal; and a controller that generates the control signal responsive to the load condition signal; wherein; the controller is located on a first integrated circuit package; the smart gate driver is located on a second integrated circuit package; an analog to digital converter located on the second integrated circuit package; an encoder located on the first integrated circuit package, the encoder encoding the control signal and embedding a synchronization signal in the control signal, the synchronization signal providing a precise timing window for timing and sampling of the load condition signal; and a decoder located on the second integrated circuit package, the decoder decoding the control signal and providing the synchronization signal to the analog to digital converter; and the load condition signal is encoded on the second integrated circuit package in proximity to the load to reduce noise sensitivity on the control loop between the first and second integrated circuit packages, the encoded load condition signal is decoded by a second decoder on the first integrated circuit package prior to being passed to the controller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An apparatus comprising:
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a converter for supplying a power from an input to a load; a feedback path for controlling the converter, at least a portion of the feedback path carrying a sense signal representative of one of a load current or a load voltage; a decoder for decoding an encoded sense signal to produce a decoded sense signal prior to the decoded sense signal being passed to a controller, the decoded sense signal being used to generate a control signal to control the converter; and an encoder for encoding the sense signal to produce the encoded sense signal; wherein the decoder is located on a first integrated circuit package and the encoder is located on a second integrated circuit package, the second integrated circuit package placed in proximity to the load and comprising a smart gate driver including the encoder and a gate driver, to reduce noise sensitivity on the feedback path; the encoder being an analog to digital converter located on the second integrated circuit package; a third encoder located on the first integrated circuit package, the third encoder encoding the control signal and embedding a synchronization signal in the control signal, the synchronization signal providing a precise timing window for timing and sampling of the sense signal; and a second decoder located on the second integrated circuit package, the second decoder decoding the control signal and providing the synchronization signal to the analog to digital converter; the first integrated circuit package and the second integrated circuit package comprising a non-isolated DC/DC converter supplying a regulated DC voltage to the load. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for controlling a non-isolated DC-DC converter comprising:
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generating a load condition signal and a control signal; generating the control signal responsive to the load condition signal using a controller, the controller being implemented on a first integrated circuit package; encoding the control signal on the first integrated circuit package using an encoder; embedding a synchronization signal in the control signal using the encoder, the synchronization signal providing precise timing window for timing and sampling of the load condition signal; driving a power switch to drive a load using a smart gate driver including a gate driver and a second encoder, the smart gate driver located on a second integrated circuit package in proximity to the load; encoding the load condition signal on one of the second integrated circuit package and a third integrated circuit co-packaged with the second integrated circuit package, the encoding of the load condition signal to reduce noise sensitivity of the load condition signal; and decoding the load condition signal on the first integrated circuit, and passing the decoded load condition signal to the controller; decoding the control signal using a decoder on one of the second integrated circuit and a fourth integrated circuit co-packaged with the second integrated circuit; and providing the synchronization signal from the decoder to a control circuit located on one of the second integrated circuit and the fourth integrated circuit; thereby enabling the non-isolated DC/DC converter to supply a regulated DC voltage to the load. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A multi-channel noise resistant non-isolated DC to DC converter to drive a plurality of loads comprising:
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a plurality of channels, each channel comprising; a power switch used to supply a regulated DC voltage to a load, the power switch driven by a smart gate driver, the smart gate driver including a gate driver and an encoder; a control loop carrying a load condition signal and a control signal; and a controller located on the control loop to generate the control signal based on the load condition signal; the controllers for the plurality of channels comprising a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) multi-channel converter in a single integrated circuit package; the smart gate drivers for each of the plurality of channels located in one or more additional integrated circuit packages, separate from the first integrated circuit package, each of the smart gate drivers driving a separate one of the plurality of loads; the load condition signals for the plurality of channels encoded on a respective one of the one or more additional integrated circuit packages associated with a respective smart gate drivers in proximity to a respective load to reduce noise sensitivity on each control loop, the load condition signals decoded on the first integrated circuit package prior to being passed to an associated controller; each of the one or more additional integrated circuit packages including a decoder; a first encoder encodes a control signal and combines the control signal with a synchronization signal, the synchronization signal providing a precise timing window for timing and sampling of the load condition signal; and the decoder decodes the control signal and provides the synchronization signal to a second encoder. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification