Method and apparatus for improved DC power delivery management and configuration
First Claim
1. A power delivery management system, the system comprising:
- a plurality of digital power management devices, wherein each of the plurality of power management devices comprises a plurality of functions, wherein each of the plurality of digital power management devices is operable to provide power to one or more point of load devices; and
a control and communication bus, wherein each one of the plurality of digital power management devices is coupled to the control and communication bus;
wherein each respective digital power management device of the plurality of digital power management devices includes a controller operable to control the functions of the respective digital power management device;
wherein the plurality of digital power management devices are operable to communicate with each other over the control and communication bus to receive information from each other to coordinate their functions;
wherein in receiving information from each other to coordinate their functions;
each of the plurality of digital power management devices is configured to receive information transmitted onto the bus by other digital power management devices of the plurality of digital power management devices; and
each of the plurality of power management devices is configured to perform one or more of its functions based on the information transmitted onto the bus by the other digital power management devices.
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Abstract
A new system-level approach to managing the delivery of DC voltage and current. Several system level functions may be enabled without requiring separate ICs to perform those functions. Supervisory functions for a voltage converter may be performed by a central control module or chip that may be coupled to point-of-load voltage converters comprised in digital power management devices (DPMD) through a serial digital bus. The DPMDs may also use the high-speed serial digital bus to provide real-time feedback information to the central control module or chip. Single DPMDs may be combined together in a current sharing configuration in a “plug-and-play” fashion, where the control logic in each DPMD is capable of automatically establishing control loops required a multi-phase supply. Feedback necessary for establishing control may be transmitted across the digital bus coupling the devices. The supervisory functions may be included in each DPMD, which may communicate with each other over a serial digital bus, where the DPMDs singly or together may operate to perform control of their respective POLs, enabling configurations that do not require a central control module.
50 Citations
42 Claims
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1. A power delivery management system, the system comprising:
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a plurality of digital power management devices, wherein each of the plurality of power management devices comprises a plurality of functions, wherein each of the plurality of digital power management devices is operable to provide power to one or more point of load devices; and a control and communication bus, wherein each one of the plurality of digital power management devices is coupled to the control and communication bus; wherein each respective digital power management device of the plurality of digital power management devices includes a controller operable to control the functions of the respective digital power management device; wherein the plurality of digital power management devices are operable to communicate with each other over the control and communication bus to receive information from each other to coordinate their functions; wherein in receiving information from each other to coordinate their functions; each of the plurality of digital power management devices is configured to receive information transmitted onto the bus by other digital power management devices of the plurality of digital power management devices; and each of the plurality of power management devices is configured to perform one or more of its functions based on the information transmitted onto the bus by the other digital power management devices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A power delivery management system, the system comprising:
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a plurality of digital power management devices, wherein each of the plurality of power management devices comprises a plurality of functions, wherein each of the plurality of digital power management devices is operable to provide power to one or more point of load devices, wherein each of the plurality of digital power management devices comprises an interface configured to couple to a control and communication bus; and wherein each respective digital power management device of the plurality of digital power management devices includes a controller operable to control the functions of the respective digital power management device; wherein the plurality of digital power management devices are configured to communicate with each other over the control and communication bus to receive information from each other to coordinate their functions; wherein in receiving information from each other to coordinate their functions; the plurality of digital power management devices are configured to receive information transmitted onto the bus by any of the plurality of digital power management devices; and each of the plurality of power management devices is configured to perform one or more of its functions based on information received from any of the plurality of power management devices.
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42. A power delivery management system, the system comprising:
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a plurality of digital power management devices, wherein each of the plurality of power management devices comprises a plurality of functions, wherein each of the plurality of digital power management devices is operable to provide power to one or more point of load devices; and a control and communication bus, wherein each one of the plurality of digital power management devices is coupled to the control and communication bus; wherein each respective digital power management device of the plurality of digital power management devices includes a controller operable to control the functions of the respective digital power management device; wherein the plurality of digital power management devices are operable to communicate with each other over the control and communication bus to receive information from each other; wherein in receiving information from each other; the plurality of digital power management devices are configured to receive status information transmitted onto the bus by other digital power management devices of the plurality of digital power management devices; each of the plurality of power management devices is configured to perform one or more of its functions based on the status information received from the other digital power management devices; and wherein the status information comprises status of respective functions of the other digital power management devices.
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Specification