Apple Inc.

Linear Technology Corporation

Damon Lee

Mark A Yoshimoto

Jonathan Mark Audy

Jamie L Langlinais

Rajarshi Paul

Parin Patel

Talbott Mead Houk

Evaldo M Miranda, Jr

Vijayanish Varadharajan

Madhavi V Tagare

A power supply for an electronic device having a plurality of voltage rails including at least one low voltage rail and at least one high voltage rail can include a single inductor multiple output (SIMO) converter. The SIMO converter can include a single inductor; a plurality of switching devices selectively operable as switching converters for producing the plurality of regulated output voltages; and a SIMO power controller including control circuitry that selectively operates the plurality of switching devices responsive at least in part to an input voltage and the plurality of regulated output voltages. The plurality of switching devices can be arranged in a plurality of phases, and the SIMO power controller can include control circuitry for each of the plurality of phases.

Flexible system for creating multiple main system rails from a current limited input source

A power conversion circuit providing a regulated output voltage to a load can include a switching regulator with an input configured to be coupled to an input voltage source and an output configured to be coupled to the load. The power conversion circuit can further include a metered charge transfer converter, such as a charge pump or a switched or pulsed current source, having an input configured to be coupled to an input voltage source and having an output configured to be coupled to the load. A controller coupled to the metered charge transfer converter can be configured to operate the metered charge transfer converter to deliver energy to the load responsive to a dip of the regulated output voltage below a threshold caused by an increase in current drawn by the load. The metered charge transfer converter may be located closer to the load than the switching regulator.

Metered charge transfer assisted switching regulators

A multi-phase switch mode, voltage regulator has a transient mode portion in which a phase control output is coupled to one or more control inputs of one or more switch circuits that conduct inductor current through one or more transient phase inductors, from amongst a number of phase inductors. A slew mode control circuit detects a high slope and then a low slope in the feedback voltage and, in between detection of the high slope and the low slope, pulses the phase control output of the transient mode portion so that the switch circuit that conducts transient phase inductor current adds power to, or sinks power from, the power supply output. Other embodiments are also described.

Slew mode control of transient phase based on output voltage slope of multiphase DC-DC power converter

An amplifier/comparator includes a multitude of output stages all sharing the same input stage. One or more of the output stages are amplification stages and have compensated output signals. A number of other output stages are not compensated and provide comparison signals. Each uncompensated output stage is adapted to switch to a first state if it detects a first input signal as being greater than a second signal, and further to switch to a second state if it detects the first input signal as being smaller than the second signal. By varying the channel-width (W) to channel-length (L) ratio (W/L) of the transistors disposed in the output stages, the trip points of the comparators and/or the electrical characteristics of the amplifiers are selectively varied.

Multiple output amplifiers and comparators

Control circuits that employ time-based current control methods for switching voltage regulators are provided. The control circuit includes a current estimation circuit and optionally, a transfer function circuit. The current estimation circuit generates estimates of regulator output current as function of switch period for use as a threshold indicative of peak current limit. This arrangement eliminates the need for error amplifiers to provide effective current mode control. The absence of error amplifiers allows fabrication of switching regulators on smaller die areas and provides switching regulators with reduced power consumption.

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Damon Lee