Intersil Americas Inc.

Renesas Electronics America Inc.

Eric Magne Solie

M Jason Houston

Mehul Dilip Shah

Thomas Andrew Jochum

Bin Li

Tu A Bui

Kun Xing

Sungkeun Lim

Robert L Lyle, Jr

Wei Dong

Paul K Sferrazza

Yen-Mo Chen

Ronil Depak Patel

Minghua Li

Susan Montgomery Schneider, Legal Representative

Ronil Dipak Patel

An apparatus including a proportional gain circuit, an integral gain circuit, a limit circuit, a gain booster circuit and a combiner. The gain circuits apply a proportional gain and an integral gain to an error signal, and the combiner combines both gained error signals to provide a control signal. The limit circuit applies a limit function that limits the proportional gain to a magnitude. The gain booster circuit increases gain while the limit function is being applied. The increased gain may be applied to only the integral gain, or to both the integral and proportional gains such as by boosting gain of the error signal. The apparatus may be a regulator that may include multiple control loops providing multiple error signals, in which a mode selector selects one of the error signals to control regulation. The limit function increases stability while the boosted gain improves transient response during mode transitions.

Regulator with high speed nonlinear compensation

One or more embodiments are directed to a multiport power delivery architecture that reduces the cost and maximizes the power utilization. According to some aspects, an adapter power add-up feature of the embodiments can combine the power of two or more adapters. The total power can be used to support CPU Turbo events and Quick Charge function. In one aspect, one charger operates as voltage source or current source and the other(s) as current source(s). When the system demand is high enough for all chargers may operate as current sources, the battery will supply the rest of the system demand. The proposed implementation of adapter power add-up feature can enable simple control scheme. Customers can set up BGATE control priorities to determine which charger to handle the BGATE control.

Adapter power add-up feature for multiport systems

A hysteretic current mode buck-boost voltage regulator including a buck-boost voltage converter, a switching controller, a window circuit, a ramp circuit, and a timing circuit. The timing circuit may be additional ramp circuits. The voltage converter is toggled between first and second switching states during a boost mode, is toggled between third and fourth switching states during a buck mode, and is sequentially cycled through each switching state during a buck-boost mode. The ramp circuit develops a ramp voltage that simulates current through the voltage converter, and switching is determined using the ramp voltage compared with window voltages provided by the window circuit. The window voltages establish frequency, and may be adjusted based on the input and output voltages. The timing circuit provides timing indications during the buck-boost mode to ensure that the second and fourth switching states have approximately the same duration to provide symmetry of the ramp signal.

Hysteretic current mode buck-boost control architecture having sequential switching states

A method to soft start a charge pump circuit according to embodiments includes enabling switching for a plurality of power transistors, selecting a first switching control signal from a plurality of switching control signals for the selected plurality of power transistors, slowly ramping up a plurality of bootstrap supply voltages associated with the selected plurality of power transistors, driving a gate-to-source voltage of each power transistor of the selected plurality of power transistors at a first predefined level, and determining if the plurality of bootstrap supply voltages are less than a second predefined level. If the plurality of bootstrap supply voltages are less than the second predefined level, the method further includes toggling and thereby selecting a second switching control signal from the plurality of switching control signals for a second selected plurality of power transistors.

Method and circuitry to soft start high power charge pumps

According to certain aspects, the present embodiments are based on an improved switched-capacitor (SC) converter topology that typically does not include an inductor. In particular, the topology includes a ladder SC circuit configured as a cap divider. The cap divider can be used to provide an unregulated output voltage Vout that is a certain fraction (e.g. 2) of input voltage Vin, such as Vin/2 (i.e., duty cycle&#x2248;50%). In some embodiments of a PWM control scheme for this topology, the PWM OFF pulse is free running, determined by the logic combination of timer and VOUT comparator. The PWM OFF pulse width is measured and used as the reference for a minimum PWM ON timer. The PWM ON pulse is therefore forced to be at least a minimum width that is proportional to the PWM OFF pulse. A UVOV protection window can be added to ignore the minimum PWM ON timer during a load transient.

PWM control scheme for providing minimum on time

A voltage regulator including a converter and a modulator. The converter includes a switching circuit coupled to an inductor for converting an input voltage to an output voltage. The modulator controls the switching circuit in a buck mode of operation, a boost mode of operation, and an intermediate buck-boost mode of operation. During the buck-boost mode of operation, the modulator controls the switching circuit during each switching cycle to sequentially switch between three different switching states, including a first switching state that applies the input voltage across the inductor, a second switching state that applies a difference between the input and output voltages across the inductor, and a third switching state that applies the output voltage across the inductor. The modulator is controlled based on voltage applied across or current flowing through the inductor to regulate the output voltage to a target level.

Current mode 3-state buck-boost PWM control architecture

A current mode control regulator including a control circuit and a current generator. The control circuit regulates an output voltage based on a reference voltage using current mode control. The current generator applies an adjust current to a feedback current signal, in which the adjust current is proportional to a difference between a voltage indicative of the output voltage and the reference voltage to emulate an AC load resistance at an output of the current mode regulator. A load resistor emulator emulates an AC load resistor to increase the phase margin of current mode control regulator when operating without a battery coupled to the output, such as when the battery is physically removed or otherwise electrically disconnected. Operation is not substantially changed when the battery is connected, so that the desired phase margin is achieve with or without the battery.

Current mode control regulator with load resistor emulation

Embodiments described herein relate to a circuit including a DC-to-DC converter and a switching device to selectively isolate an input voltage from an input node of the DC-to-DC converter. The circuit also includes a controller coupled to the input node and to the switching device. The controller is configured to apply a test voltage to the input node, to enable the switching device to be switched from a non-conductive state to a conductive state if a voltage on the input node is above a threshold while the test current is applied to the input node, and to restrict the switching device from being switched from the non-conductive state to the conductive state if the voltage on the input node is below the threshold while the test current is applied to the input node.

DC-to-DC converter input node short protection

Hysteretic current mode buck-boost control architecture

A system and method for controlling a converter of a power stage receiving an adapter current for providing current to a load. The converter is operative in a buck mode for charging a battery and in a boost mode for discharging the battery to the load to supplement adapter current. The adapter current is compared with a predetermined level to develop a control signal, and at least one pulse control signal is developed based on the control signal and used to control the modulator. The modulator operates the converter in the buck mode when the adapter current up to the predetermined level, and operates the converter in the boost mode when the adapter current exceeds the predetermined level. The battery current may also be monitored to adjust the control signal to limit battery charge or discharge current in both modes.

Battery charge modulator with boost capability

A controllably alternating buck mode DC-DC converter conducts cycle by cycle analysis of the direction of inductor current flow to decide whether to operate in synchronous buck mode or standard buck mode for the next successive cycle. For each cycle of the PWM waveform controlling the buck mode DC-DC converter, a mode control circuit examines and latches data representative of the direction of inductor current flow relative to the chargeable battery. If the inductor current flow is positive, a decision is made to operate in synchronous buck mode for the next PWM cycle, which allows positive current to charge the battery; if the inductor current drops to zero, a decision is made to operate the converter in standard buck mode for the next PWM cycle, so as to prevent current from flowing out of the battery and boosting the system bus.

Method and apparatus for preventing boosting system bus when charging a battery

A modulator for use with a voltage regulator includes an input for receiving an input voltage, an output for providing a periodic triangular wave form and at least one input for receiving an indication that the voltage regulator is in a discontinuous current mode of operation. The circuitry within the modulator generates the periodic triangular wave form responsive to the input voltage and the indication that the voltage regulator is in the discontinuous current mode of operation. The circuitry further continuously increases a period of the periodic triangular wave form responsive to a decreased load in a discontinuous current mode of operation of the voltage regulator.

Modulator with linear period stretching capability

A method for charging a battery of an electronic device using a connected a/c power adapter comprising the steps of determining a state of a transistor connecting a regulated voltage to the battery and switching a charging current applied to the battery between a quick charge level and a trickle charge level responsive to the state of the transistor.

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Durham, NC, United States of America

Eric Magne Solie