Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (publ)

Jonas Malmberg

Magnus Karlsson

Oscar Persson

Mikael Appelberg

Fredrik Wahledow

Anders Kullman

Henrik Borgengren

Torbjörn Holmberg

Marko Leskovec

Mikael Hàkan Appelberg

Magnus Karlsson Karlsson

A controller for a switched mode power supply (SMPS) including a reference voltage signal generator to generate a variable reference voltage signal for regulating an output voltage of the SMPS, and a voltage droop control signal generator to receive a current indicator signal indicative of an output current of the SMPS, and generate an output voltage droop control signal in response to a first function and a second function of the current indicator signal. The first function is employed when the reference voltage signal generator ramps the variable reference voltage signal, and the second function is employed thereafter. The controller includes a switching control signal generator to receive a voltage indicator signal, and to generate a control signal to regulate the output voltage of the SMPS based on the voltage indicator signal, the variable reference voltage signal, and the output voltage droop control signal.

Voltage droop control in a voltage-regulated switched mode power supply

A system and method to determine a capacitance of a capacitor. In one embodiment, a power converter includes a controller coupled to an output capacitor and a power train configured to convert an input voltage to a nominal output voltage. The controller is configured to ramp up an output voltage of the power converter with a first slope and a second slope, and receive a first output current of the power converter during a first rise time associated with the first slope and a second output current of the power converter during a second rise time associated with the second slope. The controller is also configured to compute a capacitance of the output capacitor employing the first and second output currents, the first and second rise times, and the nominal output voltage.

System and method to determine a capacitance of a capacitor

A control circuit for a switched mode power supply (SMPS) has an input voltage reference voltage generator arranged to receive a signal indicative of an input voltage of the SMPS and is arranged to generate a reference signal directly proportional to the input voltage. An error signal generator of the control circuit is arranged to receive a signal indicative of an output voltage of the SMPS and arranged to generate an error signal based on the reference signal generated by the input reference voltage generator and based on the output voltage of the SMPS. A duty cycle control signal generator of the control circuit is arranged to generate a control signal, to control the duty cycle of the SMPS, in dependence upon the error signal.

Controlling a switched mode power supply with maximised power efficiency

A method of operating a switched mode power supply comprising a switched mode converter and a control arrangement. The switched mode converter converts an input voltage to an output voltage and includes a primary winding, controllable switch based circuitry connecting the input voltage over the primary winding, a secondary winding coupled to the primary winding, and an LC filter including an inductive element and a capacitive element, wherein the output voltage is obtained as the voltage over the capacitive element and a duty cycle of the switched mode converter can be controlled by controlling the switch based circuitry. The switched mode converter is controlled depending on measurements of the input and output voltages in a hybrid regulated ratio control scheme. The power of the switched mode power supply is shut off or a current thereof is limited, when a current of the switched mode power supply reaches a maximum current.

Method of operating a switched mode power supply, computer program, and switched mode power supply

A voltage converter () is disclosed, which comprises a controller () operable in: a first mode to control the voltage converter so as to convert an input voltage (V) at an input () of the voltage converter to an output voltage (V) at an output () of the voltage converter; and a second mode, in which the controller () is configurable by configuration control signals () so as to change the control applied by the controller to the voltage converter. The voltage converter () also includes a power module () arranged to derive and supply an operation voltage (V) to the controller (), the power module () being arranged to derive the operation voltage from the input voltage (V) during operation of the controller () in the first mode, and a voltage source () other than the input voltage (V) during operation of the controller () in the second mode. There is also described herein a power supply system comprising one or more such voltage converters, and a method of configuring the power supply system.

Programmable voltage converter

The present disclosure relates to methods, a system and a module for operating a power converter module. The power converter module comprises a voltage converter, an output circuitry, and a processing circuitry operable for controlling the voltage converter. One method comprises transmitting a first status signal representing operating parameters of the voltage converter to the processing circuitry. Determining whether the first status signal of the voltage converter is acceptable. The method also comprises transmitting a second status signal representing the operating parameters of the output circuitry to the processing circuitry. The method also comprises determining if the second status signal is above a predetermined threshold value. When the second status signal is above said predetermined threshold value and the status of the voltage converter is acceptable, entering a peak output mode operating the voltage converter at maximum power dissipation.

Method for operating a power converter module and a device therefor

A digital control unit generates a control signal to control a duty cycle of a switched mode power supply such that a faster response to an input voltage transient is achieved. The digital control unit comprises a feedback compensator, a feed forward compensator, a transient detector, and a controller. The transient detector receives a signal indicative of the input voltage of the switched mode power supply and detects transients on the received signal. The feedback compensator receives a signal indicative of the output voltage of the switched mode power supply and adjusts the control signal. The feed forward compensator receives a signal indicative of the input voltage of the switched mode power supply, performs a relatively fast, but coarse, adjustment of the control signal, and then performs a more accurate, but relatively slow, adjustment of the control signal.

Voltage feed-forward compensation and voltage feedback compensation for switched mode power supplies

To reduce power loss in an intermediate bus architecture power system, embodiments of the present invention provide an intermediate bus converter which converts an input voltage to an intermediate bus voltage using a converting unit; receives a signal indicative of an output of a converting unit; determines an intermediate bus voltage to reduce power loss in dependence upon the signal indicative of an output of the converting unit; generates a control signal to control the converting unit to convert the input voltage to the determined intermediate bus voltage; and generates an intermediate bus voltage in dependence upon the control signal.

Control of dynamic bus voltage in an intermediate bus architecture power system

An isolated switched mode power supply comprises a transformer, with primary and secondary windings, and a rectification network connected to the secondary winding. The rectification network and the transformer are arranged such that, during a free-wheeling period of operation of the switched mode power supply, a magnetic flux from a first portion of a secondary winding of the transformer substantially cancels a magnetic flux from a second portion of the secondary winding between the first and second portions of the secondary winding. Additionally, a secondary side circuit connected to the secondary winding comprises a switching device, which is connected to a center-tap, provided between the first and second portions of the secondary winding, and an output of the rectification network so as to conduct at least a part of a free-wheeling current flowing in the secondary side circuit during the free-wheeling period.

Isolated switched mode power supply

A switching delay controller is configured to control a switching delay between the switching of first and second switching elements in a switched mode power supply. The switched mode power supply generates a feedback signal indicative of a difference between an output of the switched mode power supply and a reference for the output, and switches the first and second switching elements to convert an input voltage into an output voltage based on the feedback signal. The switching delay controller includes a switching delay calculator operable to cause a change of the switching delay for at least one switching cycle of the switched mode power supply, and a feedback signal monitor operable to monitor the feedback signal and determine a change in the feedback signal in response to the change of the switching delay by the switching delay calculator.

Switching delay controller for a switched mode power supply

A power converter system disclosed herein includes first and second voltage converting modules, for converting input current to output voltage, and a current share controller configured to establish a master-slave relationship between the first and second voltage converting modules. As a result, one of the first and second voltage converting modules acts as a master module, and the other acts as a slave module. The first and second voltage converting modules are arranged to operate in a current share configuration so as to share a load of the power converter system. The master module determines its output current and sends a signal indicative of its output current to the slave module via at least one signaling line connecting the master and modules to the current share controller. The slave module adjusts its output current in dependence on the signal from the master module.

Current share configuration in a power converter system

An isolated switched mode power supply (SMPS) is disclosed. The SMPS comprises a switching controller to generate start-up and operational switching control signals. The SMPS further includes a transformer, having a primary winding, and a full-bridge drive circuit to drive the primary winding. The full-bridge drive circuit comprises a first switching element, a boot-strap dnving circuit, and a second switching element. The switching controller is further used to start up isolated SMPS by determining a duty cycle for operational control signals and generating the start-up switching control signals.

Start-up procedure for an isolated switched mode power supply

A switched mode power supply (SMPS) comprising a feedback unit, voltage feed forward (VFF) compensation signal generator and a transient detector. A VFF compensation signal is only applied to the output of the feedback unit when a transient is detected by the transient detector on the input voltage of the SMPS, thereby saving power and computation time. The transient detector comprises a first comparator to detect that a positive transient has occurred if a difference signal is greater than a positive threshold level; a second comparator to determine if the difference signal is within a predetermined range of positive values and output a result that indicates if the difference signal is within the predetermined range of positive values; and a first calculator to detect that a positive transient has occurred if, out of a first predetermined number of consecutive results of the output of the second comparator, there is at least a second predetermined number of results indicating that the difference signal is within the predetermined range of positive values. The transient detector comprises further features for similarly detecting a negative transient.

Growing community of inventors

Färjestaden, Sweden

Jonas Malmberg