The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 07, 2001
Filed:
Apr. 13, 2000
Harold L. Massie, Turnwater, WA (US);
Edward L. Payton, Olympia, WA (US);
Intel Corporation, Sana Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
A power supply including a DC—DC converter with multiphase current sharing and ripple regulation. In one embodiment, the disclosed power supply includes a plurality of power drivers coupled to supply power to the supply output. The power drivers are cyclically enabled to provide multiphase current sharing. Ripple regulation is provided with a hysteretic comparator that is coupled to receive feedback from the power supply output. The hysteretic comparator is used to clock or advance a select circuit, which is used to cyclically enable each one of the plurality of power drivers. A reset circuit is included to reset the hysteretic comparator in the event that the hysteretic comparator has not switched for an excessive amount of time. A supply current sensor is used to monitor the current drawn by the plurality of power drivers. As the amount of current drawn by any of the plurality of power drivers rises, the on cycle time of the power driver that is delivering power to the power supply output at that particular time is shortened, enabling the next power driver to deliver power.