This application claims the benefit of CN application No. 201811523462.6, filed on Dec. 13, 2018, and incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates generally to electronic circuits, more specifically but not exclusively to current generating circuits and hall circuits.
In some applications, e.g., in some hall circuits, a current proportional to a reference voltage is desired. For a typical PTAP (Proportional to absolute temperature) current generating circuit, the PTAT current generated is often relevant to an absolute temperature but not relevant to a reference voltage. However, for a PTAT current used in some applications, for example, a PTAT current used as a bias current for some hall circuits, it is desired that the PTAT current is relevant to a reference voltage and varies with this reference voltage, for example, being proportional to the reference voltage, and further for example, being directly proportional to the reference voltage.
Thus, there's a need to address at least the above mentioned or other issues.
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a current generating circuit, comprising: a reference clock generating circuit configured to generate a reference clock signal, wherein the frequency of the reference clock signal is relevant to a reference voltage; a phase locked loop circuit configured to generate a calibration clock signal, wherein the phase locked loop circuit is configured to receive the reference clock signal and the calibration clock signal and to regulate the calibration clock signal according to the phase difference between the calibration clock signal and the reference clock signal so as to reduce the phase difference; and an output circuit coupled to the phase locked loop circuit, wherein the phase locked loop circuit is configured to control the output circuit so that the output circuit generates an output current according to the phase difference between the calibration clock signal and the reference clock signal.
Embodiments of the present invention are also directed to a hall circuit, comprising: a current generating circuit configured to generate an output current, wherein the current generating circuit is configured to comprise: a reference clock generating circuit configured to generate a reference clock signal, wherein the frequency of the reference clock signal is relevant to a reference voltage; a phase locked loop circuit configured to generate a calibration clock signal, wherein the phase locked loop circuit is configured to receive the reference clock signal and the calibration clock signal and to regulate the calibration clock signal according to the phase difference between the calibration clock signal and the reference clock signal so as to reduce the phase difference; and an output circuit coupled to the phase locked loop circuit, wherein the phase locked loop circuit is configured to control the output circuit so that the output circuit generates an output current according to the phase difference between the calibration clock signal and the reference clock signal; a hall sensor coupled to the current generating circuit to receive the output current, wherein the hall sensor is configured to generate a hall voltage according to the output current; and an amplifying system coupled to the hall sensor to receive the hall voltage and configured to generate an output voltage according to the hall voltage.
Embodiments of the present invention are further directed to a current generating circuit, comprising: a reference clock generating circuit configured to generate a reference clock signal, wherein the reference clock generating circuit comprises: a reference current source having an output terminal, wherein the reference current source is configured to provide a reference current proportional to the reference voltage at the output terminal; a first capacitor and a first switch both coupled between the output terminal of the reference current source and a reference ground, wherein across the first capacitor there exists a first capacitor voltage; a first comparator having a first input terminal, a second input terminal and an output terminal, wherein the first input terminal is configured to receive a first voltage and the second input terminal is coupled to the output terminal of the reference current source, and wherein the first comparator is configured to compare the first voltage with the first capacitor voltage and to generate a first comparison signal at the output terminal; and a first inverter having an input terminal and an output terminal, wherein the input terminal of the first inverter is coupled to the output terminal of the first comparator and the first inverter is configured to generate the reference clock signal at the output terminal, and wherein the reference clock is provided to control the on and off operations of the first switch; a phase locked loop circuit configured to generate a calibration clock signal, wherein the phase locked loop circuit is configured to receive the reference clock signal and the calibration clock signal and to regulate the calibration clock signal according to the phase difference between the calibration clock signal and the reference clock signal so as to reduce the phase difference; and an output circuit coupled to the phase locked loop circuit, wherein the phase locked loop circuit is configured to control the output circuit so that the output circuit generates an output current according to the phase difference between the calibration clock signal and the reference clock signal.
The present invention can be further understood with reference to the following detailed description and the appended drawings, wherein like elements are provided with like reference numerals.
The present invention is now described. While it is disclosed in its preferred form, the specific embodiments of the invention as disclosed herein and illustrated in the drawings are not to be considered in a limiting sense. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this invention will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Indeed, it should be readily apparent in view of the present description that the invention may be modified in numerous ways. Among other things, the present invention may be embodied as devices, methods, software, and so on. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or one embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.
Throughout the specification, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” may also include plural references.
When the reference clock generating circuit 200 operates, the reference current IREF charges the first capacitor C1, and accordingly, the first capacitor voltage VC1 across the first capacitor C1 increases gradually from zero and stops increasing until reaching the first voltage V1. During this process, the first comparison signal SCMP1 from the first comparator CMP1 keeps at the high level as the first capacitor voltage VC1 is lower than the first voltage V1, and in turn, through the first inverter INV1, the low level reference clock signal CLK1 is provided by the reference clock generating circuit 200. The low level reference clock signal CLK1 is provided to turn off the first switch S1, which ensures that the first capacitor C1 keeps being charged during this process. When the first capacitor voltage VC1 reaches the first voltage V1, the first comparison signal SCMP1 from the first comparator CMP1 keeps at the low level, and in turn, through the first inverter INV1, a high level reference clock signal CLK1 is provided by the reference clock generating circuit 200. The high level reference clock signal CLK1 is provided to turn on the first switch S1, which makes the first capacitor C1 be discharged and the first capacitor voltage VC1 is reset to zero. And afterwards, the reference clock generating circuit 200 enters into a new cycle. The reference current IREF charges the first capacitor C1 again, and accordingly, the first capacitor voltage VC1 across the first capacitor C1 increases gradually from zero.
From the above description, it is known that, the frequency fCLK1 of the reference clock signal CLK1 is:
The phase locked loop circuit 102 is configured to generate a calibration clock signal CLK2. The phase locked loop circuit 102 is coupled to the reference clock generating circuit 101 to receive the reference clock signal CLK1, and in addition, the phase locked loop circuit 102 is configured to receive the calibration clock signal CLK2 it generates. The phase locked loop circuit 102 regulates the calibration clock signal CLK2 according to the phase difference DPH between the calibration clock signal CLK2 and the reference clock signal CLK1, so that the phase difference DPH decreases gradually and the phase of the calibration clock signal CLK2 aligns with the phase of the reference clock signal CLK1 and the phase locked loop circuit 102 locks the phase of the calibration clock signal CLK2 eventually.
The low-pass filtering circuit LPF has an input terminal and an output terminal, wherein the input terminal of the low-pass filtering circuit LPF is coupled to the phase detecting circuit PD to receive the voltage error signal SPD. The low-pass filtering circuit LPF filters the high frequency of the voltage error signal SPD to generate a filtering signal VLPF at it output terminal. In an embodiment, the low-pass filtering circuit LPF is a traditional LC low-pass filtering circuit.
The voltage controlled oscillating circuit VCO has an input terminal and an output terminal, wherein the input terminal of the voltage controlled oscillating circuit VCO is coupled to the low-pass filtering circuit LPF to receive the filtering signal VLPF. The voltage controlled oscillating circuit VCO is configured to generate the calibration clock signal CLK2 at its output terminal and to regulate the calibration clock signal CLK2 according to the filtering signal VLPF so as to adjust the frequency of the calibration clock signal CLK2 to reduce the phase difference between the calibration clock signal CLK2 and the reference clock signal CLK1.
The calibration clock generating circuit 402 is coupled to the controlled current source CS2 to receive the controlled current ILPF and is configured to generate the calibration clock signal CLK2 according to the controlled current ILPF, wherein the frequency fCLK2 of the calibration clock signal CLK2 is proportional to the controlled current ILPF. The calibration clock generating circuit 402 is configured to comprise a second capacitor C2, a second switch S2, a second comparator CMP2 and a second inverter INV2. Both the second capacitor C2 and the second switch S2 are coupled between the controlled current source CS2 and the reference ground GND, and a second capacitor voltage VC2 exists across the second capacitor C2. The second comparator CMP2 has a first input terminal, a second input terminal and an output terminal, wherein the first input terminal is configured to receive a second voltage V2, and the second input terminal is coupled to the output terminal of the controlled current source CS2 to receive the second capacitor voltage VC2 across the second capacitor C2. In an embodiment, the second voltage V2 is the junction voltage VT ln 8 of a bipolar transistor of a common bandgap reference current source, wherein VT is the thermal voltage. In an embodiment, the first input terminal of the second comparator CMP2 is a non-inverting input terminal, and the second input terminal of the second comparator CMP2 is an inverting input terminal. The second comparator CMP2 compares the second voltage V2 with the second capacitor voltage VC2 and generates a second comparison signal SCMP2. The second inverter INV2 has an input terminal and an output terminal, wherein the input terminal of the second inverter INV2 is coupled to the output terminal of the second comparator CMP2, and the output terminal of the second inverter INV2 is coupled to the second switch S2. The second inverter INV2 is configured to generate the reference clock signal CLK2 at its output terminal to control the on and off operations of the second switch S2.
When the calibration clock generating circuit 402 operates, the controlled current ILPF charges the second capacitor C2, and accordingly, the second capacitor voltage VC2 across the second capacitor C2 increases gradually from zero and stops increasing until reaching the second voltage V2. During this process, the second comparison signal SCMP2 from the second comparator CMP2 keeps at the high level as the second capacitor voltage VC2 is lower than the second voltage V2, and in turn, through the second inverter INV2, the low level calibration clock signal CLK2 is provided by the calibration clock generating circuit 402. The low level reference clock signal CLK2 is provided to turn off the second switch S2, which ensures that the second capacitor C2 keeps being charged during this process. When the second capacitor voltage VC2 reaches the second voltage V2, the second comparison signal SCMP2 from the second comparator CMP2 keeps at the low level, and in turn, through the second inverter INV2, the high level calibration clock signal CLK2 is provided by the calibration clock generating circuit 402. The high level calibration clock signal CLK2 is provided to turn on the second switch S2, which makes that the second capacitor C2 be discharged and the second capacitor voltage VC2 is reset to zero. And afterwards, the calibration clock generating circuit 402 enters into a new cycle. The controlled current ILPF charges the second capacitor C2 again, and accordingly, the second capacitor voltage VC2 across the second capacitor C2 increases gradually from zero.
From the above description, it is known that, the frequency fCLK2 of the calibration clock signal CLK2 is:
Persons of ordinary skill in the art will understand that, the configuration of the calibration clock generating circuit 402 is only for illustration, any appropriate configuration which has the frequency fCLK2 of the calibration clock signal CLK2 proportional to the controlled current ILPF may be used in the present invention.
In this way, the output current IOUT is also proportional to the calibration current ICLK2. By implementing the output circuit 500 of
From the above description of the operating principal of the calibration clock generating circuit 402 of
From the above description of the operating principal of the phase locked loop circuit 300 of
fCLK1=fCLK2
We can get from the above equations about fCLK1 and fCLK2:
In one embodiment, V1=Vbg, V2=VT ln 8, wherein Vbg represents a bandgap reference voltage, VT represents a thermal voltage, and in addition, C1=C2, we get:
In the embodiment of
It is known from the above description, the output current IOUT generated from the above circuits is directly proportional to the reference voltage VREF, which makes that the output current IOUT can be used in applications where an output current proportional to a reference voltage is required. In particular, the output current can be used as a PTAT current which is required to be proportional to a reference voltage.
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. Rather the scope of the present invention is defined by the claims and includes both combinations and sub-combinations of the various features described hereinabove as well as variations and modifications thereof which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description and which are not in the prior art.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
201811523462.6 | Dec 2018 | CN | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
6150887 | Yamaguchi | Nov 2000 | A |
7884654 | Pauritsch | Feb 2011 | B2 |
9099994 | Thomsen | Aug 2015 | B2 |
20030076140 | Asano | Apr 2003 | A1 |
20030137328 | Kurd | Jul 2003 | A1 |
20030203724 | Luo | Oct 2003 | A1 |
20060056491 | Lim | Mar 2006 | A1 |
20060170505 | Humphreys | Aug 2006 | A1 |
20070018736 | Sohn | Jan 2007 | A1 |
20070103247 | Yokota | May 2007 | A1 |
20100045218 | Tomigashi | Feb 2010 | A1 |
20110063004 | Chen | Mar 2011 | A1 |
20110102090 | Yen | May 2011 | A1 |
20110273231 | Nakamura | Nov 2011 | A1 |
20120319786 | kumar | Dec 2012 | A1 |
20130285722 | Chou | Oct 2013 | A1 |
20130300471 | Yang | Nov 2013 | A1 |
20130308735 | Namdar-Mehdiabadi | Nov 2013 | A1 |
20140210386 | Zhao | Jul 2014 | A1 |
20140210387 | Zhao | Jul 2014 | A1 |
20140333241 | Zhao | Nov 2014 | A1 |
20150115932 | Michelutti | Apr 2015 | A1 |
20150222278 | Reichelt | Aug 2015 | A1 |
20160097638 | Fedigan | Apr 2016 | A1 |
20160233869 | Khoury | Aug 2016 | A1 |
20160248579 | Hirai | Aug 2016 | A1 |
20160373120 | Caffee | Dec 2016 | A1 |
20180254964 | Kwan | Sep 2018 | A1 |
20190222201 | Wang | Jul 2019 | A1 |
20200099383 | Kubo | Mar 2020 | A1 |
20200112316 | Fujita | Apr 2020 | A1 |
20200177120 | Pullen | Jun 2020 | A1 |
20200192413 | Yang | Jun 2020 | A1 |
20200195262 | Chung | Jun 2020 | A1 |
20200264653 | Vincent | Aug 2020 | A1 |
20200321872 | Upadhyaya | Oct 2020 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20200192413 A1 | Jun 2020 | US |