Patent Grant
9423808
Many types of electronic systems use DC to DC converters to provide electrical power, particularly portable battery powered devices that require a lower or higher voltage than is directly supplied by the batteries or by other electronic systems requiring multiple voltage levels internally. DC-DC converters process an incoming direct current (DC) voltage and generate an output of a different voltage. DC to DC converters may also regulate the output voltage so that input voltage variations and changing load conditions do not substantially alter the output voltage. A number of different types of DC to DC converters are known, such as buck converters and boost converters.
Many of these are switching regulators, which rapidly switch on and off to transfer packets of energy from an input to an output. The duty cycle of the switching can be controlled to adjust the output voltage, and various circuit configurations are known to provide outputs with higher or lower voltage than the input. Switching regulators are typically very efficient, but have some characteristics to be controlled or minimized such as output voltage ripple. Because of the switching nature of these DC to DC converters, the output voltage may have some ripple despite the use of filters at the output. Stable, or predictable, switching frequency is preferred to simplify selection of such output filter components.
Some examples of prior art systems are U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,079; U.S. Pat. No. 7,202,609; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,764,495.
Various apparatuses, methods and systems for a DC to DC converter with a pseudo constant switching frequency are disclosed herein. For example, some embodiments provide a DC to DC converter having a switch connected to a switching node to control a voltage of the switching node, and a switching controller that is adapted to turn on and off the switch at a substantially constant frequency based at least in part on the voltage of the switching node. The switching controller includes a modulator connected to a control electrode of the switch and that is adapted to actuate and deactuate the switch, and a first timer that is connected to the switching node and to the modulator. The first timer uses the voltage of the switching node to determine an on-time for the switch.
Other embodiments provide methods of converting DC to DC signals, including averaging a voltage of a switching node in a DC to DC converter to generate a representation of a boundary voltage, and switching the switching node between a first voltage level and a second voltage level based at least in part upon the representation of the boundary voltage so that the switching node is switched at a substantially constant frequency. In some embodiments of the methods, the DC to DC converter comprises a buck converter, the boundary voltage comprises an output voltage and the switching node comprises a node between a high side switch and a low side switch. In other embodiments of the methods, the DC to DC converter comprises a boost converter, the boundary voltage comprises an input voltage and the switching node comprises a node between a first switch to an output node and a second switch to ground. Various embodiments of the methods also include charging an energy storage device during an on-time and discharging the energy storage device during an off-time, wherein the energy storage device is charged with a current that is proportional to a difference between an input voltage level and a voltage level across a high side switch. The methods also include comparing the representation of the output voltage with a voltage level of the energy storage device, wherein the switching node is switched when a result of the comparing changes state. In various embodiments of the methods, the charging is terminated when the voltage level of the energy storage device reaches a termination voltage level or a combination of the output voltage and a voltage level across an output inductor. The termination voltage level may also include the voltage level across a low side switch.
Yet other embodiments provide a DC to DC buck converter having a high side switch and a low side switch connected in series between an input voltage and a lower reference voltage, with a switching node between the high side and low side switch. The input of a low pass filter is connected to the switching node. An inductor is connected between the switching node and an output node. The input of a switching controller is connected to the low pass filter output, and the output is connected to control inputs on the high and low side switches. The switching controller is not directly connected to the output node. The switching controller is adapted to turn on and off the at least one switch at a substantially constant frequency based at least in part on the low pass filter output. The switching controller is adapted to place the DC to DC buck converter in an on state with the high side switch on and the low side switch off, and in an off state with the high side switch off and the low side switch on. An on-time during which the DC to DC buck converter is in the on state is proportional to an output voltage of the output node and is inversely proportional to the input voltage. The switching controller includes a comparator with a first input connected to the low pass filter output and a second input connected to a reference voltage generator. The switching controller input is connected to the comparator output. The reference voltage generator includes a capacitor connected between the second input of the comparator and ground. The reference voltage generator also includes a bypass transistor connected in parallel with the capacitor. The switching controller is adapted to turn on the bypass transistor during off-time. The reference voltage generator also includes a reference current source connected to the second input of the comparator. The current level from the reference current source is proportional to a voltage which represents the switch node voltage during an on-time. The reference voltage generator also includes a precharging transistor connected between the second input of the comparator and the switching node. The switching controller is adapted to turn on the precharging transistor during at least a portion of the off time to charge the capacitor to a voltage level of the switching node during the off-time.
This summary provides only a general outline of some particular embodiments. Many other objects, features, advantages and other embodiments will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings.
A further understanding of the various embodiments may be realized by reference to the figures which are described in remaining portions of the specification. In the figures, like reference numerals may be used throughout several drawings to refer to similar components.
The drawings and description, in general, disclose various embodiments of DC to DC converters with pseudo constant switching frequency. The switching frequency is controlled by a switching controller in the DC to DC converters based upon feedback from the switching node, without a direct connection to the output node. In various embodiments of integrated circuit DC to DC converters, the switching node is connected to a pin on the integrated circuit, to which external filtering components such as inductors, resistors and capacitors may be added. The use of feedback from the switching node to establish the pseudo constant switching frequency avoids the need to provide a pin on the integrated circuit for direct feedback from the output node at the far end of the external filtering components.
Referring now to
The DC to DC buck converter 10 of
The DC to DC buck converter 10 may contain various other components as desired, such as a high-side driver 52 and low side driver 54 used to drive the high side switch 12 and low side switch 14, respectively. If an NMOS transistor is used as the high side switch 12, a minimum off-time timer 56 may be provided to charge a drive capacitor 60 used to power the high-side driver 52. In the absence of a minimum off-time timer 56, the overall off-time is established by loop comparator 34. The drive capacitor 60 is powered during each off-time, and the minimum off-time timer 56 ensures that the DC to DC buck converter 10 remains in the off-time sufficiently long to charge the drive capacitor 60 for the next on-time. A cross-conduction controller 62 may be provided, ensuring that the high side switch 12 and low side switch 14 are never turned on at the same time.
The operation of the on-time timer 50 in establishing a pseudo constant switching frequency will now be described. Assuming that the resistance of the high side switch 12 and the low side switch 14 and the parasitic DC resistance (DCR) of the inductor 26 are all low enough to be ignored, the output capacitance 32 is large enough and the voltage of the output Vout 24 can be considered to be constant, the following equations can be derived:
I1=I0+Ton*(Vin−Vout)/L (1)
I2=I1−Toff*Vout/L (2)
Where
Ton: duration of on-time
During steady state operation, the current I2 through the inductor 26 at the end of the off-time should equal the current I0 through the inductor 26 at the beginning of the on-time, giving the following equations:
Ton*(Vin−Vout)=Toff*Vout (3)
Ton+Toff=Ton*Vin/Vout (4)
According to equation (4), it is possible to keep the switching period (Ton+Toff) constant by changing Ton proportional to Vout and inversely proportional to Vin. Voltage Vin is also generally representative of the voltage of the switching node voltage during the on state. Relationships between various voltages and states are described and claimed herein, such as proportionalities between various voltages and state durations. These relationships may be established without directly accessing the referenced nodes. For example, the DC to DC buck converter 10 establishes an on-time Ton that is proportional to Vout without directly accessing the output node, and that is inversely proportional to Vin without accessing the input node. Thus, statements of proportionality and other relationships made in the claims or description herein do not imply a direct connection to the cited nodes.
Referring again to
The pseudo constant switching frequency may be achieved without direct feedback from the output Vout 24 by using feedback from the switching node 22 and considering the on resistance of the high side switch 12 and the low side switch 14 and the parasitic resistance of the inductor 26. Using the switch node voltage even provides more accurate and stable frequency to load current change compared to conventional method of using input voltage or output voltage directly. Equations (1) and (2) are modified as follows:
I1=I0+Ton*(Vin−Vout−Von1−Vdcr1)/L (5)
I2=I1−Toff*(Vout+Von2+Vdcr2)/L (6)
Where
During steady state operation, the current I2 through the inductor 26 at the end of the off-time should equal the current I0 through the inductor 26 at the beginning of the on-time. Also, the average voltage Vdcr1 across the DCR of inductor 26 during the on-time should be the same as the average voltage Vdcr2 across the DCR of inductor 26 during the off-time because the average current during the on-time is equal to the average current during the off-time through the inductor 26. The following equations are therefore derived from equations (5) and (6):
Ton*(Vin−Von1−Vout−Vdcr)=Toff*(Vout+Vdcr+Von2) (7)
Ton+Toff=Ton*(Vin−Von1+Von2)/(Vout+Vdcr+Von2) (8)
Where
Thus the capacitor Con 74 is charged with a current proportional to (Vin−Von1+Von2), and the on-time is terminated when the voltage across the capacitor Con 74 reaches (Vout+Vdcr+Von2) to achieve pseudo fixed frequency operation.
The voltage of (Vin−Von1) may be obtained from the voltage at the switching node 22 when the high side switch 12 is on. The voltage of (Vout+Vdcr) may be obtained by averaging the voltage at the switching node 22 for an entire switching period Ton+Toff. Note that Vout can be used as a representative of (Vout+Vdc) if the Vdcr is small enough compared to Vout. The averaging of the voltage at the switching node 22 for an entire switching period is performed by a Vsw (switching node voltage) filter 80 connected between the switching node 22 and the comparator 72. The voltage of (−Von2) may be obtained from the voltage at the switching node 22 when the low side switch 14 is on. Thus, all the voltage information required for pseudo fixed frequency on-time generation may be obtained from the voltage at the switching node 22. In many applications, Von2 is low enough compared with Vin and Vout to be ignored. By ignoring Von2, the following approximate equation is derived from equation (8):
Ton+Toff=Ton*(Vin−Von1)/(Vout+Vdcr) (9)
Based upon equation (9), a pseudo on-time generation algorithm is obtained as follows:
The DC to DC buck converter 10 of
One example of a current source 76 that produces an output 84 proportional to (Vin−Von1) is illustrated in
Referring again to
During the on-time, the voltage at the switching node 22 is pulled up to a positive value of (Vin−Von1) to drive current through the inductor 26 to the output Vout 24. The capacitor Con 74 in the on-time timer 50 is charged by the current source 76 with a current proportional to (Vin−Von1). When the voltage on the capacitor Con 74 reaches (Vout+Vdcr), the average voltage of the switching node 22 across an entire switching period as generated by the Vsw filter 80, a pulse is produced on the on-time termination signal 70 from the on-time timer 50. The on-time termination signal 70 is connected to the Reset input of the SR latch 116, turning off the output 122 of the SR latch 116. This turns off the high side switch 12. This also turns off the discharging transistor 124 in the minimum off-time timer 56, allowing the capacitor Coff 100 to be charged by the reference current source 102. This also turns on the discharging transistor 82 in the on-time timer 50, discharging the capacitor Con 74 to ground 20 and ending the pulse on the on-time termination signal 70, allowing the next on-time to be started by the loop comparator 34 and minimum off-time timer 56 as described above. Note, however, that the low side switch 14 is not immediately turned on at the end of the on-time.
For certain low voltage applications, Von2 is not small enough with respect to Vout to be ignored, but is small enough with respect to Vin to be ignored. Given this assumption, the following approximate equation may be derived from equation (8):
Ton+Toff=Ton*(Vin−Von1)/(Vout+Vdcr+Von2) (10)
Based upon equation (10), a pseudo on-time generation algorithm is obtained as follows:
The DC to DC buck converter 10 of
In an embodiment corresponding to the DC to DC buck converter 10 of
In another embodiment corresponding to the DC to DC buck converter 10 of
In one particular embodiment, referring to portions of
Various elements of another embodiment of a DC to DC buck converter 10 are illustrated in
The term “switching controller” is used herein to refer to the various portions of the DC to DC buck converter 10 and other DC to DC converters that control the switching of the switching node (e.g., 22). The functions of the switching controller may be distributed across various circuitry of the DC to DC buck converter 10. For example, a switching controller may include portions of the on-time timer 50, high-side driver 52, low side driver 54, cross-conduction controller 62, zero-crossing comparator 64 and associated logic such as the SR latch 116 and zero crossing SR latch 132. For example, it may also include a minimum off-time timer if the switch has a high-side NMOS transistor, requiring that a capacitor be charged during the minimum off-time to drive the high-side NMOS transistor. Additionally, the term “modulator” generally refers to modulation or switching circuitry. For example, modulator can include loop comparator 34, drivers 52 and 54, latch 116, cross conduction control 62, and any intermediate logic or components.
It is important to note that the equations and proportionalities set forth and claimed herein are ideal and do not explicitly take into consideration other effects such as ripple in the output voltage, current or propagation delay of each circuit. However, the disclosed and claimed equations and proportionalities apply to actual circuits that include these effects. In other words, the existence of output ripple does not prevent a circuit from conforming to the disclosed and claimed equations and proportionalities, and propagation delay can be cancelled by proper delay compensation circuitry.
Turning now to
The application of a pseudo constant switching frequency is not limited to the DC to DC buck converter 10 described above, but may be adapted to other types of DC to DC converters. For example, as illustrated in
Assuming that the on resistance of the switch 322, diode 310, and the parasitic resistance DCR of the inductor 302 are all low enough to be ignored, and the output capacitance is large enough and the voltage of the output Vout 312 can be considered as a constant, the equations below may be derived:
I1=I0+Ton*Vin/L (11)
I2=I1−Toff*(Vout−Vin)/L (12)
Where
During steady state operation, the current I2 through the inductor 302 at the end of the off-time should equal the current I0 through the inductor 302 at the start of an on-time, leading to the following equation:
Ton*Vin=Toff*(Vout−Vin) (13)
Ton+Toff=Toff*Vout/Vin (14)
According to the equation (14), it is possible to keep the switching period (Ton+Toff) as a constant by changing Toff proportional to Vin 304 and inversely proportional to Vout 312. Note that Vout is representative of the voltage of the switching node voltage during the off state. In actuality, the on resistance of the switch 322, diode 310, and the parasitic resistance DCR of the inductor 302 are not negligible and equations (13) and (14) are modified as follows:
I1=I0+Ton*(Vin−Von1−Vdcr1)/L1 (15)
I2=I1−Toff*(Vout−Vin+Von2+Vdcr2)/L1 (16)
Where
During steady state operation, the current I2 through the inductor 302 at the end of the off-time should equal the current I0 through the inductor 302 at the start of an on-time. Also, the average voltage Vdcr1 across the DCR of inductor 302 during the on-time should be the same as the average voltage Vdcr2 across the DCR of inductor 302 during the off-time because the average current during the on-time is equal to the average current during the off-time through the inductor 26. The following equations are therefore derived from equations (15) and (16):
Ton*(Vin−Von1−Vdcr)=Toff*(Vout−Vin+Vdcr+Von2) (17)
Ton+Toff=Toff*(Vout+Von2−Von1)/(Vin−Vdcr−Von1) (18)
Where
Thus, the timing capacitor in the off-time timer of the switching controller 326 is charged with a current proportional to (Vout+Von2−Von1), and the on-time is terminated when the voltage across the timing capacitor becomes (Vin−Vdcr−Von1) to achieve pseudo fixed frequency operation.
The voltage of (Vout+Von2) can be obtained from the voltage at the switching node 306 during the off-time. The voltage of (Vin−Vdcr) can be obtained by averaging the voltage at the switching node 306. Note that Vin can be used as a representative (Vin−Vdcr) if the Vdcr is small enough compared to Vin. The voltage of (Von1) can be obtained from the voltage at the switching node 306 when the switch 322 is on. Von1 is usually small compared to (Vout+Von2) and may be ignored with small error. It is therefore possible to achieve pseudo constant switching frequency boost converter by setting the off-time as follows:
The off-time can thus be controlled proportional to (Vin−Vdcr−Von1) and inversely proportional to (Vout+Von2). The voltage information required for pseudo fixed frequency off-time generation in the DC to DC boost converter 300 can be obtained from the voltage at the switching node 306. It is possible to discharge off-time timing capacitor to GND if (Von1) is small enough compared to (Vin−Vdcr).
Referring now to
While illustrative embodiments have been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the concepts disclosed herein may be otherwise variously embodied and employed.
This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/367,384, filed Feb. 6, 2009, entitled “DC TO DC CONVERTER WITH PSEUDO CONSTANT SWITCHING FREQUENCY,” which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/256,869, entitled “High Efficiency Power Converter Operating Free of an Audible Frequency Range” and filed on Oct. 5, 2005 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,652,461, issued Jan. 26, 2010), which claims prior to U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/632,921, entitled “High Efficiency DC/DC Converter Operating Out of an Audible Frequency Range” and filed on Dec. 3, 2004. This application also claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/077,792, entitled “ON-TIME GENERATION CIRCUIT FOR PSEUDO FIXED FREQUENCY DC/DC CONVERTER BASED UPON SWITCHING NODE INFORMATION” and filed on Jul. 2, 2008. The aforementioned applications are assigned to an entity common hereto, and the entirety of the aforementioned applications are each incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20130249516 A1 | Sep 2013 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60632921 | Dec 2004 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12367384 | Feb 2009 | US |
| Child | 13893877 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11256869 | Oct 2005 | US |
| Child | 12367384 | US |
