Power supply control device and power supply control method

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a power supply control device controls a switching power supply circuit by a pulse width modulation signal. The power supply control device includes a memory which stores a control program including a plurality of instructions for executing a procedure of a power supply control process which controls a duty ratio of the pulse width modulation signal based on an output voltage value of the switching power supply circuit and a target voltage value, a total execution time of the plurality of instructions included in the control program agreeing with a period of the pulse width modulation signal, and a processing unit which executes the power supply control process for each period of the pulse width modulation signal by repeatedly executing the plurality of instructions included in the control program without interruption.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

A general architecture that implements the various feature of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate embodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary perspective view that shows a general appearance of a computer according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the computer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary block diagram showing an example of the structure of a power supply control device which is provided in the computer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary diagram showing an example of the structure of a control program for controlling the operation of the power supply control device shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary diagram showing an example of a process for adjusting the execution time of an instruction group which is included in the control program for controlling the operation of the power supply control device shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary diagram showing another example of the process for adjusting the execution time of the instruction group which is included in the control program for controlling the operation of the power supply control device shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary flow chart illustrating an example of the operation that is executed by a processing unit which is provided in the power supply control device shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is an exemplary flow chart illustrating the content of a power supply control process that is executed by the processing unit which is provided in the power supply control device shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary diagram showing another example of the structure of the control program for controlling the operation of the power supply control device shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 10 is an exemplary flow chart illustrating another example of the operation that is executed by the processing unit which is provided in the power supply control device shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 11 is an exemplary block diagram showing another example of the structure of the power supply control device which is provided in the computer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is an exemplary diagram showing an example of the structure of the control program for controlling the operation of the power supply control device shown in FIG. 11; and

FIG. 13 is an exemplary flow chart illustrating an example of the operation that is executed by a processing unit which is provided in the power supply control device shown in FIG. 11.

Claims

1. A power supply control device which controls a switching power supply circuit by a pulse width modulation signal, comprising: a memory which stores a control program including a plurality of instructions for executing a procedure of a power supply control process which controls a duty ratio of the pulse width modulation signal based on an output voltage value of the switching power supply circuit and a target voltage value, a total execution time of the plurality of instructions included in the control program agreeing with a period of the pulse width modulation signal; anda processing unit which executes the power supply control process for each period of the pulse width modulation signal by repeatedly executing the plurality of instructions included in the control program without interruption.

2. The power supply control device according to claim 1, wherein the control program includes a plurality of successive instruction groups each including the plurality of instructions, and the processing unit is configured to successively execute the plurality of instruction groups, to repeatedly execute the plurality of instructions without interruption.

3. The power supply control device according to claim 1, further comprising a pulse width modulation signal output unit which is configured to vary the duty ratio of the pulse width modulation signal in accordance with control data, and the power supply control process includes a process of acquiring the output voltage value of the switching power supply circuit, a process of calculating a target duty ratio of the pulse width modulation signal based on the acquired output voltage value and the target voltage value, and a process of outputting the calculated target duty ratio to the pulse width modulation signal output unit as the control data.

4. The power supply control device according to claim 1, wherein the control program includes a plurality of successive instruction groups each including the plurality of instructions, and the processing unit starts execution of the plurality of instruction groups each time the processing unit receives an interrupt signal, the interrupt signal being supplied from outside at a ratio of once in a plurality of periods of the pulse width modulation signal.

5. The power supply control device according to claim 1, wherein the control program includes instructions for executing a procedure of a polling process for monitoring a variation in the pulse width modulation signal, and a plurality of successive instruction groups each including the plurality of instructions, and the processing unit determines whether the pulse width modulation signal is varied, by executing the instructions for executing the procedure of the polling process, and starts execution of the plurality of instruction groups when it is determined that the pulse width modulation signal is varied.

6. An electronic apparatus comprising: a device;a switching power supply circuit which is controlled by a pulse width modulation signal and outputs operation power to the device;a memory which stores a control program including a plurality of instructions for executing a procedure of a power supply control process which controls a duty ratio of the pulse width modulation signal based on an output voltage value of the switching power supply circuit and a target voltage value, a total execution time of the plurality of instructions included in the control program agreeing with a period of the pulse width modulation signal; anda processing unit which executes the power supply control process for each period of the pulse width modulation signal by repeatedly executing the plurality of instructions included in the control program without interruption.

7. The electronic apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the control program includes a plurality of successive instruction groups each including the plurality of instructions, and the processing unit is configured to successively execute the plurality of instruction groups, to repeatedly execute the plurality of instructions without interruption.

8. The electronic apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising an interrupt signal generating unit which generates an interrupt signal at a ratio of once in a plurality of periods of the pulse width modulation signal, wherein the control program includes a plurality of successive instruction groups each including the plurality of instructions, andthe processing unit starts execution of the plurality of instruction groups each time the processing unit receives the interrupt signal from the interrupt signal generating unit.

9. The electronic apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the control program includes instructions for executing a procedure of a polling process for monitoring a variation in the pulse width modulation signal, and a plurality of successive instruction groups each including the plurality of instructions, and the processing unit determines whether the pulse width modulation signal is varied, by executing the instructions for executing the procedure of the polling process, and starts execution of the plurality of instruction groups when it is determined that the pulse width modulation signal is varied.

10. A power supply control method for controlling a switching power supply circuit by a pulse width modulation signal, comprising: executing by a processing unit a plurality of instructions for executing a procedure of a power supply control process which controls a duty ratio of the pulse width modulation signal based on an output voltage value of the switching power supply circuit and a target voltage value, the plurality of instructions being included in a control program, a total execution time of the plurality of instructions agreeing with a period of the pulse width modulation signal; andrepeating the execution of the plurality of instructions by the processing unit without interruption, thereby to execute the power supply control process for each period of the pulse width modulation signal.

11. The power supply control method according to claim 10, wherein the control program includes a plurality of successive instruction groups each including the plurality of instructions, and said repeating the execution of the plurality of instructions includes successively executing by the processing unit the plurality of instruction groups, to repeatedly execute the plurality of instructions without interruption.

12. The power supply control method according to claim 10, wherein the control program includes a plurality of successive instruction groups each including the plurality of instructions, and said repeating the execution of the plurality of instructions includes causing the processing unit to start execution of the plurality of instruction groups each time an interrupt signal, which is generated at a ratio of once in a plurality of periods of the pulse width modulation signal, is received.

13. The power supply control method according to claim 10, wherein the control program includes instructions for executing a procedure of a polling process for monitoring a variation in the pulse width modulation signal, and a plurality of successive instruction groups each including the plurality of instructions, and said repeating the execution of the plurality of instructions includes determining whether the pulse width modulation signal is varied, by executing by the processing unit the instructions for executing the procedure of the polling process, and causing the processing unit to start execution of the plurality of instruction groups when it is determined that the pulse width modulation signal is varied.