Voltage regulator and method for operating a voltage regulator
AssigneeNXP USA, Inc.
InventorBin Shao
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments of voltage regulators and methods for operating a voltage regulator are described. In one embodiment, a voltage regulator includes a power stage configured to convert an input direct current (DC) voltage into an output DC voltage, a driver device configured to drive the power stage, a timer configured to generate a constant on-time signal, a ripple generation device configured to generate a ripple signal, a comparator configured to perform voltage comparison in response to the ripple signal to generate an input to the timer, and a controller configured to generate a drive signal for the driver device in response to an inductor peak current in the voltage regulator and the constant on-time signal. Other embodiments are also described.
Claims13
A voltage regulator, the voltage regulator comprises:
- a power stage configured to convert an input direct current (DC) voltage into an output DC voltage;
- a driver device configured to drive the power stage;
- a timer configured to generate a constant on-time signal;
- a ripple generation device configured to generate a ripple signal;
- a comparator configured to perform voltage comparison in response to the ripple signal to generate an input to the timer;
- and
- a controller configured to generate a drive signal for the driver device in response to an inductor peak current in the voltage regulator and the constant on-time signal, wherein the controller comprises:
- a peak current sensor configured to sense the inductor peak current;
- a second comparator configured to compare the inductor peak current to a current threshold;
- and
- an OR gate configured to perform an OR operation on a comparison result signal from the second comparator and the constant on-time signal that has a constant on time from the timer,
- wherein the peak current sensor and the ripple generation device are connected to different terminals of an inductor of the voltage regulator.
A voltage regulator, the voltage regulator comprises:
- a power stage configured to convert an input direct current (DC) voltage into an output DC voltage;
- a driver device configured to drive the power stage;
- a timer configured to generate a constant on-time signal;
- a ripple generation device configured to generate a ripple signal;
- a comparator configured to perform voltage comparison in response to the ripple signal to generate an input to the timer;
- and
- a controller configured to operate the voltage regulator in a constant on-time operation mode or a peak current control operation mode in response to an inductor peak current in the voltage regulator and the constant on-time signal, wherein the controller comprises:
- a peak current sensor configured to sense the inductor peak current;
- a second comparator configured to compare the inductor peak current to a current threshold;
- and
- an OR gate configured to perform an OR operation on a comparison result signal from the second comparator and the constant on-time signal that has a constant on time from the timer,
- wherein the peak current sensor and the ripple generation device are connected to different terminals of an inductor of the voltage regulator.
A method for operating a voltage regulator, the method comprising:
- generating a drive signal in response to an inductor peak current in the voltage regulator and a constant on-time signal from a timer of the voltage regulator;
- and
- driving a power stage with the drive signal to convert an input direct current (DC) voltage into an output DC voltage,
- wherein generating the drive signal in response to the inductor peak current in the voltage regulator and the constant on-time signal from the timer of the voltage regulator comprises:
- sensing the inductor peak current;
- comparing the inductor peak current to a current threshold to generate a comparison result signal;
- and
- performing an OR operation on the comparison result signal and the constant on-time signal that has a constant on time,
- wherein the voltage regulator includes a peak current sensor and a ripple generation device that are connected to different terminals of an inductor of the voltage regulator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.