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AssigneepSemi Corporation
InventorsGary Chunshien Wu, David M. Giuliano, Gregory Szczeszynski
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Multi-level DC-to-DC converter circuits and methods that permit a full range of output voltages, including near and at zone boundaries. Embodiments alternate among adjacent or near-by zones, operating in a first zone for a selected time and then in a second zone for a selected time. Embodiments may include a parallel capacitor voltage balancing circuit that connects a capacitor to a source voltage to charge that capacitor, or couples two or more capacitors together to transfer charge, all under the control of real-time capacitor voltage measurements. Embodiments may include a lossless voltage balancing solution where out-of-order state transitions are allowed, thus increasing or decreasing the voltage across specific capacitors to prevent voltage overstress on the converter main switches. Restrictions may be placed on the overall sequence of state transitions to reduce or avoid transition state toggling, allowing each capacitor an opportunity to have its voltage steered as necessary for balancing.
A multi-level DC-to-DC converter circuit for converting an input voltage to an output voltage, including:
A multi-level DC-to-DC converter circuit for converting an input voltage to an output voltage, including:
A method for balancing capacitor voltages in a multi-level DC-to-DC converter circuit for converting an input voltage to an output voltage, the multi-level DC-toDC converter circuit including an inductor, at least one capacitor selectively couplable to the inductor, a voltage source, and/or a voltage sink through a plurality of series-coupled switches, and a control circuit configured to set states for the series-coupled switches in at least two patterns defining respective zones having a corresponding range of output voltages, at least one pattern having forward order transition state changes, the method including:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.