# US 11,444,538 B2 · Switching regulator based on load estimation and operating method thereof

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- Number: US 11,444,538 B2
- Document ID: US11444538B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/911,763
- Filed: 2020-06-25
- Published: 2021-05-27
- Granted: 2022-09-13
- Earliest claimed: 2019-11-27
- Assignees: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Seunggyu Lee; Seongmun Park; Jaehyuk Yang
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11444538B2

## CPC

- H02M 3/1584: {with a plurality of power processing stages connected in parallel}
- G01R 19/0092: {Measuring current only}
- G01R 19/16528: {using digital techniques or performing arithmetic operations (using digital techniques to measure a voltage or a current, see G01R19/25)}
- G01R 19/16538: {in AC or DC supplies (G01R19/16519 and G01R19/16528 take precedence)}
- G05F 1/462: {as a function of the requirements of the load, e.g. delay, temperature, specific voltage/current characteristic}
- G05F 1/561: {Voltage to current converters (amplifiers H03F)}
- G05F 1/565: sensing a condition of the system or its load in addition to means responsive to deviations in the output of the system, e.g. current, voltage, power factor (G05F1/563 takes precedence)
- H02M 1/0032: {Control circuits allowing low power mode operation, e.g. in standby mode}
- H02M 3/158: including plural semiconductor devices as final control devices for a single load
- H03K 3/02337: {Bistables with hysteresis, e.g. Schmitt trigger (non-regenerative amplitude discriminators G01R19/165)}
- H03K 5/24: the characteristic being amplitude
- H02M 1/0009: {Devices or circuits for detecting current in a converter}
- H02M 1/0025: {Arrangements for modifying reference values, feedback values or error values in the control loop of a converter}
- H02M 1/0058: {by employing soft switching techniques, i.e. commutation of transistors when applied voltage is zero or when current flow is zero (using an auxiliary actively switched resonant commutation circuit connected to an intermediate DC voltage or between two push-pull branches of an inverter bridge H02M7/4811; in resonant inverters H02M7/4815; in inverters operating from a resonant DC source H02M7/4826)}
- H03K 5/2481: {with at least one differential stage}
- H02M: APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC, OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUT POWER; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF (transformers H01F; dynamo-electric converters H02K47/00; controlling transformers, reactors or choke coils, control or regulation of electric motors, generators or dynamo-electric converters H02P)
- G01R: MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES (indicating correct tuning of resonant circuits H03J3/12)
- G05F: SYSTEMS FOR REGULATING ELECTRIC OR MAGNETIC VARIABLES
- H03K: PULSE TECHNIQUE (measuring pulse characteristics G01R; modulating sinusoidal oscillations with pulses H03C; transmission of digital information H04L; discriminator circuits detecting phase difference between two signals by counting or integrating cycles of oscillation H03D3/04; automatic control, starting, synchronisation or stabilisation of generators of electronic oscillations or pulses where the type of generator is irrelevant or unspecified H03L; coding, decoding or code conversion, in general H03M)

## Abstract

A switching regulator may be used to generate an output voltage from an input voltage. The switching regulator includes; an inductor including a first terminal and a second terminal that passes an inductor current from the first terminal to the second terminal, a first switch that applies the input voltage to the first terminal when turned ON, a second switch that applies a ground potential to the first terminal when turned ON, a feedback circuit configured to estimate a load receiving the output voltage, detect when the inductor current reaches an upper bound or a lower bound, and adjust the lower bound based on the estimated load, and a switch driver configured to control the first switch and the second switch, such that the inductor current is between the upper bound and the lower bound in response to at least one feedback signal provided by the feedback circuit.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A switching regulator that generates an output voltage from an input voltage, the switching regulator comprising:
an inductor including a first terminal and a second terminal, wherein the inductor passes an inductor current from the first terminal to the second terminal;
a first switch that applies the input voltage to the first terminal when turned ON;
a second switch that applies a ground potential to the first terminal when turned ON;
a load estimator that estimates a load receiving the output voltage and provides load information corresponding to the load;
a first current detector that generates a first detection signal in response to detecting the inductor current reaches a lower bound, the lower bound being adjusted based on the load information; and
a switch driver configured to turn OFF the second switch in response to the first detection signal indicating the inductor current reaches the lower bound.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The switching regulator of claim 1 wherein the load estimator estimates the load based on a period in which the inductor current is equal to or greater than the lower bound.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The switching regulator of claim 2, further comprising:
a second current detector that generates a second detection signal in response to detecting the inductor current reaches an upper bound of the inductor current, wherein
the load estimator further estimates the load in response to the upper bound.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The switching regulator of claim 3, wherein the load estimator comprises:
a pulse generator that generates a pulse having a magnitude proportional to the upper bound; and
a low pass filter that filters the pulse.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The switching regulator of claim 4, wherein the load estimator further comprises a voltage-current converter that generates the load information by converting an output of the low pass filter into a current signal.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The switching regulator of claim 5, wherein the first current detector comprises:
a differential input stage that receives a voltage apparent at the first terminal and the ground potential; and
an output stage that receives an output of the differential input stage and the load information and generates the first detection signal.

### Claim 7 (depends on 3)

The switching regulator of claim 3, wherein the switch driver is further configured to turn OFF the first switch and turn ON the second switch in response to the second detection signal indicating the inductor current reaches the upper bound.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The switching regulator of claim 1, further comprising:
a comparator that generates a comparison signal based on a comparison of a reference voltage and a feedback voltage generated from the output voltage, wherein
the switch driver is further configured to turn ON the first switch when the feedback voltage is less than the reference voltage.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The switching regulator of claim 8, wherein:
the comparator has hysteresis, and
the switch driver is further configured to selectively turn ON the first switch in response to the comparison signal indicating the inductor current reaches the lower bound.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The switching regulator of claim 9, wherein the first current detector selectively adjusts the lower bound to zero in response to the comparison signal.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The switching regulator of claim 1, further comprising:
a capacitor coupled to the second terminal, wherein
the output voltage is generated in the second terminal.

### Claim 12

A switching regulator that generates an output voltage from an input voltage, the switching regulator comprising:
an inductor, including a first terminal and a second terminal, that passes an inductor current from the first terminal to the second terminal;
a first switch that applies the input voltage to the first terminal when turned ON;
a second switch that applies a ground potential to the first terminal when turned ON;
a feedback circuit configured to estimate a load receiving the output voltage, detect when the inductor current reaches an upper bound or a lower bound, and adjust the lower bound based on the estimated load; and
a switch driver configured to control the first switch and the second switch, in response to at least one feedback signal provided by the feedback circuit, such that the inductor current is maintained between the upper bound and the lower bound.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The switching regulator of claim 12, wherein the feedback circuit comprises a load estimator configured to estimate the load based on the inductor current, the upper bound, and the lower bound.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

The switching regulator of claim 12, wherein:
the feedback circuit comprises a first current detector that generates a first detection signal in response to detecting the inductor current reaches the lower bound, and
the switch driver is configured to turn OFF the second switch in response to the first detection signal indicating the inductor current reaches the lower bound.

### Claim 15 (depends on 12)

The switching regulator of claim 12, wherein:
the feedback circuit further comprises a second current detector that generates a second detection signal in response to detecting the inductor current reaches the upper bound, and
the switch driver is further configured to turn OFF the first switch and turn ON the second switch in response to the second detection signal indicating the inductor current reaches the upper bound.

### Claim 16 (depends on 12)

The switching regulator of claim 12, wherein:
the feedback circuit comprises a comparator that compares a reference voltage with a feedback voltage generated from the output voltage, and
the switch driver is further configured to turn ON the first switch when the feedback voltage is less than the reference voltage.

### Claim 17

A method of converting an input voltage to an output voltage, the method comprising:
detecting that generates a detection result in response to detecting an inductor current passing from a first terminal of an inductor to a second terminal of the inductor reaches an upper bound or a lower bound;
controlling a voltage apparent at the first terminal in response to the detection result by at least one of:
applying the input voltage to the first terminal;
applying a ground potential to the first terminals; and
allowing the first terminal to float;
estimating a load in response to the inductor current; and
adjusting the lower bound based on the estimated load.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, wherein the estimating of the load comprises:
generating a pulse having a magnitude proportional to the upper bound during a period in which the inductor current is equal to or greater than the lower bound; and
passing the pulse through a low pass filter.

### Claim 19 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, further comprising:
comparing a reference voltage to a feedback voltage generated from the output voltage, wherein
the controlling of the voltage of the first terminal comprises applying the input voltage to the first terminal when the feedback voltage is less than the reference voltage.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The method of claim 19, wherein the adjusting of the lower bound comprises setting the lower bound to zero when the feedback voltage exceeds a predefined magnitude from the reference voltage.