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US 11,695,332 B2Granted
Voltage regulator for series-connected loads
AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorPradeep Samuel Shenoy
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In described examples, a power management circuit includes a voltage sensor and a differential power converter. The voltage sensor is coupled in series with other voltage sensors between a high voltage bus and a ground bus. The voltage sensor senses a voltage across an impedance and outputs a control signal in response to the sensed voltage. The differential power converter is coupled in series with other differential power converters and in parallel with a load between the high voltage bus and the ground bus. The differential power converter is configured to increase or decrease a supplied current in response to a change in magnitude of the control signal.
Claims17
A power management circuit, comprising:
- a resistor having first and second resistor terminals, wherein the first resistor terminal is coupled to either a high voltage bus or to a resistor from a first separate power management circuit, and the second resistor terminal is coupled to either a ground bus or to a resistor from a second separate power management circuit, so that no more than one of the first resistor terminal or the second resistor terminal is coupled to the high voltage bus or the ground bus;
- a sensing circuit having a sense input, a sense ground, and a sense output, wherein the sense input is coupled to the first resistor terminal, the sense ground is coupled to the second resistor terminal, and the sensing circuit is configured to provide a sense signal in response to a voltage across the resistor;
- a load input terminal coupled to a voltage input of a load, and a load output terminal coupled to a voltage output of the load;
- a power input terminal coupled to either a high voltage bus or to a power output terminal of another power management circuit;
- a power output terminal coupled to either a ground bus or to a power input terminal of another power management circuit, wherein no more than one of the power input terminal or the power output terminal is coupled to the high voltage bus or the ground bus;
- a differential power converter having a control input, a converter input, and a converter output, wherein the control input is coupled to the sense output, the converter input is coupled to the load input terminal and the power input terminal, the converter output is coupled to the load output terminal and the power output terminal, and the differential power converter is configured to increase or decrease a current supplied by the differential power converter in response to a change in magnitude of the sense signal;
- and
- a voltage clamp having first and second clamp terminals, wherein the first clamp terminal is coupled to the first resistor terminal, the second clamp terminal is coupled to the second resistor terminal, and a voltage between the first clamp terminal and the second clamp terminal is limited to a clamping voltage of the voltage clamp.
5 more elements
A power management system, comprising:
- multiple resistors coupled in a first series, wherein a first resistor of the first series is coupled to a high voltage bus, and a last resistor of the first series is coupled to a ground bus;
- multiple sensing circuits, wherein each of the sensing circuits is configured to sense a sensed voltage across a respective resistor of the multiple resistors, and each of the sensing circuits is configured to provide a control signal in response to the sensed voltage;
- multiple pairs of load input and load output terminals, pairs of the load input and load output terminals coupled to a voltage input and a voltage output, respectively, of a corresponding load;
- multiple differential power converters coupled in a second series, wherein a first differential power converter of the second series is coupled to a high voltage bus, and a last differential power converter of the second series is coupled to a ground bus, each of the differential power converters configured coupled to receive a respective control signal, each of the differential power converters having a converter input and a converter output, wherein the converter input and the converter output are respectively coupled to a respective pair of load input terminals and load output terminals, and each of the differential power converters is configured to increase or decrease a current supplied by the differential power converter in response to a change in magnitude of the control signal;
- and
- multiple voltage clamps, wherein each of the voltage clamps is coupled in parallel with a corresponding resistor of the multiple resistors so that a voltage from a high voltage bus terminal of the voltage clamp to a ground bus terminal of the voltage clamp is limited by a clamping voltage of the voltage clamp.
3 more elements
A power management circuit, comprising:
- a voltage sensor coupled in series with other voltage sensors between a high voltage bus and a ground bus, wherein the voltage sensor is configured to sense a sensed voltage across an impedance of the voltage sensor and to provide a control signal in response to the sensed voltage;
- a differential power converter coupled in series with other differential power converters and in parallel with a load between the high voltage bus and the ground bus, wherein the differential power converter is configured to increase or decrease a current supplied by the differential power converter in response to a change in magnitude of the control signal;
- and
- a voltage clamp configured to clamp a voltage of the voltage sensor.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.