Power management circuit
AssigneeRohm Co., Ltd.
InventorKazunori Itou
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In a first mode, a first feedback controller generates a first control signal SCTRL1 based on a signal at a first feedback pin, so as to control a first pre-driver. A second feedback controller ¥ generates a second control signal based on a signal at a second feedback pin, so as to control a second pre-driver. In a second mode, the first feedback controller ¥ generates the first control signal based on a signal at the first feedback pin, so as to control the first pre-driver. The second pre-driver drives the second pre-driver based on a third control signal received from a first circuit block.
Claims20
A power management integrated circuit (IC) comprising:
- a first feedback pin;
- a second feedback pin;
- a first circuit block comprising a first feedback controller and a first pre-driver;
- and
- a second circuit block comprising a second feedback controller and a second pre-driver,
- wherein the power management IC is integrated on a semiconductor substrate, wherein, the first feedback controller is structure to generate a first control signal which is a pulse signal of which duty cycle is adjusted such that a signal at the first feedback pin approaches to a first reference voltage in a first mode and a second mode, and to supply a third control signal according to the first signal to the second pre-driver in the second mode, and wherein
- the first pre-driver is structured to operate according to the first control signal in the first mode and the second mode, and wherein
- the second feedback controller is structured to generate a second control signal which is a pulse signal of which duty cycle is adjusted such that a signal at the second feedback pin approaches to a second reference voltage in the first mode, and wherein
- the second pre-driver is structured to operate according to the second control signal in the first mode and to operate according to the third control signal received from the first circuit block in the second mode.
A power management IC with N channels (N≥3), comprising:
- N (N≥3) feedback pins;
- and
- N circuit blocks each comprising a feedback controller and a pre-driver,
- wherein the power management IC is integrated on a semiconductor substrate,
- wherein, in a first mode in which N circuit blocks operate independently, in each circuit block, the feedback controller generates a first control signal which is a pulse signal of which duty cycle is adjusted such that a signal at the corresponding feedback pin approaches to a predetermined reference voltage, and the pre-driver operates according to the first control signal,
- wherein, in a second mode in which M (<N) circuit blocks from among the N circuit blocks operate in a cooperative manner, (i) in a master circuit block, which is one from among the M circuit blocks, the feedback controller generates the first control signal which is a pulse signal of which duty cycle is adjusted such that a signal at the corresponding feedback pin approaches to a predetermined voltage and supply a third pulse signal according to the first pulse signal to the other M−1 circuit blocks, and the pre-driver operates according to the first control signal, and (ii) in the other M−1 circuit blocks other than the master circuit block, the pre-driver operates according to the third control signal received from the master circuit block,
- and wherein the first mode and the second mode are switchable.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.