Bidirectional DC/DC converter

A method for operating a bidirectional multi-phase DC/DC converter comprising N phase circuits, the method comprising:

• providing a first clock signal to the N phase circuits, wherein N is a positive integer greater than 1, wherein M of the N phase circuits are active phase circuits, and wherein each of the N phase circuits comprises a bidirectional output stage coupled between a first battery and a second battery, and a memory storing a number M of active phase circuits of the N phase circuits, and a unique identifier;
• determining, for each of the M active phase circuits, a respective start time of a switching cycle of the respective bidirectional output stage based on the number M, the unique identifier, and the first clock signal;
• and
• operating each of the M active phase circuits with respective switching cycles based on the respective start times to generate respective output currents with the respective bidirectional output stages of the M active phase circuits.

A bidirectional multi-phase DC/DC converter comprising:

• N phase circuits, N being a positive integer greater than 1, wherein each of the N phase circuits comprises:
• a bidirectional output stage configured to be coupled between a first battery and a second battery,
• a memory configured to store a number of active phases, and a unique identifier,
• a slave communication interface, and
• a synchronization circuit;
• and
• a processor comprising:
• a master communication interface coupled to the slave communication interface of each of the N phase circuits, and
• a timer configured to provide a first clock signal to each of the N phase circuits, wherein the synchronization circuit of each of the N phase circuits is configured to determine a respective start time of a switching cycle of the respective bidirectional output stage based on the number of active phases, the respective unique identifier, and the first clock signal, wherein each of the N phase circuits is configured to control the timing of the switching of the respective bidirectional output stage based on the respective start time.

A bidirectional DC/DC converter comprising:

• a phase circuit comprising:
• a bidirectional output stage configured to be coupled between a first battery and a second battery, a memory configured to store a number of active phases, and a unique identifier, wherein the number of active phases is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, a slave communication interface, and a synchronization circuit;
• and a processor comprising:
• a master communication interface coupled to the slave communication interface, and a timer configured to provide a first clock signal to the phase circuit, wherein the synchronization circuit is configured to determine a respective start time of a switching cycle of the bidirectional output stage based on the number of active phases, the unique identifier, and the first clock signal, wherein the phase circuit is configured to control the timing of the switching of the bidirectional output stage based on the start time, wherein the synchronization circuit comprises:
• a phase shift circuit configured to generate a phase shift value based on a peak value, the number of active phases and the identifier, a first comparator configured to set a flip-flop when a reference ramp value becomes higher than the phase shift value, a second counter having a reset input coupled to an output of the first comparator, a clock input configured to receive a oscillator signal, and an output configured to provide a shifted ramp value, and a second comparator configured to reset the flip-flop when the shifted ramp value becomes higher than an on-time value.