Quick response switching regulator and control method thereof
AssigneeRichtek Technology Corporation
InventorsKwan-Jen Chu, Tzu-Huan Chiu, Nien-Hui Kung, Chien-Ping Lu
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Abstract
A quick response switching regulator comprises a power stage having a pair of high-side switch and low-side switch and an inductor connected together by a switching node, a feedback circuit for producing a feedback signal, and a control circuit producing control signals with reference to the feedback signal to control the pair of high-side switch and low-side switch. The feedback circuit is connected to the switching node to shorten the feedback path and speed up the response. The control circuit further monitors the current flowing through the inductor to keep the low-side switch off before the peak of the inductor current becomes higher than a value.
Claims13
A quick response switching regulator for producing an output voltage at an output terminal, comprising:
- a power stage having a pair of high-side switch and low-side switch and an inductor connected together by a switching node;
- a feedback circuit connected to the switching node for producing a feedback signal at a feedback terminal;
- and
- a control circuit connected to the feedback terminal and the pair of high-side switch and low-side switch, for producing a first control signal to control the high-side switch and a second control signal to control the low-side switch with reference to the feedback signal;
- wherein the control circuit has a minimum-current detector for monitoring a current flowing through the inductor, in order to keep the low-side switch off before a peak of the inductor current is detected to be higher than a threshold.
A control method for a quick response switching regulators having a pair of high-side switch and low-side switch and an inductor connected together by a switching node, the control method comprising the steps of:
- monitoring a voltage at the switching node for producing a feedback signal;
- with reference to the feedback signal, generating a first control signal for controlling the high-side switch and a second control signal for controlling the low-side switch;
- and
- monitoring a current flowing through the inductor for keeping the low-side switch off before a peak of the current flowing through the inductor is detected to be higher than a threshold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.