Determination of Phase Offsets in a Power Supply System Having Multiple Switching Converters

A controller for determining a distribution of switching phases among switching elements of a power supply system, the power supply system comprising a plurality of voltage converters, wherein each voltage converter comprises a switching element and is arranged to convert an input voltage supplied to the voltage converters to a respective output voltage by switching the switching element at a predetermined switching frequency, the controller comprising:

• a receiver for receiving one or more signals indicative of a respective contribution from each of the voltage converters to a ripple current component of an input current of the voltage converters;
• a rank determining module configured to rank the voltage converters in order of decreasing contribution to the ripple current;
• a switching phase offset calculator configured to calculate a respective switching phase offset that is to be applied for the switching element in each of the voltage converters by:
• (i) calculating respective phase offsets of the two highest ranked voltage converters that would minimize an input current ripple caused only by said two highest ranked voltage converters;
• (ii) calculating a phase offset of the next-highest ranked voltage converter that would minimize an input current ripple caused only by said next-highest ranked voltage converter and the voltage converters ranked higher than said next-highest voltage converter;
• and
• (iii) repeating step (ii) for each subsequent voltage converter in the ranking;
• and
• an output signal generator configured to generate one or more output signals defining the calculated switching phase offsets to be applied to the switching of the respective switching elements.

A controller for controlling a distribution of switching phases among switching elements of a power supply system, the power supply system comprising a plurality of voltage converters, wherein each voltage converter comprises a switching element and is arranged to convert an input voltage supplied to the voltage converters to a respective output voltage by switching the switching element at a predetermined switching frequency, the controller comprising:

• a receiver for receiving one or more signals indicative of a respective contribution from each of the voltage converters to a ripple current component of an input current of the voltage converters;
• and
• a switching phase offset regulator for regulating switching phase offsets of the switching elements during operation of the power supply system, the switching phase offset regulator comprising:
• a switching phase offset calculator configured to calculate, based on the received signal(s), a respective switching phase offset that is to be applied for the switching element in each of the voltage converters, the switching phase offsets being calculated so as to substantially minimise the ripple current component;
• and
• a control signal generator configured to generate one or more control signals defining the calculated switching phase offsets to be applied to the switching of the respective switching elements,
• wherein the switching phase offset regulator is responsive to changes in the received signal(s) to recalculate the switching phase offsets and generate control signals corresponding to the recalculated switching phase offsets during operation of the power supply system.

In a power supply system comprising a plurality of voltage converters, wherein each voltage converter comprises a switching element and is arranged to convert an input voltage supplied to the voltage converters to a respective output voltage by switching the switching element at a predetermined switching frequency, a method of determining a distribution of switching phases among the switching elements, the method comprising:

• receiving one or more signals indicative of a respective contribution from each of the voltage converters to a ripple current component of an input current of the voltage converters;
• ranking the voltage converters in order of decreasing contribution to the ripple current;
• calculating a switching phase offset that is to be applied for the switching element in each of the voltage converters by:
• (i) calculating respective phase offsets of the two highest ranked voltage converters that would minimize an input current ripple caused only by said two highest ranked voltage converters;
• (ii) calculating a phase offset of the next-highest ranked voltage converter that would minimize an input current ripple caused only by said next-highest ranked voltage converter and the voltage converters ranked higher than said next-highest voltage converter;
• and
• (iii) repeating step (ii) for each subsequent voltage converter in the ranking;
• and
• generating one or more signals that define the calculated switching phase offsets to be applied to the switching of the respective switching elements.

In a power supply system comprising a plurality of voltage converters, wherein each voltage converter comprises a switching element and is arranged to convert an input voltage supplied to the voltage converters to a respective output voltage by switching the switching element at a predetermined switching frequency, a method of controlling a distribution of switching phases among the switching elements, the method comprising:

• receiving one or more signals indicative of a respective contribution from each of the voltage converters to a ripple current component of an input current of the voltage converters;
• and
• regulating the switching phase offsets of the switching elements during operation of the power supply system by:
• calculating, based on the received signal(s), a respective switching phase offset that is to be applied for the switching element in each of the voltage converters, the switching phase offsets being calculated so as to substantially minimise the ripple current component;
• and
• generating one or more control signals defining the calculated switching phase offsets to cause the calculated switching phase offsets to be applied to the switching of the respective switching elements,
• wherein the switching phase offsets are recalculated in response to changes in the received signal(s), and one or more control signals corresponding to the recalculated switching phase offsets are generated during operation of the power supply system.