Methods and apparatus for a single inductor multiple output (simo) dc-dc converter circuit
AssigneeUniversity of Virginia Patent Foundation
InventorsBenton H. Calhoun, Aatmesh Shrivastava
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In some embodiments, an apparatus includes a single-inductor multiple-output (SIMO) direct current (DC-DC) converter circuit, with the SIMO DC-DC converter circuit having a set of output nodes. The apparatus also includes a panoptic dynamic voltage scaling (PDVS) circuit operatively coupled to the SIMO DC-DC converter circuit, where the PDVS circuit has a set of operational blocks with each operational block from the set of operational blocks drawing power from one supply voltage rail from a set of supply voltage rails. Additionally, each output node from the set of output nodes is uniquely associated with a supply voltage rail from the set of supply voltage rails.
Claims19
A method, comprising:
- receiving information related to one or more of a processing power demand and an available energy level of an integrated circuit (IC) that includes a single-inductor multiple-output (SIMO) direct current-direct current (DC-DC) converter circuit and a panoptic dynamic voltage scaling (PDVS) circuit operatively coupled to the SIMO DC-DC converter circuit,
- the SIMO DC-DC converter circuit having a plurality of output nodes, each output node from the plurality of output nodes being uniquely associated with a supply voltage rail from a plurality of supply voltage rails, and
- the PDVS circuit having a plurality of operational blocks;
- and
- operating the PDVS circuit such that each operational block from the plurality of operational blocks draws power from one supply voltage rail from the plurality of supply voltage rails.
A method, comprising:
- collectively limiting, by a plurality of comparators of a single-inductor multiple-output (SIMO) direct current-direct current (DC-DC) converter circuit and a plurality of switches operatively coupled to the plurality of comparators, a ripple of an output voltage within a predefined range for a plurality of output nodes of the SIMO DC-DC converter circuit;
- and
- collectively defining, by the plurality of comparators and the plurality of switches, a hysteretic-based voltage output threshold to control the plurality of output nodes,
- each comparator from the plurality of comparators being uniquely associated with an output node from the plurality of output nodes, and
- each output node from the plurality of output nodes being uniquely associated with an operational block from a plurality of operational blocks of a panoptic dynamic voltage scaling (PDVS) circuit.
A method, comprising:
- operating, at a single-inductor multiple-output (SIMO) direct current-direct current (DC-DC) converter circuit, over a plurality of time periods, the SIMO DC-DC converter circuit having a plurality of output nodes and an inductor;
- and
- prioritizing a single output node from the plurality of output nodes for each time period from the plurality of time periods such that that single output node receives current from the inductor before the remaining output nodes from the plurality of output nodes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.