Hybrid power switch
AssigneeApple Inc.
InventorsVivekanandan Venugopal, Ajay Kumar Bhatia
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for controlling a power switch are disclosed. A power switch may be coupled between a power supply signal and a virtual power supply signal coupled to a circuit block. The power switch may be configured to couple the power supply signal to the virtual power supply signal based on a first control signal, and reduce a voltage level of the virtual power supply signal to a voltage level less than a voltage level of the power supply signal based on a second control signal. The power switch may be further configured to change a current flowing from the power supply signal to the virtual power supply signal based on a third control signal.
Claims20
An apparatus, comprising:
- a first device coupled between a first power supply signal line and a second power supply signal line, wherein the first device is configured to couple the first power supply signal line to the second power supply signal line based on a voltage level of a control node;
- a second device coupled to a control terminal of the first device and the second power supply signal line, wherein the second device is configured to couple the control terminal to the second power supply signal line based on a first control signal;
- and
- a first plurality of devices configured, based on the first control signal and a second control signal, to discharge the control node.
A method, comprising:
- activating, based on a first control signal and a second control signal, a first device coupled between a first power supply signal line and a second power supply signal line that is coupled to a circuit block;
- and
- activating, based on the first control signal, a second device coupled between a control node and the second power supply signal line, wherein the control node is coupled to a control terminal of the first device.
An apparatus, comprising:
- a plurality of circuit blocks coupled to an internal power supply signal;
- and
- a power management unit coupled to an external power supply signal, wherein the power management unit is configured to:
- couple, based on a first control signal, the external power supply signal to the internal power supply signal;
- reduce a voltage level of the internal power supply signal from a first voltage level to a second voltage level based on a second control signal, wherein the second voltage level is less than a voltage level of the external power supply signal;
- and
- change a current flowing from the external power supply signal to the internal power supply signal based on a third control signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.