Voltage regulator with built-in auto test
OwnerWangmiao Huinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A control integrated circuit for a voltage regulator has a feedback pin, a switching control pin, and a control circuit. The feedback pin receives a voltage feedback signal representative of an output voltage of the voltage regulator. The switching control pin provides a switching control signal to turn on and turn off at least one switch of the voltage regulator. The control circuit provides the switching control signal based on the voltage feedback signal and a reference voltage, and to perform a self-test of the voltage regulator by monitoring how the output voltage changes in response to variations in the reference voltage.
Claims20
A control integrated circuit (IC) for a voltage regulator, comprising:
- a feedback pin capable of receiving a voltage feedback signal representative of an output voltage of the voltage regulator;
- a switching control pin;
- a reference generating circuit configured to provide a reference voltage;
- and
- a control circuit configured to provide a switching control signal to turn on and turn off at least one switch via the switching control pin based on the voltage feedback signal and the reference voltage, and configured to perform a self-test of the voltage regulator to determine by monitoring how the output voltage changes in response to variations in the reference voltage;
- wherein
- the reference generating circuit is configured to provide the reference voltage during the self-test based on a test configuration data and provide the reference voltage based on a target value of the output voltage during a normal operation.
A voltage regulator, comprising:
- a power stage configured to provide an output voltage;
- and
- a control circuit configured to provide a switching control signal to control the power stage based on a voltage feedback signal representative of the output voltage and a reference voltage, and configured to perform a self-test of the voltage regulator by monitoring how the output voltage changes in response to variations in the reference voltage.
A control method for a voltage regulator, comprising:
- receiving a voltage feedback signal representative of an output voltage of the voltage regulator;
- providing a switching control signal to turn on and turn off at least one switch based on the voltage feedback signal and a reference voltage;
- and
- executing a self-test of the voltage regulator by adjusting the reference voltage and monitoring how the output voltage changes in response to variations in the reference voltage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.