Voltage/current controller device, particularly for interleaving switching regulators
AssigneeSTMicroelectronics S.r.l.
InventorsAlessandro Zafarana, Claudia Castelli
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Abstract
A voltage/current controller device, particularly for interleaving switching regulators, comprises: a DC/DC converter having a plurality of modules, with each module including a drive transistor pair connected in series between first and second supply voltage references, a current sensor connected to one transistor in the pair, and a current read circuit connected to the sensor. Advantageously, the read circuit comprises a transconductance amplifier connected across the current sensor to sense a voltage signal related to a load current being applied to each module, the transconductance amplifier reading the voltage signal with the transistor in the conducting state.
Claims18
A voltage/current controller device, comprising:
- a DC/DC converter having a plurality of modules, with each module including a drive transistor pair connected in series between first and second supply voltage references, a current sensor connected to one transistor in said pair, and a current reading circuit connected to said sensor, said reading circuit including a transconductance amplifier connected across said current sensor to sense a voltage signal related to a load current being applied to each of said modules, said transconductance amplifier reading said voltage signal with said one transistor in a conducting state.
A voltage/current controller device, comprising:
- a first drive transistor connected between a first supply voltage reference and an intermediate circuit node connected to a load;
- a second drive transistor connected between the intermediate circuit node and a second supply voltage reference;
- and
- a track-and-hold transconductance amplifier connected to a selected one of the first and second drive transistors, the transconductance amplifier being structured to sense a current though the selected drive transistor during a conducting state of the selected drive transistor and refrain from sensing the current during transition periods of the first and second drive transistors.
A method of controlling a current imparted to a load using a controller device that includes first and second drive transistors connected between a first and second supply voltage references, the first and second drive transistors being connected to each other at an intermediate circuit node connected to the load, the method comprising:
- sensing a current through the first drive transistor during a conducting state of the first drive transistor;
- stopping the sensing of the current prior to a conducting state of the second drive transistor;
- holding a value of the sensed current during the conducting state of the second drive transistor;
- and
- adjusting duty cycles of the first and second drive transistors based on the held value of the sensed current.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.