Power rail regulator to regulate DC rail voltage and output current

A method for providing power, the method comprising:

• converting an AC voltage to a DC rail voltage;
• converting the DC rail voltage to at least one DC load voltage that each powers at least one electronic component;
• regulating a magnitude of the DC rail voltage at a minimum voltage magnitude through a first range of output power and at a maximum voltage magnitude through a second range of output power based on load requirements associated with the at least one electronic component;
• adjusting a magnitude of an output current associated with the DC rail voltage through the first range of the output power and through the second range of the output power based on the load requirements associated with the at least one electronic component;
• and
• defining N regions across the first and the second range of output power to regulate the DC rail voltage and the output current, where N is an integer greater than one, the regions defined as alternating between a substantially constant magnitude of the DC rail voltage with a variable magnitude of the output current and a substantially constant magnitude of the output current with a variable magnitude of the DC rail voltage,
• a first of the N regions defined as the DC rail voltage having the substantially constant magnitude that is approximately equal to the minimum voltage magnitude at a first range of the output power from zero to a first power magnitude, and
• a last of the N regions defined as the DC rail voltage having the substantially constant magnitude that is approximately equal to the maximum voltage magnitude at a second range of the output power from a second power magnitude to a maximum power magnitude.

A power regulator system comprising:

• at least one power supply each to convert a DC rail voltage to a DC load voltage, the DC load voltage being less than the DC rail voltage and being provided to power at least one electronic component;
• and
• a power rail regulator to generate the DC rail voltage based on an AC voltage and to regulate a magnitude of the DC rail voltage and an output current through N regions across a range of output power, where N is an integer greater than one, such that one of the DC rail voltage and the output current is alternately substantially constant in each of the N regions based on load requirements associated with the at least one electronic component,
• a first of the N regions defined as the DC rail voltage having a substantially constant magnitude that is approximately equal to a minimum voltage magnitude at a first range of the output power from zero to a first power magnitude, and
• a last of the N regions defined as the DC rail voltage having the substantially constant magnitude that is approximately equal to a maximum voltage magnitude at a second range of the output power from a second power magnitude to a maximum power magnitude.