Apparatuses and related methods for charging control of a switching voltage regulator

A charging system, comprising

• a charging controller including a plurality of mixed analog and digital circuits configured to monitor an output voltage and an output current from an energy storage device, and control a switching voltage regulator to reduce the output current in response to the output voltage exceeding a predetermined threshold;
• a driver coupled with the charging controller, the driver configured to receive control signals from the charging controller and generate a plurality of switching control signals to the switching voltage regulator;
• and
• valley shut off circuitry operably coupled with an output latch configured to transmit the control signals to the driver, wherein the valley shut off circuitry is configured to shut off the control signal when the output current is discontinuous.

A method of controlling charging of an energy storage device, the method comprising:

• monitoring an output voltage charging an energy storage device;
• comparing a reference signal and a current sense signal to generate a pulse-width modulation (PWM) control signal that determines an output current for a switching voltage regulator generating the output voltage;
• decrementing the reference signal in response to the output voltage exceeding a predetermined level for a maximum charging voltage for the energy storage device;
• detecting that the output current is in a discontinuous mode;
• and
• setting the control signal such that the output current is a minimum current when the output current is discontinuous.

A method of charging an energy storage device, the method comprising:

• generating a charging output current as a constant current with a switching voltage regulator during a first period while a charging output voltage rises;
• decrementing the charging output current during a second period, wherein decrementing occurs in a step-by-step manner responsive to the charging output voltage rising above a predetermined threshold;
• detecting that the output current is in a discontinuous mode;
• and
• setting the control signal such that the output current is a minimum current when the output current is discontinuous.