Fully differential current sensing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10996256-B2
Application number	US-202016919485-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 2, 2020
Priority date	Nov 13, 2017
Publication date	May 4, 2021
Grant date	May 4, 2021

Abstract

A current detection system includes an inductor and a detection circuit coupled across the inductor. The inductor is configured to receive an input signal that includes an input current and generate a voltage across the inductor. The current detection circuit includes a sensing network and a transconductance amplifier. The sensing network includes a capacitor and is configured to monitor a voltage across the inductor. The transconductance amplifier is configured to receive a differential voltage indicative of a voltage drop across the capacitor and output a differential output current proportional to the differential voltage.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A switch mode power supply comprising: a power input and a return ground; an inductor having a first terminal coupled to the power input and having a second terminal; a first capacitor having a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the inductor and having a second terminal coupled to the return ground; a multiphase buck converter having an input coupled to the second terminal of the inductor and having a load output; a current detection circuit including: a second capacitor having a first terminal coupled to the first terminal of the inductor, and a second terminal coupled to the second terminal of the inductor; and a transconductance amplifier having a first input coupled to the first terminal of the second capacitor, having a second terminal coupled to the second terminal of the second capacitor, having a first current output and having a second current output; and an alert signal output coupled to the first current output and the second current output.

2. The switch mode power supply of claim 1 including a resistor coupled in series with the second capacitor between the second capacitor and the first terminal of the inductor.

3. The switch mode power supply of claim 1 , wherein the transconductance amplifier includes a transconductance loop circuit.

4. The switch mode power supply of claim 3 , wherein the transconductance amplifier includes a cascoded stage to increase gain of the differential voltage.

5. The switch mode power supply of claim 1 including a low side circuit having a first current input coupled to the first current output, having a second current input coupled to the second current output, and having the alert signal output.

6. The switch mode power supply of claim 5 in which the low side circuit includes:
a reference voltage input;
an operational amplifier having a first input coupled to the first current input, having a second input coupled to the second current input, and an amplified output; and
a comparator having a first input coupled to the amplified output, a second input coupled to the reference voltage input, and an output coupled to the alert signal output.

7. The switch mode power supply of claim 5 in which the low side circuit includes an analog to digital converter having an input coupled to the amplified output and having a digital output.

8. The switch mode power supply of claim 7 including a resistor and capacitor network coupled to the input of the analog to digital converter.

9. A switch mode power supply comprising:
a power input and a return ground;
an inductor having a first terminal coupled to the power input and having a second terminal;
a first capacitor having a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the inductor and having a second terminal coupled to the return ground;
a multiphase buck converter having an input coupled to the second terminal of the inductor and having a load output;
a current detection circuit including:
a high side circuit coupled across the inductor, the high side circuit including:
a transconductance amplifier configured to receive a differential voltage indicative of a voltage drop across the inductor and output a differential output current proportional to the differential voltage, the differential voltage including a first voltage and a second voltage and the differential output current including a first output current and a second output current; and
a low side circuit configured to receive the differential output current and generate a signal indicative of an input current into the filter based on the differential output current.

10. The switch mode power supply of claim 9 , in which the transconductance amplifier includes a transconductance loop circuit.

11. The switch mode power supply of claim 10 , in which the transconductance loop circuit includes a cascoded input stage.

12. The switch mode power supply of claim 9 , in which the transconductance amplifier includes:
a first transistor having a first drain, a first gate, and a first source, the first gate configured to receive the first voltage;
a second transistor having a second drain, a second gate, and a second source, the second gate configured to receive the second voltage;
a third transistor having a third drain, a third gate, and a third source, the third drain connected to the first source and the third source generating the first output current; and
a fourth transistor having a fourth drain, a fourth gate, and a fourth source, the fourth drain connected to the second source and the fourth source generating the second output current.

13. The switch mode power supply of claim 12 , in which the transconductance amplifier includes a sense resistor connected to the first source, the second source, the third drain, and the fourth drain.

14. The switch mode power supply of claim 9 , in which the low side circuit includes an operational amplifier configured to receive the first output current and the second output current and generate a single-ended amplified voltage.

15. The switch mode power supply of claim 14 , in which the low side circuit includes a comparator configured to receive the single-ended amplified voltage, compare the single-ended amplified voltage to a reference voltage, and generate an alert signal that indicates that the input current is greater than a threshold value in response to the single-ended amplified voltage being greater than the reference voltage, the reference voltage corresponding with the threshold value.

16. The switch mode power supply of claim 15 , in which the comparator is configured to receive the single-ended amplified voltage directly from the operational amplifier without the single-ended amplified voltage being filtered.

Assignees

• Texas Instruments Inc

Inventors

• Banerji Sudeep
• Suryanarayana Dattatreya Baragur
• Gakhar Vikram
• Tadeparthy Preetam
• Lakhanpal Vikas
• Venkateswaran Muthusubramanian
• J Vishnuvardhan Reddy

Classifications

• G01R19/0092 Primary

  Measuring current only · CPC title

• H02M1/0009

  Devices or circuits for detecting current in a converter · CPC title

• H02M3/1584

  with a plurality of power processing stages connected in parallel · CPC title

• G01R31/013 Primary

  Testing passive components (testing relays G01R31/3278; testing electrical windings, e.g. inductors G01R31/72) · CPC title

• G01R1/203

  Resistors used for electric measuring, e.g. decade resistors standards, resistors for comparators, series resistors, shunts (resistors in general H01C; microwave or radiowave terminations H01P1/26; coupling devices H01R) · CPC title