Rectangular-wave-signal generating circuit and switching power supply

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11601037-B2
Application number	US-202017018280-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 11, 2020
Priority date	Sep 19, 2019
Publication date	Mar 7, 2023
Grant date	Mar 7, 2023

Abstract

A rectangular-wave-signal generating circuit according to an embodiment comprises: a sawtooth-wave output circuit; a first detector; a second detector; and a first PWM-signal output circuit. The sawtooth-wave output circuit is configured to generate and output a sawtooth-wave signal synchronized with a clock signal. The first detector is configured to detect a first timing at which a potential of the sawtooth-wave signal exceeds a bottom potential. The second detector is configured to detect a second timing at which a potential of the sawtooth-wave signal exceeds a potential of a first pulse-width instruction voltage signal. The first PWM-signal output circuit is configured to generate a first PWM signal based on a time difference between the first timing and the second timing.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A rectangular-wave-signal generating circuit comprising:
a sawtooth-wave output circuit configured to generate and output a sawtooth-wave signal synchronized with a clock signal;
a first detector configured to detect a first timing at which a voltage of the sawtooth-wave signal exceeds a bottom voltage;
a second detector configured to detect a second timing at which a voltage of the sawtooth- wave signal exceeds a voltage of a first pulse-width instruction voltage signal; and
a first PWM-signal output circuit configured to generate and output a first PWM signal based on a time difference between the first timing and the second timing,
wherein the sawtooth-wave output circuit comprises a first sawtooth-wave output circuit configured to generate a first sawtooth-wave signal having a period that is twice a period of the clock signal, and a second sawtooth-wave output circuit configured to generate a second sawtooth- wave signal whose signal value overlaps a time-proportional range of the first sawtooth-wave signal and a phase of which is different from that of the first sawtooth-wave signal by 180 degrees,
the first detector detects the first timing based on the first sawtooth-wave signal or the second sawtooth-wave signal, and
the second detector detects the second timing based on the first sawtooth-wave signal or the second sawtooth-wave signal, whichever the detection of the first timing was based on.

2. A rectangular-wave-signal generating circuit comprising:
a sawtooth-wave output circuit configured to generate and output a sawtooth-wave signal synchronized with a clock signal;
a first detector configured to detect a first timing at which a voltage of the sawtooth-wave signal exceeds a bottom voltage;
a second detector configured to detect a second timing at which a voltage of the sawtooth-wave signal exceeds a voltage of a first pulse-width instruction voltage signal; and
a first PWM-signal output circuit configured to generate and output a first PWM signal based on a time difference between the first timing and the second timing,
wherein the bottom voltage is set based on a time-proportional range of the sawtooth-wave signal, and a rising rate of the voltage of the sawtooth-wave signal exceeding the bottom voltage is in a predetermined range.

3. A rectangular-wave-signal generating circuit comprising:
a sawtooth-wave output circuit configured to generate and output a sawtooth-wave signal synchronized with a clock signal;
a first detector configured to detect a first timing at which a voltage of the sawtooth-wave signal exceeds a bottom voltage;
a second detector configured to detect a second timing at which a voltage of the sawtooth-wave signal exceeds a voltage of a first pulse-width instruction voltage signal; and
a first PWM-signal output circuit configured to generate and output a first PWM signal based on a time difference between the first timing and the second timing,
wherein the first PWM-signal output circuit sets a minimum pulse width of the first PWM signal to 0 when the voltage of the first pulse-width instruction voltage signal is lower than the bottom voltage.

4. The rectangular-wave-signal generating circuit of claim 1 , wherein
the first detector and the second detector are circuits that are equivalent to each other in a signal response time, and
a finite minimum pulse width of the first PWM signal is based on a signal response time of the first PWM-signal output circuit.

5. The rectangular-wave-signal generating circuit of claim 1 , further comprising a first selector configured to switch and select one of the first sawtooth-wave signal and the second sawtooth-wave signal in accordance with a period of the clock signal, wherein
the first detector detects the first timing based on one of the first sawtooth-wave signal and the second sawtooth-wave signal selected by the first selector.

6. The rectangular-wave-signal generating circuit of claim 1 , further comprising a second selector configured to switch and select one of the first sawtooth-wave signal and the second sawtooth-wave signal in accordance with a period of the clock signal, wherein
the second detector detects the second timing based on one of the first sawtooth-wave signal and the second sawtooth-wave signal selected by the second selector.

7. The rectangular-wave-signal generating circuit of claim 1 , further comprising a second selector configured to switch and select one of time-proportional ranges of the first sawtooth-wave signal and the second sawtooth-wave signal in accordance with a period of the clock signal, and outputs the sawtooth-wave signal having high linearity.

8. The rectangular-wave-signal generating circuit of claim 7 , wherein the second selector switches and selects one of the first sawtooth-wave signal and the second sawtooth-wave signal based on the first timing having been detected by the first detector.

9. The rectangular-wave-signal generating circuit of claim 5 , wherein the first PWM-signal output circuit sets a Hi pulse-width duty of the first PWM signal to be 100% when the voltage of the first pulse-width instruction voltage signal is higher than a highest voltage of the sawtooth-wave signal output from the first selector.

10. The rectangular-wave-signal generating circuit of claim 8 , further comprising a delay circuit configured to adjust a time interval between the first timing and the second timing.

11. The rectangular-wave-signal generating circuit of claim 1 , further comprising a second selector configured to switch time-proportional ranges of the first sawtooth-wave signal and the second sawtooth-wave signal in accordance with a period of the clock signal to output the sawtooth-wave signal, wherein
the second selector selects a range of the first sawtooth-wave signal or the second sawtooth-wave signal including a minimum value when a pulse width of the first PWM signal is smaller than a predetermined value, and selects time-proportional ranges of the first sawtooth-wave signal or the second sawtooth-wave signal when the pulse width of the first PWM signal is equal to or larger than a predetermined value.

12. The rectangular-wave-signal generating circuit of claim 1 , further comprising:
a second selector configured to switch time-proportional ranges of the first sawtooth-wave signal and the second sawtooth-wave signal in accordance with a period of the clock signal to output the sawtooth-wave signal; and
an adjuster configured to adjust voltage rising rates of the first sawtooth-wave signal and the second sawtooth-wave signal in such a manner that a difference between a timing at which the sawtooth-wave signal output from the second selector reaches a predetermined top voltage and a timing at which the sawtooth-wave signal reaches a highest voltage becomes a constant value.

13. The rectangular-wave-signal generating circuit of claim 1 , further comprising:
a third detector configured to detect a third timing in accordance with a timing at which a voltage of the sawtooth-wave signal and a voltage of a second pulse-width instruction voltage signal match with each other; and
a second PWM-signal output circuit configured to generate and output a second PWM signal in accordance with a time difference between the first timing and the third timing, wherein
the sawtooth-wave output circuit comprises
the third detector configured to detect the third timing based on the first sawtooth-wave signal or the second sawtooth-wave signal, whichever the detection of the first timing was based on.

14. A switching power supply comprising:
the rectangular-wave-signal generating c

Assignees

• Toshiba Kk
• Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corp

Inventors

• Namekawa Toshimasa

Classifications

• H03K3/037

  Bistable circuits · CPC title

• H02M3/156 Primary

  with automatic control of output voltage or current, e.g. switching regulators · CPC title

• H03K4/48

  using as active elements semiconductor devices (H03K4/787 - H03K4/84 take precedence) · CPC title

• H03K4/83

  using as active elements semiconductor devices with more than two PN junctions or with more than three electrodes or more than one electrode connected to the same conductivity region · CPC title

• H02M1/08 Primary

  Circuits specially adapted for the generation of control voltages for semiconductor devices incorporated in static converters · CPC title