Digitally calibrated voltage regulators for power management

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9684745-B2
Application number	US-201615365638-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 30, 2016
Priority date	Oct 11, 2012
Publication date	Jun 20, 2017
Grant date	Jun 20, 2017

Abstract

A computer provides a graphical user interface for displaying a virtual representation of a voltage regulator and for accepting a user requirement for the voltage regulator. The computer automatically determines an internal calibration setting of the voltage regulator that meets the user requirement. The computer simulates operation of the voltage regulator as calibrated with the internal calibration setting. The internal calibration setting is downloaded to the voltage regulator. A calibration controller of the voltage regulator receives the internal calibration setting and outputs digital calibration bits in accordance with the internal calibration setting. The digital calibration bits works in conjunction with interface circuits to adjust circuits of a voltage regulator core to digitally calibrate the voltage regulator.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of digitally calibrating a voltage regulator, the method comprising:
receiving, in a computer, a user requirement for a voltage regulator;
automatically determining an internal calibration setting for the voltage regulator to meet the user requirement;
simulating, in the computer, operation of the voltage regulator with the internal calibration setting;
after simulating the operation of the voltage regulator, providing the internal calibration setting from the computer to the voltage regulator;
receiving the internal calibration setting in a calibration controller of the voltage regulator; and
calibrating the voltage regulator by applying digital calibration bits to an interface circuit of the voltage regulator in accordance with the internal calibration setting.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user requirement is an output voltage value and applying the digital calibration bits to the interface circuit comprises presenting the digital calibration bits to inputs of a digital to analog converter (DAC) to change the output of the DAC.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user requirement is related to a pole or zero of a control loop of the voltage regulator and applying the digital calibration bits to the interface circuit comprises adding or removing components in a loop control module.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
installing the voltage regulator in an end product after digitally calibrating the voltage regulator.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the internal calibration setting is downloaded to the voltage regulator in a calibration board.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the user requirement for the voltage regulator comprises:
receiving the user requirement from a graphical user interface displaying a virtual representation of the voltage regulator.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the voltage regulator is a step-down DC-DC converter and the internal calibration setting is received in the calibration controller of the DC-DC converter.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying the digital calibration bits to the interface circuit of the voltage regulator includes controlling a switch element to select or deselect a component in the voltage regulator.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the internal calibration setting in the calibration controller of the voltage regulator comprises the calibration controller receiving the internal calibration setting over an external I/O bus.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the external I/O bus is a serial bus and the calibration controller performs serial to parallel bus conversion.

11. A method of calibrating a voltage regulator, the method comprising:
displaying a graphical user interface that shows a virtual representation of a voltage regulator on a screen of a computer;
selecting, by way of the graphical user interface, a value for a parameter of the voltage regulator;
simulating operation of the voltage regulator on the computer in accordance with the selected value for the parameter of the voltage regulator;
after simulating the operation of the voltage regulator, transmitting an internal calibration setting from the computer to the voltage regulator, the internal calibration setting comprising data for making the voltage regulator operate in accordance with the selected value for the parameter of the voltage regulator;
receiving the internal calibration settings in the voltage regulator; and
calibrating the voltage regulator in accordance with the internal calibration setting.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the parameter of the voltage regulator includes switching frequency of the voltage regulator.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein transmitting the internal calibration setting from the computer to the voltage regulator comprises:
installing the voltage regulator in a calibration board;
connecting the calibration board to the computer; and
downloading the calibration settings from the computer to the calibration board.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
after calibrating the voltage regulator, transferring the voltage regulator from the calibration board to an end product.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the end product comprises a power supply.

Assignees

• Monolithic Power Systems Inc

Inventors

• Yang Eric
• Hsing Michael

Classifications

• G06F1/26 Primary

  Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof (for memories G11C) · CPC title

• G01R31/40

  Testing power supplies (testing photovoltaic devices H02S50/10) · CPC title

• G05B19/0423

  Input/output · CPC title

• H02M3/157

  with digital control · CPC title

• G05F1/575 Primary

  characterised by the feedback circuit · CPC title