Voltage regulation apparatus and method of varying a number of current sources to provide a regulated voltage
View Patent ↗A voltage regulation apparatus comprises a plurality of individually switchable current sources coupled to an output for coupling the voltage regulation apparatus to an external load. The output is monitored using a bridge divider and a comparator. The bridge divider generates a feedback voltage, that is compared with a reference voltage, representative of a target voltage to be maintained at the output, when loaded. A digital sequencer unit is coupled to the comparator and responds to the comparator to increase or decrease a number of the plurality of individually switchable current sources activated, thereby causing a collective current generated by the activated number of the plurality of individually switchable current sources to converge on a load current, demanded by the external load.
1. A voltage regulator apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
a switchable current source unit having a plurality of individually switchable current sources coupled to an output;
a transfer function associated therewith, the transfer function having a dominant pole at a first frequency and a non-dominant pole at a second frequency, and the first and second frequencies are separated by a decade of frequency; and
a digital controller arranged to activate a number of the plurality of individually switchable current sources, thereby providing an output voltage at the output when loaded;
wherein the digital controller is coupled to the output in order to monitor the output voltage and generates a feedback voltage representative of the output voltage, the digital controller being arranged to vary the number of the plurality of individually switchable current sources activated in response to a change to the output voltage; and
wherein the digital controller increases the number of the plurality of individually switchable current sources activated in response to the feedback voltage being lower than a reference voltage and decreases the number of the plurality of individually switchable current sources activated in response to the feedback voltage exceeding the reference voltage, wherein the digital controller is arranged to operate in a high resolution mode, a first of the plurality of individually switchable current sources being arranged to generate a first electric current that is smaller than a second electric current generated by a second of the plurality of individually switchable current sources.
2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the digital controller and the switchable current source unit are arranged as a closed loop.
3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the variation of the number of the plurality of individually switchable current sources activated is step-wise.
4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the number of the plurality of individually switchable current sources activated is incremented or decremented.
5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the digital controller comprises a digital sequencer.
6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the digital controller comprises a comparator.
7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the digital controller comprises a digital sequencer, wherein the comparator is coupled to the digital sequencer.
8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the digital sequencer is a shift register.
9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the shift register is bi-directional.
10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the digital sequencer is a binary counter.
11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the comparator comprises a first input coupled to a reference voltage source, and a second input coupled to a feedback voltage source, the feedback voltage source being arranged to generate the feedback voltage representative of the output voltage.
12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the reference voltage source is arranged to generate the reference voltage representative of a target regulated output voltage.
13. An apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the feedback voltage source is a voltage divider.
14. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a first clock signal is provided to the digital controller the first clock signal having a first clock speed.
15. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a first clock signal is provided to the digital controller the first clock signal having a first clock speed, wherein the digital controller is clocked at a second clock speed that is a proportion of the first clock speed when in the high resolution mode.
16. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first of the plurality of individually switchable current sources is addressable for activation as a least significant bit by the digital controller.
17. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the digital controller further comprises any one or more of: a digital filter, a feed-forward loop and/or a boost over-clock.
18. An apparatus as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the first of the plurality of individually switchable current sources is addressable by the digital controller as a least significant bit in order to generate a first current pulse temporally spaced from a second current pulse by a number of clock cycles of the first clock signal, the first and second current pulses being generated in response to changes to the output voltage, thereby providing an average load current that is less than an amplitude of at least one of the first and second current pulses.
19. A method of regulating a voltage, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a plurality of individually switchable current sources coupled to an output;
activating, by a digital controller, a number of the plurality of switchable current sources, thereby providing an output voltage at the output when loaded;
generating a feedback voltage representative of the output voltage;
monitoring the output voltage and digitally varying the number of the plurality of individually switchable current sources activated in response to a change to the output voltage;
increasing the number of the plurality of individually switchable current sources activated in response to the feedback voltage being lower than a reference voltage; and
decreasing the number of the plurality of individually switchable current sources activated in response to the feedback voltage exceeding the reference voltage, wherein the digital controller is arranged to operate in a high resolution mode, a first of the plurality of individually switchable current sources being arranged to generate a first electric current that is smaller than a second electric current generated by a second of the plurality of individually switchable current sources, the digital controller having a transfer function associated therewith, the transfer function having a dominant pole at a first frequency and a non-dominant pole at a second frequency, and the first and second frequencies are separated by a decade of frequency.