Pre-charging mechanism for multi-input switching charger
View Patent ↗A circuit for a switching charger includes multiple input supply nodes, and a number of charging paths. Each input supply node is connectable to a power source. Each charging path may include a middle node connected to a coupling switch and a pass transistor. The coupling switch may be configured to activate a corresponding charging path of the charging paths. A pre-charging switch may be coupled to a corresponding middle node of each charging path. The pass transistor of an activated one of the charging paths may be configured to provide a switching voltage at an input of a charging sub-circuit. The pre-charging switch may be configurable to pre-charge a middle node of a non-activated path to a high voltage to prevent an unwanted high current passing through a body diode of a corresponding pass transistor of the non-activated path.
1. A circuit for a switching charger, the circuit comprising:
a plurality of input supply nodes, each of the plurality of input supply nodes connectable to a power source;
a plurality of charging paths, each of the plurality of charging paths including a middle node connected to a coupling switch and a pass transistor, wherein the coupling switch is configured to activate a corresponding charging path of the plurality of charging paths; and
a pre-charging switch coupled to a corresponding middle node of each of the plurality of charging paths,
wherein the pass transistor of an activated one of the plurality of charging paths is configured to provide a switching voltage at an input of a charging sub-circuit, and wherein the pre-charging switch is configurable to pre-charge a middle node of a non-activated path to a high voltage to prevent an unwanted high current passing through a body diode of a corresponding pass transistor of the non-activated path.
2. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein pass transistors of the plurality of charging paths are coupled to a switching circuit that is configured to control the pass transistor of the activated one of the plurality of charging paths to provide a switching voltage at an input of the charging sub-circuit, wherein the charging sub-circuit comprises an inductor and a capacitor.
3. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the power source comprises one of an adaptor, a powermat, a universal-serial bus (USB), or a wireless power dongle.
4. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the coupling switch comprises an NMOS transistor, and wherein a source node of the NMOS transistor is coupled to an input supply node of a corresponding charging path of the plurality of charging paths.
5. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the pass transistor comprises an NMOS transistor.
6. The circuit of claim 5 , wherein an anode of a body diode of the pass transistor comprises a bulk of the NMOS transistor.
7. The circuit of claim 6 , further comprising a switch configured to reverse a direction of the body diode by connecting the bulk of the NMOS pass transistor to a drain node of the NMOS pass transistor.
8. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the pre-charging switch is coupled to the corresponding middle node of each of the plurality of charging paths through one or more coupling resistors.
9. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the high voltage comprises a voltage of an input supply node coupled to the activated one of the plurality of charging paths.
10. A method for providing a multi-input switching charger, the method comprising:
coupling each of a plurality of charging paths through a respective coupling switch to one of a plurality of input supply nodes configured to be coupled to a power source;
coupling a middle node of each of the plurality of charging paths to the respective coupling switch and to a pass transistor, wherein the respective coupling switch is configurable to activate a corresponding charging path of the plurality of charging paths;
coupling a pre-charging switch to a corresponding middle node of each of the plurality of charging paths;
configuring the pass transistor of an activated one of the plurality of charging paths to provide a switching voltage at an input of a charging sub-circuit; and
configuring the pre-charging switch to pre-charge a middle node of a non-activated path to a high voltage to prevent an unwanted high current passing through a body diode of a corresponding pass transistor of the non-activated path.
11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising coupling pass transistors of the plurality of charging paths to a switching circuit that is configured to control the pass transistor of the activated one of the plurality of charging paths to provide a switching voltage at an input of the charging sub-circuit, wherein the charging sub-circuit comprises an inductor and a capacitor.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein coupling each of the plurality of input supply nodes comprises coupling each of the plurality of input supply nodes to one of an adaptor, a powermat, a universal-serial bus (USB), or a wireless power dongle.
13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the coupling switch comprises an NMOS transistor, and wherein the method further comprises coupling a source node of the NMOS transistor to an input supply node of a corresponding charging path of the plurality of charging paths.
14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the pass transistor comprises an NMOS transistor, and wherein the method further comprises coupling a drain node of the NMOS transistor to a middle node of a corresponding charging path of the plurality of charging paths.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein an anode of a body diode of the pass transistor comprises a bulk of the NMOS transistor, wherein a cathode of the body diode of the pass transistor comprises an n-diffusion source, and wherein the method further comprises connecting the cathode of the body diode of the pass transistor to the middle node of a respective charging path.
16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising configuring a switch to reverse a direction of the body diode by connecting the bulk of the NMOS pass transistor to a drain node of the NMOS pass transistor.
17. The method of claim 10 , further comprising coupling the pre-charging switch to the corresponding middle node of each of the plurality of charging paths through one or more coupling resistors, and activating the pre-charging switch for a pre-determined period of time prior to provision of the switching voltage at the input of the charging circuit.
18. The method of claim 10 , wherein the high voltage comprises a voltage of an input supply node coupled to the activated one of the plurality of charging paths, wherein pre-charging the middle node of the non-activated path facilitates reverse biasing of the body diode of the corresponding pass transistor of the non-activated path, and wherein the method further comprises conductively coupling the activated one of the plurality of charging paths to a corresponding input supply node.
19. A communication device, comprising:
a multi-input switching charger circuit comprising:
a plurality of input supply nodes, each of the plurality of input supply nodes connectable to a power source;
a plurality of charging paths, each of the plurality of charging paths including a middle node connected to a coupling switch and a pass transistor, wherein the coupling switch is configured to activate a corresponding charging path of the plurality of charging paths; and
a pre-charging switch coupled to a corresponding middle node of each of the plurality of charging paths,
wherein the pass transistor of an activated one of the plurality of charging paths is configured to provide a switching voltage at an input of a charging sub-circuit, and wherein the pre-charging switch is configurable to pre-charge a middle node of a non-activated path to a high voltage to prevent an unwanted high current passing through a body diode of a corresponding pass transistor of the non-activated path.
20. The communication device of claim 19 , wherein the coupling switch comprises an NMOS transistor.
21. The communication device of claim 20 , wherein a source node of the NMOS transistor is coupled to an input supply node of a corresponding charging path of the plurality of charging paths.
22. (Previously Presented The communication device of claim 20 , wherein a drain node of the NMOS transistor is coupled to a middle node of a corresponding charging path of the plurality of charging paths.
23. The communication device of claim 20 , wherein an anode of a body diode of the pass transistor comprises a bulk of the NMOS transistor.
24. The communication device of claim 23 , wherein a cathode of the body diode of the pass transistor comprises an n-diffusion source connected to the middle node of a respective charging path.
25. The circuit of claim 5 , wherein a drain node of the NMOS transistor is coupled to a middle node of a corresponding charging path of the plurality of charging paths.
26. The circuit of claim 5 , wherein a cathode of a body diode of the pass transistor comprises an n-diffusion source connected to the middle node of a respective charging path.
27. The circuit of claim 8 , wherein the pre-charging switch is activated for a pre-determined period of time prior to provision of the switching voltage at the input of the charging circuit.
28. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein pre-charging the middle node of the non-activated path facilitates reverse biasing of a body diode of the corresponding pass transistor of the non-activated path.
29. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the activated one of the plurality of charging paths is conductively coupled to a corresponding input supply node.