Digital voltage regulator controller with multiple configurations

1. A digital voltage regulator controller, comprising:

control logic operable to control a plurality of power stages of a voltage regulator so that groups of one or more of the power stages individually regulate one or more output voltages of the voltage regulator;

an interlace for measuring an external electrical parameter that indicates a location of the controller on a board or a version of the board; and

configuration logic operable to determine a set of configuration parameters for the voltage regulator based on the location of the controller on the board or the version of the board as indicated by the external electrical parameter, and configure the control logic in accordance with the set of configuration parameters so that each output voltage is regulated based on the location of the controller on the board or the version of the board.

2. The digital voltage regulator controller of claim 1 , further comprising a nonvolatile memory operable to store sets of predetermined configuration parameters for the voltage regulator, each set of the predetermined configuration parameters corresponding to a different location on the board or a different version of the board, wherein the configuration logic is operable to configure the control logic in accordance with the set of predetermined configuration parameters that corresponds to the external electrical parameter.

3. The digital voltage regulator controller of claim 2 , wherein the configuration logic is operable to store the set of predetermined configuration parameters that corresponds to the external electrical parameter in a set of registers accessible by the control logic.

4. The digital voltage regulator controller of claim 2 , further comprising circuitry operable to generate a digital value corresponding to the external electrical parameter, and wherein the configuration logic is operable to perform a lookup in the nonvolatile memory based on the digital value to retrieve the set of predetermined configuration parameters that corresponds to the digital value.

5. The digital voltage regulator controller of claim 2 , wherein the predetermined configuration parameters stored in the nonvolatile memory include at least one of:

a number of power stages in each of the groups of power stages;

alignment of the power stages in each of the groups of power stages;

power stage switching frequency;

output voltage;

output inductance;

output capacitance;

output voltage and current limits;

output filter inductance and capacitance;

startup sequence information for the voltage regulator;

compensator transfer function parameters;

digital bus address;

power stage type; and

sensor gain and offset.

6. The digital voltage regulator controller of claim 1 , wherein the control logic is initially configured based on default configuration parameters accessible by the configuration logic, and wherein the configuration logic is operable to modify one or more of the default configuration parameters based on the location oldie controller on the board or the version of the board as indicated by the external electrical parameter.

7. The digital voltage regulator controller of claim 6 , wherein the configuration logic is operable to scale one or more of the default configuration parameters using a rule set that is based on the external electrical parameter.

8. The digital voltage regulator controller of claim 6 , wherein the configuration logic is operable to access a table that stores sets of scaling factors each of which is associated with a different location on the board or a different version of the board and scale one or more of the default configuration parameters based on the scaling factor that corresponds to the external electrical parameter.

9. The digital voltage regulator controller of claim 6 , wherein the default configuration parameters include at least one of:

a number of power stages in each of the groups of power stages;

alignment of the power stages in each of the groups of power stages;

power stage switching frequency;

output voltage;

output inductance;

output capacitance;

output voltage and current limits;

output filter inductance and capacitance;

startup sequence information for the voltage regulator;

compensator transfer function parameters;

digital bus address;

power stage type; and

sensor gain and offset.

10. The digital voltage regulator controller of claim 1 , wherein the external electrical parameter is a resistance, voltage, or combination of voltage and resistance.

11. A voltage regulator, comprising:

a plurality of power stages; and

a digital controller comprising:

control logic operable to control the power stages so that groups of one or more of the power stages individually regulate one or more output voltages of the voltage regulator;

an interface for measuring an external electrical parameter that indicates a location of the controller on a board or a version of the board; and

configuration logic operable to determine a set of configuration parameters for the voltage regulator based on the location of the voltage regulator on the board or the version of the board as indicated by the external electrical parameter, and configure the control logic in accordance with the set of configuration parameters so that each output voltage is regulated based on the location of the controller on the board or the version of the board.

12. The voltage regulator of claim 11 , wherein the digital controller further comprises a nonvolatile memory operable to store sets of predetermined configuration parameters for the voltage regulator, each set of the predetermined configuration parameters corresponding to a different location on the board or a different version of the board, and wherein the configuration logic is operable to configure the control logic in accordance with the set of predetermined configuration parameters that correspond to the external electrical parameter.

13. The voltage regulator of claim 12 , wherein the digital controller further comprises circuitry operable to generate a digital value corresponding to the external electrical parameter, and wherein the configuration logic is operable to perform a lookup in the nonvolatile memory based on the digital value to retrieve the set of predetermined configuration parameters that corresponds to the digital value.

14. The voltage regulator of claim 11 , wherein the control logic is initially configured based on default configuration parameters, and wherein the configuration logic is operable to modify one or more of the default configuration parameters based on the location of the controller on the board or the version of the board as indicated by the external electrical parameter.

15. The voltage regulator of claim 14 , wherein the configuration logic is operable to scale one or more of the default configuration parameters using a rule set that is based on the external electrical parameter.

16. The voltage regulator of claim 14 , wherein the configuration logic is operable to access a table that stores sets of scaling factors each of which is associated with a different location on the board or a different version of the board and scale one or more oldie default configuration parameters based on the scaling factor that corresponds to the external electrical parameter.

17. The voltage regulator of claim 11 , wherein the external electrical parameter is a resistance, voltage, or combination of voltage and resistance.

18. An electronic system, comprising:

a plurality of loads disposed on a board;

a plurality of voltage regulators disposed at different locations on the board, each location on the board determining which of the loads is regulated by which of the voltage regulators, each of the voltage regulators comprising a plurality of power stages and a digital controller; and

an external electrical parameter assigned to each of the voltage regulators for indicating the location of each voltage regulator on the board or a version of the board,

wherein each of the voltage regulators is operable to regulate one or more output voltages,

wherein the voltage regulators have the same initial default configuration,

wherein each of the voltage regulators is operable to change the initial default configuration based on the location of the voltage regulator on the board or the version of the as indicated by the external electrical parameter assigned to the voltage regulator so that each voltage regulator provides one or more output voltages which are regulated based on the location of the voltage regulator on the board or the version of the board.

19. The electronic system of claim 18 , wherein each external electrical parameter is a resistance, voltage, or combination of voltage and resistance.

20. A method of configuring a voltage regulator, the method comprising:

initializing the voltage regulator to a default configuration during reset or power-up of the voltage regulator;

determining an external electrical parameter assigned to the voltage regulator, the external electrical parameter indicating a location of the voltage regulator on a board or a version of the board;

determining a set of configuration parameters for the voltage regulator based on the location of the voltage regulator on the board or the version of the board as indicated by the external electrical parameter; and

reconfiguring the voltage regulator in accordance with the set of configuration parameters so that each output voltage provided by the voltage regulator is regulated based on the location of the voltage regulator on the board or the version of the board.

21. The method of claim 20 , further comprising:

storing sets of predetermined configuration parameters in a nonvolatile memory of the voltage regulator, each set of the predetermined configuration parameters corresponding to a different location on the board or a different version of the board; and

reconfiguring the voltage regulator in accordance with the set of predetermined configuration parameters that corresponds to the external electrical parameter.

22. The method of claim 21 , further comprising:

generating a digital value corresponding to the external electrical parameter; and

performing a lookup in the nonvolatile memory based on the digital value to retrieve the set of predetermined configuration parameters that corresponds to the digital value.

23. The method of claim 20 , wherein the voltage regulator is initialized based on default configuration parameters stored in the voltage regulator, the method further comprising:

modifying one or more of the default configuration parameters based on the location of the voltage regulator on the board or the version of the board as indicated by the external electrical parameter.

24. The method of claim 23 , wherein modifying the one or more of the default configuration parameters comprises:

scaling the one or more of the default configuration parameters using a rule set that is based on the external electrical parameter.

25. The method of claim 23 , wherein modifying the one or more of the default configuration parameters comprises:

accessing a table that stores sets of scaling factors each or which is associated with a different location on the board or a different version of the board; and

scaling the one or more of the default configuration parameters based on the scaling factor that corresponds to the external electrical parameter.