Voltage regulator using both shunt and series regulation

摘要

A voltage regulator for providing a constant voltage to a circuit is described in which a series regulator acts as the current source for a shunt regulator and the series regulator in turn is controlled by the current diverted from the output by the shunt regulator. The current being diverted by the shunt regulator is measured, either directly or by measuring a related operating parameter. When current below or above a certain desired amount is being diverted from the load by the shunt regulator, a signal is sent to the series regulator causing the series regulator to provide more or less current respectively, so that the shunt regulator again diverts the desired amount of current and the output voltage remains constant. This configuration results in efficiency near that of a series regulator while maintaining the better frequency response of a shunt regulator.

主权项

1. A voltage regulator connected to a load, comprising:
a series regulator connected to a power supply and configured to provide a current in an amount based upon a control signal; a shunt regulator configured to receive a portion of the current not passed through the load; a sensor configured to determine the portion of the current received by the shunt regulator and generate the control signal based upon the determined portion of the current such that the portion of the current received by the shunt regulator remains constant.