Systems and methods for DC-to-DC converter control

摘要

A regulated, power supply system is described using multiphase DC-DC converters with dynamic fast-turnon, slow-turnoff phase shedding, early phase turn-on, and both load-voltage and drive-transistor feedback to pulsewidth modulators to provide fast response to load transients. In an embodiment, a system master can automatically determine whether all, or only some, slave phase units are fully populated. The programmable system includes fault detection with current and voltage sensing, telemetry capability, and automatic shutdown capability. In an embodiment, these are buck-type converters with or without coupled inductors, however some of the embodiments illustrated include boost configurations.

主权项

1. A method for controlling phase current imbalance in a multiphase DC-to-DC converter, comprising:
determining a current magnitude value for each phase of the multiphase DC-to-DC converter, where each current magnitude value corresponds to magnitude of current out of one or more switching devices of the phase; identifying a smallest current magnitude value; firing a phase corresponding to the smallest current magnitude value; generating a desired current signal representing a desired load current of the DC-to-DC converter; generating a total current signal representing a load current of the DC-to-DC converter, the total current signal derived from the current magnitude value for each phase of the DC-to-DC converter; generating a current difference signal representing an amount by which the total current signal exceeds the desired current signal; comparing the current difference signal to a reference signal; and in response to a magnitude of the current difference signal exceeding a magnitude of the reference signal, turning on a currently turned off freewheeling switching device, before a normal turn-on time of the freewheeling switching device, and turning off a currently turned on control switching device, of one or more phases of the DC-to-DC converter.