CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation-in-part of US application Ser. No. 15/590,305 filed May 9, 2017, now US Patent 9,966,832, issued on May 8, 2018.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This invention relates to switch mode power supplies, such as DC/DC converters, and, in particular, to a technique to offset ripple in the feedback voltage applied to an error amplifier.

BACKGROUND

Fig. 1 illustrates one type of prior art current mode DC/DC switching power supply, also known as a current mode DC/DC converter. Many other converter types, such as a switching voltage mode converter, can also benefit from the present invention. The type of converter shown in Fig. 1 is a peak current mode converter.

The operation of the converter is conventional and is as follows.

A clock (CLK) signal is applied to the set input of an RS flip-flop 20.

The setting of the RS flip-flop 20 generates a high signal at its Q output. A logic circuit 24, in response, turns transistor switch 26 on and turns the synchronous rectifier switch 28 off. Both switches may be MOSFETs or other types of transistors. A diode may replace the synchronous rectifier switch 28. The logic circuit 24 ensures that there is no cross-conduction of switches 26 and 28. The input voltage Vin applied to an inductor LI through the switch 26 causes a ramping current to flow through the inductor LI, and this current flows through a low value sense resistor 32. The ramping current is filtered by an output capacitor 36 and supplies current to the load 38. The output capacitor 36 is relatively large to smooth out ripple. The output voltage Vout is applied to a voltage divider 42, and the divided voltage is applied to the inverting input of a transconductance error amplifier 44. Capacitors may be connected across the resistors in the divider 42 to further compensate the feedback loop. A reference voltage Vref is applied to the non-inverting input of the amplifier 44. The output current of the amplifier 44 corresponds to the difference between the actual output voltage Vout and the desired output voltage. The voltage (a control voltage Vc) at a capacitor 46, connected to the output of the amplifier 44, is adjusted up or down based on the positive or negative current output of the amplifier 44. The control voltage Vc, among other things, sets the duty cycle of the switch 26, and the level of the control voltage Vc is that needed to equalize the inputs into the amplifier 44.

The control voltage Vc is applied to a comparator 50. The ramping voltage drop across the sense resistor 32, when the switch 26 is on, is sensed by a differential amplifier 52, having a certain gain, which outputs the voltage Visense. Many other ways are known to create the voltage Visense. When the voltage Visense exceeds the control voltage Vc, the comparator 50 is tripped to output a reset pulse to the RS flip-flop 20.

This turns the switch 26 off and turns the synchronous rectifier switch 28 on to discharge the inductor LI, causing a downward ramping current. In this way, the peak current through the inductor LI for each cycle is regulated to generate a desired output voltage Vout. The current through the sense resistor 32 includes a DC component (the lower frequency, average current) and an AC component (the higher frequency, ripple current).

Fig. 1 also illustrates a conventional slope compensation circuit 59, as is well known for current mode power converters. At high duty cycles (typically near or greater than 50%), the slope compensation circuit 59 ensures any duty cycle perturbations, such as caused by load current perturbations, are damped out. The slope compensation circuit 59 typically generates a ramping voltage that is subtracted from the control voltage Vc to create a downward ramping control voltage that is compared to the voltage Visense. The comparator 50 combines the control voltage Vc with the ramping voltage to create a compensated control voltage for comparison with the voltage Visense. The effect of the slope compensation circuit 59 is unrelated to the present invention. The feedback voltage Vfb has ripple (at the switching frequency), and this ripple causes the control voltage Vc to have some ripple. This affects the accuracy of the tripping of the comparator 50. Fig. 2 illustrates examples of the ramping voltage Visense, the rippling feedback voltage Vfb, the fixed reference voltage Vref, the rippling control voltage Vc (as a result of the constant Vref and rippling Vfb), and the average control voltage Vc (dashed line). The DC portions of Vfb, Visense, and Vc are not shown. The peak-to-peak ripple of the feedback voltage Vfb is just a small percentage of the nominal feedback voltage Vfb.

The comparator 50 trips when the up-ramping voltage Visense crosses the control voltage Vc. Note that the comparator 50 trips earlier than had the control voltage Vc been a smoother voltage approximately equal to the average control voltage Vc. This may create an inaccuracy in the output voltage Vout. Further, for transient situations, where a large feedback voltage ripple is experienced, the error amplifier may operate out of its linear region, creating possible DC error due to asymmetrical up and down slew limits of the error amplifier. Still further, the ripple in the control voltage Vc may interact with the slope compensation function to cause variations in the duty cycle.

The various ripples may be lessened by adding capacitance to the output and to the control voltage Vc node, but increasing the capacitance reduces the gain-bandwidth product and thus reduces the converter's ability to react to transients.

What is needed is a technique for use in a switching converter that does not suffer from the drawbacks of the rippling feedback voltage Vfb and rippling control voltage Vc.

SUMMARY The present invention mitigates the adverse effects of ripple in the feedback voltage Vfb of a switching power supply (a converter). The converter may be a voltage mode converter, a current mode converter, or other type of switching converter. A current mode converter is used as an example.

In one embodiment, a predicted ripple in the feedback voltage Vfb is generated, based on the ripple over a certain number of recent switching cycles. The DC portion of the feedback voltage Vfb is filtered out. This predicted feedback voltage ripple

Vfb(ripple) is then added to the fixed reference voltage Vref to effectively create a compensated reference voltage.

The sum of the reference voltage Vref and the predicted feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) is then applied to the non-inverting input of the error amplifier. The conventional feedback voltage Vfb (having a DC component and ripple) is applied to the inverting input of the error amplifier. Thus, the same ripple component is applied to both inputs and cancels out. Therefore, the output of the error amplifier is not affected by the ripple in the feedback voltage Vfb, and a non-rippling control voltage Vc is generated by the error amplifier. This results in various benefits.

The same beneficial effect can be achieved by subtracting the predicted feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) from the feedback voltage Vfb.

The benefits include: 1) a more accurate output voltage Vout; 2) the output capacitor and Vc node capacitor values can be reduced to increase the gain-bandwidth product to improve the response of the converter to transients; 3) the error amplifier stays in its linear region despite high ripple operation; and 4) the control voltage Vc does not interfere with the slope compensation.

Various other embodiments are described.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 illustrates a prior art DC/DC current mode converter.

Fig. 2 illustrates the prior art waveforms Visense, Vc, Vfb, and Vref, as well as the tripping of the comparator at Visense values below the Vc average value.

Fig. 3 illustrates a current mode converter in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 illustrates the rippling of the Visense waveform and the predicted

Vfb(ripple), generated in the circuit of Fig. 3, as well as the compensated reference voltage Vref and the non-rippling control voltage Vc, resulting in a more accurate tripping of the comparator.

Fig. 5 illustrates how the predicted feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) may be generated using delayed current sources connected in parallel, where there is one delayed current source per switching cycle to be averaged.

Fig. 6 illustrates one possible delay circuit that may be used for a single delay stage. Fig. 7 illustrates a portion of a converter where the predicted feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) is subtracted from the actual feedback voltage rather than added to the reference voltage.

Fig. 8 is a block diagram illustrating functional blocks used in one embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart describing the basic process used to effectively cancel out the ripple in the feedback voltage of a converter.

Elements that are the same or equivalent are labeled with the same numeral.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Fig. 3 illustrates one embodiment of the invention used in a current mode converter, although the invention may be used in voltage mode converters and other types of switching converters. A voltage mode converter compares the control voltage to a predetermined sawtooth waveform rather than to the current through the inductor. The invention may be used in conjunction with a switching buck converter, a boost converter, a buck-boost converter, a SEPIC converter, a Cuk converter, a flyback converter, a forward converter, a current regulator, a voltage regulator, etc. The converter portion 60 represents any conventional converter.

The conventional aspects of the current mode converter of Fig. 3 are the same as in Fig. 1 so need not be repeated. All such switching converters rely on a feedback voltage to regulate its output, and such feedback voltages include ripple. In Fig. 3, the DC component of the feedback voltage Vfb is filtered out by the capacitor 61 and resistor 62 network, so that only the feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) is present at node 64.

It is assumed that the circuit is operating normally and experiences the typical slight variations in input voltage and load. Therefore, the characteristics of the feedback voltage Vfb and its ripple Vfb(ripple) may change slightly over a number of cycles. Fig. 3 illustrates a feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) averaging circuit 66 that averages out the feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) over a number of cycles so that the average feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) is a typical predicted feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple). In one embodiment, the feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) is averaged out over 30 switching cycles, which is enough to make small transients in the feedback voltage Vfb irrelevant. The feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) may be averaged out over any number of cycles, such as from 10-50. Successive cycles of the feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) are represented in the boxes labeled VI, V2, and Vn. The predicted feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) should be fairly stable during steady state operation. A few ways of creating the predicted feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) are described with respect to Figs. 5-6.

The predicted feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) is then applied to a controllable current source 68, whose output current is directly proportional to the predicted feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple). The current source 68 may be a MOSFET whose gate is coupled to the predicted feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple).

The output current is coupled across a resistor 70 to generate a voltage drop Vd. The resistor 70 value is selected such that the voltage Vd is precisely the predicted feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple).

The voltage drop Vd is added to the fixed reference voltage Vref, generated by the reference voltage source 72, and applied to the non-inverting input of the error amplifier 44 (a transconductance amplifier).

Fig. 4 illustrates the feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) portion of the full feedback voltage Vfb applied to the inverting input of the error amplifier 44, and also illustrates the sum of the voltage drop Vd and reference voltage Vref. The ripple component of the feedback voltage Vfb, which is Vfb(ripple), should be very similar to the voltage drop Vd so that the ripple components cancel out in the error amplifier 44. This results in a substantially non-rippling control voltage Vc, also shown in Fig. 4. When the voltage Visense, corresponding to the inductor current, crosses the control voltage Vc level (which may be compensated by the slope compensation circuit 59), the comparator 50 trips and turns off the switch 26 and turns on the synchronous rectifier switch 28 to regulate the peak current through the inductor LI, as described with respect to Fig. 1.

Since there is little or no ripple in the control voltage Vc, the capacitance values of capacitors 36 and 46 can be reduced to increase the gain-bandwidth product to improve the response time of the converter to transients. Further, since the control voltage Vc has substantially no ripple, the output voltage Vout will be more accurate.

Fig. 5 illustrates one embodiment of the averaging circuit 66. Each delay circuit 74 delays a multiple of a switching period. In the example, only three delay circuits 74A, 74B, and 74C are shown, but there may be 30 or more delay circuits, each having a different delay. For example, if the converter CLK signal has a period of 20

microseconds, the feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) would have a period of 20 microseconds. The present feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) is applied to each of the delay circuits, where the delay circuit 74A delays the feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) by a single period; the delay circuit 74B delays the same feedback voltage ripple

Vfb(ripple) by two periods; and the delay circuit 74C delays the same feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) by three periods. The delayed signals are applied to an associated current source, such as a MOSFET, which outputs the associated current II, 12, and 13. The current sources are connected in parallel, so the sum of all the currents is an average of the differently delayed feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) for any instant in the switching cycle. The currents generated and the value of the resistor 70 are selected so that the voltage drop across the resistor 70 (i.e., the predicted feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple)) is approximately equal to the present feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple).

Fig. 6 is an example of a suitable digital delay circuit for a single delay stage (e.g., delay circuit 74A) where the number of serially-connected flip-flops in a clocked shift register 76 is selected to achieve a particular delay. Each delay circuit uses a different length shift register 76 clocked with the same clock 78. The feedback voltage ripple Vfb(ripple) is input to an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter 80 at a suitable sampling rate, and the digital Vfb(ripple) signals are applied to the input of the shift register 76. The data may be serial or parallel. The data is shifted along the shift register 76 at the clock rate until it is output to a digital-to-analog (D/A) converter 82, which outputs a delayed Vfb(ripple). The delayed feedback voltage ripple is then applied to a controllable current source 84, such as a MOSFET, after any suitable signal conditioning, to generate a current proportional to the delayed feedback voltage ripple. Many other types of known delay circuits can be used. The outputs of the various delay circuits are then averaged, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, to generate a predicted feedback voltage ripple to offset the actual feedback voltage ripple. To account for variations in the frequency of the feedback voltage ripple, the clock frequency may be adjustable using a control circuit. For example, the "delay" clock 78 frequency may be based on the CLK signal in Fig. 3, used to reset the flip-flop 20, so that the delay circuit is synchronized with the ripple frequency. Other techniques may be used to generate the predicted feedback voltage ripple

Vfb(ripple).

Although embodiments have been described where the predicted feedback voltage ripple is added to the reference voltage, the same result may be achieved by subtracting the predicted feedback voltage ripple from the actual feedback voltage Vfb to create a compensated feedback voltage Vfb with less or no ripple, as shown in Fig. 7. This may be done by buffering the feedback voltage Vfb (to avoid affecting the resistor divider 42), using a conventional unity gain amplifier 90, and then applying the current source 68 and resistor 70 in the buffered feedback path to subtract the resistor's voltage drop Vd from the feedback voltage Vfb. Accordingly, the voltage provided to the inverting input of the amplifier 44 (Fig. 3) would be Vfb-Vd. The reference voltage Vref is unaffected.

The averaging circuit 66 (or other processing circuit for generating the predicted feedback voltage ripple) and related components can easily be added to any conventional converter. The various components of the averaging circuit 66 may be formed on the same integrated circuit as the converter controller. Fig. 8 is a block diagram illustrating functional blocks used in one embodiment of the invention. Fig. 9 is a flowchart describing the basic process used to effectively cancel out the ripple in the feedback voltage of the converter 94 in Fig. 8. The converter 94 can be any type of switching converter 94 that outputs a substantially DC output voltage having some ripple due to the switching (step 96 in Fig. 9). The output capacitor 98 smooths the ripple, but some ripple remains. The output voltage is used to generate a feedback voltage Vfb for the converter 94 so the converter 94 can regulate the output voltage Vout. The feedback voltage may be a divided voltage, the output voltage itself, a voltage generated by a transformer, a voltage generated by an optical isolation device, or other voltage corresponding to the output voltage. The ripple in the feedback voltage is undesirable, as discussed above. A filter 100 passes only the ripple portion of the feedback voltage (step 102). The real-time ripple and past ripples are processed by a ripple predictor circuit 104 to generate a predicted ripple voltage (step 106). The predicted ripple voltage is then either subtracted from the real-time feedback voltage (so the feedback voltage used by the converter 94 has substantially no ripple) or added to the reference voltage that is compared to the feedback voltage (step 108). In either technique, the ripple is effectively cancelled from the feedback voltage.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications that are within the true spirit and scope of this invention.