Bounded power supply voltage positioning
US6472856B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 9, 2001 |
| Grant date | Oct 29, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 17, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH02M3/158
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A voltage positioning technique allows a power supply controller to more fully exploit active voltage positioning as a way of maintaining supply voltage within the limits defined for an associated electrical load. The supply voltage is allowed to “droop” as a function of load current. Droop may be implemented in linear proportion to load current, or as a discrete droop function once load current exceeds a given threshold. In either case, the droop circuitry of the supply controller implements a bounding function that establishes an accurately known maximum droop voltage magnitude. This maximum droop voltage limit establishes a reliable lower limit for the supply voltage independent of increasing load current. This accurately set lower bound for the droop voltage enables the controller to more aggressively position the supply voltage at the lower voltage limit of the load, which minimizes voltage overshoot and load power consumption.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.