Patent · US Expired

Digital power manager for controlling and monitoring an array of point-of-load regulators

US7394445B2 · kind B2 · utility

42Cited by
162References
37Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJan 31, 2005
Grant dateJul 1, 2008
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 5, 2025

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH02M1/008
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A power control system comprises a plurality of point-of-load (POL) regulators each adapted to convey regulated power to a load, a serial data bus operatively connecting the plurality of POL regulators, and a digital power manager connected to the data bus. The digital power manager includes a controller adapted to execute stored instructions to program operational parameters of the plurality of POL regulators via the serial data bus and receive monitoring data from the plurality of POL regulators via the serial data bus. The digital power manager further comprises a user interface, such as an I2C interface, adapted to receive programming data therefrom and send monitoring data thereto. The digital power manager further comprises a non-volatile memory containing a plurality of registers, including a digital power manager configuration register containing data values defining a configuration of the power control system, a POL set-up register containing data values reflecting programming state of one of the POL regulators, a POL monitor register containing data values reflecting status of operating conditions within one of the POL regulators, and a user-definable space. The digital p…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.