Method and apparatus for measuring an average output current of a switching regulator using current-sensing-circuitry
US7772818B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 3, 2007 |
| Grant date | Aug 10, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 6, 2028 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01R19/0092
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
One embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus that measures the average-output-current produced by a switching regulator within an electronic device. The apparatus includes current-sensing-circuitry coupled to a switching field-effect-transistor (FET) within the switching regulator, wherein the current-sensing-circuitry is configured to bypass a small sense current from the conducting current of the switching-FET according to a sense ratio, wherein the conducting current is controlled by a control signal for the switching regulator. The apparatus also includes a current-to-voltage-converter coupled to the current-sensing-circuitry which is configured to convert the sense current into a sense voltage. The apparatus further includes voltage-averaging-circuitry which is configured to produce an average-sense-voltage from the sense voltage. This sense voltage is coupled to the input of the voltage-average-circuitry through a switch, which is gated by the control signal. The average-output-current of the switching regulator is indicated by the average-sense-voltage.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.