Fast response control circuit and control method thereof

This application is a continuation of the following application, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/104,606, filed on Dec. 12, 2013, and which is hereby incorporated by reference as if it is set forth in full in this specification, and which also claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 201210560203.7, filed on Dec. 20, 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The present invention relates to a switch mode power supply, and more particularly to a fast response control circuit and a method of controlling the switch mode power supply.

Switch mode power supplies can efficiently convert electrical power from a source to a load, or to several different loads, with each corresponding to a different output. The main transistor of a switching-mode supply can switch between on and off states at a given operating frequency, and voltage regulation can be achieved by varying the ratio of the on-to-off time of the main transistor. Switch mode power supplies may have relatively high power conversion efficiency, as compared to other types of power converters. Switch mode power supplies may also be substantially smaller and lighter than a linear supply due to the smaller transformer size and weight.

In one embodiment, a control circuit configured to control a switch mode power supply, can include: (i) a compensation signal generating circuit configured to generate a compensation signal according to an error between an output voltage feedback signal and a first reference voltage of the switch mode power supply; (ii) a switching signal generating circuit configured to control a switching operation of a power switching device of the switch mode power supply according to the compensation signal; (iii) a judge circuit configured to determine an operation state of the switch mode power supply according to the output voltage feedback signal; and (iv) a loop gain regulating circuit configured to regulate a loop gain of the control circuit according to the operation state.

In one embodiment, a method of controlling a switch mode power supply, can include: (i) generating a compensation signal according to an error between an output voltage feedback signal and a first reference voltage of the switch mode power supply; (ii) controlling a switching operation of a power switching device of the switch mode power supply according to the compensation signal; (iii) detecting an operation state of the switch mode power supply according to the output voltage feedback signal; and (iv) regulating a loop gain according to the operation state of the switch mode power supply.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example switch mode power supply with fixed-frequency control.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a first example control circuit in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a second example control circuit in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an example operation waveform diagram for the control circuit of FIG. 3 .

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example switch period regulating circuit in a control circuit, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an example control method in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of another example control method in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

Reference may now be made in detail to particular embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention may be described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments, it may be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents that may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, in the following detailed description of the present invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it may be readily apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, processes, components, structures, and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present invention.

A switch mode power supply can include a power stage circuit and a control circuit. The control circuit can regulate the turning on and turning off time of a switch system in the power stage circuit when an input voltage, operating parameters, and/or an external load are changing, so as to maintain an output voltage and/or an output current of the switch mode power supply as substantially constant. A switch mode power supply can generally be controlled via fixed-frequency control or variable frequency control.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an example control circuit for a switch mode power supply with fixed-frequency control. An inductor current sampling circuit can be utilized to output triangular wave signal S tria for indicating the inductor current information. Control signal V 1 can be obtained by adding triangle wave signal S tria with a ramp signal. Compensation signal V comp can be obtained by compensating the output signal of error amplifier 101 through compensation loop Z c . For example, the output signal of error amplifier 101 can be generated according to output voltage feedback signal V FB and reference voltage V REF1 , and reference voltage V REF1 can represent an expected output voltage. Comparator 102 can compare control signal V 1 against compensation signal V comp , and may control the turning on of switch Q 1 in the switch mode power supply according to the comparison result. Also, the turning off of switch Q 1 can be controlled by using fixed-frequency clock signal CLK (e.g., at a rising edge of CLK).

From the above operation/procedure, whatever the operation state of the switch mode power supply, the loop gain of the control circuit can remain substantially unchanged. When the switch mode power supply is in a steady state, the control effect cannot be influenced. However, when the load changes suddenly (e.g., in a transient or dynamic situation), the response speed of the switch mode power supply may need to be improved, so as to perform a transient procedure as soon as possible to recover the system to the steady state. By increasing the loop gain of the control circuit, the dynamic response procedure can be accelerated, and the steady margin of the system, or the time it takes to return the system to a steady operation state, can be reduced.

In one embodiment, a control circuit configured to control a switch mode power supply, can include: (i) a compensation signal generating circuit configured to generate a compensation signal according to an error between an output voltage feedback signal and a first reference voltage of the switch mode power supply; (ii) a switching signal generating circuit configured to control a switching operation of a power switching device of the switch mode power supply according to the compensation signal; (iii) a judge circuit configured to determine an operation state of the switch mode power supply according to the output voltage feedback signal; and (iv) a loop gain regulating circuit configured to regulate a loop gain of the control circuit according to the operation state.

Referring now to FIG. 2 , shown is a block diagram of a first example control circuit in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. In this example, a buck-type switch mode power supply is shown. However, any suitable power supply structure or topology (e.g., flyback, boost, SEPIC, buck-boost, etc.) can be supported in particular embodiments. Here, power switching device Q 1 (e.g., a transistor), diode D 0 , inductor L 0 , and output capacitor C 0 can form a buck topology power stage circuit. An input terminal of the power stage circuit can receive input voltage V IN , and the converted power can be supplied to the output load via output voltage V out and/or output current i out .

The control circuit can include compensation signal generating circuit 201 , switching signal generating circuit 202 , judge circuit 203 , and loop gain regulating circuit 204 . Also, a voltage dividing resistor loop can be formed by resistor R 1 and resistor R 2 series connected between output voltage V out and ground. The voltage dividing resistor loop can be configured as a voltage feedback circuit for receiving output voltage V out at the output terminal, and generating output voltage feedback signal V FB that indicates output voltage information at a common node of resistor R 1 and resistor R 2 .

Compensation signal generating circuit 201 can receive output voltage feedback signal V FB and reference voltage V REF1 that represents an expected output voltage. Compensation signal generating circuit 201 can generate compensation signal V COMP according to or based on an error between output voltage feedback signal V FB and reference voltage V REF1 . Switching signal generating circuit 202 can receive compensation signal V COMP , and may accordingly control a switching operation (turn on/turn off) of power switching device Q 1 (e.g., a transistor) of the switch mode power supply.

Judge circuit 203 can detect an operation state of the switch mode power supply according to output voltage feedback signal V FB . For example, output voltage feedback signal V FB can be compared against one or more threshold signals (e.g., threshold voltage levels) via judge circuit 203 to determine whether the switch mode power supply is in a first operation state (e.g., a steady operation state) or a second operation state (e.g., a dynamic response operation state). Also, loop gain regulating circuit 204 can regulate the loop gain of the control circuit according to the judgment result or output of judge circuit 203 .

For example, when judge circuit 203 detects that the switch mode power supply is operating in the first operation state, the loop gain regulating circuit may stop operating or be disabled such that the loop gain remains unaffected (or not adjusted by loop gain regulating circuit 204 ). Also, when judge circuit 203 detects that the switch mode power supply is operating in the second operation state, the loop gain regulating circuit can be enabled and may adjust the loop gain (e.g., increase the loop gain) by changing the gain of compensation signal generating circuit 201 . In this way, the response speed of the control circuit can be improved such that the switch mode power supply can more quickly adjust to the dynamic or transient change in the output load.

The control circuit can detect the operation state (e.g., steady operation state or dynamic response state) of the switch mode power supply, and may regulate the loop gain of the control circuit according to the detected operation state. The loop gain can be maintained as is, and the steady margin can be prevented from being affected by the control circuit, when in a steady operation state. Further, the loop gain can be increased to increase the loop bandwidth, in order to accelerate the dynamic response speed, when the switch mode power supply is in a dynamic response state and needs to quickly adjust to changing conditions (e.g., output load transients). Also, those skilled in the art will recognize that output voltage feedback signal V FB of FIG. 2 can be obtained in any suitable way (e.g., current sensing, voltage sensing, etc.).

Referring now to FIG. 3 , shown is a schematic block diagram of a second example control circuit in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. For example, compensation signal generating circuit 201 can employ transconductance amplifier 301 to output current according to an error between output voltage feedback signal V FB and reference voltage V REF1 . Compensation signal generating circuit 201 can generate compensation signal V COMP by charging and/or discharging compensation capacitor C COMP in the compensation loop. For example, the compensation loop can additionally or alternatively be formed by a series connected compensation capacitor and resistor.

Switch signal generating circuit 202 can receive compensation signal W out , and may output control signal V ctrl to control power switching device Q 1 according to detected inductor current information. Power switching device Q 1 can be directly driven switch through a driver that receives control signal V ctrl . Comparator 302 in judge circuit 203 can receive output voltage feedback signal V FB and threshold signal V th1 . For example, threshold signal V th1 can be a level greater than reference voltage V REF1 (e.g., threshold signal V th1 can be about 102% of V REF1 ). An output from comparator 302 can be converted to judge signal V de1 on resistor R 3 via diode D 1 . The inverting input of comparator 303 can receive output voltage feedback signal V FB , and the non-inverting input can receive threshold signal V th2 . For example, threshold signal V th2 can be a level less than reference voltage V REF1 (e.g., threshold signal V th2 can be about 98% of V REF1 ). The output of comparator 303 can form judge signal V de2 on resistor R 4 via diode D 2 .

Loop gain regulating circuit 204 can include transconductance amplifier 304 and transconductance amplifier 305 . For example, transconductance amplifier 304 can receive judge signal V de1 , and a non-inverting input can connect to ground. Transconductance amplifier 305 can receive signal V de2 , and an inverting input can connect to ground. The outputs of transconductance amplifiers 304 and 305 can be connected together and to the output of transconductance amplifier 301 in compensation signal generating circuit 201 .

When output voltage feedback signal V FB is in an interval (e.g., a voltage interval) formed by threshold signal V th1 and threshold signal V th2 , the switch mode power supply can be detected as in a steady operation state (e.g., the “first” operation state or mode). In this case, judge signal V de1 and judge signal V de2 can both be inactive low. Thus, the outputs of transconductance amplifiers 304 and 305 may not output current, and loop gain regulating circuit 204 can effectively be disabled or may otherwise stop operating, and may not affect the loop gain. Therefore, the gain of the compensation signal generating circuit 201 may not be affected by loop gain regulating circuit 204 during the first operation state.

When output voltage feedback signal V FB is greater than threshold signal V th1 or less than threshold signal V th2 , the switch mode power supply can be detected as in a dynamic response state (e.g., the “second” operation state or mode). In this case, judge signal V de1 or judge signal V de2 can be active high. Thus, the output of transconductance amplifier 304 can further increase the discharging current of compensation capacitor C COMP . Or, transconductance amplifier 305 can output a forward current to increase the charging current of compensation capacitor C COMP . In this way, the gain of compensation signal generating circuit 201 can accordingly be increased by loop gain regulating circuit 204 , resulting in an increase of the gain of the full control loop.

Referring now to FIG. 4 , shown is a waveform diagram showing example operation of compensation signal V COMP , output voltage V out for the example circuit of FIG. 3 . Here, the solid lines can be example waveforms of the control circuit of particular embodiments, and the dashed lines can be representative waveforms (e.g., of a conventional control circuit). From the comparison, when output voltage feedback signal V FB is greater than threshold signal V th1 (as shown in graph [a]), or less than threshold signal V th2 (as shown in graph [b]), in the control circuit of particular embodiments, because the gain of the compensation signal generating circuit is changed, the changing rate of compensation signal W out is much faster. In addition, the regulating speed of the switch duty cycle can also be increased, thus increasing a return and regulation of output voltage V out to the steady operation state.

In the particular example of FIG. 3 , the switch mode power supply can employ fixed-frequency control, where clock signal CLK with fixed-frequency can be used to control the turning off of switch Q 1 . Therefore, when the load changes suddenly in a transient or dynamic response situation, the system may not respond until the next clock signal arrives. However, since the system is in the second operation state (dynamic response) in this case, if loop gain regulating circuit 204 increases the loop gain too much, the loop bandwidth can be accordingly increased, and the system can effectively wind up switching between the first and second operation states.

In order to address this potential problem, the fast response control circuit of particular embodiments can also include a switch period regulating circuit to control the switch period of switch Q 1 to change along with output voltage feedback signal V FB . Specifically, the switch period regulating circuit can be realized by changing the frequency of clock signal CLK in switching signal generating circuit 202 . The following will describe one particular example implementation for generating a variable clock signal CLK to regulate the switch period, in conjunction with the circuit shown in FIG. 5 . To facilitate the description, FIG. 5 only shows the switch period regulating circuit for generating clock signal CLK.

Referring now to FIG. 5 , shown is a block diagram of an example switch period regulating circuit in a control circuit, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. In this example, the switch period regulating circuit can include a voltage controlled current source to change the value and/or direction of the output current according to an error between output voltage feedback signal V FB and reference voltage V REF1 . This can change the time or slope of the voltage of capacitor C SW rising to a level of voltage source V S1 . When output voltage feedback signal V FB is greater than reference voltage V REF1 , the voltage rising speed or slope of capacitor C SW can be slower, and as a result, the period of clock signal CLK can be longer.

However, when output voltage feedback signal V FB is less than reference voltage V REF1 , the voltage rising speed of capacitor C SW can be increased. As a result, the period of clock signal CLK can be shorter, so as to control the switch period of switch Q 1 changing along with output voltage feedback signal V FB . Therefore, when the load changes suddenly in a transient or dynamic response situation, the time before the next clock signal arrives can be accordingly reduced or increased. Thus, output voltage V out may not excessively change in this situation, and due to the changing of the switch frequency as a dynamic procedure, there may be sufficient steady margin when the bandwidth is so improved during the dynamic procedure. In this way, a smooth transition between the first (steady operation) and second (dynamic response) operation states can be achieved.

In one embodiment, a method of controlling a switch mode power supply, can include: (i) generating a compensation signal according to an error between an output voltage feedback signal and a first reference voltage of the switch mode power supply; (ii) controlling a switching operation of a power switching device of the switch mode power supply according to the compensation signal; (iii) detecting an operation state of the switch mode power supply according to the output voltage feedback signal; and (iv) regulating a loop gain according to the operation state of the switch mode power supply.

The following can describe a fast response control method that can be used to control a switch mode power supply in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. Referring now to FIG. 6 , shown is a flow diagram of a first example control method in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. In this example, at S 601 a compensation signal can be generated (e.g., via compensation signal generating circuit 201 ) according to an error between an output voltage feedback signal (e.g., V FB ) and a first reference voltage (e.g., V REF1 ) of the switch mode power supply.

At S 602 , a switching operation of a power switching device of the switch mode power supply can be controlled (e.g., via switching signal generating circuit 202 ) according to the compensation signal (e.g., V COMP ). At S 603 , an operation state of the switch mode power supply can be detected (e.g., via judge circuit 203 ) according to the output voltage feedback signal. At S 604 , a loop gain can be regulated (e.g., via loop gain regulating circuit 204 ) according to the operation state (e.g., steady operation state or dynamic response state) of the switch mode power supply.

For example, S 603 for detecting the operation state of the switch mode power supply, can further include receiving the output voltage feedback signal, a first threshold signal that is greater than the first reference voltage, and a second threshold signal that is less than the first reference voltage. When the output voltage feedback signal is in the voltage interval between the first and second threshold signals, the switch mode power supply can be detected as operating in the first operation state (e.g., the steady operation state). When the output voltage feedback signal is greater than the first threshold signal or less than the second threshold signal, the switch mode power supply can be detected as operating in the second operation state (e.g., the dynamic response state). In addition, S 604 can include regulating the loop gain by changing the gain of the compensation signal generating circuit. Furthermore, the above-described control method can include controlling the switch period to change along with the output voltage feedback signal (see, e.g., FIG. 5 ).

Referring now to FIG. 7 , shown is a flow diagram of a second example control method in accordance with embodiments of the present invention, which further adds the following based on S 604 for regulating the loop gain according to the judgment result or detected operation state, as shown in FIG. 6 . At S 701 , when the switch mode power supply is detected as operating in a first operation state, the loop gain can remain unchanged (e.g., not affected by loop gain regulating circuit 204 ). At S 702 , when the switch mode power supply is detected as operating in a second operation state, the loop gain can be increased (e.g., by the gain regulating circuit 204 ) to improve the dynamic response speed of the control circuit.

The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents.