Voltage regulating device, radio frequency amplification device and voltage selection method

Abstract

The invention discloses a voltage regulating device, a radio frequency amplification device and a voltage selection method. The voltage regulating device comprises a voltage controller and a multi-level power supply modulator, the multi-level power supply modulator comprises a plurality of branches, an input voltage is input into the input end of any branch, the other end of the branch is connected with the voltage output end of the multi-level power supply modulator, and one or two switching tubes are arranged in each branch; wherein the controller is used for generating a voltage selection signal according to a received voltage regulation command, and sending the voltage selection signal to the multi-level power supply modulator; and the multi-level power supply modulator is used for controlling the conduction of a path from the input end of a target branch in the plurality of branches to the voltage output port according to the voltage selection signal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of wireless communications, and specifically relates to a voltage regulating device, a radio frequency amplifying device and a voltage selecting method. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of communication technology, wireless communication devices use 3G\4G\5G and other technologies for communication. The modulation method of the communication system has become more and more complex, and the transmitted / received signals have a high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) and high bandwidth. In the 5G communication system, the traditional constant voltage is used to power the RF power amplifier, and the efficiency of the RF power amplifier is significantly reduced.

[0003] At present, the communications industry is facing the requirement of energy saving and consumption reduction. There is no room for significant improvement in the efficiency of the power supply part in the traditional fixed voltage power supply mode. Therefore, how to dynamically adjust the power supply voltage is a technical problem that needs to be solved in related technologies.

[0004] Application Contents

[0005] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a voltage regulating device, a radio frequency amplifying device and a voltage selection method, which can solve the problem of how to dynamically adjust the supply voltage.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a voltage regulation device, comprising: a voltage controller and a multi-level power modulator, wherein the multi-level power modulator comprises a plurality of branches, an input voltage is inputted to an input end of any one of the branches, and the other end is connected to a voltage output end of the multi-level power modulator, and one or two switch tubes are arranged in each branch; wherein the controller is used to generate a voltage selection signal according to a received voltage regulation command, and send the voltage selection signal to the multi-level power modulator; and the multi-level power modulator is used to control the conduction (also referred to as closure) of a path from an input end of a target branch among the plurality of branches to the voltage output port according to the voltage selection signal.

[0007] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a radio frequency amplification device, comprising a radio frequency power amplifier and the voltage regulating device as provided in the first aspect, wherein a power input terminal of the radio frequency power amplifier is connected to a voltage output terminal of the voltage regulating device, and the radio frequency power amplifier is used to amplify an input radio frequency signal and output it under the action of the output voltage of the voltage regulating device.

[0008] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a voltage selection method, which is applied to a voltage regulating device, the method comprising: the voltage controller of the voltage regulating device generates a voltage selection signal according to a received voltage regulation command, and sends the voltage selection signal to a multi-level power modulator of the voltage regulating device; the multi-level power modulator controls all the switch tubes on the target branch to be turned on, controls the second type of switch tube on the third branch to be turned on, and controls the second type of switch tube on the fourth branch to be turned off according to the voltage selection signal, wherein the input voltage of the target branch matches the target voltage selected by the voltage selection signal, the third branch is a branch among the multiple branches whose input voltage at the input end is lower than the input voltage of the target branch, and the fourth branch is a branch among the multiple branches whose input voltage at the input end is higher than the input voltage of the target branch.

[0009] In an embodiment of the present application, the voltage regulating device includes a voltage controller and a multi-level power modulator, wherein the multi-level power modulator includes multiple branches, an input voltage is input to the input end of any of the branches, and the other end is connected to the voltage output end of the multi-level power modulator, and one or two switch tubes are arranged in each branch; wherein the voltage controller is used to generate a voltage selection signal according to the received voltage regulation command, and send the voltage selection signal to the multi-level power modulator; the multi-level power modulator is used to control the conduction of the path from the input end of one target branch in the multiple branches to the voltage output port according to the voltage selection signal. Thus, the output voltage of the voltage regulating device can be dynamically adjusted according to the voltage regulation command, thereby reducing the power consumption of the RF power amplifier and achieving energy saving. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing the structure of a voltage regulating device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0011] Figure 2 A circuit diagram of a multi-level power modulator provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0012] Figure 3 A circuit diagram of a voltage controller provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0013] Figure 4a A schematic diagram of a continuous switching signal provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0014] Figure 4b A signal schematic diagram of discontinuous switching provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0015] Figure 5a A circuit diagram of another multi-level power modulator provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0016] Figure 5b A circuit diagram of another multi-level power modulator provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown; Figure 6a A schematic structural diagram of a radio frequency amplification device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0017] Figure 6b A schematic diagram showing the structure of another radio frequency amplification device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0018] Figure 7 A flow chart of a signal selection method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0020] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchangeable under appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described here, and the objects distinguished by "first", "second", etc. are generally of one type, and the number of objects is not limited. For example, the first object can be one or more. In addition, "and / or" in the specification and claims represents at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally indicates that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship.

[0021] In 5G communications, fast voltage regulation technology usually refers to adjusting the supply voltage of the RF power amplifier according to changes in the output power of the RF power amplifier. The time for adjusting the supply voltage is an extremely short time gap, which is in the nanosecond level.

[0022] Traditional RF power amplifier power supplies usually adopt a switching power supply solution, which has a slow voltage regulation speed and cannot meet the demand for rapid voltage regulation of the power supply under 5G communication technology. If the demand for rapid voltage regulation is to be achieved, the switching frequency of the switch tube needs to be increased, but the switching loss is large under ultra-high switching frequency, resulting in low efficiency of the switching power supply. To address this problem, the embodiments of the present application provide a voltage regulating device, a RF amplifying device, and a voltage selection method to achieve rapid voltage regulation.

[0023] The voltage regulating device, radio frequency amplifying device and voltage selection method provided in the embodiments of the present application are described in detail below through specific embodiments and their application scenarios in combination with the accompanying drawings.

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a voltage regulating device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the voltage regulating device 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application includes: a voltage controller 101 and a multi-level power modulator 102 .

[0025] The multi-level power modulator 102 includes a plurality of branches, an input voltage is input to the input end of any branch, and the other end is connected to the voltage output end of the multi-level power modulator 102, and one or two switch tubes are arranged in each branch;

[0026] The voltage controller 101 is used to generate a voltage selection signal according to the received voltage regulation command, and send the voltage selection signal to the multi-level power modulator 102; the multi-level power modulator 102 is used to control the conduction of the path from the input end of a target branch among multiple branches to the voltage output port according to the voltage selection signal.

[0027] In the embodiment of the present application, in order to save costs, the input voltages of the input ends of the various branches can be completely different. In other words, an input voltage is input to the input end of any branch, and any two of the input voltages V1, V2, V3, ..., Vn are different.

[0028] For example, assuming there are four branches, the input voltages of the branches may be 5V, 10V, 15V, and 20V, respectively, so that an output voltage of 5V, 10V, 15V, and 20V may be provided.

[0029] In the embodiment of the present application, the voltage regulating device 100 includes a voltage controller 101 and a multi-level power modulator 102. The voltage controller 101 is used to generate a voltage selection signal according to the received voltage regulation command, wherein it should be noted that the voltage controller 101 can be a digital controller or an analog controller. Figure 1 As shown, after the voltage controller 101 generates a voltage selection signal, the voltage selection signal is sent to the multi-level power modulator 102, and the multi-level power modulator 102 performs voltage selection output according to the voltage selection signal. The multi-level power modulator 102 includes multiple branches, and an input voltage is input to the input end of any branch, and one of the voltages Vi is selected as the output voltage from the input voltages V1, V2, V3, ..., Vn according to the voltage selection signal.

[0030] It should be noted that the voltage regulating device 100 is not limited to being used in wireless communication base stations, and other wireless communication devices are within the scope of the description of the embodiments of the present application, such as mobile phones, Internet of Things devices, etc.

[0031] A voltage regulating device 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application includes a voltage controller 101 and a multi-level power modulator 102, wherein the multi-level power modulator 102 includes multiple branches, an input voltage is input to the input end of any branch, and the other end is connected to the voltage output end of the multi-level power modulator 102, and one or two switch tubes are arranged in each branch; wherein the voltage controller 101 is used to generate a voltage selection signal according to the received voltage regulation command, and send the voltage selection signal to the multi-level power modulator 102; the multi-level power modulator 102 is used to control the conduction of a path from the input end of a target branch among the multiple branches to the voltage output port according to the voltage selection signal, so that the device 100 can realize fast selection of a voltage as an output from multiple input voltages, realize fast switching of voltage output, and reduce the power consumption of the powered device.

[0032] In the embodiment of the present application, the switch tubes on the multiple branches may include the following two types of switch tubes:

[0033] (1) First-class switch tube. The first end of the first-class switch tube is connected to the input end, and the second end is connected to the voltage output end or the second end of the second-class switch tube. When the first-class switch tube is turned off (also called disconnected), the path in the first direction is turned on, and the path in the second direction is turned off. When the first-class switch tube is turned on, both the path in the first direction and the path in the second direction are turned on; wherein the first direction is the direction from the first end of the first-class switch tube to the second end of the first-class switch tube, and the second direction is the direction from the second end of the first-class switch tube to the first end of the first-class switch tube. In the disconnected state, the first-class switch tube has characteristics similar to those of a diode, with the characteristics of forward voltage conduction and reverse voltage cutoff, thereby preventing high voltage backflow. Therefore, it can also be called an anti-reverse switch tube.

[0034] (2) Second type switch tube. The first end of the second type switch tube is connected to the voltage output port, and the second end of the second type switch tube is connected to the input end or the second end of the first type switch tube. When the second type switch tube is turned off, the path in the third direction is turned on, and the path in the fourth direction is turned off. When the second type switch tube is turned on, the path in the third direction and the path in the fourth direction are both turned on; wherein the third direction is the direction from the first end of the second type switch tube to the second end of the second type switch tube, and the fourth direction is the direction from the second end of the second type switch tube to the first end of the second type switch tube. When the second type switch tube is in the off state, the voltage of the branch where the second type switch tube is located will not be selected; when it is in the on state, the voltage of the branch where it is located is selected as the output voltage. Therefore, the second type switch tube can also be called a selection switch tube.

[0035] In one embodiment of the present application, among the above-mentioned multiple branches, the branch with the smallest input voltage at the input end may be provided with only one switch tube, and the switch tube is the above-mentioned first type of switch tube, and the branch with the largest input voltage at the input end may be provided with only one switch tube, and the switch tube is the second type of switch tube. Through this implementation, the number of switch tubes in the voltage regulating device can be reduced, saving costs.

[0036] In one embodiment of the present application, in the above-mentioned multiple branches, each branch in which the input voltage at the input end is between the minimum and the maximum can be provided with two switch tubes, one of the two switch tubes is a first-type switch tube, and the other switch tube is a second-type switch tube. Of course, in practical applications, the branch in which the input voltage at the input end is between the minimum and the maximum is not limited to only providing a pair of first-type switch tubes and second-type switch tubes. For example, two pairs of first-type switch tubes and second-type switch tubes can also be provided. Through this implementation, the number of switch tubes of the voltage regulating device is small, the structure is simple, and the efficiency of dynamically adjusting the power supply voltage is high.

[0037] In an embodiment of the present application, the switching tube in the voltage regulating device may include: one or more semiconductors with switching characteristics, for example, the switching tube may include one or more MOS tubes, the source of the first type of switching tube is connected to the input voltage, and the drain is connected to the output end or the second type of switching tube, while the source of the second type of switching tube is connected to the output end, and the drain is connected to the input end or the drain of the first type of switching tube.

[0038] Take the switch tube as MOS tube, and the voltage regulating device includes 4 branches as an example. Figure 2 A circuit diagram of a multi-level power modulator provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0039] like Figure 2As shown, the input voltages of the four branches are V1, V2, V3 and V4, respectively, which are the input voltages of the four branches: the first voltage, the second voltage, the third voltage and the fourth voltage, and V0 is the output voltage of the multi-level power modulator with four input voltages, wherein V0 can be any one of V1, V2, V3 and V4. Among them, the input voltage magnitude relationship can satisfy V4>V3>V2>V1, and the voltage value of each input voltage can be determined after matching each other according to the load power.

[0040] like Figure 2 As shown, the voltage regulating device includes 6 switch tubes (S0-S5), and the switch tubes S0, S2 and S4 are first-type switch tubes for preventing voltage backflow. The first end of the first-type switch tube is connected to the input end, and the second end is connected to the voltage output end or the second end of the second-type switch tube. Since the first-type switch tubes S0, S2 and S4 have characteristics similar to diodes when they are turned off (also called disconnected), they have the characteristics of forward voltage conduction and reverse voltage cutoff, thereby preventing high voltage backflow; the first-type switch tubes S0, S2 and S4 no longer have an anti-reverse effect when they are closed. That is to say, when the first-type switch tube is turned off, the path in the first direction is turned on, and the path in the second direction is disconnected. When the first-type switch tube is turned on, the path in the first direction and the path in the second direction are both turned on.

[0041] The switch tubes S1, S3 and S5 are second-type switch tubes for controlling voltage gating, the first end of the second-type switch tube is connected to the voltage output port, and the second end of the second-type switch tube is connected to the input end or the second end of the first-type switch tube. When the second-type switch tube is turned off, the voltage of the branch where the second-type switch tube is located will not be gated; when the second-type switch tube is closed, the voltage of the branch where it is located is selected as the output voltage; so when the second-type switch tube is turned off, the path in the third direction is turned on, and the path in the fourth direction is turned off, and when the second-type switch tube is turned on, the path in the third direction and the path in the fourth direction are both turned on.

[0042] exist Figure 2In the multi-level power modulator with 4 input voltages, a branch where the input voltage V1 at the input end is the minimum is provided with a switch tube S0, and the switch tube S0 is a first-type switch tube; a branch where the input voltage V4 at the input end is the maximum is provided with a switch tube S5, and the switch tube S5 is a second-type switch tube; a branch where the input voltage V2 and V3 at the input end are between the minimum V1 and the maximum V4 is provided with two switch tubes, one of the two switch tubes is a first-type switch tube, and the other switch tube is a second-type switch tube; wherein, the two switch tubes provided in the branch where V2 is provided are the first-type switch tube S2 and the second-type switch tube S1 respectively; and the two switch tubes provided in the branch where V3 is provided are the first-type switch tube S4 and the second-type switch tube S3 respectively.

[0043] In one embodiment of the present application, the first type of switch tube on the first branch and the second type of switch tube on the second branch are complementary logic, wherein the first branch is any branch except the branch with the largest input voltage at the input end among the multiple branches, and the second branch is the branch with the smallest difference between the input voltage at the input end and the input voltage at the input end of the first branch among the multiple branches, and the input voltage at the input end of the second branch is higher than the input voltage at the input end of the first branch. In other words, the anti-reverse switch tube of any input voltage and the selection switch tube of the branch where the input voltage is higher than the input voltage and has the smallest voltage difference are complementary logic.

[0044] For example, in Figure 2 In the embodiment of the present application, the complementary logic between the first type of switch tube on the first branch and the second type of switch tube on the second branch means that the conduction states of the first type of switch tube on the first branch and the second type of switch tube on the second branch are complementary, for example, when the first type of switch tube on the first branch is turned on, the second type of switch tube on the second branch is turned off, or when the first type of switch tube on the first branch is turned off, the second type of switch tube on the second branch is turned on.

[0045] In one embodiment of the present application, within the dead zone of the first type of switch tube on the first branch and the second type of switch tube on the second branch, the first type of switch tube on the first branch is turned off before the second type of switch tube on the second branch is turned on, or the first type of switch tube on the first branch is turned on after the second type of switch tube on the second branch is turned off.

[0046] For example, in Figure 2In the embodiment, the first type of switch tube S0 of the first voltage branch and the second type of switch tube S1 of the second voltage branch are complementary logic. Since the switch tube needs a certain time to switch, a certain dead zone needs to be reserved when controlling the switch tube to prevent the switch tubes S0 and S1 from being turned on at the same time, causing the second voltage to be directly fed back into the first voltage. Therefore, the first type of switch tube on the first branch is turned off before the second type of switch tube on the second branch is turned on, or the first type of switch tube on the first branch is turned on after the second type of switch tube on the second branch is turned off. For example, when the voltage is switched from the first voltage to the second voltage, the anti-reverse switch tube S0 changes from closed to open, and after a dead zone, the selection switch S1 changes from open to closed. When the voltage is switched from the second voltage to the first voltage, the selection switch S1 changes from closed to open, and after a dead zone, the anti-reverse switch S0 changes from open to closed.

[0047] Through the above embodiments, the multi-level power modulator can maintain continuous output current when the voltage is switched, so that the output voltage of the multi-level power modulator does not change suddenly.

[0048] In one embodiment of the present application, the switch tubes on the target branch are all turned on, the second type of switch tube on the third branch is turned on, and the second type of switch tube on the fourth branch is turned off, wherein the third branch is a branch whose input voltage at the input end is lower than the input voltage of the target branch among multiple branches, and the fourth branch is a branch whose input voltage at the input end is higher than the input voltage of the target branch among multiple branches. In an embodiment of the present application, the input voltage of the target branch is the output voltage selected by the multi-level power modulator. That is to say, when the target voltage is gated, all the switch tubes of the branch where the target voltage is located are closed, and the gated switch tube of the branch where the input voltage (if any) is lower than the target voltage is closed, and the gated switch tube of the branch where the input voltage (if any) is higher than the target voltage is disconnected.

[0049] In one embodiment of the present application, the voltage controller 101 can be specifically used to send a first voltage selection signal to the control end of the second type of switch tube in the second branch, and send a second voltage selection signal to the control end of the first type of switch tube in the first branch when the target voltage signal is equal to the input voltage of the first branch, and to send the second voltage selection signal to the control end of the second type of switch tube in the second branch, and send the first voltage selection signal to the control end of the first type of switch tube in the first branch when the target voltage signal is not equal to the input voltage of the first branch, wherein the first voltage selection signal is a signal for controlling the first type of switch tube or the second type of switch tube to be turned off, and the second voltage selection signal is a signal for controlling the first type of switch tube or the second type of switch tube to be turned on.

[0050] That is to say, the voltage controller 101 can input corresponding voltage selection signals to the control end of the first type of switch tube of the first branch and the control end of the second type of switch tube of the second branch according to the relationship between the voltage value of the target voltage signal and the voltage value of the input voltage of the first branch, so as to realize the complementary logic of the first type of switch tube of the first branch and the second type of switch tube of the second branch.

[0051] Optionally, the first voltage selection signal is a level signal whose voltage value is less than or equal to a threshold value, which can also be called a low level signal; the second voltage selection signal is a level signal whose voltage value is higher than a threshold value, which can also be called a high level signal. The specific value of the threshold value can be determined according to the conduction condition of the switch tube actually used, and is not limited in the specific embodiment of the present application. For example, for a MOS tube, the threshold value can be the turn-on voltage of the MOS tube (which can also be called a threshold voltage).

[0052] In the embodiment of the present application, the voltage controller can be composed of analog signals and analog devices, or can be composed of digital signals and digital chips. For example, the voltage controller may include n pairs of comparators and NOT gates, one pair of comparators and NOT gates corresponding to a first branch (i.e., any branch except the branch with the highest input voltage in the multi-level power modulator), and n is the number of branches except the branch with the highest input voltage in the multiple branches included in the multi-level power modulator. Among them, in any pair of comparators and NOT gates, the output end of the comparator is connected to the control end of the second type of switch tube of the second branch, and the output end of the comparator is connected to the control end of the first type of switch tube of the first branch through the NOT gate; the target voltage signal and the input voltage of the first branch are input from the input end of the comparator, and the comparator outputs the first voltage selection signal when the target voltage signal is equal to the input voltage of the first branch, and the comparator outputs the second voltage selection signal when the target voltage signal is not equal to the input voltage of the first branch.

[0053] Take the 4 branches included in the multi-level power modulator as an example, Figure 3As shown, the voltage controller includes: 3 pairs of comparators and NOT gates: comparator 311 and NOT gate U3, comparator 312 and NOT gate U3, and comparator 313 and NOT gate U1. Among them, the output end of the comparator 311 is connected to the control end of the second type of switch tube of the branch with an input voltage of V4, and the output end of the comparator 311 is connected to the control end of the first type of switch tube of the branch with an input voltage of V3 through the NOT gate U3, the output end of the comparator 312 is connected to the control end of the second type of switch tube of the branch with an input voltage of V3, and the output end of the comparator 312 is connected to the control end of the first type of switch tube of the branch with an input voltage of V2 through the NOT gate U2, the output end of the comparator 313 is connected to the control end of the second type of switch tube of the branch with an input voltage of V2, and the output end of the comparator 313 is connected to the control end of the first type of switch tube of the branch with an input voltage of V1 through the NOT gate U1; the input end of the comparator 311 inputs the target voltage signal (Vref) and V3, the input end of the comparator 312 inputs the target voltage signal (Vref) and V2, and the input end of the comparator 313 inputs the target voltage signal (Vref) and V1.

[0054] Since the switch tube requires a certain amount of time to switch, a certain dead zone needs to be left when controlling the switch tube to prevent the two complementary switch tubes from being closed or disconnected at the same time, which would cause voltage backflow or discontinuous output current during switching, causing voltage mutation. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, a dead zone can be added after the NOT gate.

[0055] by Figure 3 The voltage controller shown is for a Figure 2 Taking the control of the 4-input voltage multi-level power modulator as an example, the four input voltages are V4>V3>V2>V1. Vref is a reference voltage signal (i.e., target voltage signal), which is compared with V1, V2, and V3 through comparator 310, and the outputs DRV1, DRV3, and DRV5 (voltage selection signals) of comparator 310 are control signals of switch tubes S1, S3, and S5 respectively; DRV0, DRV2, and DRV4 (voltage selection signals) are control signals of S0, S2, and S4, which are obtained by inverting DRV1, DRV3, and DRV5 through NOT gate 320 and adding dead zone.

[0056] When Vref=V1, that is, V1 is used as the output voltage, comparators 311, 312, and 313 all output the first voltage selection signal, for example, DRV1, DRV3, and DRV5 are low level signals. At this time, DRV0 is obtained by inverting DRV1 through the non-gate U1 and adding it to the dead zone, DRV2 is obtained by inverting DRV1 through the non-gate U2 and adding it to the dead zone, and DRV4 is obtained by inverting DRV5 through the non-gate U3 and adding it to the dead zone. Therefore, at this time, Figure 2The first type of switch tube S0 on the V1 branch is closed, the second type of switch tubes S1, S3, S5 with voltages higher than V2, V3, V4 of V1 are disconnected, and the first type of switch tubes S2, S4 complementary to the second type of switch tubes S3, S5 are closed.

[0057] Optionally, when Vref=V2, the comparator 311 outputs the second voltage selection signal, and the comparators 312 and 313 output the first voltage selection signal, for example, DRV1 is a high level signal, and the outputs DRV3 and DRV5 of the comparators 312 and 313 are low level signals. The signals of DRV0, DRV2, and DRV4 are obtained by inverting DRV1, DRV3, and DRV5 through the NOT gate 320 and adding the dead zone. At this time Figure 2 As shown, S1 and S2 on the V2 branch are closed, the second type of switch tubes S3 and S5 whose voltage is higher than V3 and V4 of V2 are opened, S0 complementary to S1 is opened, and S0 complementary to S5 is closed.

[0058] Optionally, when Vref=V3, the comparator 311 and the comparator 312 output the second voltage selection signal, and the comparator 313 outputs the first voltage selection signal; for example, DRV1 and DRV3 are high level signals, and DRV5 is a low level signal. The signals of DRV0, DRV2, and DRV4 are obtained by inverting DRV1, DRV3, and DRV5 through the NOT gate 320 and adding the dead zone. Figure 2 As shown, S3 and S4 on the V3 branch are closed, the second type switch tube S5 of V4 with a voltage higher than V3 is disconnected, the second type switch tube S1 of V2 with a voltage lower than V3 is closed, and S0 complementary to S1 is disconnected.

[0059] Optionally, when Vref=V4, comparator 311, comparator 312 and comparator 313 all output a second voltage selection signal, for example, DRV1, DRV3, DRV5 are high level signals. The signals of DRV0, DRV2, DRV4 are obtained by inverting DRV1, DRV3, DRV5 through NOT gate 320 and adding a dead zone. Figure 2 As shown, S5 on the V4 branch is closed, and the second type of switch tubes S3 and S1 whose voltages are lower than those of V3 and V2 of V4 are closed; and S2 and S0 which are complementary to S5, S3 and S1 are disconnected.

[0060] In the embodiment of the present application, the voltage may be switched continuously in the order of the first voltage, the second voltage, the third voltage, and the fourth voltage, or may be switched non-sequentially, i.e., non-continuously. For example, the voltage may be switched directly from the first voltage to the fourth voltage, or may be switched directly from the fourth voltage to the second voltage.

[0061] Figure 4aA signal logic diagram of a voltage continuous switching provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown as follows: Figure 4a As shown in FIG. 4 , the first type of switch tube S0 of the first voltage branch and the second type of switch tube S1 of the second voltage branch are complementary logic. Since the switch tube needs a certain time to switch, a certain dead zone needs to be left when controlling the switch tube. This prevents the switch tubes S0 and S1 from being closed at the same time, causing the second voltage to be directly fed back into the first voltage. It should be noted that DRV0-DRV5 in FIG. 4 represent the Figure 2 The control logic signals of the switch tubes S1-S5 in the circuit, wherein when DRV0-DRV5 are high level signals, the corresponding switch tubes are controlled to be closed, i.e. turned on; when DRV0-DRV5 are low level signals, the corresponding switch tubes are controlled to be disconnected, i.e. turned off.

[0062] For example, when the voltage switches from the first voltage to the second voltage, the anti-reverse switch S0 changes from closed to open, and after a period of dead time, S1 changes from open to closed. When the voltage switches from the second voltage to the first voltage, the second type of switch S1 changes from closed to open, and after a period of dead time, the first type of switch S0 changes from open to closed.

[0063] When the second voltage is output, S1 and S2 on the second voltage branch are closed, S0 complementary to S1 is disconnected, the second type of switch tubes S3 and S5 on the third and fourth voltage branches higher than the second voltage are disconnected, and S4 complementary to S5 is closed.

[0064] When the third voltage is output, S3 and S4 on the third voltage branch are closed, and S2 complementary to S3 is disconnected; the second type switch tube S5 on the fourth voltage branch higher than the third voltage is disconnected, the second type switch tube S1 on the second voltage branch lower than the third voltage is closed, and S0 complementary to S1 is disconnected.

[0065] When the fourth voltage is output, S5 on the fourth voltage branch is closed and S4 complementary to S5 is disconnected; the second type of switching tubes S1 and S3 on the second voltage branch lower than the fourth voltage and the third voltage branch are closed, S0 complementary to S1 is disconnected, and S2 complementary to S3 is disconnected.

[0066] In this embodiment, each time the voltage is switched, only the states of two switches change, and the states of other switches do not need to change. For example, when the output voltage is switched from the first voltage to the second voltage, only switches S0 and S1 are activated, and the other switches remain in their original states. Switch state changes will cause switching losses. The embodiment of the present application reduces losses by reducing the number of switches.

[0067] Figure 4b A signal diagram of discontinuous switching of a multi-level power modulator provided in an embodiment of the present application, such as Figure 4bAs shown, when the output voltage is switched from V1 to V4, the second type of switch tubes S1, S3 and S5 are simultaneously changed from open to closed, and the first type of switch tubes S0, S2, S4 complementary to the second type of switch tubes S1, S3, S5 are changed from closed to open after a dead zone; after the voltage switching is completed, the fourth voltage is output as the target voltage. At this time, the switch tube S5 on the fourth voltage branch is closed, the second type of switch tubes S1 and S3 whose voltage is less than the third voltage and the second voltage of the fourth voltage are closed, and S0, S2, S4 complementary to S1, S3, S5 are disconnected.

[0068] When the output voltage V4 is switched to V2, the second type of switch tubes S3 and S5 are simultaneously changed from closed to open, and S2 and S4, which are complementary to S3 and S5, are changed from open to closed after a period of dead zone; after the voltage switching is completed, the second voltage is output as the target voltage. At this time, S1 and S2 on the second branch are closed, the second type of switch tubes S3 and S5, which are the third voltage and the fourth voltage higher than the second voltage, are opened, S0, which is complementary to S1, is opened, and S0, which is complementary to S5, is closed.

[0069] With the voltage regulating device provided in the embodiment of the present application, when the target voltage is gated, all gated switch tubes with input voltages lower than the target voltage are closed. Therefore, when the output voltage is switched, there is a freewheeling path composed of the body diode of the anti-reverse switch tube and the selection switch tube, which ensures that the output current is continuous and the voltage does not change suddenly during this period of time.

[0070] For example, in the above embodiment, when the voltage is switched from the second voltage to the third voltage, there is a dead zone where S2 and S3 are turned on at the same time. During this period of time, the third voltage gate switch tube is not closed yet, and the second voltage supplies power to the load through the body diode of the anti-reverse switch tube S2 and the gate switch tube S1, thereby ensuring that the output current is continuous.

[0071] In addition, the voltage regulating device provided in the embodiment of the present application has a multi-level power modulator with fewer switch tubes, a simple structure, and a high voltage switching efficiency.

[0072] It should be noted that, although the above embodiment is described by taking the multi-level power modulator including four branches as an example, it is not limited thereto. The multi-level power modulator provided in the embodiment of the present application may include any number of branches (also referred to as voltage branches), for example, Figure 5a There are 3 input voltages, corresponding to 3 branches. Figure 5b There are 5 input voltages in the figure, corresponding to 5 branches.

[0073] Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present application also provides a radio frequency amplification device.

[0074] Figure 6aA schematic diagram of the structure of a radio frequency amplification device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG6 , it includes a radio frequency power amplifier 620 and a voltage regulating device 610 provided in any one of the above embodiments, and the voltage regulating device 610 includes a voltage controller 611 and a multi-level power modulator 612. The power input end of the radio frequency power amplifier 620 is connected to the voltage output end of the voltage regulating device 610, and the radio frequency power amplifier 620 is used to amplify the input radio frequency signal (RF) and output it under the action of the output voltage of the voltage regulating device 610.

[0075] In one embodiment of the present application, Figure 6b As shown, the RF power amplifier 602 includes multiple ones, and the output end of the voltage regulating device 601 is respectively connected to the power input ends of the multiple RF power amplifiers 602.

[0076] In the embodiment of the present application, the RF power amplifier 602 is the load of the voltage regulator 601. The output voltage Vi of the voltage regulator 601 is given to the drain of the RF power amplifier 602, and the RF power amplifier 602 amplifies the RF input signal and outputs it.

[0077] Through the above-mentioned RF amplification device provided by the embodiment of the present application, the voltage regulating device has the function of rapid adjustment of the output voltage (nanosecond level), and the output current is continuous. Since the efficiency of the RF power amplifier is lower when the output power is lower, the efficiency is lower, therefore, the use of the voltage regulating device can improve the efficiency of the RF power amplifier at low output power, so the overall efficiency of the RF power amplifier can be improved. In the wireless communication device, the RF power amplifier has a higher power consumption ratio, so the efficiency of the wireless communication device can be improved by improving the efficiency of the RF power amplifier.

[0078] In addition, in a communication base station, the main function of the RF power amplifier is to amplify and output the RF signal. The above-mentioned RF amplifier device can be applied to a wireless communication base station to achieve dynamic adjustment of the RF power amplifier drain voltage, improve the efficiency of the RF power amplifier, and thus achieve energy saving of the wireless communication device. In addition, the efficiency of the RF power amplifier is significantly reduced at a lower output power. By adjusting the RF power amplifier drain voltage to match its drain voltage with its output power, the efficiency of the RF power amplifier in the full power range can be effectively improved.

[0079] Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present application also provides a voltage selection method, which can be applied to the above-mentioned voltage regulating device.

[0080] Figure 7 A flow chart of a voltage selection method provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown as follows: Figure 7 As shown, the method mainly includes the following steps:

[0081] Step 701: A voltage controller of a voltage regulating device generates a voltage selection signal according to a received voltage regulation command, and sends the voltage selection signal to a multi-level power modulator of the voltage regulating device.

[0082] For example, the voltage controller can input corresponding voltage selection signals to the switch tubes of each branch according to the target voltage signal indicated by the voltage regulation command and the input voltage of each branch of the multi-level power modulator. For details, please refer to the above related description.

[0083] Step 702: The multi-level power modulator controls the conduction of a path from an input end of a target branch among a plurality of branches to the voltage output port according to the voltage selection signal.

[0084] The input voltage of the target branch matches the target voltage selected by the voltage selection signal.

[0085] Through the above method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the branch corresponding to the target voltage signal corresponding to the voltage regulation command can be selected to be turned on to output the corresponding target voltage.

[0086] In one implementation, in step 702, the multi-level power modulator controls all the switch tubes on the target branch to be turned on, controls the second type of switch tube on the third branch to be turned on, and controls the second type of switch tube on the fourth branch to be turned off, wherein the third branch is a branch among the multiple branches whose input voltage at the input end is lower than the input voltage of the target branch, and the fourth branch is a branch among the multiple branches whose input voltage at the input end is higher than the input voltage of the target branch.

[0087] For the specific logic control method of the switch tubes on each branch, please refer to the relevant description of the above-mentioned voltage regulating device, which will not be repeated here.

[0088] The embodiments of the present application are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods. The above-mentioned specific implementation methods are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the guidance of the present application, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms without departing from the purpose of the present application and the scope of protection of the claims, all of which are within the protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A voltage regulating device, characterized in that: include: A voltage controller and a multi-level power modulator, wherein the multi-level power modulator comprises a plurality of branches, an input voltage is input to the input end of any of the branches, and the other end is connected to the voltage output end of the multi-level power modulator, and each branch is provided with one or two switch tubes; wherein, The voltage controller is used to generate a voltage selection signal according to the received voltage regulation command, and send the voltage selection signal to the multi-level power modulator; The multi-level power modulator is used to control the conduction of a path from the input end of a target branch among the multiple branches to the voltage output port according to the voltage selection signal.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The switch tube comprises: A first type of switch tube, wherein the first end of the first type of switch tube is connected to the input end, and the second end is connected to the voltage output end or the second end of the second type of switch tube, and when the first type of switch tube is turned off, the path in the first direction is turned on, and the path in the second direction is turned off, and when the first type of switch tube is turned on, both the path in the first direction and the path in the second direction are turned on; wherein the first direction is the direction from the first end of the first type of switch tube to the second end of the first type of switch tube, and the second direction is the direction from the second end of the first type of switch tube to the first end of the first type of switch tube; The second type of switch tube, the first end of the second type of switch tube is connected to the voltage output port, the second end of the second type of switch tube is connected to the input end or the second end of the first type of switch tube, when the second type of switch tube is turned off, the path in the third direction is turned on, and the path in the fourth direction is turned off, when the second type of switch tube is turned on, the path in the third direction and the path in the fourth direction are both turned on; wherein the third direction is the direction from the first end of the second type of switch tube to the second end of the second type of switch tube, and the fourth direction is the direction from the second end of the second type of switch tube to the first end of the second type of switch tube.

3. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that Among the multiple branches, the branch with the smallest input voltage at the input end is provided with a switch tube, and the switch tube is the first type of switch tube; the branch with the largest input voltage at the input end is provided with a switch tube, and the switch tube is the second type of switch tube.

4. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that Among the multiple branches, each branch in which the input voltage at the input end is between the minimum and the maximum is provided with two switch tubes, one of the two switch tubes is the first type of switch tube, and the other switch tube is the second type of switch tube.

5. The device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that The first type of switch tube on the first branch and the second type of switch tube on the second branch are complementary logic, wherein the first branch is any branch among the multiple branches except the branch with the largest input voltage at the input end, and the second branch is the branch among the multiple branches whose input voltage has the smallest difference with the input voltage of the first branch, and the input voltage of the second branch is higher than the input voltage of the first branch.

6. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that In the dead zone between the first type of switch tube on the first branch and the second type of switch tube on the second branch, the first type of switch tube on the first branch is turned off before the second type of switch tube on the second branch is turned on, or the first type of switch tube on the first branch is turned on after the second type of switch tube on the second branch is turned off.

7. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that The switch tubes on the target branch are all turned on, the second type of switch tube on the third branch is turned on, and the second type of switch tube on the fourth branch is turned off, wherein the third branch is a branch among the multiple branches whose input voltage at the input end is lower than the input voltage of the target branch, and the fourth branch is a branch among the multiple branches whose input voltage at the input end is higher than the input voltage of the target branch.

8. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that The voltage controller is specifically used to send a first voltage selection signal to the control end of the second type of switch tube of the second branch and send a second voltage selection signal to the control end of the first type of switch tube of the first branch when the target voltage signal selected by the voltage regulation command is equal to the input voltage of the first branch, and to send the second voltage selection signal to the control end of the second type of switch tube of the second branch and send the first voltage selection signal to the control end of the first type of switch tube of the first branch when the target voltage signal is not equal to the input voltage of the first branch, wherein the first voltage selection signal is a signal for controlling the first type of switch tube or the second type of switch tube to be turned off, and the second voltage selection signal is a signal for controlling the first type of switch tube or the second type of switch tube to be turned on.

9. The device according to claim 8, characterized in that The voltage controller comprises: n pairs of comparators and NOT gates, n being the number of the first branches included in the plurality of branches, and a pair of the comparators and NOT gates corresponding to one first branch; wherein, in any pair of the comparators and NOT gates, The output end of the comparator is connected to the control end of the second type of switch tube of the second branch, and the output end of the comparator is connected to the control end of the first type of switch tube of the first branch through the NOT gate; The target voltage signal and the input voltage of the first branch are input from the input end of the comparator. When the target voltage signal is equal to the input voltage of the first branch, the comparator outputs the first voltage selection signal. When the target voltage signal is not equal to the input voltage of the first branch, the comparator outputs the second voltage selection signal.

10. A radio frequency amplification device, characterized in that: It comprises a radio frequency power amplifier and a voltage regulating device as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein a power input terminal of the radio frequency power amplifier is connected to a voltage output terminal of the voltage regulating device, and the radio frequency power amplifier is used to amplify an input radio frequency signal and then output it under the action of the output voltage of the voltage regulating device.

11. The device according to claim 10, characterized in that The RF power amplifiers include multiple ones, and the output ends of the voltage regulating device are respectively connected to the power input ends of the multiple RF power amplifiers.

12. A voltage selection method, applied to a voltage regulating device, characterized in that: The method comprises: The voltage controller of the voltage regulating device generates a voltage selection signal according to the received voltage regulation command, and sends the voltage selection signal to the multi-level power modulator of the voltage regulating device; The multi-level power modulator controls all the switch tubes on the target branch to be turned on, controls the second type of switch tube on the third branch to be turned on, and controls the second type of switch tube on the fourth branch to be turned off according to the voltage selection signal, wherein the input voltage of the target branch matches the target voltage selected by the voltage selection signal, the third branch is a branch among the multiple branches whose input voltage at the input end is lower than the input voltage of the target branch, and the fourth branch is a branch among the multiple branches whose input voltage at the input end is higher than the input voltage of the target branch.

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