Multi-phase power supply unit and circuit

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a multi-phase power supply unit and a circuit. The multi-phase power supply unit comprises a signal modulation module, a phase expansion module and an interface module which are arranged on a load board, the signal modulation module, the phase expansion module and the interface module are arranged on the load board in a multi-layer manner; the signal modulation module is electrically connected with the phase expansion module; the signal modulation module and the phase expansion module are electrically connected with the load board through the interface module. According to the scheme of the embodiment, the board occupation area of the whole unit on the load board is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of circuit design, and in particular to a multi-phase power supply unit and a circuit. Background Art

[0002] Compared with traditional DC-DC (direct current-to-direct current) power supplies and LDO (low-dropout linear regulator) power supplies, multiphase power supplies have advantages such as higher thermal performance and efficiency at high load currents and improved overshoot and undershoot during load transients. As the performance of ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) continues to improve, power consumption and AC (Alternating Current) requirements are getting higher and higher, and they have gradually become the preferred solution for onboard low-voltage and high-current. With the increasing popularity of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and the increasing demand for computing power, the performance of ASICs is also growing rapidly, and the resulting single onboard load current has increased from hundreds of amperes a few years ago to thousands of amperes. As a result, the number of phases of multiphase power supplies has increased rapidly, from the initial 2-8 phases to more than 24 phases. Summary of the invention

[0003] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a multi-phase power supply unit and a circuit.

[0004] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a multi-phase power supply unit, comprising: a signal modulation module, a phase expansion module, and an interface module arranged on a load board;

[0005] The signal modulation module, the phase expansion module and the interface module are arranged in multiple layers on the load board;

[0006] The signal modulation module is electrically connected to the phase expansion module;

[0007] The signal modulation module and the phase expansion module are both electrically connected to the load board through the interface module.

[0008] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a circuit, comprising the multi-phase power supply unit.

[0009] The signal modulation module, phase expansion module and interface module in the multi-phase power supply unit of the embodiment of the present disclosure are divided into multiple layers and arranged on the load board, which reasonably utilizes the space around the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) circuit board (for example, the space in the height direction), solves the problem that the traditional multi-phase power supply circuit occupies a large board area and has high complexity, significantly improves the single board integration, and the embodiment of the present disclosure is simple to implement and has strong scalability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] In the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure:

[0011] Figure 1 A block diagram of a multi-phase power supply unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0012] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the layout of each module in a multi-phase power supply unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0013] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the layout of a multi-phase power supply unit including a signal connection module provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0014] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a four-phase power supply unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 5 A block diagram of the circuit composition provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of the present disclosure, the communication perception data processing method and computer-readable storage medium provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0017] The present disclosure will be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the embodiments shown may be embodied in different forms, and the present disclosure should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth below. On the contrary, the purpose of providing these embodiments is to make the present disclosure thorough and complete, and will enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the scope of the present disclosure.

[0018] The accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and constitute a part of the specification, and are used together with the detailed embodiments to explain the present disclosure, and do not constitute a limitation of the present disclosure. By describing the detailed embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, the above and other features and advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0019] The present disclosure may be described with reference to plan views and / or cross-sectional views by means of ideal schematic views of the present disclosure. Therefore, the exemplary illustrations may be modified according to manufacturing techniques and / or tolerances.

[0020] In the absence of conflict, the various embodiments of the present disclosure and the various features therein may be combined with each other.

[0021] The terms used in the present disclosure are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The term "and / or" as used in the present disclosure includes any and all combinations of one or more related enumerated items. The singular forms "one" and "the" as used in the present disclosure are also intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms "including", "made of..." as used in the present disclosure specify the presence of the features, wholes, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, components and / or groups thereof.

[0022] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in this disclosure have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. It will also be understood that terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and this disclosure, and will not be interpreted as having an idealized or overly formal meaning unless explicitly defined in this disclosure.

[0023] The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings, but includes modifications of the configurations formed based on the manufacturing process. Therefore, the regions illustrated in the drawings have schematic properties, and the shapes of the regions shown in the drawings illustrate the specific shapes of the regions of the elements, but are not intended to be limiting.

[0024] Compared with traditional DC-DC (direct current-to-direct current) power supplies and LDO (low dropout regulator) power supplies, multi-phase power supplies have advantages such as higher thermal performance and efficiency at high load currents and improved overshoot and undershoot during load transients. As the performance of ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) continues to improve, power consumption and AC (Alternating Current) requirements are getting higher and higher, and they have gradually become the preferred solution for on-board low-voltage and high-current. With the increasing popularity of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and the increasing demand for computing power, the performance of ASICs is also growing rapidly, and the resulting single on-board load current has increased from hundreds of amperes a few years ago to thousands of amperes. As a result, the number of phases of multi-phase power supplies has increased rapidly, from the initial 2-8 phases to more than 24 phases, which has resulted in a huge board area occupied by multi-phase power supplies, which has seriously restricted the space for other circuits on the board.

[0025] In addition, as the number of phases of multi-phase power supplies increases, the complexity of the single board is greatly increased, which brings challenges to debugging and production. Power supply modularization is an effective means to reduce the difficulty of single board debugging and processing. From the perspective of production and maintenance, there is also an urgent need to modularize it. Whether from the perspective of single board design or processing and maintenance, reducing the circuit volume and achieving modularization has become an increasingly urgent issue.

[0026] The disclosed embodiment provides a modular, multi-layered multi-phase power supply unit that can be used in low-voltage, high-current scenarios, effectively reducing the board area occupied by the multi-phase power supply unit and improving the manufacturability and maintainability of a single board. The disclosed embodiment is highly versatile and suitable for multi-phase power supply units with a variety of phases. By modularizing and integrating the circuits within the unit and placing the phase expansion modules vertically, the board area occupied by the entire circuit on the load board is greatly reduced. The disclosed embodiment is described in detail below.

[0027] The present disclosure provides a multi-phase power supply unit A, such as Figure 1 As shown, it may include: a signal modulation module 1, a phase expansion module 2 and an interface module 3 arranged on a load board Pb;

[0028] The signal modulation module 1, the phase expansion module 2 and the interface module 3 are arranged in multiple layers on the load board Pb;

[0029] The signal modulation module 1 is electrically connected to the phase expansion module 2;

[0030] The signal modulation module 1 and the phase expansion module 2 are both electrically connected to the load board Pb through the interface module 3 .

[0031] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a load and / or a load circuit is provided on the load board, and the multi-phase power supply unit A in the embodiment of the present disclosure can supply power to the load and / or the load circuit, and provide load power.

[0032] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the signal modulation module 1, the phase expansion module 2 and the interface module 3 are arranged in a superimposed manner, which changes the layout mode of the traditional integrated circuit in which the circuit elements are only arranged in the direction extending along the plane of the load board, makes full use of the space around the load board Pb, and avoids occupying a large amount of single board area; and the embodiment of the present disclosure divides a large number of circuit elements existing in the single board into modules according to their functions. For example, the circuit elements for generating modulated signals are classified as the signal modulation module 1, the circuit elements for generating multi-phase power supply signals are classified as the phase expansion module 2, and the various interfaces for data interaction are classified as the interface module 3. Through the modular setting, the difficulty of single board processing and debugging is reduced, which is more conducive to assembly line production and later maintenance.

[0033] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the number of stacked layers of the modules may be set accordingly according to the number of modules included and the functions thereof, and the specific number of layers is not limited herein.

[0034] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the signal modulation module 1, the phase expansion module 2 and the interface module 3 can be arranged in two layers or three layers on the load board Pb. The embodiment of the present disclosure provides an embodiment scheme of setting three layers.

[0035] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, Figure 1 As shown, the multi-layer arrangement includes a three-layer arrangement; the three-layer arrangement includes: a first layer, a second layer and a third layer; the distances between the first layer, the second layer and the third layer and the load board decrease in sequence; the first layer includes a first PCB P1, the second layer includes a second PCB P2, and the third layer includes a third PCB P3;

[0036] Wherein, the signal modulation module 1 is arranged on the first PCB P1;

[0037] The phase expansion module 2 is arranged on the second PCB P2;

[0038] The interface module 3 is disposed on the third PCB P3.

[0039] In the disclosed embodiment, in a multi-layer arrangement, the PCB board of each layer may be arranged parallel to the load board Pb, or may be arranged perpendicular to the load board Pb, or a combination of the two, and the detailed arrangement method is not limited here.

[0040] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first PCB P1 and the third PCB P3 may be arranged to be parallel to the load board Pb;

[0041] The second PCB P2 is perpendicular to the load board Pb.

[0042] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, since the phase expansion module 2 is provided on the second PCB P2, when the phase expansion module 2 includes a multi-phase power generation circuit 21 (for example, 21-1, 21-2, 21-3, ..., 21-n, etc., where n is a positive integer), each phase power circuit can be respectively provided on a second PCB P2 (for example, P2-1, P2-2, P2-3, ..., P2-n, etc.), then there are a plurality of second PCB P2s. If each second PCB P2 is provided in parallel with the load board Pb, a large area will also be occupied. Therefore, in order to save the occupied area, the plurality of second PCB P2s can be provided in a perpendicular manner to the load board Pb, such as Figure 2 shown.

[0043] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a multi-phase power supply circuit can be integrated together by stacking three layers of three-dimensional PCBs, wherein the upper PCB (such as the first PCB P1) and the lower PCB (such as the third PCB P3) of the three layers can be parallel to the load board Pb, and the middle layer (such as the second PCB P2) and the load board Pb are perpendicular. For the load board Pb, the signal modulation module 1, the phase expansion module 2 and the interface module 3 can fully realize the multi-phase power supply circuit function of the prior art that is flatly integrated on the load board Pb.

[0044] In the disclosed embodiment, the above-mentioned parallel is only used to refer to that the extension directions of the two PCB boards are substantially the same, and it is not strictly required to be completely the same, and there can be a certain deviation angle within the preset first angle threshold range. Similarly, the above-mentioned vertical is only used to refer to that the extension directions of the two PCB boards are substantially vertical, and it is not strictly required to be completely vertical, and there can be a certain deviation angle within the preset second angle threshold range.

[0045] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the signal modulation module 1 may include but is not limited to: a signal modulation chip and peripheral circuits of the signal modulation chip.

[0046] In the disclosed embodiment, the signal modulation chip may be configured to generate a modulation signal.

[0047] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the signal modulation chip may include but is not limited to: a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) chip.

[0048] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the phase expansion module 2 may include a multi-phase power generation circuit 21;

[0049] Each phase power generation circuit 21 may include, but is not limited to: a power switch and an inductor connected to each other.

[0050] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, each phase power generation circuit 21 may further include: a peripheral circuit of a power switch and an inductor.

[0051] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the power switch may include but is not limited to: MOSFET (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor).

[0052] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the power switch can be configured to be connected to a signal modulation chip, operate according to a modulation signal (for example, including but not limited to a PWM signal), generate a power signal (i.e., a load power supply), and reply a feedback signal to the signal modulation chip, and is also configured to obtain a first power supply provided by the load board Pb through an interface module 3.

[0053] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the signal interaction between the power switch and the signal modulation chip may include but is not limited to: a modulation signal and a feedback signal, and may also include some other necessary signals.

[0054] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the inductor can be configured to output a power signal generated by a corresponding power switch (i.e., a power switch belonging to the same phase power generation circuit and located on the same second PCB P2 as the inductor), and transmit the power signal to the load board Pb through the interface module 3.

[0055] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the interface module 3 can be configured to provide an interface for the signal modulation module 1 and the phase expansion module 2 to exchange information with the load board Pb, and before transmitting the signal provided by the load board Pb to the signal modulation module 1 or the phase expansion module 2, distinguish whether the signal provided by the load board Pb belongs to the signal modulation module 1 or the phase expansion module 2, so that the distinguished signal can be transmitted to the corresponding module.

[0056] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, Figure 3 As shown, the multi-phase power supply unit may further include: a signal connection module 4; the signal connection module 4 may be configured to electrically connect the signal modulation module 1 and the interface module 3;

[0057] The signal connection module 4 is used to transmit the second power supply and control signal provided by the load board Pb to the signal modulation module 1 .

[0058] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second power supply may include but is not limited to: a 12V power supply.

[0059] The signal transmitted from the signal connection module 4 to the signal modulation module 1 may include but is not limited to a control signal, and may also include necessary signals such as a timing signal and a bus signal, for example, an I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) bus signal.

[0060] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the signal connection module 4 may include a plurality of connection lines, including but not limited to: power lines, signal lines, etc. The connection lines may include but not limited to: real wires and / or traces on a PCB board.

[0061] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second layer may further include: a fourth PCB P4;

[0062] The signal connection module 4 may be disposed on the fourth PCB P4.

[0063] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, circuit components do not need to be placed on the fourth PCB P4. One end of the signal connection module 4 can be connected to the signal modulation module 1 to provide the power required for the signal modulation chip to work, as well as other necessary signal interactions with the load board Pb; the other end of the signal connection module 4 can be connected to the interface module 3, so that the relevant power supply and signal connected to the signal modulation module 1 are directly bridged to the interface module 3.

[0064] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, in order to save space, the fourth PCB P4 may be perpendicular to the load board Pb.

[0065] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, one end of the interface module 3 can be connected to the signal connection module 4 and the plurality of phase expansion modules 2 , and the other end can be connected to the load board Pb.

[0066] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the interface module 3 plays the role of distributing and transmitting the interface signals between the load board Pb and the multi-phase power generation circuit of the phase expansion module 2 to other modules. For example, the interface module 3 transmits the power and related signals required by the signal modulation chip to the signal connection module 4, the interface module 3 transmits the working power of the power switch to the power switch of the phase expansion module 2, and the interface module 3 transmits the output power of the inductor to the inductor of the phase expansion module 2.

[0067] In the disclosed embodiment, the load board Pb supplies power to the signal modulation module 1 and the phase expansion module 2 through the interface module 3 and the signal connection module 4, and uses the control signal to control and monitor the signal modulation chip. The signal modulation module 1 and the phase expansion module 2 are directly connected to form a typical multi-phase power supply circuit. For example, through the PWM signal, the MOSFET tube and the inductor on the phase expansion module 2 are controlled to work, and the power is output to the interface module 3. The interface module 3 converts the necessary interactive signals of the entire multi-phase power supply circuit (signal modulation module 1 and phase expansion module 2) and the load board Pb into a packaging form that matches the load board Pb, thereby realizing the connection and exchange of signals with the load board Pb.

[0068] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, an embodiment of the multi-phase power supply unit of the present disclosure is given below.

[0069] Example 1

[0070] like Figure 4 As shown, the embodiment includes a PWM module 1 (including a PWM chip), a phase expansion module 2 (including four-phase power generation circuits, which are 21-1, 21-2, 21-3, and 21-4 respectively) and an interface module 3. It is a four-phase power supply circuit, and each phase power generation circuit includes at least one MOSFET (for example, M1, M2, M3, and M4) and at least one inductor (for example, L1, L2, L3, and L4).

[0071] The entire multi-phase power supply circuit (PWM module 1 and four phase expansion modules 2) and the load board Pb are connected through the BGA (Ball Grid Array) package pads of the interface module 3, and the signal connection module 4 and the phase expansion module 2 are connected to the PWM module 1 (i.e., signal modulation module) and the interface module 3 through welding or socket connection.

[0072] The input signals of the load board Pb for the multi-phase power supply circuit (PWM module 1 and four phase expansion modules 2) mainly include: PWM module power supply (for example, the input power supply 12V and working power supply 3.3V required by the PWM chip), the 3.3V power supply required by the MOSFET tube on the phase expansion module 2, the I2C signal and other control signals for the interaction between the control circuit on the load board Pb and the PWM chip.

[0073] The 12V power supply, 3.3V power supply, I2C signal and control signal required by the PWM chip are transmitted to the PWM chip through the signal connection module 4 between the interface module 3 and the signal modulation module 1. The power supply part transmitted by the signal connection module 4 mainly ensures the integrity of the power supply signal by means of large copper foil or copper block. Other I2C signals and control signals can use conventional PCB routing.

[0074] The phase expansion module 2 receives the PWM signal from the PWM chip and the 3.3V power supply of the interface module 3, and finally realizes the function of multi-phase power supply (four-phase power supply) output. The output power supply is the load power supply, such as the load current. The load current is aggregated from the 4-phase power supply generation circuit to the interface module 3. Because the loads on the load board Pb are all low-voltage and high-current, the interface module 3 can use multiple layers of thick copper or an integral copper block to ensure the integrity of the power supply signal.

[0075] In the disclosed embodiment, based on the above-mentioned multi-phase power supply unit, placing the phase expansion module 2 vertically can effectively reduce the board area, reasonably utilize the space around the load circuit board (such as the space in the height direction), solve the problem of large board area and high complexity of the traditional multi-phase power supply circuit, significantly improve the single board integration, and the solution is simple to implement and has strong scalability. The independent modular design of the entire unit can realize the separate production test of the multi-phase power supply unit and its various modules, improve the pass rate of single board production debugging, and can directly replace the entire unit or a certain module during fault maintenance, which reduces the difficulty of operation and reduces the difficulty of problem location.

[0076] The present disclosure also provides a circuit B, such as Figure 5 As shown, it includes the multi-phase power supply unit A.

[0077] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that all or some of the functional modules / units disclosed above may be implemented as software, firmware, hardware, or a suitable combination thereof.

[0078] In hardware implementations, the division between functional modules / units mentioned in the above description does not necessarily correspond to the division of physical components; for example, one physical component may have multiple functions, or one function or step may be performed by several physical components in cooperation.

[0079] Some physical components or all physical components may be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor or a microprocessor, or implemented as hardware, or implemented as an integrated circuit, such as an application-specific integrated circuit. Such software may be distributed on a computer-readable medium, which may include a computer storage medium (or non-temporary medium) and a communication medium (or temporary medium). As known to those of ordinary skill in the art, the term computer storage medium includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storing information (such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data). Computer storage media include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM, more specifically SDRAM, DDR, etc.), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory (FLASH) or other disk storage; read-only compact disk (CD-ROM), digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage; magnetic cassettes, magnetic tapes, disk storage or other magnetic storage; any other medium that can be used to store desired information and can be accessed by a computer. Furthermore, it is well known to those skilled in the art that communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and may include any information delivery media.

[0080] The present disclosure has disclosed example embodiments, and although specific terms are employed, they are used and should be interpreted only in a general illustrative sense and not for limiting purposes. In some instances, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, unless otherwise expressly stated, features, characteristics, and / or elements described in conjunction with a particular embodiment may be used alone or in combination with features, characteristics, and / or elements described in conjunction with other embodiments. Therefore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A multi-phase power supply unit, characterized in that: include: A signal modulation module, a phase expansion module and an interface module are arranged on the load board; The signal modulation module, the phase expansion module and the interface module are arranged in multiple layers on the load board; The signal modulation module is electrically connected to the phase expansion module; The signal modulation module and the phase expansion module are both electrically connected to the load board through the interface module.

2. The multi-phase power supply unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The multi-layer arrangement includes a three-layer arrangement; the three-layer arrangement includes: a first layer, a second layer and a third layer; the distances between the first layer, the second layer and the third layer and the load board decrease in sequence; the first layer includes a first PCB, the second layer includes a second PCB, and the third layer includes a third PCB; Wherein, the signal modulation module is arranged on the first PCB; The phase expansion module is arranged on the second PCB; The interface module is arranged on the third PCB.

3. The multi-phase power supply unit according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first PCB and the third PCB are parallel to the load board; The second PCB is perpendicular to the load board.

4. The multi-phase power supply unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The signal modulation module comprises: a signal modulation chip and a peripheral circuit of the signal modulation chip; The signal modulation chip is configured to generate a modulation signal; and / or, The interface module is configured to provide an interface for the signal modulation module and the phase expansion module to exchange information with the load board, and before transmitting the signal provided by the load board to the signal modulation module or the phase expansion module, distinguish whether the signal provided by the load board belongs to the signal modulation module or the phase expansion module.

5. The multi-phase power supply unit according to claim 4, characterized in that: The phase expansion module includes a multi-phase power generation circuit; Each phase power generation circuit includes: a power switch and an inductor connected to each other; The power switch is configured to be connected to the signal modulation chip, to work according to the modulation signal, to generate a power signal, and to reply a feedback signal to the signal modulation chip, and is also configured to obtain the first power provided by the load board through the interface module; The inductor is configured to output the power signal generated by the corresponding power switch, and transmit the power signal to the load board through the interface module.

6. The multi-phase power supply unit according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The phase expansion module includes a multi-phase power generation circuit; each phase power generation circuit is respectively arranged on a second PCB.

7. The multi-phase power supply unit according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: Also includes: Signal connection module; the signal connection module is configured to electrically connect the signal modulation module and the interface module; The signal connection module is used to transmit the second power supply and the control signal provided by the load board to the signal modulation module.

8. The multi-phase power supply unit according to claim 7, characterized in that: The second layer further includes: a fourth PCB; The signal connection module is disposed on the fourth PCB.

9. The multi-phase power supply unit according to claim 8, characterized in that: The fourth PCB is perpendicular to the load board.

10. A circuit, characterized in that: It comprises a multi-phase power supply unit as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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