Processing circuit for adjusting PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) output voltage, voltage stabilization processing system and processing method

Abstract

The invention discloses a processing circuit, a voltage stabilization processing system and a processing method for adjusting PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) output voltage. The processing circuit comprises a PWM generating unit, a controllable inductor, an inductor adjusting unit and a monitoring unit, the PWM generation unit generates a to-be-measured voltage or an adjusted voltage. The controllable inductor is connected with the PWM generation unit and generates output inductance according to the air gap distance between the magnetic core and the coil winding; the inductance adjusting unit is connected to the controllable inductor and adjusts the air gap distance according to the adjusting command; the monitoring unit is connected with the PWM generating unit and the inductance adjusting unit, and the monitoring unit sends a generated adjusting command to the inductance adjusting unit when the difference value between the preset voltage and the voltage to be measured exceeds a preset threshold value; the controllable inductor adjusts the air gap distance according to the adjusting command, the controllable inductor generates output inductance to the PWM generation unit, and the PWM generation unit generates adjusted voltage.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an electronic circuit, a processing system and a processing method, in particular, to a processing circuit for regulating a PWM output voltage, a voltage regulating processing system and a processing method. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the diversification of electronic products, the demand for voltage regulating capability of power supply is increasing. The commonly used voltage regulating technology is to apply pulse width modulation (PWM) control in a switching power supply. PWM adjusts the duty cycle (duty cycle / period) of the pulse signal to intermittently switch the input voltage and power, thereby regulating the average value of the output voltage.

[0003] Ideally, a stable output voltage can be obtained by adjusting the duty cycle of PWM. However, in practice, there are many nonlinear factors in the switching power supply, such as inductance saturation, capacitor leakage, etc., and it is also affected by load changes. Therefore, relying solely on adjusting the duty cycle cannot completely achieve the ideal voltage regulating effect.

[0004] Although the switching power supply usually combines a feedback control loop to dynamically adjust the duty cycle of PWM to suppress output voltage fluctuations, the nonlinear characteristics of electronic components in the switching circuit and the changes in the load will cause the adjustment of the duty cycle to deviate from the ideal state, thereby reducing the voltage regulating performance. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize and improve the existing voltage regulating technology. SUMMARY

[0005] Therefore, in an embodiment, a processing circuit for regulating a PWM output voltage includes a PWM generation unit, a controllable inductor, and a monitoring unit. The PWM generation unit receives an output inductor to generate a measured voltage or an adjusted voltage; the controllable inductor is connected to the PWM generation unit, and the controllable inductor has a magnetic core and a coil winding, and the controllable inductor generates an output inductor according to the air gap distance of the magnetic core and the coil winding; the inductor adjusting unit is connected to the controllable inductor, and the inductor adjusting unit adjusts the air gap distance of the magnetic core according to the received adjustment command; the monitoring unit is connected to the PWM generation unit and the inductor adjusting unit, and the monitoring unit determines whether the difference between the preset voltage and the measured voltage exceeds the preset threshold value. If the difference exceeds the preset threshold value, the monitoring unit generates a corresponding adjustment command according to the difference, and the monitoring unit sends the adjustment command to the inductor adjusting unit; wherein the controllable inductor adjusts the air gap distance according to the adjustment command, and the controllable inductor generates a corresponding output inductor to the PWM generation unit, so that the PWM generation unit generates an adjusted voltage. The processing circuit for regulating the PWM output voltage provides immediate voltage regulating adjustment, and by adjusting the air gap distance of the magnetic core and the coil winding to generate a variable inductance value, the adjusted voltage of the PWM generation unit is controlled within a preset voltage range.

[0006] In one embodiment, the monitoring unit obtains the test voltage from the PWM generating unit every preset time.

[0007] In one embodiment, a voltage variation trend is generated according to the plurality of test voltages obtained at the plurality of preset times, the monitoring unit generates the adjustment command according to the voltage variation trend, and the controllable inductor adjusts the air gap distance according to the adjustment command so as to generate a corresponding output inductance.

[0008] In one embodiment, the monitoring unit further comprises a storage unit, the storage unit has a lookup table, and the lookup table records each air gap distance and a corresponding output inductance.

[0009] In one embodiment, the PWM generating unit outputs the adjusted voltage to a load circuit.

[0010] In one embodiment, the voltage regulating system using the processing circuit to adjust the PWM output voltage comprises a first processing circuit and a second processing circuit. The first processing circuit is connected in series to the second processing circuit. The first processing circuit adjusts a first test voltage to a first adjusted voltage according to a first adjustment command, and the second processing circuit adjusts the first adjusted voltage to a second adjusted voltage according to a second adjustment command.

[0011] In one embodiment, the method for adjusting the PWM output voltage comprises the following steps: the PWM generating unit generates a test voltage according to a received output inductance; the PWM generating unit outputs the test voltage to a monitoring unit; the monitoring unit determines whether a difference between the test voltage and a preset voltage exceeds a preset threshold value; if the difference exceeds the preset threshold value, the monitoring unit sends an adjustment command to an inductor adjustment unit, the inductor adjustment unit adjusts an output inductance of a controllable inductor; and the PWM generating unit generates an adjusted voltage according to the new output inductance.

[0012] In one embodiment, the step of outputting the test voltage from the PWM generating unit to the monitoring unit comprises the following steps: the monitoring unit obtains the test voltage from the PWM generating unit every preset time.

[0013] In one embodiment, the step of outputting the test voltage from the PWM generating unit to the monitoring unit comprises the following steps: the monitoring unit generates a voltage variation trend according to a plurality of test voltages; the monitoring unit generates an adjustment command according to the voltage variation trend; and the controllable inductor adjusts an air gap distance according to the adjustment command.

[0014] In one embodiment, the step of generating the adjusted voltage from the PWM generating unit according to the output inductance comprises the following step: the PWM generating unit outputs the adjusted voltage to a load circuit.

[0015] The processing circuit for adjusting the PWM output voltage, the voltage stabilizing processing system and the processing method can dynamically adjust the inductance value. The processing circuit can be applied to any load circuit, and the processing circuit can periodically detect whether the output circuit of the load circuit is stable, and dynamically adjust the inductance value to change the PWM output voltage. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the processing circuit for adjusting the PWM output voltage of an embodiment.

[0017] Figure 2A The schematic diagram of the movable magnetic core and coil winding of a controllable inductance before movement of an embodiment.

[0018] Figure 2B The schematic diagram of the movable magnetic core and coil winding of a controllable inductance after movement of an embodiment.

[0019] Figure 3 The schematic diagram of the processing method for adjusting the PWM output voltage of an embodiment.

[0020] Figure 4 The schematic diagram of the storage unit and lookup table of an embodiment.

[0021] Figure 5 The schematic diagram of the preset time and voltage change trend of an embodiment.

[0022] Figure 6A The schematic diagram of the processing system of an embodiment.

[0023] Figure 6B The schematic diagram of the elements of the processing system of an embodiment.

[0024] In the drawings, the reference signs are explained as follows:

[0025] 100: processing circuit

[0026] 110, 230: PWM generation unit

[0027] 120: controllable inductance

[0028] 121: magnetic core

[0029] 123: coil winding

[0030] 130: inductance adjustment unit

[0031] 140: monitoring unit

[0032] 141: adjustment command

[0033] 142: prediction command

[0034] 150: storage unit

[0035] 151: lookup table

[0036] 160: load circuit

[0037] 181: voltage to be measured

[0038] 183: adjusted voltage

[0039] 184: preset threshold

[0040] 185: voltage change trend

[0041] 200: processing system

[0042] 210: first processing circuit

[0043] 211: first controllable inductance

[0044] 212: first inductance adjustment unit

[0045] 213: first monitoring unit

[0046] 220: second processing circuit

[0047] 221: second controllable inductance

[0048] 222: second inductance adjustment unit

[0049] 223: second monitoring unit

[0050] 611: first voltage

[0051] 612: second voltage

[0052] 621: first adjustment command

[0053] 622: second adjustment command

[0054] D: air gap distance

[0055] I: output inductance

[0056] T1, T2, T3, T4: preset time

[0057] S310, S320, S330, S340, S350, S360: steps DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0058] Please refer to Figure 1FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a processing circuit for adjusting a PWM output voltage according to an embodiment. The processing circuit for adjusting a pulse-width modulation (PWM) output voltage (hereinafter referred to as processing circuit 100) includes a PWM generation unit 110, a controllable inductor 120, an inductance adjustment unit 130, and a monitoring unit 140. The PWM generation unit 110 can be externally connected to a load circuit 160 and internally connected to the controllable inductor 120 and the monitoring unit 140. The PWM generation unit 110 generates a measured voltage 181 and an adjusted voltage 183 based on the received inductance. The PWM generation unit 110 outputs the measured voltage 181 to the monitoring unit 140 and outputs the adjusted voltage 183 to the load circuit 160. Basically, the measured voltage 181 is equivalent to the adjusted voltage 183.

[0059] The controllable inductor 120 is connected to the PWM generating unit 110. The controllable inductor 120 has a magnetic core 121 and a coil winding 123. Figure 2A As shown. The magnetic core 121 can move arbitrarily in the coil winding 123. When the magnetic core 121 moves or rotates in the winding, the magnetic core 121 and the coil winding 123 will generate different magnetic fluxes, thereby changing the inductance value of the controllable inductor 120. Figure 2B The relative distance between the magnetic core 121 and the coil winding 123 is referred to as the air gap distance D. In this embodiment, the air gap distance D is the distance between the left side surface of the magnetic core 121 and the left side surface of the coil winding 123, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The air gap distance D may also be the distance between the right side surface of the magnetic core 121 and the left side surface of the coil winding 123.

[0060] The magnetic core 121 can be moved between the coil windings 123. Generally speaking, the more volume the magnetic core 121 submerges within the coil windings 123, the smaller the air gap distance D. Consequently, the inductance increases, which reduces the output voltage. Conversely, if the magnetic core 121 moves out of the coil windings 123, the volume it submerges decreases, which reduces the inductance and increases the output voltage. The controllable inductor 120 outputs its inductance to the PWM generator 110, which generates a corresponding voltage based on the inductance.

[0061] The inductance adjusting unit 130 is connected to the controllable inductor 120 and the magnetic core 121. The inductance adjusting unit 130 adjusts the position of the magnetic core 121 relative to the coil winding 123 according to the received adjusting command 141, so as to control the air gap distance D and the inductance value. The inductance adjusting unit 130 can be realized in a mechanical, electromagnetic or piezoelectric manner, etc. For example, the mechanical inductance adjusting unit 130 can be a linear actuator or a peristaltic motor, used to adjust the moving position of the magnetic core 121. The electromagnetic inductance adjusting unit 130 can adjust the moving position of the magnetic core 121 through an electromagnet. The piezoelectric inductance adjusting unit 130 can be provided with multiple groups of piezoelectric ceramic sheets outside the magnetic core 121. After the inductance adjusting unit 130 is applied with a voltage, the piezoelectric ceramic sheets will generate length deformation to drive the magnetic core 121 to change the position.

[0062] The monitoring unit 140 is connected to the PWM generating unit 110 and the inductance adjusting unit 130. The monitoring unit 140 receives the to-be-tested voltage 181 from the PWM generating unit 110. The monitoring unit 140 stores a preset voltage, wherein the preset voltage is the target of the stable voltage desired to be reached by the processing circuit 100. For example, the preset voltage can be but is not limited to 12V. The PWM generating unit 110 can output a to-be-tested voltage 181 of 10.9V.

[0063] The monitoring unit 140 calculates the difference between the preset voltage and the to-be-tested voltage 181. The monitoring unit 140 judges whether the difference exceeds a preset threshold 184. For further description of the operation of the processing circuit 100, please refer to Figure 3 The processing method for adjusting the PWM output voltage comprises the following steps:

[0064] Step S310: The PWM generating unit generates a to-be-tested voltage according to the received output inductance;

[0065] Step S320: The PWM generating unit outputs the to-be-tested voltage to the monitoring unit;

[0066] Step S330: The monitoring unit judges whether the difference between the to-be-tested voltage and the preset voltage exceeds a preset threshold;

[0067] Step S340: If the difference does not exceed the preset threshold, the monitoring unit executes S330;

[0068] Step S350: If the difference exceeds the preset threshold, the monitoring unit sends an adjusting command to the inductance adjusting unit, and the inductance adjusting unit adjusts the output inductance of the controllable inductor; and

[0069] Step S360: The PWM generating unit generates an adjusted voltage according to the new output inductance.

[0070] First, the preset output inductance I is received by the PWM generating unit 110, and the to-be-tested voltage 181 is generated according to the received output inductance I. If the PWM generating unit 110 is initial, the PWM generating unit 110 can generate the corresponding to-be-tested voltage 181 with the preset inductance value. The PWM generating unit 110 outputs the to-be-tested voltage 181 to the monitoring unit 140. The monitoring unit 140 calculates the difference between the preset voltage and the received to-be-tested voltage 181.

[0071] The monitoring unit 140 judges whether the obtained difference exceeds the preset threshold 184. If the difference exceeds the preset threshold 184, the monitoring unit 140 sends the adjustment command 141 to the inductance adjusting unit 130 to control the air gap distance D of the magnetic core 121 and the coil winding 123. The preset threshold 184 is the interval range of the voltage. Therefore, the preset threshold 184 has the upper limit value and the lower limit value of the voltage, and the upper and lower limits respectively represent the critical values of the voltage being too high or the voltage being insufficient. The detection unit judges whether the difference exceeds the upper limit or the lower limit of the preset threshold 184, and then judges whether the to-be-tested voltage 181 needs to be reduced or increased. Generally, the detection unit can send the adjustment command 141 successively and judge whether the new difference exceeds the preset threshold 184. If the new difference still exceeds the preset threshold 184, the monitoring unit 140 will issue a new adjustment command 141 until the next difference falls within the preset threshold 184.

[0072] In some embodiments, the processing circuit 100 further includes a storage unit 150, please refer to Figure 4 . The monitoring unit 140 is connected to the storage unit 150. The storage unit 150 has a lookup table 151, which records a plurality of sets of air gap distances D and corresponding output inductances I. The monitoring unit 140 looks up the lookup table 151 according to the voltage difference to obtain the corresponding air gap distance D. The monitoring unit 140 encapsulates the obtained air gap distance D as the adjustment command 141 and sends it to the inductance adjusting unit 130. The inductance adjusting unit 130 adjusts the air gap distance D of the magnetic core 121 and the coil winding 123 of the controllable inductance 120 according to the adjustment command 141.

[0073] In some embodiments, the monitoring unit 140 obtains the to-be-tested voltage 181 of the PWM generating unit 110 every preset time, please refer to Figure 5 . The monitoring unit 140 can send the adjustment command 141 to the inductance adjusting unit 130 every preset time to adjust the inductance value of the controllable inductance 120 so that the adjusted voltage 183 output by the PWM generating unit 110 can fall within the interval of the preset threshold 184. In Figure 5 , the preset threshold 184 is represented by a dashed line frame.

[0074] In some embodiments, the monitoring unit 140 obtains a plurality of consecutive measured voltages 181. The monitoring unit 140 generates a voltage variation trend 185 according to the measured voltages 181, as shown by the thick dashed line in Figure 5 . The monitoring unit 140 calculates the voltage variation trend 185 according to the total time length of the plurality of preset times and the variation of the measured voltages 181 (i.e., the thick dashed line in Figure 5 ). The monitoring unit 140 generates an adjustment command 141 for the next preset time according to the voltage variation trend 185, which is referred to as a prediction command 142. The monitoring unit 140 directly sends the prediction command 142 to the inductance adjustment unit 130 at the next preset time.

[0075] In Figure 5 , after the monitoring unit 140 obtains the voltage variation trends 185 of the preset times T1, T2, and T3, the monitoring unit 140 generates the prediction command 142 according to the voltage variation trends 185. In the prediction command 142, the air gap distance D is increased (or decreased) so that the adjusted voltage 183 output by the PWM generation unit 110 can be controlled within the preset threshold 184. The monitoring unit 140 sends the prediction command 142 to the inductance adjustment unit 130 at the preset time T4, so as to correct the adjusted voltage 183.

[0076] At the preset times T1, T2, and T3, the adjusted voltages 183 can be corrected to the preset threshold 184 as shown in Figure 5 . However, the measured voltages 181 still decay and exceed the preset threshold 184 after each preset time. Therefore, the monitoring unit 140 can obtain the voltage variation trend 185 according to several preset times. At the preset time T4, the monitoring unit 140 further increases (or decreases) the adjustment amount of the air gap distance D according to the voltage variation trend 185.

[0077] In some embodiments, a plurality of processing circuits 100 can be connected in series to form a voltage stabilization processing system (hereinafter referred to as a processing system 200), as shown in Figure 6A and Figure 6B . In order to clearly show the connection of the plurality of processing circuits 100 in the processing system 200, the processing system 200 in this embodiment is described by taking two processing circuits 100 as an example. The two processing circuits 100 are defined as a first processing circuit 210 and a second processing circuit 220. The first processing circuit 210 is connected in series to the second processing circuit 220. The first processing circuit 210 has a PWM generation unit 230, a first controllable inductance 211, a first inductance adjustment unit 212, and a first monitoring unit 213. It should be noted that the first processing circuit 210 and the second processing circuit 220 share the same PWM generation unit 230, but in order to facilitate description, the two independent processing circuits 210 and 220 are still used as representations in Figure 6A .

[0078] The second processing circuit 220 has a PWM generating unit 230, a second controllable inductor 221, a second inductor adjusting unit 222 and a second monitoring unit 223. The connections and operations of the PWM generating unit 230, the second controllable inductor 221, the second inductor adjusting unit 222 and the second monitoring unit 223 can refer to the foregoing. The second processing circuit 220 takes the adjusted voltage 183 outputted by the first processing circuit 210 as the inputted voltage 181 to be measured.

[0079] The first processing circuit 210 adjusts the corresponding air gap distance D according to the first adjusting command 621 and generates the corresponding adjusted inductance. The first processing circuit 210 generates the adjusted voltage 183 according to the modified adjusted inductance and outputs the adjusted voltage 183 to the second processing circuit 220. Herein, the adjusted voltage 183 outputted by the first processing circuit 210 is referred to as the first voltage 611. After receiving the first voltage 611, the PWM generating unit 230 of the second processing circuit 220 adjusts the corresponding air gap distance D according to the first voltage 611 and the second adjusting command 622. The second processing circuit 220 generates the new output inductance I and the corresponding adjusted voltage 183 (referred to as the second voltage 612) according to the new air gap distance D. The second processing circuit 220 outputs the second voltage 612 to the secondary load circuit 160. With the voltage stabilizing output of the multi-stage processing circuit 100, the final output voltage can be controlled in the set range.

[0080] The processing circuit 100 for adjusting the PWM output voltage, the voltage stabilizing processing system 200 and the processing method can dynamically adjust the inductance value. The processing circuit 100 can be applied to any load circuit 160. The processing circuit 100 can periodically detect whether the output circuit of the load circuit 160 is stable and dynamically adjust the inductance value to change the PWM output voltage.

Claims

1. A processing circuit for regulating a PWM output voltage by adjusting a position of a core of an inductor, characterized by, The processing circuit includes: a PWM generating unit receiving an output inductance to generate a measured voltage or an adjusted voltage; a controllable inductor connected to the PWM generating unit, the controllable inductor having a magnetic core and a coil winding, the controllable inductor generating the output inductance according to a gap distance of the magnetic core and the coil winding; an inductance adjusting unit connected to the controllable inductor, the inductance adjusting unit adjusting the gap distance of the magnetic core according to a received adjusting command; and a monitoring unit connected to the PWM generating unit and the inductance adjusting unit, the monitoring unit determining whether a difference between a preset voltage and the measured voltage exceeds a preset threshold, the difference exceeding the preset threshold, the monitoring unit generating the adjusting command according to the difference, the monitoring unit sending the adjusting command to the inductance adjusting unit; wherein the controllable inductor adjusts the gap distance according to the adjusting command, the controllable inductor generates the corresponding output inductance to the PWM generating unit, and the PWM generating unit generates the adjusted voltage.

2. The processing circuit to regulate a PWM output voltage as recited in claim 1, wherein, The monitoring unit obtains the measured voltage of the PWM generating unit every preset time.

3. The processing circuit to regulate a PWM output voltage as recited in claim 1, wherein, A voltage variation trend is generated according to a plurality of the measured voltages obtained at a plurality of preset times, the monitoring unit generates the adjusting command according to the voltage variation trend, and the controllable inductor adjusts the gap distance to generate the corresponding output inductance.

4. The processing circuit to regulate a PWM output voltage as recited in claim 1, wherein, Further comprising a storage unit, the monitoring unit is connected to the storage unit, the storage unit has a lookup table, and the lookup table records each gap distance and the corresponding output inductance.

5. The processing circuit to regulate a PWM output voltage as recited in claim 4, wherein, The PWM generating unit outputs the adjusted voltage to a load circuit.

6. A regulated voltage processing system employing the processing circuit for regulating PWM output voltage as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The voltage stabilizing processing system includes: a first processing circuit adjusting a first measured voltage to a first adjusted voltage according to a first adjusting command; and a second processing circuit connected to the first processing circuit, the second processing circuit adjusting the first adjusted voltage to a second adjusted voltage according to a second adjusting command.

7. A processing method for regulating a PWM output voltage, characterized by, It includes: a PWM generating unit generating a measured voltage according to a received output inductance; the PWM generating unit outputs the measured voltage to a monitoring unit; the monitoring unit determines whether a difference between the measured voltage and a preset voltage exceeds a preset threshold; if the difference exceeds the preset threshold, the monitoring unit sends an adjusting command to an inductance adjusting unit, and the inductance adjusting unit adjusts the output inductance of a controllable inductor; and the PWM generating unit generates an adjusted voltage according to the new output inductance.

8. The method for adjusting PWM output voltage according to claim 7, wherein: The step of the PWM generating unit outputting the measured voltage to the monitoring unit includes: the monitoring unit obtains the measured voltage of the PWM generating unit every preset time.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the PWM output voltage is adjusted by: The step of the PWM generating unit outputting the measured voltage to the monitoring unit includes: the monitoring unit generates a voltage variation trend according to a plurality of the measured voltages; the monitoring unit generates the adjusting command according to the voltage variation trend; and the controllable inductor adjusts a gap distance according to the adjusting command.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of adjusting the PWM output voltage comprises the step of: The step of the PWM generating unit generating the adjusted voltage according to the output inductance includes: ​ The PWM generation unit outputs the adjusted voltage to a load circuit.

Images