Temperature detection device and method with calibration mechanism

Abstract

A temperature detection method with a correction mechanism includes: setting first and second voltage digital codes corresponding to a first and a second temperature; setting a reference temperature that makes the voltage across the circuit elements of the temperature detection circuit constant; calculating the temperature difference between the first and second temperatures and the digital code difference between the first and second voltage digital codes, and calculating a preset slope to establish a relationship equation between temperature and digital codes; performing temperature detection at the first temperature to generate an actual voltage digital code; calculating a reference temperature difference between the first temperature and the reference temperature; calculating the actual voltage digital code and the actual digital code difference between the first voltage digital code, and then calculating the slope change with the reference temperature difference to correct the preset slope to generate a correction slope relationship equation; and performing temperature detection through a temperature detection circuit according to the corrected relationship equation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to temperature detection technology, and more particularly to a temperature detection device and method with a calibration mechanism. Background Technology

[0002] In integrated circuits, temperature detection circuits are used to detect the temperature of a chip or the environment, adjusting the chip's operation based on the detection results to prevent damage from unsuitable temperature environments. Common temperature detection circuits utilize temperature-dependent parameters in electronic components, such as the voltage across a semiconductor device, to achieve the detection purpose.

[0003] However, due to differences in manufacturing processes, the voltage across components in different temperature detection circuits may vary to different degrees with temperature changes. Without a calibration mechanism that can be executed quickly while maintaining accuracy, the calibration time cost of the temperature detection circuit will increase. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the problems in the prior art, one object of the present invention is to provide a temperature detection method with a correction mechanism to improve the prior art.

[0005] This invention includes a temperature detection method with a correction mechanism, comprising: setting a first voltage digital code by a processing circuit corresponding to a first temperature; setting a second voltage digital code by a processing circuit corresponding to a second temperature; setting a reference temperature by a processing circuit, wherein the reference temperature makes the voltage across the circuit elements of the temperature detection circuit constant; calculating a preset temperature difference between the first temperature and the second temperature and a preset digital code difference between the first voltage digital code and the second voltage digital code by a processing circuit, and then calculating a preset slope based on a first ratio between the preset digital code difference and the preset temperature difference, and establishing a relationship equation between the preset temperature and the digital code based on the preset slope; and the temperature detection circuit... The circuit element detects the voltage across a first temperature to generate an actual voltage digital code; the processing circuit calculates the reference temperature difference between the first temperature and a reference temperature; the processing circuit calculates the actual voltage digital code and the actual digital code difference between the first voltage digital codes, and then calculates the slope change based on the second ratio between the actual digital code difference and the reference temperature difference; the processing circuit corrects the preset slope based on the slope change to generate a corrected slope to replace the preset slope in the preset temperature and digital code relationship equation to generate the actual temperature and digital code relationship equation; and the temperature is detected by a temperature detection circuit based on the actual temperature and digital code relationship equation.

[0006] The present invention includes a temperature detection device with a calibration mechanism, comprising: a temperature detection circuit and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to perform a temperature detection method, including: setting a first voltage digital code corresponding to a first temperature; setting a second voltage digital code corresponding to a second temperature; setting a reference temperature, wherein the reference temperature makes the voltage across the circuit elements of the temperature detection circuit constant; calculating a preset temperature difference between the first temperature and the second temperature and a preset digital code difference between the first voltage digital code and the second voltage digital code, and then calculating a preset slope based on a first ratio between the preset digital code difference and the preset temperature difference, and establishing a preset temperature-digit code relationship equation based on the preset slope; causing the temperature detection circuit to detect the first temperature to generate an actual voltage digital code; calculating a reference temperature difference between the first temperature and the reference temperature; calculating the actual voltage digital code and the actual digital code difference between the first voltage digital code, and then calculating a slope change based on a second ratio between the actual digital code difference and the reference temperature difference; correcting the preset slope based on the slope change to generate a corrected slope to replace the preset slope in the preset temperature-digit code relationship equation to generate an actual temperature-digit code relationship equation; and performing temperature detection through the temperature detection circuit based on the actual temperature-digit code relationship equation.

[0007] The features, implementation methods and effects of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0008] Figure 1 A block diagram showing a temperature detection device with a calibration mechanism in one embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0009] Figure 2 This diagram illustrates the relationship between temperature and the voltage across the circuit elements of the temperature detection circuit, according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

[0010] Figure 3 This invention illustrates a flowchart of a temperature detection method with a correction mechanism in one embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0011] One objective of this invention is to provide a temperature detection method with a correction mechanism. By utilizing the characteristic that the voltage across circuit components is constant at a reference temperature close to absolute zero, the method only needs to detect the digital code of the temperature to be corrected once and then calculate it with a preset digital code. This can maintain the accuracy of correction while significantly reducing the time cost of correction.

[0012] Please refer to Figure 1 . Figure 1 This diagram shows a block diagram of a temperature detection device 100 with a calibration mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention. The temperature detection device 100 includes a temperature detection circuit 110 and a processing circuit 120.

[0013] In one embodiment, the voltage across the circuit element of the temperature detection circuit 110 is temperature-dependent, allowing the temperature detection circuit 110 to generate a corresponding digital code based on the magnitude of the voltage across the circuit element at different temperatures. In one embodiment, the voltage across the circuit element is the base-emitter voltage difference (V) of a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) formed of silicon. BE ).

[0014] The processing circuit 120 is electrically coupled to the temperature detection circuit 110 and includes computer-executable instructions to perform temperature detection with a calibration mechanism.

[0015] Please refer to Figure 2 . Figure 2 This diagram illustrates the relationship between temperature and the voltage across the circuit elements of the temperature detection circuit 110 in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 In the diagram, the horizontal axis represents temperature, with units expressed in absolute temperature (K), and the vertical axis represents the voltage across circuit elements, with units expressed in digital code.

[0016] The following will also refer to Figure 1 as well as Figure 2 The temperature detection jointly performed by the processing circuit 120 and the temperature detection circuit 110 is explained in detail.

[0017] Processing circuit 120 corresponds to Figure 2 The first temperature TP1 is set to a first voltage digital code DC1. In one embodiment, the first temperature TP1 is, for example, room temperature with an absolute temperature of 303.15 (30 degrees Celsius). The processing circuit 120 can set the first voltage digital code DC1 corresponding to the first temperature TP1.

[0018] Processing circuit 120 corresponds to Figure 2 The second temperature TP2 is set to a second voltage digital code DC2. In one embodiment, the second temperature TP2 is, for example, room temperature with an absolute temperature of 323.15 degrees (50 degrees Celsius). The processing circuit 120 can set the second voltage digital code DC2 corresponding to the second temperature TP2.

[0019] Processing circuit 120 is configured accordingly Figure 2 The reference temperature TPB is used to provide a reference voltage with a constant voltage across the circuit elements of the temperature sensing circuit 110. In one embodiment, the difference between the reference temperature TPB and absolute zero (0K, i.e., approximately −273.15 degrees Celsius) is less than a first temperature range, such as, but not limited to, a value within a range of less than 5 degrees. In one embodiment, the reference temperature TPB is very close to absolute zero. In one embodiment, the reference temperature TPB may be absolute zero.

[0020] like Figure 2 As shown, the voltage across the base-emitter voltage difference circuit element is 1.2 volts at temperatures near absolute zero. However, as the temperature rises, different temperature detection circuits 110 will exhibit variations due to differences in manufacturing processes. Figure 2 The linear relationship LR1~LR2 with different slopes is shown, and at the first temperature TP1, the voltage across the circuit elements is different, thus generating different digital codes.

[0021] Therefore, corresponding to an ideal temperature detection circuit 110, the processing circuit 120 can set a reference temperature TPB, and the reference temperature TPB makes the voltage across the circuit components constant, for example, 1.2 volts. For ease of explanation, in... Figure 2 The reference temperature TPB is directly plotted as absolute zero. More specifically, even if there are slight differences in the manufacturing process of different temperature detection circuits 110, which cause the voltage across the circuit elements to change at higher temperatures, the voltage across the circuit elements in these temperature detection circuits 110 will not change at very close to absolute zero, and will remain at 1.2 volts.

[0022] It should be noted that the values ​​above are merely examples. In reality, the actual value of the reference voltage can vary slightly depending on the specific configuration of the reference temperature TPB.

[0023] The processing circuit 120 first detects the first voltage digital code DC1 and the second voltage digital code DC2 obtained from the first temperature TP1 and the second temperature TP2 on the linear relationship LR1, and then calculates the preset temperature difference between the first temperature TP1 and the second temperature TP2 and the preset digital code difference between the first voltage digital code DC1 and the second voltage digital code DC2. Then, it calculates the preset slope SLP based on the first ratio between the preset digital code difference and the preset temperature difference.

[0024] SLP = (DC2-DC1) / (TP2-TP1) (Equation 1)

[0025] The processing circuit 120 then establishes a constant and a preset temperature-digital code relationship equation based on the preset slope SLP to determine the relationship between the temperature and the voltage digital code between two points. When the voltage digital code is DC, the temperature is T, the constant is C, and the preset slope is SLP, the preset temperature-digital code relationship equation between the voltage digital code DC and the temperature T can be expressed by the following formula:

[0026] DC = SLP × T + C (Equation 2)

[0027] The temperature detection circuit 110 detects the first temperature TP1 to generate the actual voltage digital code DCA. More specifically, as described above, due to differences in manufacturing processes, the actual temperature detection circuit 110 detects the corresponding first temperature TP1. Figure 2 The linear relationship between LR2 and the actual voltage digital code DCA.

[0028] Processing circuit 120 calculates the actual digital code difference between the actual voltage digital code DCA and the first voltage digital code DC1. Furthermore, processing circuit 120 calculates the reference temperature difference between the first temperature TP1 and the reference temperature TPB. Processing circuit 120 then calculates the slope change SLV based on a second ratio between the actual digital code difference and the reference temperature difference. The slope change SLV can be expressed by the following formula:

[0029] SLV=(DCA-DC1) / (TP1-TPB) (Equation 3)

[0030] The processing circuit 120 corrects the preset slope SLP based on the slope change SLV to generate the corrected slope CLP. In one embodiment, the processing circuit 120 adds the slope change SLV to the preset slope SLP to obtain the corrected slope CLP, which can be expressed by the following formula:

[0031] CLP = SLV + SLP (Equation 4)

[0032] The process of correcting the slope is to correct the slope of the linear relationship LR1 to be close to the linear relationship LR2 by using the slope change amount SLV.

[0033] The processing circuit 120 replaces the preset slope SLP in the preset temperature-digital code relationship equation (i.e., equation (2)) with the correction slope CLP to generate the actual temperature-digital code relationship equation, which can be expressed by the following formula:

[0034] DC = CLP × T + C (Equation 5)

[0035] The processing circuit 120 performs temperature detection via the temperature detection circuit 110 according to the equation relating actual temperature and digital code. More specifically, the temperature detection performed by the processing circuit 120 first involves the temperature detection circuit 110 detecting the temperature of the TPU to be measured to generate the digital code DCU for the voltage to be measured. The processing circuit 120 then substitutes the digital code DCU for the voltage to be measured into the voltage digital code DC in the equation relating actual temperature and digital code to obtain:

[0036] DCU = CLP × TPU + C (Equation 6)

[0037] After rearranging (Equation 6), the processing circuit 120 can obtain the detected value of the temperature of the TPU to be measured:

[0038] TPU = (DCU - C) / CLP (Equation 7)

[0039] Therefore, when performing temperature detection, the processing circuit 120 can generate the temperature to be measured, TPU, according to the calibration mechanism and the linear relationship LR2 that the temperature detection circuit 110 actually has.

[0040] The following numerical example will be used to illustrate the correction mechanism and temperature detection of the processing circuit 120.

[0041] In this numerical example, the first temperature TP1 is an absolute temperature of 303.15 degrees (30 degrees Celsius) and the second temperature TP2 is an absolute temperature of 323.15 degrees (50 degrees Celsius). The first voltage digital code DC1 is 100 and the second voltage digital code DC2 is 50. Then the preset slope SLP can be obtained from (Equation 1) as (50 / -20) = -2.5.

[0042] Based on the preset slope SLP of -2.5, when the calculated constant is 857.88, the preset temperature-digital code relationship equation in (Equation 2) will be:

[0043] DC = (-2.5) × T + 857.88

[0044] Furthermore, if the actual voltage digital code DCA is 105 and the reference temperature TPB is 0.15, the slope change SLV can be obtained from (Equation 3) as SLV = (105 - 100) / (303.15 - 0.15) = 5 / 303 = 0.0165. Furthermore, the correction slope CLP can be obtained from (Equation 4) as CLP = -2.5 + 0.0165 = -2.4835. This is the correction slope CLP, which is approximately the linear relationship LR2 of the actual temperature detection, obtained after correcting the linear relationship LR1 corresponding to the preset slope SLP with the slope change SLV.

[0045] When performing temperature detection, if the digital code of the voltage under test (DCU) is 90, the temperature under test (TPU) can be obtained from equation (7) as TPU = (90 - 857.88) / (-2.4835) = 309.19 degrees. Therefore, the detected value of the temperature under test (TPU) is an absolute temperature of 309.19 degrees (36.04 degrees Celsius).

[0046] In some technologies, the impact of manufacturing process differences on different temperature detection circuits is mitigated by single-point or two-point calibration techniques. However, with single-point calibration, the digital code corresponding to the temperature further away from the calibration point becomes increasingly diffuse and loses calibration accuracy, while two-point calibration requires heating and cooling each chip in the temperature detection circuit, increasing calibration time costs.

[0047] The temperature detection method with correction mechanism of the present invention can take advantage of the characteristic that the voltage across circuit components is constant at a reference temperature close to absolute zero. It only needs to detect the digital code of the temperature to be corrected once and then calculate it with the preset digital code, which can maintain the correction accuracy while greatly reducing the correction time cost.

[0048] Please refer to Figure 3 . Figure 3 This invention shows a flowchart of a temperature detection method 300 with a correction mechanism in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0049] This invention discloses a temperature detection method 300 with a correction mechanism, applicable to, for example, but not limited to, [other applications]. Figure 1 In the temperature detection device 100. An embodiment of the temperature detection method 300 is, for example... Figure 3 As shown, it includes the following steps.

[0050] In step S310, the processing circuit 120 sets the first voltage digital code DC1 corresponding to the first temperature TP1.

[0051] In step S320, the processing circuit 120 sets the second voltage digital code DC2 corresponding to the second temperature TP2.

[0052] In step S330, the processing circuit 120 sets a reference temperature TPB, wherein the reference temperature TPB makes the voltage across the circuit elements of the temperature detection circuit 110 constant.

[0053] In step S340, the processing circuit 120 calculates the preset temperature difference between the first temperature TP1 and the second temperature TP2 and the preset digital code difference between the first voltage digital code DC1 and the second voltage digital code DC2. Then, it calculates the preset slope SLP based on the first ratio between the preset digital code difference and the preset temperature difference, and establishes the preset temperature and digital code relationship equation based on the preset slope SLP.

[0054] In step S350, the temperature detection circuit 110 detects the first temperature TP1 to generate the actual voltage digital code DCA.

[0055] In step S360, the processing circuit 120 calculates the reference temperature difference between the first temperature TP1 and the reference temperature TPB.

[0056] In step S370, the processing circuit 120 calculates the actual digital code difference between the actual voltage digital code DCA and the first voltage digital code DC1, and then calculates the slope change SLV based on the second ratio between the actual digital code difference and the reference temperature difference.

[0057] In step S380, the processing circuit 120 corrects the preset slope SLP according to the slope change SLV to generate a corrected slope CLP to replace the preset slope SLP in the preset temperature and digital code relationship equation to generate the actual temperature and digital code relationship equation.

[0058] In step S390, the processing circuit 120 performs temperature detection through the temperature detection circuit 110 according to the equation relating the actual temperature to the digital code.

[0059] It should be noted that the above-described implementation is merely an example. In other embodiments, those skilled in the art can make modifications without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0060] In summary, the temperature detection method with a correction mechanism in this invention utilizes the characteristic that the voltage across circuit components is constant at a reference temperature close to absolute zero. It only requires detecting the digital code of the temperature to be corrected once and then calculating it with a preset digital code, which can maintain the correction accuracy while significantly reducing the correction time cost.

[0061] While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make changes to the technical features of the present invention based on the explicit or implicit content of the present invention. All such changes may fall within the scope of patent protection sought by the present invention. In other words, the scope of patent protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope defined in the claims of this specification.

[0062] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0063] 100: Temperature detection device

[0064] 110: Temperature detection circuit

[0065] 120: Processing Circuit

[0066] 300: Temperature Detection Method

[0067] S310~S390: Steps

[0068] DCA: Actual Voltage Digital Code:

[0069] DCB: Reference Voltage Digital Code

[0070] DC1: First voltage digital code

[0071] DC2: Second voltage digital code

[0072] DCU: Digital code of voltage under test

[0073] TPB: Reference Temperature

[0074] TP1: First temperature

[0075] TP2: Second temperature

[0076] TPU: Temperature to be measured

[0077] LR1~LR2: Linear relationship

Claims

1. A temperature detection method with a calibration mechanism, comprising: The processing circuit sets a first voltage digital code corresponding to the first temperature. The processing circuit sets a second voltage digital code corresponding to the second temperature; The processing circuit sets a reference temperature, wherein the reference temperature makes the voltage across the circuit elements of the temperature detection circuit constant; The processing circuit calculates the preset temperature difference between the first temperature and the second temperature and the preset digital code difference between the first voltage digital code and the second voltage digital code, and then calculates the preset slope based on the first ratio between the preset digital code difference and the preset temperature difference, and establishes the preset temperature and digital code relationship equation based on the preset slope. The temperature detection circuit detects the first temperature to generate an actual voltage digital code. The processing circuit calculates the reference temperature difference between the first temperature and the reference temperature; The processing circuit calculates the actual voltage digital code and the actual digital code difference between the first voltage digital code, and then calculates the slope change based on the second ratio between the actual digital code difference and the reference temperature difference. The processing circuit corrects the preset slope based on the slope change to generate a corrected slope, which replaces the preset slope in the preset temperature-digital code relationship equation to generate the actual temperature-digital code relationship equation. as well as Temperature is detected by the temperature detection circuit based on the equation relating the actual temperature to the digital code.

2. The temperature detection method according to claim 1 further includes: The processing circuit adds the slope change to the preset slope to generate the corrected slope.

3. The temperature detection method according to claim 2, wherein the temperature detection further includes: The temperature detection circuit detects the temperature to be measured to generate a digital code for the voltage to be measured. as well as The processing circuit substitutes the digital code of the voltage to be measured into the equation relating the actual temperature and the digital code to obtain the detected value of the temperature to be measured.

4. The temperature detection method according to claim 1, wherein the voltage digital code is DC, the temperature is T, the constant is C, the preset slope is SLP and the correction slope is CLP, the preset temperature and digital code relationship equation is DC=SLP×T+C, and the actual temperature and digital code relationship equation is DC=CLP×T+C.

5. The temperature detection method according to claim 1, wherein the difference between the reference temperature and absolute zero is less than a preset range.

6. The temperature detection method according to claim 5, wherein the voltage across the circuit element is the base-emitter voltage difference of a bipolar transistor made of silicon.

7. A temperature detection device with a calibration mechanism, comprising: Temperature detection circuit; as well as Processing circuitry, configured to perform a temperature detection method, includes: Set the first voltage digital code corresponding to the first temperature; The second voltage digital code is set corresponding to the second temperature. A reference temperature is set, wherein the reference temperature makes the voltage across the circuit elements of the temperature detection circuit constant; Calculate the preset temperature difference between the first temperature and the second temperature and the preset digital code difference between the first voltage digital code and the second voltage digital code, then calculate the preset slope based on the first ratio between the preset digital code difference and the preset temperature difference, and establish the preset temperature and digital code relationship equation based on the preset slope; The temperature detection circuit is configured to detect the first temperature to generate an actual voltage digital code. Calculate the reference temperature difference between the first temperature and the reference temperature; Calculate the actual digital code of the actual voltage and the actual digital code difference between the first voltage digital code, and then calculate the slope change based on the second ratio between the actual digital code difference and the reference temperature difference; The preset slope is corrected based on the slope change to generate a corrected slope, which replaces the preset slope in the preset temperature-digital code relationship equation to generate the actual temperature-digital code relationship equation; and Temperature is detected by the temperature detection circuit based on the equation relating the actual temperature to the digital code.

8. The temperature detection device according to claim 7, further comprising: The processing circuit adds the slope change to the preset slope to generate the corrected slope.

9. The temperature detection device according to claim 8, wherein the temperature detection further comprises: The temperature detection circuit detects the temperature to be measured to generate a digital code for the voltage to be measured. The processing circuit substitutes the digital code of the voltage to be measured into the equation relating the actual temperature and the digital code to obtain the detected value of the temperature to be measured.

10. The temperature detection device according to claim 7, wherein the voltage digital code is DC, the temperature is T, the constant is C, the preset slope is SLP and the correction slope is CLP, the preset temperature and digital code relationship equation is DC=SLP×T+C, and the actual temperature and digital code relationship equation is DC=CLP×T+C.

Images