Multi-phase coupled inductor and module thereof, and multi-phase power module and electronic device

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of power supplies. Disclosed are a multi-phase coupled inductor and a module thereof, and a multi-phase power module and an electronic device. In the multi-phase coupled inductor in the embodiments of the present application, four winding layers sequentially stacked in a first direction are integrated by means of a magnetic material, and the four winding layers comprise two primary winding layers and two secondary winding layers, wherein each of the two secondary winding layers is coupled to either one of the primary winding layers. The multi-phase coupled inductor in the embodiments of the present application has a relatively small size and a relatively high current density.

Description

Multi-phase coupled inductor and module thereof, multi-phase power supply module, and electronic device

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202411082271.6 filed on August 7, 2024, and entitled "Multi-phase coupled inductor and module thereof, multi-phase power supply module, and electronic device", the whole content of the above-mentioned application is incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the technical field of power supply, in particular to a multi-phase coupled inductor and module thereof, a multi-phase power supply module, and an electronic device. BACKGROUND

[0003] In a power supply scenario, a multi-phase power supply is widely used to supply power to a chip. Currently, a multi-phase power supply can improve the transient response capability to chip current fluctuation through a trans-inductor voltage regulator (TLVR) to provide a stable power supply voltage to the chip.

[0004] However, in a conventional multi-phase TLVR power supply, a discrete device needs to be used to build a coupled inductor for each phase circuit. For example, for a primary winding in each phase circuit, a secondary winding coupled with the primary winding is added to form a coupled inductor structure, and the secondary winding in each coupled inductor structure is connected in series with a compensation inductor to form a loop. Moreover, the primary winding and the secondary winding in each phase circuit also need to be packaged with a magnetic material, which leads to a large overall volume of the inductor magnetic components corresponding to the multi-phase, and a large power supply area needs to be occupied, which is not conducive to the performance improvement of the multi-phase power supply. SUMMARY

[0005] To solve the above problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a multi-phase coupled inductor and module thereof, a multi-phase power supply module, and an electronic device.

[0006] In a first aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a multi-phase coupled inductor, comprising a magnetic body and a first primary winding layer, a second primary winding layer, a first secondary winding layer coupled with the first primary winding layer, and a second secondary winding layer coupled with the second primary winding layer, which are arranged inside the magnetic body, the first primary winding layer, the second primary winding layer, the first secondary winding layer, and the second secondary winding layer are stacked along a first direction, and the first primary winding layer comprises at least two first primary windings, the at least two first primary windings are arranged at intervals along a second direction, the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction; the second primary winding layer comprises at least two second primary windings, the at least two second primary windings are arranged at intervals along a third direction, the third direction is perpendicular to the first direction; the first secondary winding layer comprises at least two first secondary windings, the at least two first secondary windings are arranged at intervals along a fourth direction, and an included angle between the fourth direction and the second direction is less than or equal to a first angle, and in the first direction, the at least two first secondary windings correspond to the at least two first primary windings one by one; the second secondary winding layer comprises at least two second secondary windings, the at least two second primary windings are arranged at intervals along a fifth direction, and an included angle between the fifth direction and the third direction is less than or equal to the first angle, and in the first direction, the at least two second secondary windings correspond to the at least two second primary windings one by one.

[0007] According to the embodiments of the present application, the multi-phase coupled inductor is integrated by arranging four winding layers stacked along the first direction through the magnetic material, and two secondary winding layers are respectively coupled with one primary winding layer, which can solve the problem that the single-phase coupled inductor needs to be built separately in the traditional multi-phase TLVR power supply, so that the volume of the multi-phase coupled inductor is smaller.

[0008] In addition, since the overall volume of the multi-phase coupled inductor is smaller, the multi-phase coupled inductor occupies a smaller area in the two-dimensional plane, and thus the multi-phase coupled inductor can output a larger current in a unit area, that is, the current density is larger, so that the current density demand of the chip in the power supply scene can be met.

[0009] For example, the first direction can be the Z-axis direction, the second direction can be the X-axis direction, and the third direction can be the Y-axis direction.

[0010] The included angle between the fourth direction and the second direction is less than or equal to the first angle, for example, when the first angle is 0 degree, the fourth direction is parallel to the second direction, and the fourth direction can be referred to the second direction. In addition, when the first angle is 0 degree, the coupling coefficient between the first secondary winding and the corresponding first primary winding in the first direction is larger, which can improve the coupling efficiency of the multi-phase coupled inductor.

[0011] The angle between the fifth direction and the third direction is less than or equal to the first angle. For example, when the first angle is 0 degree, the fifth direction is parallel to the third direction, and the fifth direction can be referred to the third direction. When the first angle is 0 degree, the coupling coefficient between the second auxiliary winding and the second primary winding corresponding to the first direction is large, and the coupling efficiency of the multi-phase coupling inductor can be improved.

[0012] For example, the angle between the fourth direction and the second direction, and the angle between the fifth direction and the third direction can be referred to as the angle γ in the following.

[0013] It can be understood that the multi-phase coupling inductor of the embodiment of the present application includes four winding layers, and the four winding layers can have various stacking modes.

[0014] In some possible implementation modes of the first aspect, the first primary winding layer, the first auxiliary winding layer, the second primary winding layer, and the second auxiliary winding layer are stacked in sequence along the first direction.

[0015] In this way, the first primary winding layer located in the first layer and the first auxiliary winding layer located in the second layer are coupled to form a coupling inductor, and the second primary winding layer located in the third layer and the second auxiliary winding layer located in the fourth layer are coupled to form a coupling inductor. For example, refer to Embodiment Four in the following.

[0016] In some possible implementation modes of the first aspect, the first auxiliary winding layer, the first primary winding layer, the second primary winding layer, and the second auxiliary winding layer are stacked in sequence along the first direction.

[0017] In this way, the first auxiliary winding layer located in the first layer and the first primary winding layer located in the second layer are coupled to form a coupling inductor, and the second primary winding layer located in the third layer and the second auxiliary winding layer located in the fourth layer are coupled to form a coupling inductor. For example, refer to Embodiment One in the following.

[0018] In some possible implementation modes of the first aspect, the first auxiliary winding layer, the second primary winding layer, the first primary winding layer, and the second auxiliary winding layer are stacked in sequence along the first direction.

[0019] In this way, the first auxiliary winding layer located in the first layer and the first primary winding layer located in the third layer are coupled to form a coupling inductor, and the second primary winding layer located in the second layer and the second auxiliary winding layer located in the fourth layer are coupled to form a coupling inductor. For example, refer to Embodiment Three in the following.

[0020] In some possible implementation modes of the first aspect, the first primary winding layer, the first auxiliary winding layer, the second auxiliary winding layer, and the second primary winding layer are stacked in sequence along the first direction.

[0021] Thus, the first primary winding layer located at the first layer and the first secondary winding layer located at the second layer are coupled to form a coupled inductor, and the second secondary winding layer located at the third layer and the second primary winding layer located at the fourth layer are coupled to form a coupled inductor. For example, refer to Embodiment 5 below.

[0022] In some possible implementation of the first aspect, the first primary winding layer, the second secondary winding layer, the first secondary winding layer, and the second primary winding layer are stacked in the first direction.

[0023] Thus, the first primary winding layer located at the first layer and the first secondary winding layer located at the third layer are coupled to form a coupled inductor, and the second primary winding layer located at the second layer and the second secondary winding layer located at the fourth layer are coupled to form a coupled inductor. For example, refer to Embodiment 6 below.

[0024] In some possible implementation of the first aspect, the first primary winding layer, the second primary winding layer, the first secondary winding layer, and the second secondary winding layer are stacked in the first direction.

[0025] Thus, the first primary winding layer located at the first layer and the first secondary winding layer located at the third layer are coupled to form a coupled inductor, and the second primary winding layer located at the second layer and the second secondary winding layer located at the fourth layer are coupled to form a coupled inductor. For example, refer to Embodiment 7 below.

[0026] It can be understood that each secondary winding in the multi-phase coupled inductor needs to be connected in series, and the embodiments of the present application provide a plurality of series connection modes.

[0027] In some possible implementation of the first aspect, the at least two first secondary windings are connected in series by the conductors arranged inside the magnet, or the at least two first secondary windings are connected in series by the conductors arranged outside the magnet; and the at least two second secondary windings are connected in series by the conductors arranged inside the magnet, or the at least two second secondary windings are connected in series by the conductors arranged outside the magnet.

[0028] In some possible implementation of the first aspect, the first circuit board is further included, and the magnet is arranged on the first circuit board; each first secondary winding in the first secondary winding layer includes two first secondary connection portions exposed on the surface of the magnet, at least one first secondary connection portion of the two secondary connection portions is connected to the first circuit board, and is used to be connected in series with an adjacent first secondary winding; and each second secondary winding in the second secondary winding layer includes two second secondary connection portions exposed on the surface of the magnet, at least one second secondary connection portion of the two secondary connection portions is connected to the first circuit board, and is used to be connected in series with an adjacent second secondary winding.

[0029] In some possible implementation of the first aspect, each of the first secondary winding in the first secondary winding layer includes two first secondary connecting parts exposed on the surface of the magnet, and the two first secondary connecting parts of each of the first secondary winding are not connected to each other; each of the second secondary winding in the second secondary winding layer includes two second secondary connecting parts exposed on the surface of the magnet, and the two second secondary connecting parts of each of the first secondary winding are not connected to each other.

[0030] It can be understood that the secondary connecting part of the secondary winding can be used for series connection with other secondary windings. The secondary connecting part is arranged in different ways according to different series connection modes between the secondary windings. The secondary connecting part can be arranged inside the magnet or outside the magnet, for example, exposed on the surface of the magnet.

[0031] In some possible implementation of the first aspect, the multi-phase coupled inductor further includes a first circuit board, and the magnet is arranged on the first circuit board; one of the first secondary windings in the first secondary winding layer includes a first secondary connecting part exposed on the surface of the magnet, one of the second secondary windings in the second secondary winding layer includes a second secondary connecting part exposed on the surface of the magnet, and the first secondary connecting part and the second secondary connecting part are respectively connected to the first circuit board and electrically connected through the first circuit board.

[0032] In some possible implementation of the first aspect, two of the first secondary windings in the first secondary winding layer respectively include a first secondary connecting part exposed on the surface of the magnet, two of the second secondary windings in the second secondary winding layer respectively include a second secondary connecting part exposed on the surface of the magnet, and the two first secondary connecting parts corresponding to the two first secondary windings and the two second secondary connecting parts corresponding to the two second secondary windings are not connected to each other.

[0033] In some possible implementation of the first aspect, the first angle is less than or equal to 60 degrees.

[0034] In some possible implementation of the first aspect, the second direction is perpendicular to the third direction.

[0035] For example, the angle between the second direction and the third direction can be referred to as the angle β in the following description. When the second direction is perpendicular to the third direction, the first primary winding layer and the second primary winding layer are perpendicular to each other, and the coupling coefficient between each first primary winding and each second primary winding is small, which can reduce the influence between the coupled inductors of each phase.

[0036] In some possible implementation of the first aspect, the angle between the extension directions of any two of the at least two first primary windings is greater than or equal to 0 degrees and less than or equal to 60 degrees.

[0037] In some possible implementation of the first aspect, an angle between the extension directions of any two of the at least two second primary windings is greater than or equal to 0 degree and less than or equal to 60 degrees.

[0038] For example, the angle between the extension directions of any two of the first primary windings and the angle between the extension directions of any two of the second primary windings can be the angle α described below.

[0039] In some possible implementation of the first aspect, at least one of the first secondary windings in the first secondary winding layer includes a first secondary connecting part exposed to the first surface of the magnet, and at least one of the second primary windings corresponding to the at least one of the first secondary windings in the first direction includes a first primary connecting part exposed to the first surface, and a projection area of the first primary connecting part on the first plane does not overlap with a projection area of the first secondary connecting part on the first plane, and the first plane is perpendicular to the first direction.

[0040] For example, the first plane can be the XY plane described below.

[0041] It can be understood that the primary connecting part of the primary winding can be used for electrical connection with an external device. The primary connecting part and the secondary connecting part are arranged staggered in the XY plane to avoid the influence between different electrical connection relationships.

[0042] In some possible implementation of the first aspect, a winding insulation part is arranged between any two adjacent layers of the first primary winding layer, the second primary winding layer, the first secondary winding layer, and the second secondary winding layer. The winding insulation part can prevent conduction between the windings of different layers.

[0043] In some possible implementation of the first aspect, the winding insulation part includes at least one of plastic, glue, resin, rubber, ceramic, and glass.

[0044] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a multi-phase coupled inductor module, including a plurality of the multi-phase coupled inductor of the first aspect, the plurality of the multi-phase coupled inductor being connected in parallel, and each of the first secondary windings and each of the second secondary windings in the plurality of the multi-phase coupled inductor being connected in series.

[0045] In some possible implementation of the second aspect, a compensation inductor is further included, and the compensation inductor, each of the first secondary windings, and each of the second secondary windings are connected in series.

[0046] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a multi-phase power supply module, including the multi-phase coupled inductor of the first aspect or the multi-phase coupled inductor module of the second aspect.

[0047] In some possible implementation manners of the third aspect, the power supply chip, the first capacitor unit, and the second capacitor unit are further included; and the power supply chip, the first capacitor unit, the multi-phase coupled inductor or the multi-phase coupled inductor module, and the second capacitor unit are sequentially arranged along a first direction; or the multi-phase coupled inductor or the multi-phase coupled inductor module, the power supply chip, the first capacitor unit, and the second capacitor unit are sequentially arranged along the first direction.

[0048] In a fourth aspect, an electronic device is provided, which includes the multi-phase coupled inductor of the first aspect, or the multi-phase coupled inductor module of the second aspect, or the multi-phase power supply module of the third aspect.

[0049] It can be understood that the technical effects of the second aspect to the fourth aspect can refer to the description of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0050] FIG. 1A shows a structure of a voltage regulator module including a multi-phase coupled inductor, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0051] FIG. 1B shows another structure of a voltage regulator module including a multi-phase coupled inductor, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0052] FIG. 1C shows a schematic diagram of a horizontal power supply scenario and a vertical power supply scenario, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0053] FIG. 2A shows a three-dimensional structure schematic diagram of a multi-phase coupled inductor 1, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0054] FIG. 2B shows an internal structure schematic diagram of a multi-phase coupled inductor 1, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0055] FIG. 2C shows an exploded schematic diagram of FIG. 2B, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0056] FIG. 2D shows a front view of a primary winding layer 30 and a primary winding layer 40, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0057] FIG. 2E shows a front view of a secondary winding layer 20, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0058] FIG. 2F shows a front view of a secondary winding layer 20 and a primary winding layer 30, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0059] FIG. 2G shows a front view of a first multi-phase coupled inductor 1, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0060] FIG. 2H shows a front view of a second multi-phase coupled inductor 1, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0061] FIG. 2I shows a front view of a third multi-phase coupled inductor 1, according to some embodiments of the application;

[0062] FIG. 2J shows a front view of a fourth multi-phase coupled inductor 1, according to some embodiments of the application;

[0063] FIG. 2K shows front views of a fifth and a sixth multi-phase coupled inductor 1, according to some embodiments of the application;

[0064] FIG. 2L shows a front view of a seventh multi-phase coupled inductor 1, according to some embodiments of the application;

[0065] FIG. 3A shows a first connection mode of a multi-phase coupled inductor 1 on a mounting circuit board, according to some embodiments of the application;

[0066] FIG. 3B shows a second and a third connection mode of a multi-phase coupled inductor 1 on a mounting circuit board, according to some embodiments of the application;

[0067] FIG. 3C shows a fourth connection mode of a multi-phase coupled inductor 1 on a mounting circuit board, according to some embodiments of the application;

[0068] FIG. 3D shows a fifth connection mode of a multi-phase coupled inductor 1 on a mounting circuit board, according to some embodiments of the application;

[0069] FIG. 4A shows an extension mode of a primary winding, according to some embodiments of the application;

[0070] FIG. 4B shows an extension mode of a secondary winding, according to some embodiments of the application;

[0071] FIG. 5A shows an extension direction of a primary winding in the same layer, according to some embodiments of the application;

[0072] FIG. 5B shows an extension direction of a primary winding in different layers, according to some embodiments of the application;

[0073] FIG. 5C shows an extension direction of a primary winding and a secondary winding, according to some embodiments of the application;

[0074] FIG. 6A shows a perspective structural schematic diagram of a first multi-phase coupled inductor 2, according to some embodiments of the application;

[0075] FIG. 6B shows an internal structural schematic diagram of the first multi-phase coupled inductor 2, according to some embodiments of the application;

[0076] FIG. 6C shows a perspective structural schematic diagram of a second multi-phase coupled inductor 2, according to some embodiments of the application;

[0077] FIG. 6D shows a schematic diagram of an internal structure of a second multi-phase coupled inductor 2, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0078] FIG. 6E shows a schematic diagram of a perspective structure of a third multi-phase coupled inductor 2, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0079] FIG. 6F shows a schematic diagram of an internal structure of the third multi-phase coupled inductor 2, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0080] FIG. 7A shows a schematic diagram of a perspective structure of a multi-phase coupled inductor 3, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0081] FIG. 7B shows a schematic diagram of an internal structure of the multi-phase coupled inductor 3, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0082] FIG. 8A shows a schematic diagram of a perspective structure of a multi-phase coupled inductor 4, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0083] FIG. 8B shows a schematic diagram of an internal structure of the multi-phase coupled inductor 4, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0084] FIG. 8C shows a front view of the multi-phase coupled inductor 4, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0085] FIG. 9A shows a schematic diagram of a perspective structure of a multi-phase coupled inductor 5, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0086] FIG. 9B shows a schematic diagram of an internal structure of the multi-phase coupled inductor 5, according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0087] FIG. 9C shows a front view of the multi-phase coupled inductor 5, according to some embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0088] The illustrative embodiments of the present application include, but are not limited to, a multi-phase coupled inductor and a module thereof, a multi-phase power supply module, and an electronic device.

[0089] As described above, in a conventional multi-phase power supply, the coupled inductor of each phase circuit needs to be built separately, resulting in a large volume of the coupled inductor, which in turn affects the performance improvement of the multi-phase power supply.

[0090] Based on this, the multi-phase coupled inductor provided in the embodiments of the present application realizes the magnetic integration of the multi-phase coupled inductor by using a magnetic material, and by stacking two primary winding layers and two secondary winding layers, a multi-phase coupled inductor with at least 4 phases can be realized, which can solve the problem of a large volume of the coupled inductor caused by the need to build the coupled inductor of the single-phase circuit separately, and by reducing the overall volume of the multi-phase coupled inductor magnetic device, the performance improvement of the multi-phase power supply is facilitated.

[0091] The multi-phase coupled inductor module can include a plurality of multi-phase coupled inductors, each secondary winding of the plurality of multi-phase coupled inductors being connected in series, and the plurality of multi-phase coupled inductors being connected in parallel, to be applicable to a more-phase power supply scenario.

[0092] The multi-phase coupled inductor or the multi-phase coupled inductor module can be applied to a multi-phase TLVR module, where the multi-phase TLVR module can include a multi-phase power supply module. For example, the multi-phase power supply module can be a voltage regulator module (VRM), which is usually used to supply power to a chip (for example, a central processing unit, a graphics processing unit, etc.) and convert a power supply voltage into a voltage required by the chip.

[0093] For example, FIGS. 1A and 1B show two structures of VRMs including multi-phase coupled inductors. The multi-phase coupled inductors in the VRM 01 shown in FIG. 1A and the VRM 02 shown in FIG. 1B are assembled in different ways (for example, buried magnetic type, surface-mounted type).

[0094] As shown in FIG. 1A, the multi-phase coupled inductor is embedded in the VRM 01, which includes a power supply chip 011, an input capacitor unit 012, a multi-phase coupled inductor 013, and an output capacitor unit 014 stacked in sequence along the Z-axis direction. One pin of the power supply chip 011 is connected to an input voltage, and the other pin is connected to one end of the multi-phase coupled inductor 013, and the other end of the multi-phase coupled inductor 013 serves as a voltage output end; the input capacitor unit 012 is arranged between the input voltage and the ground, and the output capacitor unit 014 is arranged between the output voltage and the ground.

[0095] As shown in FIG. 1B, the multi-phase coupled inductor is mounted on the surface of the VRM 02, which includes a multi-phase coupled inductor 021, a power supply chip 022, an input capacitor unit 023, and an output capacitor unit 024 stacked in sequence along the Z-axis direction. The connection relationship between the devices can refer to the VRM 01, which will not be described here.

[0096] The VRM including the multi-phase coupled inductor or the multi-phase coupled inductor module provided in the embodiments of the present application is applicable to different power supply scenarios, such as a horizontal power supply scenario and a vertical power supply scenario. For example, the VRM is used to supply power to a central processing unit (CPU), and FIG. 1C shows a schematic diagram of the horizontal power supply scenario and the vertical power supply scenario.

[0097] As shown in (a) of FIG. 1C, in a horizontal power supply scenario, the VRM and the CPU are arranged on the same side of the integrated circuit board. As shown in (b) of FIG. 1C, in a vertical power supply scenario, the VRM and the CPU are arranged on two sides of the integrated circuit board respectively, and generally the VRM can be arranged below the CPU. In comparison, in the vertical power supply scenario, the path of the power supply from the VRM to the CPU can be shortened, the current loss can be reduced, and the area of the upper layer of the integrated circuit board can be saved to provide wiring space for other electrical signals.

[0098] It should be noted that the multi-phase coupled inductor or the multi-phase coupled inductor module of the embodiments of the present application can also be used to build a TLVR circuit as a discrete device, which is used in a power supply circuit of an electronic device to supply power to devices in the electronic device or other electronic devices.

[0099] The electronic device of the embodiments of the present application can include at least one of the multi-phase coupled inductor, the multi-phase coupled inductor module, the multi-phase TLVR module, and the TLVR circuit described above. Exemplarily, the electronic device includes but is not limited to a mobile phone, a tablet personal computer, an electronic book reader, a television, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), a notebook computer, a vehicle-mounted device, and a wearable device, etc., which are not limited by the present application.

[0100] As described above, the multi-phase coupled inductor of the embodiments of the present application includes two layers of primary windings and two layers of secondary windings, and the number of phases is at least four. The following describes several embodiments of the multi-phase coupled inductor of the present application in conjunction with the drawings.

[0101] It should be noted that the Z-axis direction shown in the figures of the present application is the thickness direction of the multi-phase coupled inductor, and the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are the extension directions of the windings in each layer of the multi-phase coupled inductor, wherein the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction can be perpendicular to each other. In addition, the terms "upper layer", "lower layer", "bottom surface", "top surface", "external", "internal" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, for example, "upper layer" and "top surface" can indicate the positive direction of the Z-axis, and "lower layer" and "bottom surface" can indicate the negative direction of the Z-axis, which is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0102] Embodiment one:

[0103] In the first embodiment, the multi-phase coupled inductor 1 includes four winding layers, two middle layers are primary winding layers, and the upper and lower layers are secondary winding layers. The number of phases of the multi-phase coupled inductor 1 is greater than or equal to 4 phases, and FIGS. 2A-2C take a 4-phase multi-phase coupled inductor 1 as an example. Among them, FIG. 2A shows a perspective structural schematic diagram of a multi-phase coupled inductor 1, FIG. 2B shows an internal structural schematic diagram of a multi-phase coupled inductor 1, and FIG. 2C is an exploded schematic diagram of FIG. 2B.

[0104] As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the multi-phase coupled inductor 1 includes a magnet 10, and a secondary winding layer 20 (an example of a first secondary winding layer), a primary winding layer 30 (an example of a first primary winding layer), a primary winding layer 40 (an example of a second primary winding layer), and a secondary winding layer 50 (an example of a second secondary winding layer) arranged in the Z-axis direction and stacked in sequence inside the magnet 10; wherein the primary winding layer 30 located at the second layer and the secondary winding layer 20 located at the first layer are coupled to form a coupled inductor, and the primary winding layer 40 located at the third layer and the secondary winding layer 50 located at the fourth layer are coupled to form a coupled inductor.

[0105] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2C, the secondary winding layer 20 includes a secondary winding 201 and a secondary winding 202 arranged in the X-axis direction, and the primary winding layer 30 includes a primary winding 301 and a primary winding 302 arranged in the X-axis direction. Among them, the primary winding 301 and the secondary winding 201 are coupled to form a first-phase coupled inductor. And as shown in FIG. 2B, the primary winding 301 and the secondary winding 201 can be aligned in the Z-axis direction and extend in the same direction (for example, the Y-axis direction). The primary winding 302 and the secondary winding 202 are coupled to form a second-phase coupled inductor. And as shown in FIG. 2B, the primary winding 302 and the secondary winding 202 can be aligned in the Z-axis direction and extend in the same direction (for example, the Y-axis direction).

[0106] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2C, the primary winding layer 40 includes a primary winding 401 and a primary winding 402 arranged in the Y-axis direction, and the secondary winding layer 50 includes a secondary winding 501 and a secondary winding 502 arranged in the Y-axis direction. Among them, the primary winding 401 and the secondary winding 501 are coupled to form a third-phase coupled inductor. And as shown in FIG. 2B, the primary winding 401 and the secondary winding 501 are aligned in the Z-axis direction and extend in the same direction (for example, the X-axis direction). The primary winding 402 and the secondary winding 502 are coupled to form a fourth-phase coupled inductor. And as shown in FIG. 2B, the primary winding 402 and the secondary winding 502 can be aligned in the Z-axis direction and extend in the same direction (for example, the X-axis direction).

[0107] The primary winding 301 and the primary winding 302 are arranged at intervals in the same layer, and the primary winding 401 and the primary winding 402 are arranged at intervals in the same layer, so that the coupling coefficient between the primary windings in the same layer is low, and coupling between the primary windings in the same layer is avoided. In addition, the primary winding 301 and the primary winding 302 extend along the Y-axis direction, and the primary winding 401 and the primary winding 402 extend along the X-axis direction, so that the coupling coefficient between the primary windings in different layers is reduced, and coupling between the primary windings in different layers is avoided.

[0108] Based on the above structure, the multi-phase coupling inductor 1 is integrated by arranging four layers of windings along the Z-axis direction by a magnetic material, wherein two layers of primary windings are arranged in a perpendicular intersecting manner, and two layers of secondary windings are arranged to be coupled with one of the two layers of primary windings, so that the problem of needing to build a single-phase coupling inductor separately in a traditional multi-phase TLVR power supply can be solved, and the volume of the multi-phase coupling inductor 1 can be reduced. In addition, due to the small overall volume of the multi-phase coupling inductor 1, the area occupied by the multi-phase coupling inductor 1 in the XY plane is small. In the same area, compared with the traditional coupling inductor, the number of phases of the multi-phase coupling inductor 1 is at least four, so that the multi-phase coupling inductor 1 can output a larger current in a unit area, that is, the current density is larger. Through experimental simulation test, compared with the traditional inductor coupling inductor, the current density of the multi-phase coupling inductor 1 is increased by more than 50%, which can meet the current density demand of the chip on the power supply in the chip power supply scene.

[0109] In some embodiments, the multi-phase coupling inductor 1 can be formed in any form such as assembly, one-piece molding, magnetic material packaging, magnetic film pressing, magnetic paste filling, etc., which is not limited in the present application. The magnetic material can include but is not limited to ferrite or metal magnet.

[0110] In some embodiments, each primary winding and each secondary winding in different layers are insulated from each other. For example, each primary winding and each secondary winding can use an enameled wire. And / or, as shown in FIG. 2C, winding insulating pieces 60 can be arranged between the windings of adjacent layers to prevent conduction between the windings in different layers. The material of the winding insulating piece 60 can include but is not limited to at least one of plastic (such as polypropylene), glue, resin, rubber, ceramic, glass, etc. It should be noted that the shape and size of the winding insulating piece 60 can be set according to the specific position. For example, the winding insulating piece 60 between the secondary winding 201 and the primary winding 301 can be in the shape of a long strip extending along the Y-axis direction, and the winding insulating piece 60 between the primary winding 302 and the primary winding 402 can be in the shape of a square, and the shape and size of the winding insulating piece 60 are not limited in the present application.

[0111] FIG. 2D shows a front view of a primary winding layer 30 and a primary winding layer 40.

[0112] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG2D, primary windings 301 and 302 located in the same primary winding layer 30 can be arranged relatively parallel and spaced apart, and primary windings 401 and 402 located in the same primary winding layer 40 can be arranged relatively parallel and spaced apart. In this way, coupling is avoided between the primary windings of the same primary winding by maintaining a certain distance.

[0113] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG2D, the primary winding layer 30 and the primary winding layer 40 can be arranged perpendicularly to each other, presenting a "well" shaped structure in the XY plane. It can be understood that the perpendicular arrangement can reduce the coupling coefficient of the primary windings of different layers. In this way, there is no need to increase the spacing between the primary windings of different layers, and the size of the multiphase coupled inductor 1 in the Z-axis direction can be reduced.

[0114] For example, when the primary winding layer 30 and the primary winding layer 40 are placed perpendicularly to each other, the coupling coefficient can be less than 0.1, and the gap between the primary winding layer 30 and the primary winding layer 40 along the Z-axis can be reduced to 0.05 mm. Experimental simulation tests show that the thickness of the multiphase coupled inductor 1 is reduced by 34% compared to traditional inductors. Furthermore, due to the weak coupling between the primary windings, it does not occupy space in the Z-axis direction, thus improving the utilization rate of magnetic materials.

[0115] Furthermore, each primary winding in the primary winding layer 30 and primary winding layer 40 has two primary winding connection portions at its two ends along its own extension direction. For example, primary winding 301 includes primary winding connection portion 301a and primary winding connection portion 301b. The two primary winding connection portions corresponding to each primary winding are respectively used as a power switch (SW) pin and an output voltage (VOUT) pin. The SW pin is used to connect to the power supply chip, and the VOUT pin is used to connect to the load or processor (e.g., central processing unit, graphics processor).

[0116] Figure 2E shows a front view of a secondary winding layer 20.

[0117] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG2E, the secondary winding layer 20 is U-shaped, with its two long sides being secondary winding 201 and secondary winding 202, respectively. Secondary winding 201 and secondary winding 202 can be connected in series via conductor 210.

[0118] The two end portions of each secondary winding in the secondary winding layer 20 along its own extension direction are two secondary winding connection portions. For example, the secondary winding 201 includes the secondary winding connection portion 201a and the secondary winding connection portion 201b, and the secondary winding 202 includes the secondary winding connection portion 202a and the secondary winding connection portion 202b. At least one of the two secondary winding connection portions corresponding to each secondary winding is used for series connection with the secondary winding connection portion of the adjacent secondary winding. For example, the secondary winding connection portion 201b of the secondary winding 201 is connected with the secondary winding connection portion 202b of the secondary winding 202 through the conductor 210. The other secondary winding connection portion (for example, the secondary winding connection portion 201a and the secondary winding connection portion 202a) can be used for series connection with the secondary winding of a different layer.

[0119] In some embodiments, the structure of the secondary winding layer 50 can be the same as or similar to that of the secondary winding layer 20, which will not be described herein again.

[0120] In some embodiments, for the coupled primary winding layer and secondary winding layer, the primary winding connection portion of each primary winding in the primary winding layer can be staggered with the secondary winding connection portion of the corresponding secondary winding in the secondary winding layer.

[0121] FIG. 2F shows a front view of a secondary winding layer 20 and a primary winding layer 30. As shown in FIG. 2F, the secondary winding connection portion 201a of the secondary winding 201 in the secondary winding layer 20 can be staggered with the primary winding connection portion 301b of the primary winding 301 in the primary winding layer 30 along the X-axis direction.

[0122] It can be understood that each primary winding in each primary winding layer needs to be connected with an external device (such as the power supply chip described above), and therefore, the primary winding connection portion of each primary winding needs to be arranged outside the magnet 10, that is, exposed on the surface of the magnet 10. In addition, the secondary winding connection portion of each secondary winding in each secondary winding layer can be arranged outside the magnet 10 or inside the magnet 10.

[0123] For the convenience of description of the connection portions exposed on each side, FIG. 2G shows a front view of a multi-phase coupled inductor 1. In FIG. 2G, the internal structure of the multi-phase coupled inductor 1 is shown by a dashed line.

[0124] As shown in FIG. 2G, the magnet 10 includes four side surfaces 101, 102, 103, and 104, wherein the side surface 101 and the side surface 102 are oppositely arranged along the Y-axis direction, and the side surface 103 and the side surface 104 are oppositely arranged along the X-axis direction.

[0125] The secondary side connecting part 201a of the secondary side winding 201 in the secondary side winding layer 20, the secondary side connecting part 202a of the secondary side winding 202, the primary side connecting part 301b of the primary side winding 301 in the primary side winding layer 30, and the primary side connecting part 302b of the primary side winding 302 are exposed on the side surface 101. Moreover, the secondary side connecting part 201a and the primary side connecting part 301b, and the primary side connecting part 302b and the secondary side connecting part 202a are respectively arranged staggered along the X-axis direction.

[0126] The primary side connecting part 301a of the primary side winding 301 in the primary side winding layer 30 and the primary side connecting part 302a of the primary side winding 302 are exposed on the side surface 102.

[0127] The primary side connecting part 401a of the primary side winding 401 in the primary side winding layer 40 and the primary side connecting part 402a of the primary side winding 402 are exposed on the side surface 103.

[0128] The primary side connecting part 401b of the primary side winding 401 in the primary side winding layer 40 and the primary side connecting part 402b of the primary side winding 402, the secondary side connecting part 501a of the secondary side winding 501 in the secondary side winding layer 50, and the secondary side connecting part 502a of the secondary side winding 502 are exposed on the side surface 104. Moreover, the secondary side connecting part 501a and the primary side connecting part 401b, and the primary side connecting part 502b and the secondary side connecting part 402a are respectively arranged staggered along the Y-axis direction.

[0129] It should be noted that the application does not limit the connecting parts exposed on each side surface of the magnet 10, and FIG. 2G is only an example. That is, each primary side connecting part or each secondary side connecting part can be exposed on any surface of the magnet 10 according to actual needs. For example, in other embodiments, the secondary side connecting part 202a of the secondary side winding 202 in the secondary side winding layer 20 can be exposed on the side surface 104, and the secondary side connecting part 501a of the secondary side winding 501 in the secondary side winding layer 50 can be exposed on the side surface 101.

[0130] As described above, the secondary side winding 201 and the secondary side winding 202 can be connected in series by the conductor 210. The conductor 210 can be arranged inside the magnet 10 or outside the magnet 10.

[0131] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2G, the secondary side winding 201 and the secondary side winding 202 can be connected in series by the conductor 210 inside the magnet 10; and / or the secondary side winding 501 and the secondary side winding 502 in the secondary side winding layer 50 can be connected in series by the conductor 510 inside the magnet 10.

[0132] Alternatively, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2H, the secondary winding 201 and the secondary winding 202 can be connected in series through a conductor 210 outside the magnet 10; and / or, the secondary winding 501 and the secondary winding 502 in the secondary winding layer 50 can be connected in series through a conductor 510 outside the magnet 10.

[0133] In some embodiments, the multiphase coupled inductor 1 further comprises a circuit board 70 (an example of a first circuit board). The magnet 10 can be disposed on the circuit board 70. The secondary windings in the same layer can be connected in series through the circuit board 70. For example, the secondary winding 201 and the secondary winding 202 can be connected in series through a trace on the circuit board 70, and the secondary winding 501 and the secondary winding 502 can be connected in series through a trace on the circuit board 70.

[0134] For example, as shown in FIG. 2I, each of the secondary connection portions of each of the secondary windings 201, 202, 501, and 502 is disposed outside the magnet 10. Among them, the secondary connection portion 201b of the secondary winding 201 and the secondary connection portion 202b of the secondary winding 202 are respectively electrically connected to the circuit board 70, and the secondary connection portion 201b and the secondary connection portion 202b are electrically connected through a trace 701 on the circuit board 70; and / or, the secondary connection portion 501b of the secondary winding 501 and the secondary connection portion 502b of the secondary winding 502 are respectively electrically connected to the circuit board 70, and the secondary connection portion 501b and the secondary connection portion 502b are electrically connected through a trace 702 on the circuit board 70.

[0135] The remaining four secondary connection portions 201a, 202a, 501a, and 502a shown in FIG. 2I can be external connection terminals of the multiphase coupled inductor 1, used for connection with a mounting circuit board of the multiphase coupled inductor 1. Among them, the mounting circuit board is different from the circuit board 70, and at least one multiphase coupled inductor 1 can be mounted on the mounting circuit board, and at least one of other devices such as a power supply chip, an input capacitor unit, an output capacitor unit, and the like can also be mounted. Through internal traces of the mounting circuit board, electrical connection between a plurality of multiphase coupled inductors 1, or between the multiphase coupled inductor 1 and other devices can be achieved.

[0136] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the secondary winding 201 and the secondary winding 202, and the secondary winding 501 and the secondary winding 502 are not connected in series through the circuit board 70. For example, as shown in FIG. 2J, each of the secondary connection portions of each of the secondary windings is disposed outside the magnet 10, and the secondary connection portions are not connected. The eight secondary connection portions 201a, 202a, 201b, 202b, 501a, 502a, 501b, and 502b are external connection terminals of the multiphase coupled inductor 1, used for connection with a mounting circuit board of the multiphase coupled inductor 1.

[0137] In some embodiments, the secondary windings of different layers can be connected in series through the circuit board 70. For example, one secondary connection part of one secondary winding in the secondary winding layer 20 and one secondary connection part of one secondary winding in the secondary winding layer 50 can be electrically connected through a trace on the circuit board 70.

[0138] For example, as shown in (a) or (b) of FIG. 2K, the secondary connection part 202a of the secondary winding 202 in the secondary winding layer 20 and the secondary connection part 501a of the secondary winding 501 in the secondary winding layer 50 are respectively electrically connected to the circuit board 70, and the secondary connection part 202a and the secondary connection part 501a are electrically connected through a trace 703 on the circuit board 70. It should be noted that the connection mode between the secondary windings in the same layer of the multi-phase coupled inductor 1 shown in (a) of FIG. 2K can refer to the related embodiments of FIG. 2G, and the secondary windings in the same layer of the multi-phase coupled inductor 1 shown in (b) of FIG. 2K are not connected to each other, for example, the related embodiments of FIG. 2J. The two secondary connection parts 201a and 502a shown in (a) of FIG. 2K serve as external connection terminals of the multi-phase coupled inductor 1, which are used to connect with the mounting circuit board of the multi-phase coupled inductor 1. The six secondary connection parts 201a, 201b, 202b, 501b, 502a, and 502b shown in (b) of FIG. 2K serve as external connection terminals of the multi-phase coupled inductor 1, which are used to connect with the mounting circuit board of the multi-phase coupled inductor 1.

[0139] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the secondary windings of different layers are not connected in series through the circuit board 70. For example, as shown in FIG. 2L, the four secondary connection parts 201a, 202a, 501a, and 502a are not electrically connected through the circuit board 70, and the four secondary connection parts can serve as external connection terminals of the multi-phase coupled inductor 1, which are used to connect with the mounting circuit board of the multi-phase coupled inductor 1. It should be noted that the connection mode between the secondary windings in the same layer of FIG. 2L can refer to the related embodiments of FIG. 2G, which will not be described herein.

[0140] As described above, the multi-phase coupled inductor 1 can be mounted on a mounting circuit board. In some embodiments, a plurality of multi-phase coupled inductors 1 can be mounted on the mounting circuit board, and the secondary windings in the plurality of multi-phase coupled inductors 1 can be connected in series through the mounting circuit board. It can be understood that due to the different number of external connection terminals of the multi-phase coupled inductor 1, the connection mode of the secondary windings in the plurality of multi-phase coupled inductors 1 on the mounting circuit board can be different. In the following, taking four multi-phase coupled inductors 1 as an example, the various connection modes of the four multi-phase coupled inductors 1 on the mounting circuit board are introduced in combination with FIGS. 3A to 3D. It should be noted that the mounting circuit board is not shown in each figure, and only the traces on the mounting circuit board are shown by black dashed lines.

[0141] In some embodiments, as shown in (a) of FIG. 2K, the multi-phase coupled inductor 1 can include two external connection terminals (secondary side connection portions 201a, 502a). Correspondingly, as shown in FIG. 3A, the four multi-phase coupled inductors 1 achieve series connection of the secondary side windings in different multi-phase coupled inductors 1 through corresponding external connection terminals. The specific wiring can be referred to the black dashed line shown. In addition, a compensation inductor Lc can also be mounted on the mounting circuit board, and the compensation inductor Lc is in series connection with the secondary side windings in the four multi-phase coupled inductors 1.

[0142] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2J, the multi-phase coupled inductor 1 can include eight external connection terminals (secondary side connection portions 201a, 202a, 201b, 202b, 501a, 502a, 501b, 502b). Correspondingly, as shown in (a) or (b) of FIG. 3B, the four multi-phase coupled inductors 1 achieve series connection of the secondary side windings through corresponding external connection terminals. For example, within each multi-phase coupled inductor 1, the secondary side windings on the same layer and the secondary side windings on different layers are in series connection through corresponding external connection terminals on the mounting circuit board.

[0143] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2L, the multi-phase coupled inductor 1 can include four external connection terminals (secondary side connection portions 201a, 202a, 501a, 502a). Correspondingly, as shown in FIG. 3C, the four multi-phase coupled inductors 1 achieve series connection of the secondary side windings through corresponding external connection terminals. For example, within each multi-phase coupled inductor 1, the secondary side windings on different layers are in series connection through corresponding external connection terminals on the mounting circuit board.

[0144] In some embodiments, as shown in (b) of FIG. 2K, the multi-phase coupled inductor 1 can include six external connection terminals (secondary side connection portions 201a, 201b, 202b, 501b, 502a, 502b). Correspondingly, as shown in FIG. 3D, the four multi-phase coupled inductors 1 achieve series connection of the secondary side windings through corresponding external connection terminals. For example, within each multi-phase coupled inductor 1, the secondary side windings on the same layer are in series connection through corresponding external connection terminals on the mounting circuit board.

[0145] In the above embodiments, it is described that the primary side winding layer 30 and the primary side winding layer 40 each include two primary side windings, and a multi-phase coupled inductor 1 with four phases can be formed. In some embodiments, at least one of the primary side winding layer 30 and the primary side winding layer 40 increases the number of primary side windings, and a multi-phase coupled inductor 1 with more phases can be formed.

[0146] Figure 4A illustrates the expansion of the primary winding in the primary winding layer. As shown in Figure 4A, in the 1 -dimensional expansion, only the number of primary windings in one layer is increased, for example, the number of primary windings in the primary winding layer 30 or the primary winding layer 40 can be increased to 3, and a multi-phase coupled inductor 1 with 5 phases can be formed. In the 2-dimensional expansion, the number of primary windings in two layers is increased, for example, the number of primary windings in the primary winding layer 30 and the primary winding layer 40 is increased to 3, and a multi-phase coupled inductor 1 with 6 phases can be formed.

[0147] Figure 4B illustrates the expansion of the secondary winding in the secondary winding layer. It can be understood that the secondary winding layer is expanded in 1 -dimensional according to the number of primary windings in the primary winding layer coupled thereto. For example, as shown in Figure 4B, corresponding to the number of primary windings in the primary winding layer 30 increased to 3, the number of secondary windings in the secondary winding layer 20 is also increased to 3. In addition, it can be understood that since each secondary winding needs to be connected in series, in some embodiments, the 3 secondary windings can be connected in sequence by conductors.

[0148] It should be noted that in actual applications, the number of primary windings in each primary winding layer and the number of secondary windings in each secondary winding layer can be set according to the expansion mode of Figures 4A and 4B to achieve more phases, and therefore the specific number of phases of the multi-phase coupled inductor 1 is not limited in the present application.

[0149] In some embodiments, the primary windings in the same layer can extend in the same direction or in different directions. For example, as shown in Figure 2D, the primary winding 301 and the primary winding 302 extend in the same direction (for example, the Y-axis direction). For another example, as shown in Figure 5A, the primary winding 301 and the primary winding 302 extend in different directions, the primary winding 301 extends in the Y1 direction, and the primary winding 302 extends in the Y2 direction, and the angle a between the Y1 direction and the Y2 direction is greater than or equal to 0 degrees and less than or equal to 60 degrees. When the angle a is 0 degrees, it means that the primary winding 301 and the primary winding 302 are parallel, and at this time, the coupling coefficient between the primary winding 301 and the primary winding 302 is the smallest.

[0150] In some embodiments, the primary windings in different layers can extend in the same direction or in different directions. For example, as shown in Figure 5B, the primary winding 302 extends in the Y3 direction, and the primary winding 402 extends in the X1 direction, and the angle b between the X1 direction and the Y3 direction is greater than or equal to 30 degrees and less than or equal to 150 degrees. For example, as shown in Figure 2D, the primary winding 302 extends in the Y-axis direction, and the primary winding 402 extends in the X-axis direction, and the angle between the extension direction of the primary winding 302 and the extension direction of the primary winding 402 is 90 degrees, and at this time, the coupling coefficient between the primary winding 302 and the primary winding 402 is smaller.

[0151] In some embodiments, the primary winding and the secondary winding can extend in the same direction or in different directions. For example, referring to the primary winding in the primary winding layer 40 and the secondary winding in the secondary winding layer 50, as shown in FIG. 2C, the primary winding 401, the primary winding 402, the secondary winding 501 and the secondary winding 502 extend in the same direction (e.g., the X-axis direction). For another example, as shown in FIG. 5C, the primary winding 401 and the primary winding 402 extend in the X2 direction, and the secondary winding 501 and the secondary winding 502 extend in the X3 direction, where the included angle γ between the X2 direction and the X3 direction is greater than or equal to 0 degrees and less than or equal to 60 degrees. For example, when the included angle γ is 0 degrees, the coupling coefficient between the primary winding 401 and the secondary winding 501 is the largest, and the coupling coefficient between the primary winding 402 and the secondary winding 502 is the largest.

[0152] Embodiment Two

[0153] In the second embodiment, the multi-phase coupled inductor 2 includes four winding layers, two of which are primary winding layers, and the other two of which are secondary winding layers. FIG. 6A shows a perspective view of a multi-phase coupled inductor 2, and FIG. 6B shows a schematic view of the internal structure of the multi-phase coupled inductor 2.

[0154] As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the multi-phase coupled inductor 2 includes a magnetic body 10', and a secondary winding layer 20' (an example of a first secondary winding layer), a primary winding layer 30' (an example of a first primary winding layer), a primary winding layer 40' (an example of a second primary winding layer), and a secondary winding layer 50' (an example of a second secondary winding layer) are sequentially stacked in the Z-axis direction inside the magnetic body 10'.

[0155] The winding layers in the multi-phase coupled inductor 2 are the same as those in the multi-phase coupled inductor 1 shown in FIG. 2B, and specific details can be referred to the related embodiments of FIG. 2B, which will not be described herein.

[0156] The difference between the multi-phase coupled inductor 2 and the multi-phase coupled inductor 1 is that the primary connection part or the secondary connection part arranged outside the magnetic body 10 in the multi-phase coupled inductor 1 extends along the winding layer where it is arranged and exposes the side surface of the magnetic body 10, while the primary connection part or the secondary connection part arranged outside the magnetic body 10' in the multi-phase coupled inductor 2 can extend along the winding layer where it is arranged, expose the side surface of the magnetic body 10', and then continue to extend to the top surface or the bottom surface of the magnetic body 10'. For example, the primary connection part or the secondary connection part arranged outside the magnetic body 10' in the multi-phase coupled inductor 2 includes two extension sections, one of which is arranged on the side surface of the magnetic body, and the other of which is arranged on the top surface or the bottom surface of the magnetic body.

[0157] In some embodiments, one of the two extension sections of each primary side connection and each secondary side connection disposed outside the magnet 10' in the multiphase coupled inductor 2 is disposed on the bottom surface of the magnet, or alternatively, is disposed on the top surface of the magnet.

[0158] For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the magnet 10' in the multiphase coupled inductor 2 includes a side surface 101', a side surface 103', and a bottom surface 105. As shown in FIG. 6B, the secondary side connection 201a' of the secondary side winding 201' in the secondary side winding layer 20' includes an extension section 201a-1 and an extension section 201a-2, where the extension section 201a-1 is attached to the side surface 101', and the extension section 201a-2 is attached to the bottom surface 105. The primary side connection 402a' of the primary side winding 402' in the primary side winding layer 40' includes an extension section 402a-1 and an extension section 402a-2, where the extension section 402a-1 is attached to the side surface 103', and the extension section 402a-2 is attached to the bottom surface 105.

[0159] In some embodiments, one of the two extension sections of each primary side connection and each secondary side connection disposed outside the magnet 10' in the multiphase coupled inductor 2 is disposed on the bottom surface of the magnet, or alternatively, is disposed on the top surface of the magnet.

[0160] For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the magnet 10' in the multiphase coupled inductor 2 includes a side surface 101', a side surface 103', and a bottom surface 105. As shown in FIG. 6B, the secondary side connection 201a' of the secondary side winding 201' in the secondary side winding layer 20' includes an extension section 201a-1 and an extension section 201a-2, where the extension section 201a-1 is attached to the side surface 101', and the extension section 201a-2 is attached to the bottom surface 105. The primary side connection 402a' of the primary side winding 402' in the primary side winding layer 40' includes an extension section 402a-1 and an extension section 402a-2, where the extension section 402a-1 is attached to the side surface 103', and the extension section 402a-2 is attached to the bottom surface 105.

[0161] In some embodiments, the extension section of the primary side connection or the secondary side connection disposed outside the magnet 10' of the multiphase coupling inductor 2 only includes one extension section, which is disposed on the side surface of the magnet, and one end of the extension section is flush with the top surface or the bottom surface of the magnet. Also, for the two primary side connections of the primary side winding, one primary side connection can have an extension section flush with the top surface of the magnet, and the other primary side connection can have an extension section flush with the bottom surface of the magnet.

[0162] For example, FIG. 6E shows a perspective structural schematic diagram of another multiphase coupling inductor 2, and FIG. 6F shows an internal structural schematic diagram of another multiphase coupling inductor 2. As shown in FIG. 6E and FIG. 6F, the magnet 10' of the multiphase coupling inductor 2 includes a side surface 103', a side surface 104', a bottom surface 105, and a top surface 106. The secondary side connection 201a' of the secondary side winding 201' of the secondary side winding layer 20' includes an extension section 201a-1, which is attached to the side surface 103' and flush with the bottom surface 105. The primary side connection 402a' of the primary side winding 402' of the primary side winding layer 40' includes an extension section 402a-1, which is attached to the side surface 103' and flush with the bottom surface 105; the primary side connection 402b' of the primary side winding 402' includes an extension section 402b-1, which is attached to the side surface 104' and flush with the top surface 106.

[0163] Therefore, it needs to be noted that the present application does not limit the number of extension sections of each primary side connection and each secondary side connection disposed outside the magnet 10' of the multiphase coupling inductor 2, and when the extension section includes two extension sections, one of the two extension sections is disposed on the bottom surface or the top surface of the magnet.

[0164] In this way, the multiphase coupling inductor 2 can be assembled with other devices through the bottom surface, the top surface, and the side surface of the magnet in a surface-mounting and embedding manner to form a multiphase power module as shown in FIG. 1A or FIG. 1B. Alternatively, the multiphase coupling inductor 2 is attached to a mounting circuit board as a discrete device to form a discrete TLVR hardware circuit.

[0165] Embodiment Three

[0166] In the third embodiment, the multiphase coupling inductor 3 includes four winding layers, the middle two layers are primary side winding layers, and the upper and lower two layers are secondary side winding layers. FIG. 7A shows a perspective structural schematic diagram of a multiphase coupling inductor 3, and FIG. 7B shows an internal structural schematic diagram of a multiphase coupling inductor 3.

[0167] As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the multi-phase coupling inductor 3 includes a magnetic body 10", and the primary winding layer 30" (an example of the first primary winding layer), the secondary winding layer 20" (an example of the first secondary winding layer), the primary winding layer 40" (an example of the second primary winding layer), and the secondary winding layer 50" (an example of the second secondary winding layer) are sequentially stacked in the Z-axis direction inside the magnetic body 10".

[0168] The multi-phase coupling inductor 3 is different from the multi-phase coupling inductor 1 in that the order of the two middle primary winding layers is exchanged. Correspondingly, the secondary winding layer 20" located at the first layer and the primary winding layer 30" located at the third layer are coupled to form a coupling inductor, and the primary winding layer 40" located at the second layer and the secondary winding layer 50" located at the fourth layer are coupled to form a coupling inductor.

[0169] The winding layers and windings of the multi-phase coupling inductor 3 can refer to the related embodiments of FIG. 2B, which will not be repeated here.

[0170] Embodiment Four:

[0171] In the fourth embodiment, the multi-phase coupling inductor 4 includes four winding layers, and the primary winding layers and the secondary winding layers are arranged alternately. FIG. 8A shows a perspective structural schematic diagram of a multi-phase coupling inductor 4, FIG. 8B shows an internal structural schematic diagram of a multi-phase coupling inductor 4, and FIG. 8C shows a front view of a multi-phase coupling inductor 4.

[0172] As shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C, the multi-phase coupling inductor 4 includes a magnetic body 10"', and the primary winding layer 30"' (an example of the first primary winding layer), the secondary winding layer 20"' (an example of the first secondary winding layer), the primary winding layer 40"' (an example of the second primary winding layer), and the secondary winding layer 50"' (an example of the second secondary winding layer) are sequentially stacked in the Z-axis direction inside the magnetic body 10"'.

[0173] The multi-phase coupling inductor 4 is different from the multi-phase coupling inductor 1 in that the stacking order of the four winding layers is different. Correspondingly, the primary winding layer 30"' located at the first layer and the secondary winding layer 20"' located at the second layer are coupled to form a coupling inductor, and the primary winding layer 40"' located at the third layer and the secondary winding layer 50"' located at the fourth layer are coupled to form a coupling inductor.

[0174] The winding layers and windings of the multi-phase coupling inductor 4 can refer to the related embodiments of FIG. 2B, which will not be repeated here.

[0175] Embodiment Five:

[0176] In the fifth embodiment, the multi-phase coupled inductor 5 includes four winding layers, and the middle two layers are the secondary winding layers, and the upper and lower two layers are the primary winding layers. FIG. 9A shows a perspective view of a multi-phase coupled inductor 5, FIG. 9B shows a schematic view of the internal structure of a multi-phase coupled inductor 5, and FIG. 9C shows a front view of a multi-phase coupled inductor 5.

[0177] As shown in FIGS. 9A-9C, the multi-phase coupled inductor 5 includes a magnetic body 10””, and the primary winding layer 30”” (an example of a first primary winding layer), the secondary winding layer 20”” (an example of a first secondary winding layer), the secondary winding layer 50”” (an example of a second secondary winding layer), and the primary winding layer 40”” (an example of a second primary winding layer) are sequentially stacked along the Z-axis direction inside the magnetic body 10””.

[0178] The multi-phase coupled inductor 5 differs from the multi-phase coupled inductor 1 in that the stacking order of the four winding layers is different. Accordingly, the primary winding layer 30”” in the first layer and the secondary winding layer 20”” in the second layer are coupled to form a coupled inductor, and the secondary winding layer 50”” in the third layer and the primary winding layer 40”” in the fourth layer are coupled to form a coupled inductor.

[0179] The winding layers and windings of the multi-phase coupled inductor 5 can refer to the related embodiments of FIG. 2B, which will not be described here again.

[0180] Embodiment six:

[0181] In the sixth embodiment, the four winding layers of the multi-phase coupled inductor only differ from the multi-phase coupled inductor 5 in the stacking order of the four winding layers. For example, the order of the middle two secondary winding layers is exchanged, and the primary winding layer 30””, the secondary winding layer 50””, the secondary winding layer 20””, and the primary winding layer 40”” are sequentially stacked along the Z-axis direction. In this way, the primary winding layer 30”” in the first layer and the secondary winding layer 20”” in the third layer are coupled to form a coupled inductor, and the secondary winding layer 50”” in the second layer and the primary winding layer 40”” in the fourth layer are coupled to form a coupled inductor.

[0182] Embodiment seven:

[0183] In the seventh embodiment, the four winding layers of the multi-phase coupled inductor can also be stacked according to the order of two primary winding layers and two secondary winding layers. Accordingly, the primary winding layer in the first layer and the secondary winding layer in the third layer are coupled to form a coupled inductor, and the primary winding layer in the second layer and the secondary winding layer in the fourth layer are coupled to form a coupled inductor. The winding layers and windings of the multi-phase coupled inductor can refer to the related embodiments of FIG. 2B, which will not be described here again.

[0184] In summary, the multi-phase coupling inductance provided by the embodiments of the present application can realize miniaturization design, and meet the requirements of current density (>1A / mm 2 ) while having higher transient performance (>2000A / us).

[0185] The above description of the present application is made by specific embodiments, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present application from the disclosure. Although the description of the present application is introduced in combination with some embodiments, it does not mean that the features of the present application are limited to the embodiments. On the contrary, the purpose of introducing the present application in combination with the embodiments is to cover other options or modifications that can be extended based on the claims of the present application. The present application can also not use these details. In addition, in order to avoid confusion or obscure the focus of the present application, some specific details are omitted in the description. It should be noted that the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present application can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0186] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "set", "install", "connect", "attach" should be understood broadly, for example, it can be fixedly connected, or it can be detachably connected, or integrally connected; it can be mechanically connected, or it can be electrically connected; it can be directly connected, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the communication inside two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0187] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalent technologies, the present application also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A multi-phase coupled inductor, comprising: The magnet and a first primary winding layer, a second primary winding layer, a first secondary winding layer coupled with the first primary winding layer, and a second secondary winding layer coupled with the second primary winding layer are arranged inside the magnet, the first primary winding layer, the second primary winding layer, the first secondary winding layer, and the second secondary winding layer are stacked along a first direction, and The first primary winding layer comprises at least two first primary windings, the at least two first primary windings are arranged at intervals along a second direction, and the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction; The second primary winding layer comprises at least two second primary windings, the at least two second primary windings are arranged at intervals along a third direction, and the third direction is perpendicular to the first direction; The first secondary winding layer comprises at least two first secondary windings, the at least two first secondary windings are arranged at intervals along a fourth direction, and an included angle between the fourth direction and the second direction is less than or equal to a first angle, and in the first direction, the at least two first secondary windings correspond to the at least two first primary windings one by one; The second secondary winding layer comprises at least two second secondary windings, the at least two second primary windings are arranged at intervals along a fifth direction, and an included angle between the fifth direction and the third direction is less than or equal to the first angle, and in the first direction, the at least two second secondary windings correspond to the at least two second primary windings one by one.

2. The multi-phase coupled inductor of claim 1, wherein, The first primary winding layer, the first secondary winding layer, the second primary winding layer, and the second secondary winding layer are sequentially stacked along the first direction.

3. The multi-phase coupled inductor of claim 1, wherein, The first secondary winding layer, the first primary winding layer, the second primary winding layer, and the second secondary winding layer are sequentially stacked along the first direction.

4. The multi-phase coupled inductor of claim 1, wherein, The first secondary winding layer, the second primary winding layer, the first primary winding layer, and the second secondary winding layer are sequentially stacked along the first direction.

5. The multi-phase coupled inductor of claim 1, wherein, The first primary winding layer, the first secondary winding layer, the second secondary winding layer, and the second primary winding layer are sequentially stacked along the first direction.

6. The multi-phase coupled inductor of claim 1, wherein, The first primary winding layer, the second secondary winding layer, the first secondary winding layer, and the second primary winding layer are sequentially stacked along the first direction.

7. The multi-phase coupled inductor of claim 1, wherein, The first primary winding layer, the second primary winding layer, the first secondary winding layer, and the second secondary winding layer are sequentially stacked along the first direction.

8. The multi-phase coupled inductor of any of claims 1-7, wherein, The at least two first secondary windings are connected in series by conductors arranged inside the magnet, or the at least two first secondary windings are connected in series by conductors arranged outside the magnet; The at least two second secondary windings are connected in series by conductors arranged inside the magnet, or the at least two second secondary windings are connected in series by conductors arranged outside the magnet.

9. The multi-phase coupled inductor of claim 8, wherein, A first circuit board is further included, and the magnet is arranged on the first circuit board; Each first secondary winding in the first secondary winding layer comprises two first secondary connecting portions exposed to the surface of the magnet, and at least one of the two secondary connecting portions is connected to the first circuit board for series connection with an adjacent first secondary winding. Each second secondary winding in the second secondary winding layer comprises two second secondary connecting portions exposed to the surface of the magnet, and at least one of the two secondary connecting portions is connected to the first circuit board for series connection with an adjacent second secondary winding.

10. The multi-phase coupled inductor of any of claims 1-7, wherein, Each first secondary winding in the first secondary winding layer comprises two first secondary connecting portions exposed to the surface of the magnet, and the two first secondary connecting portions of each first secondary winding are not connected to each other. Each second secondary winding in the second secondary winding layer comprises two second secondary connecting portions exposed to the surface of the magnet, and the two first secondary connecting portions of each first secondary winding are not connected to each other.

11. The multi-phase coupled inductor of claim 8, wherein, The first circuit board is further included, and the magnet is arranged on the first circuit board. One first secondary winding in the first secondary winding layer comprises a first secondary connecting portion exposed to the surface of the magnet, one second secondary winding in the second secondary winding layer comprises a second secondary connecting portion exposed to the surface of the magnet, and the first secondary connecting portion and the second secondary connecting portion are respectively connected to the first circuit board and are electrically connected through the first circuit board.

12. The multiphase coupling inductor of claim 8, wherein, Two first secondary windings in the first secondary winding layer respectively comprise a first secondary connecting portion exposed to the surface of the magnet, two second secondary windings in the second secondary winding layer respectively comprise a second secondary connecting portion exposed to the surface of the magnet, and the corresponding two first secondary connecting portions of the two first secondary windings and the corresponding two second secondary connecting portions of the two second secondary windings are not connected to each other.

13. The multi-phase coupled inductor of any of claims 1-7, 9, 11, 12, wherein, The first angle is less than or equal to 60 degrees.

14. The multi-phase coupled inductor of any one of claims 1-7, 9, 11, 12, wherein, The second direction is perpendicular to the third direction.

15. The multi-phase coupled inductor of any one of claims 1-7, 9, 11, 12, wherein, The included angle between the extension directions of any two first primary windings of the at least two first primary windings is greater than or equal to 0 degrees and less than or equal to 60 degrees.

16. The multi-phase coupled inductor of any one of claims 1-7, 9, 11, 12, wherein, The included angle between the extension directions of any two second primary windings of the at least two second primary windings is greater than or equal to 0 degrees and less than or equal to 60 degrees.

17. The multiphase coupling inductor of any one of claims 1-7, 9, 11, 12, wherein, At least one first secondary winding in the first secondary winding layer comprises a first secondary connecting portion exposed to the first surface of the magnet, At least one second primary winding corresponding to the at least one first secondary winding in the first direction comprises a first primary connecting portion exposed to the first surface, and the first primary connecting portion does not overlap with the first secondary connecting portion in the projection area of the first plane, and the first plane is perpendicular to the first direction.

18. The multi-phase coupled inductor of any one of claims 1-7, 9, 11, 12, wherein, The winding insulation member is further included, The winding insulation member is arranged between two adjacent layers of the first primary winding layer, the second primary winding layer, the first secondary winding layer and the second secondary winding layer.

19. The multi-phase coupled inductance of claim 18, wherein, The winding insulation member comprises at least one of plastic, glue, resin, rubber, ceramic and glass.

20. A multiphase coupled inductor module, comprising: The multi-phase coupled inductor module comprises a plurality of the multi-phase coupled inductors according to any one of claims 1-19, the first secondary windings and the second secondary windings of the plurality of the multi-phase coupled inductors are connected in series.

21. The multi-phase coupled inductor module of claim 20, wherein, The multi-phase coupled inductor module further comprises a compensation inductor, each of the at least two first secondary windings and each of the at least two second secondary windings are connected in series with the compensation inductor.

22. A multi-phase power supply module, comprising: The multi-phase coupled inductor module comprises the multi-phase coupled inductor according to any one of claims 1-19, or the multi-phase coupled inductor module according to claim 20 or 21.

23. The multi-phase power module of claim 22, wherein, The multi-phase coupled inductor module further comprises a power supply chip, a first capacitor unit and a second capacitor unit. In the first direction, the power supply chip, the first capacitor unit, the multi-phase coupled inductor or the multi-phase coupled inductor module, and the second capacitor unit are arranged in sequence. Alternatively, in the first direction, the multi-phase coupled inductor or the multi-phase coupled inductor module, the power supply chip, the first capacitor unit, and the second capacitor unit are arranged in sequence.

24. An electronic device, comprising: The multi-phase power supply module comprises the multi-phase coupled inductor according to any one of claims 1-19, or the multi-phase coupled inductor module according to claim 20 or 21, or the multi-phase coupled inductor module according to claim 22 or 23.

Images