Hybrid Boost Regulator Extends Voltage Range for Single Battery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Typical boost regulators require an input voltage of at least 2.5 volts to operate, limiting their use in portable electronic devices that often have 1.5-volt batteries, necessitating the use of multiple batteries and premature replacement as battery voltage drops.
Innovation Solution
A hybrid boost regulator circuit that includes a pre-boost circuit capable of operating at voltages as low as 1 volt, using a low current bipolar transistor and a linear regulator to boost the voltage to 2.5 volts, allowing the conventional boost regulator chip to take over and generate a regulated output.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional boost regulator chip is used, then the output voltage can be regulated, but the input voltage must be at least 2.5 volts, requiring multiple batteries
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into two segments: a pre-boost circuit that operates at low voltages (1-2.5V) and a conventional boost regulator chip that operates at higher voltages (>2.5V). The pre-boost circuit acts as a voltage booster to raise the battery voltage to the minimum operating level of the boost regulator chip, enabling single-battery operation while maintaining reliable voltage regulation.
2Ease of operation
If the input voltage is reduced to 1.5 volts, then single battery operation is enabled, but the conventional boost regulator chip cannot operate
Solution Approach 1:
The pre-boost circuit serves as an intermediary between the 1.5V battery and the conventional boost regulator chip. It boosts the battery voltage to at least 2.5V, which is the minimum operating voltage required by the boost regulator chip, thereby enabling the chip to operate reliably from a single 1.5V battery.
3Reliability
If multiple batteries are used to maintain 2.5 volts, then the boost regulator can operate, but device size and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the voltage parameter dynamically through the pre-boost circuit. When a single 1.5V battery is used, the pre-boost circuit boosts the voltage to the required 2.5V level, allowing the boost regulator chip to operate without requiring multiple batteries, thereby reducing device weight and size.
4Duration of action of moving object
If batteries are used until voltage drops below 2.5 volts, then operating time is extended, but premature replacement is required
Solution Approach 1:
The pre-boost circuit performs preliminary voltage boosting action when the battery voltage is between 1V and 2.5V. This allows the system to continue operating during the voltage decay period that would normally be unusable, extending the effective battery operating time until complete battery depletion.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables operation with a single 1.5-volt battery, reducing device size, weight, and extending operating time by allowing the boost regulator to function with lower battery voltages, while ensuring continuous operation by seamlessly transitioning from the pre-boost to the main boost regulator.
Implementation Method 1
The boost regulator switches a switching transistor at a certain frequency and duty cycle to alternately charge and discharge an inductor having one end connected to a power supply voltage and its other end connected to the transistor
Implementation Method 2
An output filter and diode are connected to the inductor so that, when the transistor is off, the inductor incrementally charges an output filter capacitor
Data Source
AI summary
One embodiment of the invention is a hybrid boost regulator that includes a conventional boost regulator chip that operates when its input voltage is above 2.5 volts and a pre-boost circuit that operates when its input voltage is above 1 volt. A single 1.5 volt battery may be used to power the hybrid boost regulator. The pre-boost circuit is connected to the voltage input terminal of the boost regulator chip. The pre-boost circuit boosts the battery voltage (e.g., 1.5v) at an output terminal of the hybrid boost regulator to approximately the minimum operating voltage (e.g., 2.5v) of the boost regulator chip. Since this pre-boosted voltage is applied to the voltage input terminal of the boost regulator chip, the boost regulator chip will become operational when the ramping output voltage of the hybrid boost regulator exceeds about 2.5 volts. Once the boost regulator chip is operational, the pre-boost circuit is then turned off, and the boost regulator chip runs off the 1.5 volt power supply to ramp up the output voltage to the full regulated voltage.