Multi-Phase Power Supply Input Voltage Switch Circuit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional multi-phase power supplies are prone to failure conditions where high side switch circuitry gets stuck in an ON state, leading to dangerous over-voltage output, potentially damaging connected circuitry, and two-stage converters, while providing some protection, are larger in size and still risk outputting harmful voltages during failures.
Innovation Solution
A multi-phase power supply circuit with an input voltage switch circuit between the input voltage source and high side switch circuitry, which can be selectively isolated to prevent input voltage from being conveyed to the core power supply during failure conditions, using monitor and control circuits to detect failures and deactivate the input voltage switch, thereby preventing over-voltage output.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a single-stage power converter system is used to convert 48V DC to 1V DC, then the device size is reduced, but the system becomes prone to failure conditions where high side switch circuitry gets stuck in ON state, causing dangerous over-voltage output
Solution Approach 1:
An input voltage switch circuit is introduced as an intermediary component between the 48V input voltage source and the high side switch circuitry. This intermediary switch can be selectively deactivated to isolate the input voltage from the core power supply circuit during failure conditions, preventing dangerous over-voltage output while maintaining the compact single-stage architecture.
2Reliability
If a two-stage power converter system is used to provide failure protection, then reliability is improved, but the device size increases and it still risks outputting harmful voltages during failures
Solution Approach 1:
The protection function is extracted from the traditional two-stage architecture and implemented as a separate input voltage switch circuit within the single-stage converter. This isolated protection mechanism can be independently controlled to block input voltage during failures without requiring an additional conversion stage, thus maintaining compact size while providing reliable failure protection.
3Device complexity
If conventional monitoring is used without input voltage isolation, then the system remains simple, but it cannot prevent over-voltage damage to loads during phase failures
Solution Approach 1:
The input voltage switch circuit is preliminarily configured in the ON state during normal operation, allowing seamless power conversion. Upon detecting a failure condition, the switch is rapidly deactivated to preliminarily block the input voltage path before dangerous over-voltage can propagate to the load, providing proactive protection while maintaining operational simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
A multi-phase power supply circuit includes multiple phases to convert an input voltage into a respective output voltage to power a load. A first phase of the multi-phase power supply includes a core power supply circuit including, for example, high side switch circuitry and low side switch circuitry. During normal operation, the core power supply circuit converts an input voltage into a respective output voltage to power a load. To provide failure mode protection with respect to the core power supply circuit and prevent a failure mode in which the first phase would otherwise produce a dangerous over-voltage condition, the first power supply phase includes an input voltage switch circuit disposed between an input voltage source and the core power supply circuit. The input voltage switch circuit provides a way of preventing the input voltage from being conveyed to the core power supply circuit during a failure mode.