Switching Regulator Reference Offset Cancellation Circuit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing voltage regulators suffer from offset voltage issues that affect the accuracy and stability of the output voltage, which are not adequately addressed by current technologies.
Innovation Solution
A method and circuitry are introduced to integrate a feedback voltage with a target voltage, using a three-level comparator and digital counter to adjust a reference voltage, thereby canceling the offset voltage by integrating and adjusting the reference signal based on threshold conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a conventional voltage regulator circuit is used, then the circuit structure is simple, but the output voltage accuracy is degraded due to offset voltage
Solution Approach 1:
The voltage regulator is divided into separate functional modules: a feedback loop for voltage regulation, an integrator for error accumulation, a comparator for threshold detection, and a counter for offset cancellation. This segmentation allows each module to perform its specific function independently, improving overall accuracy while maintaining manageable complexity through modular design
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the output voltage is continuously monitored and compared with a reference voltage. The error signal is integrated over time and used to adjust the control signal, creating a closed-loop system that automatically compensates for offset voltages and improves output accuracy
2Stability of the object's composition
If offset voltage cancelation circuitry is added to improve accuracy, then the output voltage stability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The offset cancellation functionality is merged with the existing feedback loop by integrating the error signal through an integrator and using the same comparator and counter structures already present in the control circuitry. This combining approach achieves voltage stability improvement without proportionally increasing overall circuit complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The integrator performs preliminary accumulation of error signals before they are processed by the comparator and counter. By预先 integrating the voltage differences over time, the system prepares corrected reference values that stabilize the output voltage before the final regulation stage
Data Source
AI summary
A target voltage is compared to a feedback voltage from a switching voltage regulator circuit (e.g., constant on-time regulator). The output of this comparison is integrated by an analog integrator. The analog output of the integrator is input to a three-level comparator that determines whether a saturating digital counter will increase (e.g., increment), decrease (e.g., decrement), or hold a current value. The output of the counter is summed with a digital value that was used to generate the target voltage to generate an offset canceled digital value. The offset canceled digital value is converted to an analog offset canceled reference voltage by a digital-to-analog converter. The analog offset canceled reference voltage is provided to the switching voltage regulator as the target voltage for the feedback loop of the regulator.