Voltage Regulator Power Determination via Variable Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing voltage regulators face challenges in determining output power efficiently, as it requires complex multiplication operations of voltage and current, consuming significant system resources and circuit footprint.
Innovation Solution
A voltage regulator design that includes a digitally controllable variable resistance circuit and current sensing means, allowing for the determination of output power without analog or digital multiplication, by generating a resistance proportional to the digital voltage representation and using this resistance to calculate power directly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiplication operation is used to determine output power, then power measurement accuracy is improved, but device complexity and system resource usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the computational multiplication operation with a direct analog electrical measurement. By measuring voltage at the output node and current through the load simultaneously, the power determination is achieved through natural electrical relationships rather than computational processing, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining measurement accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If multiplication operation is used to determine output power, then power measurement accuracy is improved, but circuit footprint increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the need for multiplication circuitry by using direct voltage and current measurements. The power information is obtained through analog measurement techniques that require minimal circuit components, significantly reducing the circuit footprint compared to implementing multiplication operations in hardware.
3Measurement precision
If ongoing multiplication operation is performed, then power determination accuracy is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces continuous computational multiplication with simultaneous voltage and current measurements. This analog measurement approach consumes significantly less energy as it avoids the active computational processes required for multiplication, while still providing accurate power determination through the fundamental electrical relationship P=VI.
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
This approach enables accurate and resource-efficient determination of output power, reducing chip area and system resource usage, and can be applied to both input and output power calculations.
Implementation Method 1
a variable resistance circuit connected to the current sensing means and generating a resistance depending on the digital voltage representation, in particular a resistance proportional to the digital voltage representation
Implementation Method 2
current sensing means connected to the output node and sensing an output current flowing at the output node into the load
Data Source
AI summary
A voltage regulator, which contains a circuit to determine its output power. It has an output node providing an output voltage for a load; current sensing means for sensing an output current flowing at the output node; voltage providing means for providing a digital representation of the output voltage or of an input voltage to the voltage regulator; output power determination means comprising a digitally controllable variable resistance circuit receiving the digital voltage representation from the voltage providing means and generating a resistance, wherein the variable resistance circuit is connected to the current sensing means to obtain a signal that depends upon the output current and generates a voltage depending on the generated resistance and the obtained signal; and the output power determining means are adapted to determine the output power of the voltage regulator based on the voltage generated by the variable resistance circuit.