Voltage Sampling with Multi-Stage ADCs for High-Resolution Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Digitally-controlled power supplies face challenges in achieving high-resolution voltage measurements without the need for high-resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), which are costly and not typically used in constructing such supplies.
Innovation Solution
The use of one or more lower-resolution ADCs to sense divided portions of the sampled voltage, combining the digital values to achieve high-resolution measurements, allowing for improved precision in feedback control without the need for a single high-resolution ADC.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a high-resolution ADC is used to achieve high-resolution voltage measurements, then measurement precision is improved, but device cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The voltage measurement process is segmented into multiple stages: first a coarse measurement is taken, then a fine measurement is taken of the residual voltage after subtracting the coarse measurement. This segmentation allows the use of lower-resolution ADCs in sequence to achieve the equivalent precision of a single high-resolution ADC.
Solution Approach 2:
A preliminary coarse voltage measurement is performed before the fine measurement. The coarse measurement establishes a baseline that is subtracted from the total voltage, allowing the subsequent fine measurement to focus only on the residual portion, thereby achieving high precision with lower-resolution components.
2Measurement precision
If a high-resolution ADC is used to achieve high-resolution feedback signal processing, then precision control is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The feedback signal processing is divided into coarse and fine measurement stages, allowing the use of multiple lower-resolution ADCs instead of a single high-resolution ADC. This segmentation reduces component cost while maintaining the required precision for precision control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses lower-resolution ADCs that are cheaper and more widely available than high-resolution ADCs. By employing multiple inexpensive lower-resolution converters in a staged measurement approach, the system achieves high precision feedback processing without the high cost of premium components.
3Ease of manufacture
If multiple lower-resolution ADCs are used instead of a single high-resolution ADC, then device cost is reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The results from multiple lower-resolution ADC measurements are merged through digital processing. The coarse measurement result and fine measurement result are combined mathematically to produce a final high-resolution voltage value, effectively merging the outputs of multiple components to achieve the function of a single high-resolution ADC.
Solution Approach 2:
A digital processing intermediary is introduced to combine the results from multiple lower-resolution ADCs. This intermediary performs the mathematical operations needed to merge the coarse and fine measurements into a unified high-resolution result, managing the complexity of multiple components through systematic digital processing.
Data Source
AI summary
According to some examples, systems and methods are provided for voltage sampling using one or more analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) to sense divided portions of a sampled voltage (e.g., of an output signal), using the one or more analog-to-digital converters to provide a plurality of digital values representative of those divided portions, and combining the plurality of digital values to produce a total digital value representative of the sampled voltage. Such systems and methods can achieve a high resolution for the total digital value while permitting use of ADCs that have a resolution lower than would otherwise be required to achieve the high resolution.