TWI911715B - Processing circuit, system, and method for adjust output voltage of pwm - Google Patents

Abstract

A processing circuit, system, and method for adjust output voltage of PWM is provide. The processing circuit comprises a PWM generation unit, a controllable inductance unit, an inductor adjustment unit, and a monitor unit. The controllable inductance unit connects to the PWM generation unit. The controllable inductance unit generates an output inductance according to the gap between the magnetic core and the coil winding. The inductor adjustment unit connects to the controllable inductance unit. The inductor adjustment unit adjusts the gap according to an adjustment command. The monitor unit connects to the PWM generation unit and the inductor adjustment unit. When the difference value of the default voltage and the test voltage over the default threshold, the monitor unit sends the adjustment command to the inductor adjustment unit. The controllable inductance unit generates the output inductance and sends to the PWM generation unit. The PWM generation unit generates the adjustment voltage according to the output inductance.

Description

Circuit for regulating PWM output voltage, voltage regulation system and processing method

Regarding an electronic circuit, processing system, and processing method, particularly a processing circuit, voltage regulation processing system, and processing method for regulating PWM output voltage.

With the diversification of electronic products, the requirements for voltage regulation capabilities of power supplies are also increasing. Currently, a commonly used voltage regulation technology is the application of pulse-width modulation (PWM) control in switching power supplies. PWM regulates the average value of the output voltage by intermittently switching the input voltage and power by adjusting the duty cycle (operating cycle/cycle) of the pulse signal.

Ideally, a stable output voltage can be obtained simply by adjusting the duty cycle of the PWM. However, in reality, there are many nonlinear factors in switching power supplies, such as inductor saturation and capacitor leakage, and they are also affected by load changes. Therefore, relying solely on adjusting the duty cycle cannot completely achieve the ideal voltage regulation effect.

Although switching power supplies typically incorporate a feedback control loop to dynamically adjust the PWM duty cycle to suppress output voltage fluctuations, the nonlinear characteristics of the electronic components in the switching circuit and changes in the load can cause the duty cycle adjustment to deviate from the ideal state, thereby reducing voltage regulation performance. Therefore, existing voltage regulation technologies need to be optimized and improved.

In view of this, in one embodiment, the processing circuit for adjusting the PWM output voltage includes a PWM generation unit, a controllable inductor, and a monitoring unit. The PWM generation unit receives the output inductor and thus generates the voltage to be measured or the adjusted voltage; the controllable inductor is connected to the PWM generation unit, and the controllable inductor has a magnetic core and a coil winding; the controllable inductor generates the output inductance based on the air gap distance between the magnetic core and the coil winding; an inductor adjustment unit is connected to the controllable inductor, and the inductor adjustment unit adjusts the air gap distance of the magnetic core according to the received adjustment command; the monitoring unit is connected to the PWM generation unit and... The inductor adjustment unit and monitoring unit determine whether the difference between the preset voltage and the voltage under test exceeds a preset threshold. If the difference exceeds the threshold, the monitoring unit generates a corresponding adjustment command and sends it to the inductor adjustment unit. The controllable inductor adjusts the air gap distance according to the adjustment command, generating a corresponding output inductance to the PWM generation unit, which then generates the adjusted voltage. The PWM output voltage adjustment processing circuit provides real-time voltage regulation by adjusting the air gap distance between the magnetic core and the coil winding to generate a variable inductance value, thereby controlling the adjusted voltage of the PWM generation unit within the preset voltage range.

In one embodiment, the monitoring unit acquires the voltage to be measured from the PWM generation unit every preset time interval.

In one embodiment, a voltage change trend is generated based on multiple voltages to be measured obtained at multiple preset times. The monitoring unit generates an adjustment command based on the voltage change trend, and the controllable inductor adjusts the air gap distance so that the controllable inductor generates a corresponding output inductance.

In one embodiment, a storage unit is further included, to which a monitoring unit is connected. The storage unit has a lookup table that records each air gap distance and the corresponding output inductance.

In one embodiment, the PWM generation unit output voltage is adjusted to the load circuit.

In one embodiment, the voltage regulation system using a processing circuit to adjust the PWM output voltage includes a first processing circuit and a second processing circuit. The first processing circuit is connected in series with the second processing circuit. The first processing circuit adjusts the first voltage to be measured to a first voltage according to a first adjustment command; the second processing circuit adjusts the first voltage to a second voltage according to a second adjustment command.

In one embodiment, the method for adjusting the PWM output voltage includes: the PWM generation unit generating a voltage to be measured based on the received output inductance; the PWM generation unit outputting the voltage to be measured to the monitoring unit; the monitoring unit determining whether the difference between the voltage to be measured and the preset voltage exceeds a preset threshold; if the difference exceeds the preset threshold, the monitoring unit sending an adjustment command to the inductance adjustment unit, which adjusts the output inductance of the controllable inductor; and the PWM generation unit generating the adjusted voltage based on the new output inductance.

In one embodiment, the step of the PWM generation unit outputting the voltage to be measured to the monitoring unit includes the monitoring unit acquiring the voltage to be measured from the PWM generation unit every preset time.

In one embodiment, the steps of the PWM generation unit outputting the voltage under test to the monitoring unit include: the monitoring unit generating a voltage change trend based on multiple voltages under test; the monitoring unit generating an adjustment command based on the voltage change trend; and the controllable inductor adjusting the air gap distance according to the adjustment command.

In one embodiment, the step of the PWM generation unit generating an adjusted voltage based on the output inductor includes the PWM generation unit outputting the adjusted voltage to the load circuit.

The aforementioned PWM output voltage adjustment circuit, voltage regulation system, and processing method can dynamically adjust the inductor value. The processing circuit can be applied to any load circuit. The processing circuit can periodically detect whether the output circuit of the load circuit is stable and dynamically adjust the inductor value to change the PWM output voltage.

Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of a processing circuit for regulating the PWM output voltage according to an embodiment. The processing circuit for regulating the pulse-width modulation (PWM) output voltage (hereinafter referred to as processing circuit 100) includes a PWM generation unit 110, a controllable inductor 120, an inductor adjustment unit 130, and a monitoring unit 140. The PWM generation unit 110 can be connected externally to the load circuit 160, and internally connected to the controllable inductor 120 and the monitoring unit 140. The PWM generation unit 110 generates the voltage to be measured 181 and the adjusted voltage 183 based on the received inductance. The PWM generation unit 110 outputs the voltage under test 181 to the monitoring unit 140, and outputs the adjusted voltage 183 to the load circuit 160. Basically, the voltage under test 181 is equivalent to the adjusted voltage 183.

The controllable inductor 120 is connected to the PWM generation unit 110. The controllable inductor 120 has a magnetic core 121 and a coil winding 123, as shown in Figure 2A. The magnetic core 121 can move freely within the coil winding 123. When the magnetic core 121 moves or rotates within the winding, different magnetic fluxes are generated between the magnetic core 121 and the coil winding 123, thereby changing the inductance value of the controllable inductor 120. In Figure 2B, the relative distance between the magnetic core 121 and the coil winding 123 is referred to as the air gap distance D. In this embodiment, the air gap distance D is defined as the distance between the left side of the magnetic core 121 and the left side of the coil winding 123, but it is not limited to this. The air gap distance D can also be the distance between the right side of the magnetic core 121 and the left side of the coil winding 123.

The magnetic core 121 can move between the coil windings 123. Generally, the more of the magnetic core 121 is submerged in the coil windings 123, the smaller the air gap distance D, and the larger the inductance, resulting in a decrease in the output voltage. Conversely, if the magnetic core 121 moves out of the coil windings 123, the submerged volume decreases, resulting in a smaller inductance and an increase in the output voltage. The controllable inductor 120 outputs its inductance to the PWM generation unit 110, causing the PWM generation unit 110 to generate a corresponding voltage value based on the inductance.

An inductor adjustment unit 130 is connected to the controllable inductor 120 and the magnetic core 121. The inductor adjustment unit 130 adjusts the position of the magnetic core 121 relative to the coil winding 123 according to a received adjustment command 141, thereby controlling the air gap distance D and the inductance value. The inductor adjustment unit 130 can be implemented mechanically, electromagnetically, or piezoelectrically. For example, a mechanical inductor adjustment unit 130 can be a linear actuator or a peristaltic motor used to adjust the position of the magnetic core 121. An electromagnetic inductor adjustment unit 130 can adjust the position of the magnetic core 121 using a magnet. A piezoelectric inductor adjustment unit 130 can have multiple sets of piezoelectric ceramic plates disposed outside the magnetic core 121. When a voltage is applied to the inductor adjustment unit 130, the piezoelectric ceramic sheet will deform in length, thereby driving the magnetic core 121 to change position.

The monitoring unit 140 is connected to the PWM generation unit 110 and the inductance adjustment unit 130 . The monitoring unit 140 receives the voltage to be measured 181 from the PWM generating unit 110 . The monitoring unit 140 stores a preset voltage, where the preset voltage is a stable voltage target that the processing circuit 100 wants to achieve. For example, the preset voltage may be but is not limited to 12V. The PWM generation unit 110 may output a voltage to be measured 181 of 10.9V.

The monitoring unit 140 calculates the difference between the preset voltage and the voltage to be measured 181. The monitoring unit 140 determines whether the difference exceeds the preset valve value 184. For a further explanation of the operation of the processing circuit 100, please refer to Figure 3. The method for adjusting the PWM output voltage includes the following steps: Step S310: The PWM generation unit generates the voltage to be measured based on the received output inductance; Step S320: The PWM generation unit outputs the voltage to be measured to the monitoring unit; Step S330: The monitoring unit determines whether the difference between the voltage to be measured and the preset voltage exceeds a preset threshold; Step S340: If the difference does not exceed the preset threshold, the monitoring unit executes S330; Step S350: If the difference exceeds the preset threshold, the monitoring unit sends an adjustment command to the inductance adjustment unit, and the inductance adjustment unit adjusts the output inductance of the controllable inductor; and Step S360: The PWM generation unit generates an adjusted voltage based on the new output inductor.

First, the PWM generation unit 110 receives the preset output inductance I and generates the voltage to be measured 181 based on the received output inductance I. If the PWM generation unit 110 is initialized, it can generate the corresponding voltage to be measured 181 with the preset inductance value. The PWM generation unit 110 outputs the voltage to be measured 181 to the monitoring unit 140. The monitoring unit 140 calculates the difference between the preset voltage and the received voltage to be measured 181.

The monitoring unit 140 determines whether the obtained difference exceeds the preset valve value 184. If the difference exceeds the preset valve value 184, the monitoring unit 140 sends an adjustment command 141 to the inductor adjustment unit 130 to control the air gap distance D between the magnetic core 121 and the coil winding 123. The preset valve value 184 is a voltage range. Therefore, the preset valve value 184 has an upper limit and a lower limit for the voltage, and the upper and lower limits represent the critical values of excessively high or insufficient voltage, respectively. The detection unit determines whether the voltage to be measured 181 should be reduced or increased if the difference exceeds the upper or lower limit of the preset valve value 184. Generally, the detection unit can send adjustment command 141 one after another and determine whether the new difference does not exceed the preset valve value 184. If the new difference still exceeds the preset valve value 184, the monitoring unit 140 will issue a new adjustment command 141 until the next difference falls within the preset valve value 184.

In some embodiments, the processing circuit 100 further includes a storage unit 150, as shown in Figure 4. A monitoring unit 140 is connected to the storage unit 150. The storage unit 150 has a lookup table 151 that records multiple sets of air gap distances D and corresponding output inductors I. The monitoring unit 140 looks up the corresponding air gap distance D in the lookup table 151 based on the voltage difference. The monitoring unit 140 encapsulates the obtained air gap distance D into an adjustment command 141 and sends it to the inductor adjustment unit 130. The inductor adjustment unit 130 adjusts the air gap distance D between the core 121 of the controllable inductor 120 and the coil winding 123 according to the adjustment command 141.

In some embodiments, monitoring unit 140 acquires the voltage under test 181 of PWM generation unit 110 after a preset time interval, as shown in Figure 5. Monitoring unit 140 can also send adjustment command 141 to inductor adjustment unit 130 after each preset time interval to adjust the inductance value of controllable inductor 120 so that the adjusted voltage 183 output by PWM generation unit 110 falls within the range of preset valve value 184. In Figure 5, the preset valve value 184 is represented by a dashed line box.

In some embodiments, monitoring unit 140 acquires multiple consecutive voltages 181 to be measured. Monitoring unit 140 generates a voltage change trend 185 based on these voltages 181, as shown in Figure 5. Monitoring unit 140 calculates the voltage change trend 185 (i.e., the thick black dashed line in Figure 5) based on the total duration of multiple preset times and the change in the voltages 181 to be measured. Monitoring unit 140 generates an adjustment command 141 for the next preset time based on the voltage change trend 185, which is called a prediction command 142. Monitoring unit 140 directly sends the prediction command 142 to inductor adjustment unit 130 at the next preset time.

In Figure 5, after the monitoring unit 140 obtains the voltage change trend 185 over preset times T1, T2, and T3, the monitoring unit 140 generates a prediction command 142 based on the voltage change trend 185. The prediction command 142 increases (or decreases) the air gap distance D, so that the adjusted voltage 183 output by the PWM generation unit 110 can be controlled within the preset valve value 184. At the preset time T4, the monitoring unit 140 sends the prediction command 142 to the inductor adjustment unit 130 to correct the adjusted voltage 183.

At preset times T1, T2, and T3, as shown in Figure 5, the adjusted voltage 183 is corrected to the preset valve value 184. However, after each preset time, the measured voltage 181 still decreases and exceeds the preset valve value 184. Therefore, the monitoring unit 140 can obtain the voltage change trend 185 based on several preset times. At the preset time T4, in addition to adjusting the voltage change trend 185, the monitoring unit 140 further increases (or decreases) the adjustment amount of the air gap distance D.

In some embodiments, multiple processing circuits 100 can be connected in series to form a voltage-regulated processing system (hereinafter referred to as processing system 200), as shown in Figures 6A and 6B. To clearly illustrate the series connection of multiple processing circuits 100 in processing system 200, this embodiment of processing system 200 is described using two processing circuits 100 as an example. The two processing circuits 100 are defined as a first processing circuit 210 and a second processing circuit 220, respectively. The first processing circuit 210 is connected in series with the second processing circuit 220. The first processing unit has a PWM generation unit 230, a first controllable inductor 211, a first inductor adjustment unit 212, and a first monitoring unit 213. It should be noted that the first processing circuit 210 and the second processing circuit 220 share the same PWM generation unit 230, but for ease of explanation, they are still represented as two independent processing circuits 210 and 220 in Figure 6A.

The second processing circuit 220 includes a PWM generation unit 230, a second controllable inductor 221, a second inductor adjustment unit 222, and a second monitoring unit 223. The connection and operation of the PWM generation unit 230, the second controllable inductor 221, the second inductor adjustment unit 222, and the second monitoring unit 223 can be found in the preceding text. The second processing circuit 220 takes the adjusted voltage 183 output from the first processing circuit 210 as its input voltage to be measured, 181.

The first processing circuit 210 adjusts the corresponding air gap distance D according to the first adjustment command 621 and generates a corresponding adjusted inductor. The first processing circuit 210 generates an adjusted voltage 183 based on the modified adjusted inductor and outputs the adjusted voltage 183 to the second processing circuit 220. Here, the adjusted voltage 183 output by the first processing circuit 210 is referred to as the first voltage 611. After receiving the first voltage 611, the monitoring unit 140 of the second processing circuit 220 adjusts the corresponding air gap distance D according to the first voltage 611 and the second adjustment command 622. The second processing circuit 220 generates a new output inductance I and a corresponding adjusted voltage 183 (referred to as the second voltage 612) based on the new air gap distance D. The second processing circuit 220 outputs the second voltage 612 to the secondary load circuit 160. With the regulated output of the multi-stage processing circuit 100, the final output voltage can be controlled within a set range.

The aforementioned PWM output voltage adjustment processing circuit 100, voltage regulation processing system 200, and processing method can dynamically adjust the inductance value. The processing circuit 100 can be applied to any load circuit 160. The processing circuit 100 can periodically detect whether the output circuit of the load circuit 160 is stable and dynamically adjust the inductance value to change the PWM output voltage.

100: Processing Circuit; 110, 230: PWM Generation Unit; 120: Controllable Inductor; 121: Magnetic Core; 123: Coil Winding; 130: Inductor Adjustment Unit; 140: Monitoring Unit; 141: Adjustment Command; 142: Prediction Command; 150: Storage Unit; 151: Lookup Table; 160: Load Circuit; 181: Voltage to be Measured; 183: Adjusted Voltage; 184: Preset Valve Value; 185: Voltage Change Trend; 200: Processing System; 210: First Processing Circuit; 211: First Controllable Inductor; 212: First Inductor Adjustment Unit; 213: First Monitoring Unit; 220: Second Processing Circuit; 221: Second Controllable Inductor 222: Second inductor adjustment unit 223: Second monitoring unit 611: First voltage 612: Second voltage 621: First adjustment command 622: Second adjustment command D: Air gap distance I: Output inductance T1, T2, T3, T4: Preset time S310, S320, S330, S340, S350, S360: Steps

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a processing circuit for adjusting the PWM output voltage according to an embodiment. Figure 2A is a schematic diagram of the core and coil winding of a controllable inductor before movement according to an embodiment. Figure 2B is a schematic diagram of the core and coil winding of a controllable inductor after movement according to an embodiment. Figure 3 is a flowchart of a processing method for adjusting the PWM output voltage according to an embodiment. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a storage unit and lookup table according to an embodiment. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the preset time and voltage change trend according to an embodiment. Figure 6A is a schematic diagram of a processing system according to an embodiment. Figure 6B is a component schematic diagram of a processing system according to an embodiment.

100: Processing Circuit

110: PWM Generation Unit

120: Controllable Inductor

130: Inductor Adjustment Unit

140: Monitoring Unit

141: Adjustment Command

160: Load Circuit

181: Voltage to be measured

183: Voltage adjusted

I: Output Inductor

Claims (10)

A processing circuit for adjusting a PWM output voltage, adjusting the position of a magnetic core of an inductor, the processing circuit comprising: a PWM generation unit receiving an output inductor to generate a voltage under test or an adjusted voltage; a controllable inductor connected to the PWM generation unit, the controllable inductor having a magnetic core and a coil winding, the controllable inductor generating the output inductance based on an air gap distance between the magnetic core and the coil winding; an inductor adjustment unit connected to the controllable inductor, the inductor adjustment unit adjusting the air gap distance of the magnetic core according to a received adjustment command; and A monitoring unit is connected to the PWM generation unit and the inductor adjustment unit. The monitoring unit determines whether the difference between a preset voltage and the voltage to be measured exceeds a preset valve value. If the difference exceeds the preset valve value, the monitoring unit generates a corresponding adjustment command based on the difference and sends the adjustment command to the inductor adjustment unit. The controllable inductor adjusts the air gap distance according to the adjustment command, and the controllable inductor generates a corresponding output inductance to the PWM generation unit, so that the PWM generation unit generates the adjusted voltage. The processing circuit for adjusting the PWM output voltage as described in claim 1, wherein the monitoring unit acquires the voltage to be measured from the PWM generation unit every preset time interval. The processing circuit for adjusting the PWM output voltage as described in claim 1, wherein a voltage change trend is generated based on multiple voltages under test obtained at multiple preset times, the monitoring unit generates the adjustment command based on the voltage change trend, and the controllable inductor adjusts the air gap distance so that the controllable inductor generates the corresponding output inductance. The processing circuit for adjusting the PWM output voltage as described in claim 1 further includes a storage unit, to which the monitoring unit is connected, the storage unit having a lookup table that records each air gap distance and the corresponding output inductor. The processing circuit for adjusting the PWM output voltage as described in claim 4, wherein the PWM generation unit outputs the adjusted voltage to a load circuit. A voltage regulation system for a PWM output voltage regulation processing circuit according to application claim 1, the voltage regulation system comprising: a first processing circuit for adjusting a first voltage under test to a first voltage according to a first adjustment command; and a second processing circuit connected to the first processing circuit for adjusting the first voltage to a second voltage according to a second adjustment command. A method for adjusting a PWM output voltage includes: a PWM generation unit generating a voltage to be measured based on a received output inductor; the PWM generation unit outputting the voltage to be measured to a monitoring unit; the monitoring unit determining whether a difference between the voltage to be measured and a preset voltage exceeds a preset threshold; if the difference exceeds the preset threshold, the monitoring unit sending an adjustment command to an inductor adjustment unit, the inductor adjustment unit adjusting the output inductance of a controllable inductor; and the PWM generation unit generating an adjusted voltage based on the new output inductance. The method for adjusting the PWM output voltage as described in claim 7, wherein the step of outputting the voltage under test from the PWM generation unit to the monitoring unit includes: the monitoring unit acquiring the voltage under test from the PWM generation unit every preset time interval. The method for adjusting the PWM output voltage as described in claim 8, wherein the step of the PWM generation unit outputting the voltage under test to the monitoring unit includes: the monitoring unit generating a voltage change trend based on a plurality of the voltages under test; the monitoring unit generating the adjustment command based on the voltage change trend; and the controllable inductor adjusting an air gap distance according to the adjustment command. The method for adjusting the PWM output voltage as described in claim 8, wherein the step of generating the adjusted voltage in the PWM generation unit according to the output inductor includes: the PWM generation unit outputting the adjusted voltage to a load circuit.