US 12,407,240 B2
Sensing inductor-current in a switching converter
Arnold J D'Souza, Bangalore (IN); and Shyam Somayajula, Bangalore (IN)
Assigned to Shaoxing Yuanfang Semiconductor Co., Ltd., Zhejiang (CN)
Filed by Shaoxing Yuanfang Semiconductor Co., Ltd., Shaoxing (CN)
Filed on Aug. 2, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/363,765.
Claims priority of application No. 202241058870 (IN), filed on Oct. 14, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2024/0128870 A1, Apr. 18, 2024
Int. Cl. H02M 1/00 (2007.01); H02M 3/158 (2006.01)
CPC H02M 1/0009 (2021.05) [H02M 3/1584 (2013.01); H02M 3/1588 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
15. A voltage regulator module (VRM) comprising:
a phase controller to generate a regulated supply voltage on a first supply node;
an inductor having a first terminal coupled to said first supply node; and
a power stage comprising:
a high-side switch and a low-side switch to respectively drive said inductor in a first phase and a second phase periodically based on an input control signal received from said phase controller, wherein a second terminal of said inductor is coupled to a junction of said high-side switch and said low-side switch; and
a current sensing block to generate a copy of the inductor-current through said inductor in each of said first phase and said second phase,
wherein said current sensing block comprises:
a high-side sensing block to sense said inductor-current flowing through said high-side switch with a first scaling factor in said first phase to obtain a scaled high-side current;
a low-side sensing block to sense said inductor-current flowing through said low-side switch with a second scaling factor in said second phase to obtain a scaled low-side current;
a gain-adjustment block coupled to receive each of said scaled high-side current said gain-adjustment block to examine both of said scaled high-side current and said scaled low-side current for any discontinuity between said scaled high-side current and scaled low-side current during transition from said first phase to said second phase,
wherein, in case of discontinuity, said gain-adjustment block adjusts one or both of said first factor and said second factor to reduce the magnitude of discontinuity.