Abstract: Integrating ADC based sensing systems that convert the output of a measurement sensor to a digital value avoid conversion errors caused by sensor temperature variation during the conversion cycle. The systems may either include a primary integrating ADC and a residue ADC, and adjust rate of operation of the ADCs independently according to a sensed temperature of the measurement sensor, or the systems may differentiate an output of the residue ADC, and apply a temperature correction in accordance with the sensed temperature of the sensor to an output of the differentiator, integrate the temperature-corrected output of the differentiator and then combine the result with the output of the primary integrating ADC.

Abstract: A signal processing system may include a sensor readout channel configured to convert an electronic signal into a digital quantity. The sensor readout channel may include a sigma-delta modulator having a modulator input and a modulator output, first system-level chopping switches located at the modulator input, an auxiliary path comprising an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) having an auxiliary path input and an auxiliary path output, the auxiliary path input configured to receive as its input signal a signal output by a memory element of the sigma-delta modulator, second system-level chopping switches located downstream of the sigma-delta modulator and the auxiliary path, and a signal combiner configured to combine a modulator output signal generated by the sigma-delta modulator with an auxiliary path output signal generated by the auxiliary path to generate a combined output signal.

Abstract: A cascode structure may include a switching path comprising a main N-type field effect transistor switching device having a first gate and a cascode switching N-type field effect transistor device in series with the main N-type field effect transistor switching device and having a second gate and a circuit coupled between the first gate and the second gate. The circuit may be configured to in an off-state of the switching path, provide a high-impedance path between the first gate and the second gate, such that the second gate is switched to a protection voltage as high as a drain-to-source breakdown voltage of the main N-type field effect transistor switching device and such that the switching path is able to tolerate as high as the sum of the drain-to-source breakdown voltages of the main N-type field effect transistor switching device and the cascode switching N-type field effect transistor device.

Abstract: A method for estimating equivalent circuit model parameters of a battery may include measuring a battery voltage across terminals of the battery and a battery current drawn from the battery, decomposing the battery voltage and the battery current into a plurality of sub-bands, each sub-band of the plurality of sub-bands based on a time constant that characterizes a temporal behavior of the battery, for each sub-band of the plurality of sub-bands, estimating an equivalent resistance for such sub-band based on a spectral content of the battery voltage and battery current for such sub-band, and estimating an open circuit voltage of the battery based at least on the spectral content of the battery voltage and battery current present in one of the plurality of sub-bands and the equivalent resistances of the plurality of sub-bands.

Abstract: A system for estimating power dissipation in an integrated circuit comprising a power converter and an amplifier, the system comprising processing circuitry configured to: receive a signal indicative of an output voltage to a load which, in use of the integrated circuit, is driven by the amplifier; receive a signal indicative of an output current to the load; determine an output power value based on the received signal indicative of the output voltage to the load and the received signal indicative of the output current to the load; receive a signal indicative of an input voltage to the power converter; receive a signal indicative of an average current input to the power converter; determine an input power value based on the received signal indicative of the input voltage to the power converter and the received signal indicative of the average current input to the power converter; and determine a power dissipation value based on the determined output power value and the determined input power value.

Abstract: A system may include an inductive power converter comprising a plurality of switches and a power inductor electrically coupled to the plurality of switches, wherein the power inductor is coupled to a switching node of the inductive power converter and a control circuit for generating control signals that define a sequence of switching modes for the plurality of switches of the inductive power converter, the control circuit configured to, during a switching cycle of the inductive power converter in which the power inductor is magnetized and demagnetized, control switching of the plurality of switches among at least three switch configurations during magnetization and demagnetization of the power inductor. The at least three switch configurations may include a first switch configuration which magnetizes the inductor, a second switch configuration in which an inductor current through the inductor remains substantially constant, and a third switch configuration which demagnetizes the inductor.

Abstract: Integrating ADC based sensing systems that convert the output of a measurement sensor to a digital value avoid conversion errors caused by sensor temperature variation during the conversion cycle. The systems may either include a primary integrating ADC and a residue ADC, and adjust rate of operation of the ADCs independently according to a sensed temperature of the measurement sensor, or the systems may differentiate an output of the residue ADC, and apply a temperature correction in accordance with the sensed temperature of the sensor to an output of the differentiator, integrate the temperature-corrected output of the differentiator and then combine the result with the output of the primary integrating ADC.

Abstract: A method for intelligently generating a stimulus for use in characterization of parameters of a model of a battery may include dynamically analyzing a current drawn from the battery by a load, based on analysis of the current, determining a sink current for augmenting the current drawn by the load, and generating the sink current based on a determined need to update the parameters.

Abstract: A method for intelligently generating a stimulus for use in characterization of parameters of a model of a battery may include dynamically analyzing a current drawn from the battery by a load, based on analysis of the current, determining an augmented current for augmenting the current drawn by the load, and generating the augmented current based on a determined need to update the parameters.

Abstract: This application relates to methods and apparatus for controlling a switching driver to drive a load with a drive signal based on an input signal. A controller is configured to control modulation of at least one driver output node between selected switching voltages of a set of at least four different switching voltages to generate the drive signal. The output node is modulated according to a switching pattern and the controller is configured such that, for a given level of drive signal, the controller can selectively operate with a plurality of different switching patterns and selects an appropriate switching pattern to control at least one parameter of the switching driver other than the drive voltage.

Abstract: This application relates to methods and apparatus for controlling a switching driver to drive a load with a drive signal based on an input signal. A controller is configured to control modulation of at least one driver output node between selected switching voltages of a set of at least four different switching voltages to generate the drive signal. The output node is modulated according to a switching pattern and the controller is configured such that, for a given level of drive signal, the controller can selectively operate with a plurality of different switching patterns and selects an appropriate switching pattern to control at least one parameter of the switching driver other than the drive voltage.

Abstract: A signal processing system may include a sensor readout channel configured to convert an electronic signal into a digital quantity. The sensor readout channel may include a sigma-delta modulator having a modulator input and a modulator output, first system-level chopping switches located at the modulator input, an auxiliary path comprising an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) having an auxiliary path input and an auxiliary path output, the auxiliary path input configured to receive as its input signal a signal output by a memory element of the sigma-delta modulator, second system-level chopping switches located downstream of the sigma-delta modulator and the auxiliary path, and a signal combiner configured to combine a modulator output signal generated by the sigma-delta modulator with an auxiliary path output signal generated by the auxiliary path to generate a combined output signal.

Abstract: This application relates to methods and apparatus for switched mode drivers. A BTL driver has a switch network operable in different switch states, wherein, in each switch state, each of first and second output nodes is connected to a respective one of a first switching voltage, a second switching voltage or an intermediate switching voltage between the first and second switching voltages which is provided by a driver capacitance. A controller is configured to control the switch network to operate in a sequence of switch states to generate a differential drive signal based on an input signal. The controller is configured such that operation of driver switch network in said sequence of switch states to generate said differential drive signal provides voltage regulation of the intermediate voltage provided by said driver capacitance.

Abstract: This application relates to methods and apparatus for switched mode drivers. A BTL driver has a switch network operable in different switch states, wherein, in each switch state, each of first and second output nodes is connected to a respective one of a first switching voltage, a second switching voltage or an intermediate switching voltage between the first and second switching voltages which is provided by a driver capacitance. A controller is configured to control the switch network to operate in a sequence of switch states to generate a differential drive signal based on an input signal. The controller is configured such that operation of driver switch network in said sequence of switch states to generate said differential drive signal provides voltage regulation of the intermediate voltage provided by said driver capacitance.

Abstract: This application relates to methods and apparatus for driving a transducer. A transducer driver has a switch network that is operable to selectively connect a driver output to any of a first set of at least three different switching voltages which are, in use, maintained throughout a switching cycle of the driver apparatus. The switch network is also operable to selectively connect the driver output to flying capacitor driver. A controller is configured to control the switch network and flying capacitor driver to generate a drive signal at the driver output based on an input signal, wherein in one mode of operation the driver output is switched between two of the first set of switching voltages with a controlled duty cycle and in another mode of operation the driver output is connected to the flying capacitor driver which is switched between first and second states with a controlled duty cycle.

Abstract: A charge field-effect linear charger for charging a battery may include a charge pump configured to drive a field-effect transistor external to the charge field-effect linear charger and a variable output impedance for the charge pump, the variable output impedance depending on a mode of operation of the charge field-effect linear charger and an impedance of the field-effect transistor.

Abstract: A cascaded switched power converter provides a wide voltage conversion ratio and improved efficiency ins systems such as power supplies and amplifiers. A switched-capacitor charge pump circuit is operated by one or more first clock signals and is coupled in cascade with an inductor-based power supply circuit according to one or more second clock signals. A control circuit that generates clock signals so that the one or more second clock signals have a phase offset with respect to the one or more first clock signals that is set to adjust a conversion ratio of the cascaded combination of the switched-capacitor charge pump circuit and the inductor-based power supply circuit. The inductor of the inductor-based power supply circuit may be an inductive load, such as a speaker, and the phase offset may be modulated according to an audio signal to provide audio amplification.

Abstract: A voltage regulator may be configured to receive an input voltage at an input and generate an output voltage at an output. The voltage regulator may include a plurality of pass devices coupled in series between the input and the output, wherein a first device of the plurality of pass devices is closer to the input than the other of the plurality of pass devices embedded within a feedback loop of the voltage regulator and a gate bias network configured to bias gates of the plurality of pass devices such that the plurality of pass devices act as a single series device within a first voltage range of the input voltage and act as a series stack of cascode devices with the first device acting as a voltage-controlled current source within a second voltage range of the input voltage higher than the first voltage range and the output voltage is in a protected voltage domain immune from high-voltage transients of the input voltage.

Abstract: A method for estimating current-dependent non-linear equivalent circuit model (ECM) parameters of a battery may include measuring a battery voltage across terminals of the battery and a battery current drawn from the battery, modelling behavior of the battery with an impedance model having impedance model parameters, dynamically analyzing the battery current drawn from the battery by a load, dynamically determining safe operating limits for an augmented current for augmenting the current drawn by the load, based on analysis of the battery current and the safe operating limits, determining the augmented current, generating the augmented current to be drawn from the battery, and estimating the impedance model parameters when the augmented current is drawn from the battery.

Abstract: A system for estimating current-dependent non-linear equivalent circuit model (ECM) parameters of a battery may include measurement circuitry for measuring a battery voltage across terminals of the battery and a battery current drawn from the battery. The system may also include an impedance model having impedance model parameters, the impedance model for modelling behavior of the battery. The system may further include an augmented stimulus signal generator configured to dynamically analyze the battery current drawn from the battery by a load, based on analysis of the battery current, determine an augmented current for augmenting the current drawn by the load; and generate the augmented current to be drawn from the battery. The system may also include a battery model estimator for estimating the impedance model parameters when the augmented current is drawn from the battery.