FREQUENCY JITTERING CONTROL CIRCUIT AND METHOD FOR A PFM POWER SUPPLY

Abstract

A frequency jittering control circuit for a PFM power supply includes a pulse frequency modulator to generate a frequency jittering control signal to switch a power switch to generate an output voltage. The frequency jittering control circuit jitters an input signal or an on-time or off-time of the pulse frequency modulator to jitter the switching frequency of the power switch to thereby improve EMI issue.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/567,272, filed 6 Aug. 2012, which claims priority to Taiwan Patent Application No. 100130691, filed 26 Aug. 2011, and all the benefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C. §119, the contents of which in its entirety are herein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related generally to a switching mode power supply (SMPS) and, more particularly, to pulse frequency modulation (PFM) power supply.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Electro-magnetic interference (EMI) is known as a critical issue in designing a switching power supply, and is typically improved by spread-spectrum approaches that improve EMI by jittering the switching frequency of the power supply. Existing pulse width modulation (PWM) power supply devices, as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,929,620, 6,249,876 and 7,289,582, mainly accomplish spectrum-spreading by jittering the frequency of the oscillator and in turn jittering the switching frequency of the power supply. A PFM power supply is a variable-frequency system whose switching frequency varies with its load, so is less subject to EMI. Such a PFM power supply, however, when having a consistent load, has its switching frequency held consistent, and thus still suffers from EMI. Nevertheless, it is infeasible in the PFM power supply to jitter the switching frequency by jittering the frequency of an oscillator that is absent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide a frequency jittering control circuit and method for a PFM power supply.

According to the present invention, a frequency jittering control circuit for a PFM power supply comprises a pulse frequency modulator for generating a frequency jittering control signal to switch a power switch and generate an output voltage. In a peak-current mode PFM power supply, the pulse frequency modulator turns on the power switch by triggering the control signal responsive to a first signal, and turns off the power switch by terminating the control signal responsive to a second signal. The frequency jittering control circuit jitters the first or second signal to generate the frequency jittering control signal. In a quasi resonant mode PFM power supply, the pulse frequency modulator jitters the on or off time in order to generate the frequency jittering control signal. In a constant-on-time mode or constant-off-time mode PFM power supply, the pulse frequency modulator jitters the constant on-time or constant off-time in order to generate the frequency jittering control signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments according to the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a first embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a waveform diagram of the control signal for switching the power switch shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a first embodiment for the signal generator shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of a second embodiment for the signal generator shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of a second embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of a third embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of a fourth embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram of a fifth embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of a sixth embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram of a seventh embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram of an eighth embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram of a ninth embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram of a tenth embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a circuit diagram of an eleventh embodiment according to the present invention; and

FIG. 15 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment for the constant time generator shown in FIG. 14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A first embodiment according to the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is a peak-current mode PFM power supply that comprises a transformer 10, a power switch M1 connected in series to a primary coil Lp of the transformer 10, and a frequency jittering control circuit that generates a frequency jittering control signal Vg for switching the power switch M1, thereby converting an input voltage Vin into an output voltage Vo. In the frequency jittering control circuit, there are a pulse frequency modulator 12 for generating the control signal Vg according to a first signal S1 and a second signal S2, a current detector 14 for detecting a current Ip of the power switch M1 to generate a current sense signal Vcs, an output voltage feedback circuit 16 for detecting the output voltage Vo to generate a feedback signal VFB, a comparator 20 for comparing the feedback signal VFB with a reference voltage Vref to generate the first signal S1, a signal generator 18 for providing a jittering signal VL, and a comparator 22 for comparing the signal VL with the current sense signal Vcs to generate the second signal S2. In this embodiment, the current detector 14 comprises a current sensing resistor Rcs connected in series to the power switch M1, for generating the current sense signal Vcs when the current Ip passes therethrough. The pulse frequency modulator 12 comprises a flip-flop 24 for generating a pulse frequency modulating signal Q responsive to the signals S1 and S2, and a gate driver 26 for generating the control signal Vg responsive to the pulse frequency modulating signal Q. In the pulse frequency modulator 12, the signals S1 and S2 are input to a setting terminal S and a resetting terminal R of the flip-flop 24, respectively, so the pulse frequency modulating signal Q is to be triggered by the first signal S1 and terminated by the second signal S2, thereby controlling the on time of the power switch M1 to start and end, and in turn controlling the on-time of the power switch M1. More particularly, whenever the output voltage Vo decreases to become lower than the reference voltage Vref, the first signal S1 turns to be logic “1”, thereby triggering the pulse frequency modulating signal Q, and in turn turning on the power switch M1 to make the current Ip increase. When the current sense signal Vcs increases to become higher than the signal VL, the second signal S2 turns to be logic “1”, thereby resetting the signal Q, and in turn turning off the power switch M1. Since the signal VL jitters, the time for the signal Q to be turned off jitters to jitter the switching frequency of the power switch M1. FIG. 2 illustrates the process clearly. With the rising slope of the current sense signal Vcs remaining unchanged, when the signal VL increases from VL1 to VL2, the current sense signal Vcs needs more time to rise to the signal VL. Thus, the cycle of the control signal Vg increases from T1=1/f1 to T2=1/f2, as shown by waveforms 28 and 29, respectively, meaning that the switching frequency of the power switch M1 decreases from f1 to f2. On the contrary, when the signal VL decreases, the switching frequency of the power switch M1 increases. Therefore, jittering the signal VL is an effective way to jitter the switching frequency of the power switch M1, in turn improving the EMI problem in the PFM power supply.

FIG. 3 is a first embodiment of the signal generator 18 of FIG. 1. In the left part, a voltage-to-current converter 30 and a current mirror 32 are for generating the preset signal VL, while a counter 34, a ramp generator 36, a voltage-to-current converter 38 and a current mirror 40 in the right part of FIG. 3 are for jittering the signal VL. The voltage-to-current converter 30 converts the reference voltage Vref1 into a current I1. The current mirror 32 mirrors the current I1 to generate a current I2. The ramp generator 36 provides a ramp signal Vra. The counter 34 generates a count value CNT according to a clock CLK for the ramp generator 36 to adjust the ramp signal Vra. The voltage-to-current converter 38 converts the ramp signal Vra into a current I3. The current mirror 40 mirrors the current I3 to generate a current I4. The currents I2 and I4 are combined into a jittering current I5, which passes through a resistor Ro to generate the jittering signal VL. The clock CLK may be generated by a periodic signal in the PFM power supply, such as the signal Q, Vg or VFB. In other embodiments, the counter 34 may be replaced by a different circuit, such as a random number generator.

FIG. 4 is a second embodiment of the signal generator 18 of FIG. 1, with the left part identical to that in FIG. 3. The rest of the circuit is composed of a variable resistor 42 and a resistance controller 44. The variable resistor 42 includes a resistor Radj and the resistor Ro connected in series. The resistance controller 44 finely adjusts the resistor Radj to change the resistance of the variable resistor 42, thereby jittering the signal VL. The resistance controller 44 may be realized by a counter or a random number generator.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 jitters the switching frequency by jittering the second signal S2, but the other embodiment can jitter the switching frequency by jittering the first signal S1. As the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the first signal S1 is delayed by a programmable delay circuit 46 for a period of time before it is sent to the pulse frequency modulator 12. A delay time controller 48 adjusts the delay time of the programmable delay circuit 46 according to the output Q of the flip-flop 24, thereby jittering the time where the signal Q is triggered, and in turn, jittering the switching frequency of the power switch M1. The delay time controller 48 may be realized by a counter or a random number generator. In other embodiments, the delay time controller 48 may adjust the delay time of the programmable delay circuit 46 alternatively according to another periodic signal, such as the signal Vg or VFB.

The jitter approach of FIG. 5 may be modified into the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, where the second signal S2 is delayed by the programmable delay circuit 46 for a period of time before sent into the pulse frequency modulator 12, and the delay time controller 48 adjusts the delay time of the programmable delay circuit 46 according to the output Q of the flip-flop 24, thereby jittering the time where the signal Q is reset, and in turn jittering the switching frequency of the power switch M1.

While the embodiment of FIG. 1 jitters the second signal S2 by means of jittering the signal VL, it is also feasible to jitter the second signal S2 by jittering the current sense signal Vcs. As the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the current sense signal Vcs is amplified by a gain circuit 50 into a signal Vcs_m. A gain controller 52 adjusts a gain Ki of the gain circuit 50 according to the control signal Vg, thereby changing the rising slope of the current sense signal Vcs_m, and in turn changing the time where the second signal S2 is triggered, so as to finally change the time where the signal Q is terminated. When the gain Ki of the gain circuit 50 jitters, the switching frequency of the power switch M1 jitters accordingly. In other embodiments, the gain controller 52 may adjust the gain Ki according to another periodic signal. The gain controller 52 may be realized by a counter or a random number generator.

FIG. 8 is a quasi resonant (QR) mode PFM power supply, which includes a zero current detector 54 for detecting an output current Io of the PFM power supply and triggering the first signal S1 for the pulse frequency modulator 12 when the output current Io decreases and reaches a threshold value. The current detector 14 detects the current Ip of the power switch M1 to generate the current sense signal Vcs. The output voltage feedback circuit 16 detects the output voltage Vo to generate the feedback signal VFB. An error amplifier 55 amplifies the difference between the feedback signal VFB and the reference voltage Vref to generate a third signal S3. The comparator 22 compares the current sense signal Vcs with the third signal S3 to generate the second signal S2. The pulse frequency modulator 12, similar to the embodiment of FIG. 1, has the signal Q triggered by the first signal S1 and reset by the second signal S2. For jittering the second signal S2, the programmable delay circuit 46 delays the second signal S2 for a period of time before sending it to the pulse frequency modulator 12. The delay time controller 48 adjusts the delay time of the programmable delay circuit 46 according to the control signal Vg. Jittering the delay time of the programmable delay circuit 46 jitters the time where the signal Q is terminated, thereby jittering the switching frequency of the power switch M1.

The approach to jittering the second signal S2 as shown in FIG. 8 may be modified into the embodiment of FIG. 9, where the gain circuit 50 amplifies the current sense signal Vcs into Vcs_m, and the gain controller 52 jitters the gain Ki of the gain circuit 50 according to the control signal Vg, thereby jittering the rising slope of the current sense signal Vcs_m, then jittering the time where the second signal S2 is triggered, and in turn jittering the time where the signal Q is terminated, so as to finally jitter the switching frequency of the power switch M1.

The method for jittering the rising slope of the current sense signal Vcs_m as shown in FIG. 9 may be modified into the embodiment of FIG. 10, where the gain circuit 50 amplifies the feedback signal VFB into VFB_m, and the gain controller 52 jitters the gain Ki of the gain circuit 50 according to the control signal Vg, thereby jittering the rising slope of the feedback signal VFB_m, in turn jittering the time where the second signal S2 is triggered, so as to jitter the time when the signal Q is terminated and finally make the switching frequency of the power switch M1 jitter accordingly.

The embodiments of FIGS. 8-10 all involve comparing the current sense signal Vcs related to the current Ip of the power switch M1 with the third signal S3 to generate the second signal S2. In other embodiments, another ramp signal may be implemented to replace the current sense signal Vcs. For example, the circuit of FIG. 8 may be modified into a QR voltage mode PFM power supply as shown in FIG. 11. Therein the comparator 22 compares the internal ramp signal Vramp with the third signal S3 to generate the second signal S2. The circuit of FIG. 9 may be modified into a voltage mode structure as shown in FIG. 12. Therein the gain circuit 50 amplifies a ramp signal Vramp to generate a ramp signal Vramp_m, and the comparator 22 compares the ramp signal Vramp_m with the third signal S3 to generate the second signal S2. The circuit of FIG. 10 may be modified into a voltage mode structure as shown in FIG. 13. Therein, the comparator 22 compares the ramp signal Vramp with the third signal S3 to generate the second signal S2.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 14 is a constant on-time or constant off-time mode PFM power supply. Its pulse frequency modulator 12 comprises a one-shot circuit 56 triggered by the first signal S1 to generate a pulse signal S4 whose pulse width is determined by the constant time Ton from a constant time generator 58. The constant time Ton is finely adjusted by the constant time adjuster 60 according to the control signal Vg so as to become jittering. The gate driver 26 generates the control signal Vg responsive to the pulse signal S4. By jittering the length of the constant time Ton, the on time or off time of the power switch M1 is jittered, thereby jittering the switching frequency of the power switch M1. In other embodiments, the constant time adjuster 60 may jitter the length of the constant time Ton alternatively according to another periodic signal, such as the feedback signal VFB. The constant time adjuster 60 may be realized by a counter or a random number generator.

FIG. 15 is one embodiment of the constant time generator 58 of FIG. 14, which includes a current source 62 for providing a charging current Ic that charges a capacitor Cv to generate a charging voltage Vc, a comparator 64 for comparing the charging voltage Vc with a threshold voltage Vb provided by a voltage source 66 to determine the length of the constant time Ton. The constant time adjuster 60 adjusts at least one of the capacitor Cv, the charging current Ic and the threshold voltage Vb, thereby jittering the length of the constant time Ton.

While the present invention has been described in conjunction with preferred embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope thereof as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A frequency jittering control circuit configured to operably generate a frequency jittering control signal to switch a power switch of a pulse frequency modulation power supply to generate an output voltage, the frequency jittering control circuit comprising:

a pulse frequency modulator connected to the power switch, configured to operably trigger the control signal responsive to a first signal to turn on the power switch, and configured to operably terminate the control signal responsive to a second signal to turn off the power switch;

a signal generator configured to operably provide a jittering signal according to a count value or a random number;

a current detector configured to operably detect a current of the power switch to generate a current sense signal; and

a comparator connected to the pulse frequency modulator, the signal generator and the current detector, and configured to operably compare the current sense signal with the jittering signal to generate the second signal.

2. The frequency jittering control circuit of claim 1, wherein the signal generator configures to operably adjust a reference signal by a ramp signal to generate the jittering signal, wherein the ramp signal is adjustable according to the count value or the random number.

3. The frequency jittering control circuit of claim 1, wherein the signal generator comprises:

a first voltage-to-current converter configured to operably convert a reference voltage into a first current;

a first current mirror connected to the first voltage-to-current converter, and configured to operably mirror the first current to generate a second current;

a ramp generator configured to operably generate a ramp signal;

a counter or a random number generator connected to the ramp generator, and configured to operably generate the count value or the random number to adjust the ramp signal;

a second voltage-to-current converter connected to the ramp generator, and configured to operably convert the ramp signal into a third current;

a second current mirror connected to the second voltage-to-current converter, and configured to operably mirror the third current to generate a fourth current; and

a resistor connected to the first and second current mirrors, and configured to operably generate the jittering signal according to a sum of the second and fourth currents.

4. The frequency jittering control circuit of claim 1, wherein the signal generator comprises a variable resistor having a resistance adjustable according to the count value or the random number, and the jittering signal is adjusted according to a voltage across the variable resistor.

5. The frequency jittering control circuit of claim 1, wherein the signal generator comprises:

a voltage-to-current converter configured to operably convert a reference voltage into a first current;

a current mirror connected to the voltage-to-current converter, and configured to operably mirror the first current to generate a second current;

a variable resistor connected to the current mirror, and configured to operably generate the jittering signal according to the second current; and

a resistance controller connected to the variable resistor, and configured to operably adjust a resistance of the variable resistor according to the count value or the random number to adjust the jittering signal.

6. The frequency jittering control circuit of claim 5, wherein the resistance controller comprises a counter or a random number generator configured to operably generate the count value or the random number.

7. The frequency jittering control circuit of claim 1, further comprising:

an output voltage feedback circuit configured to operably detect the output voltage to generate a feedback signal; and

a comparator connected to the pulse frequency modulator and the output voltage feedback circuit, and configured to operably compare a reference voltage with the feedback signal to generate the first signal.

8. A frequency jittering control circuit configured to operably generate a frequency jittering control signal to switch a power switch of a pulse frequency modulation power supply to generate an output voltage, the frequency jittering control circuit comprising:

an output voltage feedback circuit configured to operably detect the output voltage to generate a feedback signal;

a comparator connected to the output voltage feedback circuit, and configured to operably compare the feedback signal with a reference voltage to generate a first signal;

a one-shot circuit connected to the comparator, and configured to operably be triggered by the first signal to generate a pulse signal;

a driver connected to the one-shot circuit, and configured to operably generate the control signal responsive to the pulse signal; and

a constant time generator connected to the one-shot circuit, and configured to operably provide a jittering constant time according to a count value or a random number to determine a constant on time or a non-constant on time of the control signal.

9. The frequency jittering control circuit of claim 8, wherein the constant time generator comprises:

a capacitor;

a current source connected to the capacitor, and configured to operably provide a charging current to charge the capacitor to generate a charging voltage; and

a second comparator connected to the capacitor, and configured to operably compare the charging voltage with a threshold voltage to determine the constant time;

wherein at least one of the capacitor, the charging current and the threshold voltage is adjusted according to the count value or the random number to generate the jittering constant time.

10. A frequency jittering control method for generating a frequency jittering control signal to switch a power switch of a pulse frequency modulation power supply to generate an output voltage, the frequency jittering control method comprising steps of:

A.) triggering the control signal responsive to a first signal to turn on the power switch;

B.) terminating the control signal responsive to a second signal to turn off the power switch; and

C.) jittering the first or second signal to jitter a switching frequency of the power switch;

wherein the step C comprises steps of:

detecting a current of the power switch to generate a current sense signal;

comparing the current sense signal with a third signal to generate the second signal; and

jittering the third signal according to a count value or a random number.

11. A frequency jittering control method for generating a frequency jittering control signal to switch a power switch of a pulse frequency modulation power supply to generate an output voltage, the frequency jittering control method comprising steps of:

detecting the output voltage to generate a feedback signal;

comparing the feedback signal with a reference voltage to generate a first signal;

triggering a pulse signal responsive to the first signal; and

jittering a pulse width of the pulse signal according to a count value or a random number to jitter a switching frequency of the power switch.