阅读说明：本技术 用于可重配置的dickson star开关式电容器电压调节器的装置、系统和方法 (Apparatus, system, and method for reconfigurable DICKSON STAR switched capacitor voltage regulator ) 是由 阿尔贝托·亚历山德罗·安吉洛·普杰利 托马斯·李 金元英 约翰·克罗斯利 汉-福·勒 于 2017-04-14 设计创作，主要内容包括：公开了用于可重配置的DICKSON STAR开关式电容器电压调节器的装置、系统和方法,其可以通过在各种模式之间进行重新配置来支持多个转换比。可重配置的Dickson Star SC调节器被设计为通过跨多个操作模式(跨多个转换比)重用电容器和开关来减少冗余电容器的数量。本公开还示出了混合(例如,两级)电压调节器。(Apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed for a reconfigurable DICKSON STAR switched capacitor voltage regulator that can support multiple conversion ratios by reconfiguring between various modes. Reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulators are designed to reduce the number of redundant capacitors by reusing capacitors and switches across multiple operating modes (across multiple conversion ratios). The present disclosure also shows a hybrid (e.g., two-stage) voltage regulator.)

1. A voltage regulator for regulating an input voltage at an input terminal (202) to an output voltage at an output terminal (208), the regulator comprising:

a plurality of switches (224, 226, 228, 804) connected in series between the input terminal and the output terminal, wherein the plurality of switches comprises:

a first switch (224) having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side of the first switch is connected to the output terminal;

a second switch (226) having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side of the second switch is connected to the second side of the first switch;

a third switch (228) having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side of the third switch is connected to the second side of the second switch;

a first pair of switches (218, 216) connected in series between the output terminal and a ground node (210), wherein the first pair of switches includes an intermediate node between the first pair of switches;

a second pair of switches (220, 222) connected in series between the output terminal and the ground node, wherein the second pair of switches includes an intermediate node between the second pair of switches;

a third pair of switches (1004, 1002) connected in series between the output terminal and the ground node, wherein the third pair of switches includes an intermediate node between the third pair of switches;

a first capacitor (204) having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side of the first capacitor is connected to the middle node of the first pair of switches, and wherein the second side of the first capacitor is connected to the second side of the first switch;

a second capacitor (206) having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side of the second capacitor is connected to the middle node of the second pair of switches, and wherein the second side of the second capacitor is connected to the second side of the second switch;

a third capacitor (802) having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side of the third capacitor is connected to the middle node of the third pair of switches, and wherein the second side of the third capacitor is connected to the second side of the third switch.

2. The voltage regulator of claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of switches further includes a fourth switch (804) having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side of the fourth switch is connected to the second side of the third switch, and wherein the second side of the fourth switch is connected to the input terminal;

the first pair of switches includes a fifth switch (216) having a first side connected to a ground node and a second side connected to a middle node of the first pair of switches;

the first pair of switches includes a sixth switch (218) having a first side connected to a middle node of the first pair of switches, and a second side connected to the output terminal;

the second pair of switches includes a seventh switch (222) having a first side connected to the ground node and a second side connected to a middle node of the second pair of switches;

the second pair of switches comprises an eighth switch (220) having a first side connected to a middle node of the second pair of switches, and a second side connected to the output terminal;

the third pair of switches includes a ninth switch (1002) having a first side connected to a ground node and a second side connected to a middle node of the third pair of switches; and

the third pair of switches includes a tenth switch (1004) having a first side connected to a middle node of the third pair of switches and a second side connected to the output terminal.

3. The voltage regulator of claim 2, wherein:

during a first configuration of the voltage regulator switching between a first state and a second state;

in a first state of the first configuration:

the first switch is open;

the second switch is closed;

the third switch is open;

the fourth switch is closed;

the fifth switch is open;

the sixth switch is closed;

the seventh switch is closed;

the eighth switch is open;

the ninth switch is open; and

the tenth switch is closed; and

in a second state of the first configuration:

the first switch is closed;

the second switch is open;

the third switch is closed;

the fourth switch is open;

the fifth switch is closed;

the sixth switch is open;

the seventh switch is open;

the eighth switch is closed;

the ninth switch is closed; and

the tenth switch is open.

4. The voltage regulator of claim 3, wherein:

during a second configuration of the voltage regulator switching between a first state and a second state;

in a first state of the second configuration:

the first switch is open;

the second switch is closed;

the third switch is closed;

the fourth switch is open;

the fifth switch is open;

the sixth switch is closed;

the seventh switch is closed;

the eighth switch is open;

the ninth switch is closed; and

the tenth switch is open; and

in a second state of the second configuration:

the first switch is closed;

the second switch is open;

the third switch is closed;

the fourth switch is closed;

the fifth switch is closed;

the sixth switch is open;

the seventh switch is open;

the eighth switch is closed;

the ninth switch is open; and

the tenth switch is closed.

5. The voltage regulator of claim 4, wherein:

during a third configuration of the voltage regulator switching between a first state and a second state;

in a first state of the third configuration:

the first switch is open;

the second switch is closed;

the third switch is closed;

the fourth switch is closed;

the fifth switch is open;

the sixth switch is closed;

the seventh switch is open;

the eighth switch is closed;

the ninth switch is open; and

the tenth switch is closed; and

in a second state of the third configuration:

the first switch is closed;

the second switch is closed;

the third switch is closed;

the fourth switch is open;

the fifth switch is closed;

the sixth switch is open;

the seventh switch is closed;

the eighth switch is open;

the ninth switch is closed; and

the tenth switch is open.

6. The voltage regulator of claim 5, wherein:

during a fourth configuration of the voltage regulator that switches between a first state and a second state;

in a first state of the fourth configuration:

the first switch is open;

the second switch is closed;

the third switch is closed;

the fourth switch is closed;

the fifth switch is closed;

the sixth switch is open;

the seventh switch is closed;

the eighth switch is open;

the ninth switch is closed; and

the tenth switch is open; and

in a second state of the fourth configuration:

the first switch is closed;

the second switch is closed;

the third switch is closed;

the fourth switch is open;

the fifth switch is closed;

the sixth switch is open;

the seventh switch is closed;

the eighth switch is open;

the ninth switch is closed; and

the tenth switch is open.

7. A voltage regulator for regulating an output voltage at an input terminal (202) to an output voltage at an output terminal (208), the regulator comprising:

a plurality of switches (224, 226, 228, 804) connected in series between the input terminal and the output terminal, wherein the plurality of switches comprises:

a first switch (224) having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side of the first switch is connected to the output terminal;

a second switch (226) having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side of the second switch is connected to the second side of the first switch;

a third switch (228) having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side of the third switch is connected to the second side of the second switch;

a first pair of switches (218, 216) connected in series between the output terminal and a ground node (210), wherein the first pair of switches includes an intermediate node between the first pair of switches;

a second pair of switches (220, 222) connected in series between the output terminal and the ground node, wherein the second pair of switches includes an intermediate node between the second pair of switches;

a first capacitor (204) having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side of the first capacitor is connected to the middle node of the first pair of switches, and wherein the second side of the first capacitor is connected to the second side of the first switch;

a second capacitor (206) having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side of the second capacitor is connected to the middle node of the second pair of switches, and wherein the second side of the second capacitor is connected to the second side of the second switch;

a third capacitor (802) having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side of the third capacitor is connected to the first side of the first capacitor, and wherein the second side of the third capacitor is connected to the second side of the third switch;

a fourth switch (1602) having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side of the fourth switch is connected to the second side of the first capacitor, and wherein the second side of the fourth switch is connected to the second side of the third capacitor;

a fifth switch (1604) having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side is connected to the second side of the second capacitor.

8. The voltage regulator of claim 7, wherein:

the plurality of switches further includes a sixth switch (804) having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side of the sixth switch is connected to the second side of the third switch, and wherein the second side of the sixth switch is connected to the input terminal;

a second side of the fifth switch is connected to the input terminal;

the first pair of switches includes a seventh switch (216) having a first side connected to the ground node and a second side connected to a middle node of the first pair of switches;

the first pair of switches includes an eighth switch (218) having a first side connected to a middle node of the first pair of switches, and a second side connected to the output terminal;

the second pair of switches includes a ninth switch (222) having a first side connected to the ground node and a second side connected to a middle node of the second pair of switches; and

the second pair of switches includes a tenth switch (220) having a first side connected to the middle node of the second pair of switches and a second side connected to the output terminal.

9. The voltage regulator of claim 8, wherein:

during a first configuration of the voltage regulator switching between a first state and a second state;

in a first state of the first configuration:

the first switch is open;

the second switch is closed;

the third switch is open;

the fourth switch is open;

the fifth switch is open;

the sixth switch is closed;

the seventh switch is open;

the eighth switch is closed;

the ninth switch is closed; and

the tenth switch is open; and

in a second state of the first configuration:

the first switch is closed;

the second switch is open;

the third switch is closed;

the fourth switch is open;

the fifth switch is open;

the sixth switch is open;

the seventh switch is closed;

the eighth switch is open;

the ninth switch is open; and

the tenth switch is closed.

10. The voltage regulator of claim 9, wherein:

during a second configuration of the voltage regulator switching between a first state and a second state;

in a first state of the second configuration:

the first switch is open;

the second switch is closed;

the third switch is open;

the fourth switch is closed;

the fifth switch is open;

the sixth switch is open;

the seventh switch is open;

the eighth switch is closed;

the ninth switch is closed; and

the tenth switch is open; and

in a second state of the second configuration:

the first switch is closed;

the second switch is open;

the third switch is open;

the fourth switch is closed;

the fifth switch is closed;

the sixth switch is open;

the seventh switch is closed;

the eighth switch is open;

the ninth switch is open; and

the tenth switch is closed.

11. The voltage regulator of claim 10, wherein:

during a third configuration of the voltage regulator switching between a first state and a second state;

in a first state of the third configuration:

the first switch is open;

the second switch is closed;

the third switch is closed;

the fourth switch is closed;

the fifth switch is closed;

the sixth switch is closed;

the seventh switch is open;

the eighth switch is closed;

the ninth switch is open; and

the tenth switch is closed; and

in a second state of the third configuration:

the first switch is closed;

the second switch is closed;

the third switch is closed;

the fourth switch is closed;

the fifth switch is open;

the sixth switch is closed;

the seventh switch is closed;

the eighth switch is open;

the ninth switch is closed; and

the tenth switch is open.

12. The voltage regulator of claim 11, wherein:

during a fourth configuration of the voltage regulator that switches between a first state and a second state;

in a first state of the fourth configuration:

the first switch is open;

the second switch is closed;

the third switch is closed;

the fourth switch is closed;

the fifth switch is closed;

the sixth switch is closed;

the seventh switch is closed;

the eighth switch is open;

the ninth switch is closed; and

the tenth switch is open; and

in a second state of the fourth configuration:

the first switch is closed;

the second switch is closed;

the third switch is closed;

the fourth switch is closed;

the fifth switch is open;

the sixth switch is open;

the seventh switch is closed;

the eighth switch is open;

the ninth switch is closed; and

the tenth switch is open.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to apparatus, systems, and methods for providing a reconfigurable Dickson Star switched capacitor voltage regulator and/or providing a hybrid (e.g., two-stage) voltage regulator.

Background

There is a strong demand for reducing the size of electronic systems. Size reduction is particularly desirable in electronic products where space is at a premium, but also in servers placed in large data centers, as it is important to crowd as many servers as possible into fixed space assets.

One of the largest components in an electronic system includes a voltage regulator (also referred to as a power regulator). Power regulators typically include a large number of bulky off-chip components for delivering voltage to an integrated chip, including a processor, a memory device (e.g., Dynamic Read Access Memory (DRAM)), a Radio Frequency (RF) chip, a WiFi combination chip, and a power amplifier. It is therefore desirable to reduce the size of voltage regulators in electronic systems.

The power regulator includes a semiconductor chip, such as a DC-DC regulator chip, that delivers power from a power source (e.g., a battery) to an output load. The output load may include various integrated chips (e.g., application processor, DRAM, NAND flash) in the electronic device. To deliver power efficiently, voltage regulators may use a "buck" topology. Such regulators are called buck regulators. Buck regulators use an inductor to transfer charge from a power source to an output load. The buck regulator may use a power switch to connect/disconnect the inductor to/from one of the plurality of voltages to provide the output voltage as a weighted average of the plurality of voltages. The buck regulator may adjust the output voltage by controlling an amount of time that the inductor is coupled to one of the plurality of voltages.

Unfortunately, buck regulators are not suitable for highly integrated electronic systems. The conversion efficiency of a buck regulator depends on the size of the inductor, especially when the power conversion ratio is high and when the current consumed by the output load is high. Because inductors can occupy large areas and are bulky and cannot be integrated on-chip or on-package, existing buck regulators typically use a large number of off-chip inductor components. This strategy typically requires a large area on the printed circuit board, which in turn increases the size of the electronic device. The challenges are exacerbated as mobile systems on chip (SoC) become more complex and require an increasingly large number of voltage domains to be delivered by the voltage regulator.

Disclosure of Invention

Some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter include a voltage regulator to regulate an input voltage at an input terminal to an output voltage at an output terminal. The regulator includes a capacitor matrix having a first capacitor sub-matrix and a second capacitor sub-matrix. The regulator also includes a switch matrix having a first switch sub-matrix, a second switch sub-matrix, a third switch sub-matrix, a fourth switch sub-matrix, and a fifth switch sub-matrix. The capacitors in the first sub-matrix of capacitors are coupled to the output terminals through associated switches in the first sub-matrix of switches and are also coupled to the ground terminals through associated switches in the second sub-matrix of switches. The capacitors in the second sub-matrix of capacitors are coupled to the output terminals through associated switches in the third sub-matrix of switches and are also coupled to the ground terminals through associated switches in the fourth sub-matrix of switches. Furthermore, the fifth switch sub-matrix has N switches arranged in series between the input terminals and the output terminals, and each switch in the fifth switch sub-matrix is connected to an associated capacitor in the first capacitor sub-matrix and an associated capacitor in the second capacitor sub-matrix. Turning on the K switches in the fifth switch sub-matrix that are closest to the input terminals to reconfigure the voltage regulator to provide (N-K): a conversion ratio of 1, wherein K is a non-negative value less than N.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the switch matrix is configured to alternate between the first configuration and the second configuration at a predetermined duty cycle while keeping the K switches on, so as to switch the first configuration between the first configuration and the second configuration at a duty cycle of (N-K): a conversion ratio of 1 regulates the input voltage to the output voltage.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, one of the K switches is configured to connect one capacitor in the first sub-matrix of capacitors and one capacitor in the second sub-matrix of capacitors connected to the one of the K switches in parallel.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, a first switch of the second switch matrix coupled to the one capacitor of the first capacitor sub-matrix and a second switch of the fourth switch matrix coupled to the one capacitor of the second capacitor sub-matrix are controlled using the same switch signal.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, a first switch of the first switch matrix coupled to the one capacitor of the first capacitor sub-matrix and a second switch of the third switch matrix coupled to the one capacitor of the second capacitor sub-matrix are controlled using the same switch signal.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, K is zero.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, K is N-1.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, K is a value in the range of 0 and N-1.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the number of switches in the fifth switch submatrix is N.

Some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter include a voltage regulator to regulate an input voltage at an input terminal to an output voltage at an output terminal. The regulator includes a capacitor matrix having a first capacitor sub-matrix and a second capacitor sub-matrix. The regulator also includes a switch matrix having a first switch sub-matrix, a second switch sub-matrix, and a third switch sub-matrix. One switch in the first sub-matrix of switches is coupled to two associated capacitors in the first sub-matrix of capacitors. One switch in the second sub-matrix of switches is coupled to two associated capacitors in the second sub-matrix of capacitors. The third switch sub-matrix has N switches arranged in series between the input terminals and the output terminals, and each switch in the third switch sub-matrix is connected to an associated capacitor in the first capacitor sub-matrix and an associated capacitor in the second capacitor sub-matrix. The K switches in the first and second sub-matrices that are closest to the input terminals (excluding the top switch in the first sub-matrix that is connected to the input terminals) are turned on to reconfigure the voltage regulator to provide (N-K): a conversion ratio of 1, wherein K is a non-negative value less than N.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, K switches in the third switch sub-matrix (excluding the top switch in the third switch sub-matrix connected to the input terminal) are opened to reconfigure the voltage regulator to provide (N-K): 1 conversion ratio.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the switch matrix is configured to alternate between the first configuration and the second configuration at a predetermined duty cycle while keeping K switches in the third switch sub-matrix on, so as to switch on at a rate of (N-K): a conversion ratio of 1 regulates the input voltage to the output voltage.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, when K is an odd number, the top switches in the third switch sub-matrix are open in both the first configuration and the second configuration, and wherein when K is an even number, the top switches in the first switch sub-matrix are open in both the first configuration and the second configuration.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, each capacitor in the first sub-matrix of capacitors is coupled to a ground terminal through a first switch and to an output terminal through a second switch.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, each capacitor in the second sub-matrix of capacitors is coupled to the output terminal through a third switch and to the ground terminal through a fourth switch.

Some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter include an apparatus. The apparatus includes means for reconfiguring the voltage regulator to convert the conversion ratio from N: 1 modification is (N-K): 1, wherein K is a non-negative value less than N.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the voltage regulator is a Dickson Star voltage regulator.

Some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter include a voltage regulator configured to receive a first voltage signal and provide a final voltage signal based at least in part on the first voltage signal. The voltage regulator includes a switched inductor regulator comprised of an inductor, wherein a first terminal of the inductor comprises an input terminal of the switched inductor regulator configured to receive a first voltage signal, and a second terminal of the inductor comprises an output terminal of the switched inductor regulator configured to provide an intermediate voltage signal. The voltage regulator includes a buck regulator, the buck regulator including: an input terminal configured to receive an intermediate voltage signal from an output terminal of a switched-inductor regulator; a switch matrix; a plurality of capacitors; and an output terminal configured to provide the final voltage signal. The voltage regulator further includes a control module configured to alternate a switching matrix in the buck regulator at a predetermined duty cycle between first and second configurations in which the plurality of capacitors are arranged in the first and second arrangements, respectively, to also duty-cycle the inductors in the switched-inductor regulator.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the switched inductor regulator is switchless.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the intermediate voltage signal is at a first voltage level when the switch matrix is in the first configuration and the intermediate voltage signal is at a second voltage level when the switch matrix is in the second configuration.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the first voltage level is a first fractional multiple of the final voltage signal, and wherein the second voltage level is a second fractional multiple of the final voltage signal.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the buck regulator comprises a Dickson Star switched capacitor regulator.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the Dickson Star switched capacitor regulator comprises a reconfigurable Dickson Star switched capacitor regulator.

Some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter include a voltage regulator configured to receive a first voltage signal and provide a final voltage signal based at least in part on the first voltage signal. The voltage regulator includes a switched inductor regulator comprised of an inductor, wherein a first terminal of the inductor comprises an input terminal of the switched inductor regulator configured to receive a first voltage signal, and a second terminal of the inductor comprises an output terminal of the switched inductor regulator configured to provide an intermediate voltage signal. The voltage regulator includes a buck regulator having an input terminal configured to receive an intermediate voltage signal from an output terminal of the switched-inductor regulator, and an output terminal configured to provide a final voltage signal. The voltage regulator also includes a first switched capacitor regulator module. The first switched-capacitor regulator module has a switch matrix including a first switch configured to couple the first switched-capacitor regulator module to an input terminal of the buck regulator, and a plurality of capacitors. The voltage regulator also includes a second switched capacitor regulator module. The second switched-capacitor regulator includes a switch matrix including a second switch configured to couple the second switched-capacitor regulator module to the input terminal of the buck regulator and a plurality of capacitors. The voltage regulator further includes a control module configured to: alternating a switching matrix in the first switched capacitor regulator module between a first configuration and a second configuration at a first duty cycle, the first configuration and the second configuration for arranging the plurality of capacitors in the first switched capacitor regulator module in a first arrangement and a second arrangement, respectively; alternating a switching matrix in the second switched-capacitor regulator module at the first duty cycle between a third configuration and a fourth configuration for arranging the plurality of capacitors in the second switched-capacitor regulator module in a third arrangement and a fourth arrangement, respectively; and causing the first switch and the second switch to alternately couple the first switched-capacitor regulator module and the second switched-capacitor regulator module at a second duty cycle.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the first switched capacitor regulator module and the second switched capacitor regulator module operate out of phase.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the first switched capacitor regulator module and the second switched capacitor regulator module comprise the same switched capacitor regulator topology.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, alternately coupling the first switched capacitor regulator module and the second switched capacitor regulator module at a second duty cycle causes the inductor in the switched inductor regulator to duty cycle at the second duty cycle.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the second duty cycle is 0.5.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the control module is configured to determine a time instance at which to initiate the alternating coupling of the first switched-capacitor regulator module and the second switched-capacitor regulator module to provide a desired duty cycle of the switched-inductor regulator.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the inductor is provided as a discrete package or on-board component.

Some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter include an electronic system. An electronic system includes a voltage regulator in accordance with one or more embodiments disclosed herein, and a target load system coupled to the voltage regulator, wherein an output terminal of a buck regulator in the voltage regulator is coupled to the target load system.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the target load system includes a battery, and the voltage regulator is configured to receive a first voltage signal from a power line of a universal serial bus (usb), and to provide the first voltage signal to the battery.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the target load system includes a system on a chip (SoC), and the SoC and the voltage regulator are packaged in a single SoC package.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the target load system includes a system on a chip (SoC), and the SoC and the voltage regulator are disposed on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB).

Some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter include an electronic system. An electronic system includes a voltage regulator in accordance with one or more embodiments disclosed herein. The voltage regulator is configured to operate in a reverse direction in which an output terminal of a buck regulator in the voltage regulator is coupled to an input voltage source and a first input terminal of the switched inductor regulator is coupled to a target load of the voltage regulator.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, an electronic system that operates a voltage regulator in a reverse direction is configured to operate the voltage regulator as a boost regulator.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, an output terminal of the buck regulator is coupled to the battery and an input terminal of the switched-inductor regulator is coupled to a power supply line of the universal serial bus.

Drawings

Various objects, features and advantages of the disclosed subject matter can be more fully understood by reference to the following detailed description of the disclosed subject matter when considered in connection with the following drawings in which like reference numerals identify like elements.

FIGS. 1A-1B illustrate a buck regulator and its operation.

Fig. 2 shows 3: 1Dickson Star SC regulator.

Fig. 3A-3C show 3: 1 operation of a Buck Dickson Star SC regulator.

Fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator that may be reconfigured to support multiple conversion ratios in accordance with some embodiments.

5A-5C illustrate a method for 3: operation of the reconfigurable regulator in fig. 4 for 1 conversion ratio.

Fig. 6A-6C illustrate the reconfigurable regulator of fig. 4 for 2: 1 conversion ratio operation.

7A-7C illustrate the reconfigurable regulator of FIG. 4 for a 1: 1 conversion ratio operation.

Fig. 8 shows a fixed conversion ratio of 4: 1Dickson Star SC regulator.

Fig. 9A-9C show 4: 1Dickson Star SC regulator.

Fig. 10 illustrates a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator.

11A-11C illustrate a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator in 4: operation in 1-conversion mode.

12A-12C illustrate a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator in 3: operation in 1-conversion mode.

13A-13C illustrate a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator in 2: operation in 1-conversion mode.

14A-14C illustrate a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator in 1: operation in 1-conversion mode.

15A-15B illustrate N: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator.

Fig. 16 illustrates a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator.

17A-17C illustrate a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator in 4: operation in 1-conversion mode.

18A-18C illustrate a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator in 3: operation in 1-conversion mode.

19A-19C illustrate a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator in 2: operation in 1-conversion mode.

20A-20C illustrate a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator in 1: operation in 1-conversion mode.

21A-21B illustrate N: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator.

Fig. 22-24 illustrate a step-up (step-up) reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator, according to some embodiments.

Fig. 25 illustrates a two-stage voltage regulation system in which an SC regulator provides a first stage of voltage regulation, according to some embodiments.

26A-26B illustrate the embodiment of FIG. 25 in which the second stage regulator is a buck converter, according to some embodiments.

Fig. 27 illustrates a two-stage voltage regulation system in which an SC regulator provides a second stage of voltage regulation, according to some embodiments.

28A-28B illustrate a two-stage voltage regulator in which the first stage regulator consists of an inductor alone, in accordance with some embodiments.

29A-29B illustrate an embodiment in which the SC regulator is 4: operation of the two-stage regulator of fig. 28A-28B for a 1Dickson Star Switched Capacitor (SC) regulator.

FIG. 30 illustrates duty cycle and Vduty cycle of a second stage regulator according to some embodiments_TMPVoltage swing of (d).

Fig. 31 illustrates a two-stage voltage regulation system in which the second stage regulator is a multi-phase voltage regulator, according to some embodiments.

Fig. 32 illustrates a phase relationship between the switched capacitors of fig. 31 in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 33 illustrates a control sequence of switches that allows for maintaining the duty cycle of the first stage regulator, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 34 is a block diagram of a computing device including a voltage regulation system according to some embodiments.

Fig. 35A to 35C show N: 1 depressurization Dickson Star SC regulator at N: operation in 1-conversion mode.

Detailed Description

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth, such as examples of apparatus, systems, and methods, as well as environments in which such apparatus, systems, and methods may operate, etc., in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed subject matter. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the disclosed subject matter may be practiced without such specific details, and that certain features that are known in the art have not been described in detail to avoid complicating the disclosed subject matter. Additionally, it will be understood that the examples provided below are exemplary and that other apparatuses, systems, and methods are contemplated as being within the scope of the disclosed subject matter.

Modern electronic systems have been tightly integrated as systems on a chip (SoC), which contains multiple processing cores and heterogeneous components (e.g., memory controllers, hardware accelerators) within a single chip. The popularity of socs in combination with more stringent power budgets has prompted control of voltage and frequency at block-specific granularity. Block-specific voltage control may allow an electronic system to only boost the voltage of the core(s) for which higher performance is desired. Such block-specific voltage control may improve power and/or performance.

However, due to cost and size limitations of off-chip voltage regulators, traditional methods of Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS) have been performed at a coarse level. Furthermore, due to the slow speed of off-chip voltage regulators, conventional DVFS schemes are limited to slow voltage/frequency scaling on the microsecond time scale. By closely tracking SoC voltage to meet rapidly changing computational demands, faster DVFS at nanosecond timescales can save significantly more power consumed by the SoC.

In view of these shortcomings of off-chip voltage regulators, there has been increasing interest in building Integrated Voltage Regulators (IVRs) to reduce circuit board size and achieve nanosecond timescales, i.e., DVFS per core. The IVR may include various voltage regulators including switching regulators and low dropout linear voltage regulators. IVR, which can reduce board size and can achieve nanosecond timescale, DVFS Per Core, is disclosed in articles authored by the inventors of the present application, including an article entitled "System Level Analysis of Fast, Per-Core DVFS using On-Chip Switching regulations", published by Wonyoung Kim et al in the IEEE International seminar On High Performance Computer Architecture (HPCA) at month 2 2008; an article entitled "Design technologies for full Integrated Switched-Capacitor DC-DC Converters" published by Hanh-Phuc Le et al in the IEEE solid State circuits Journal (JSSC) in 9 months 2011; and an article entitled "A full-Integrated 3-Level DC/DC Converter for nanosequenced-Scale DVFS" published in IEEE solid State circuits Journal (JSSC) by Woyoung Kim et al at month 1 2012, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The switching regulator may include a buck regulator. FIGS. 1A-1B illustrate a buck regulator and its operation. As shown in fig. 1A, buck regulator 100 may include an inductor 108 and two switches 114, 116. The buck regulator 100 may connect the inductor 108 to the first voltage source V through a set of power switches 114, 116_IN104 and a second voltage source 118. In some cases, the second voltage source 118 may include a grounded voltage source. The power switches 114, 1 may be turned on and off using an external input16. In some cases, the power switches 114, 116 may be controlled such that the two switches are not turned on at the same time. The power switches 114, 116 may comprise transistors. The transistor may comprise a MOSFET transistor. For example, switch 114 may include a P-channel MOSFET transistor; switch 116 may comprise an N-channel MOSFET transistor.

As shown in fig. 1B, when the power switches 114, 116 are turned on and off with a period T, the input V of the inductor_X102 may be at 0 and V with a period T_INAnd swings. Inductor 108 and capacitor 120 operate as a low pass filter, which is paired with V over time_X102 are averaged so as to provide a regulator output V_OUTA signal with a small voltage ripple is created at 110. Output voltage V_OUT110 may depend on inductor 108 being coupled to first voltage source V_IN104, and the amount of time that inductor 108 is coupled to second voltage source 118. For example, buck regulator 100 may convert V_OUT510 is adjusted to V_IND + (0V) (1-D), where D (a number between 0 and 1) is V_XIs coupled to V_INThe time portion of (c). D is also referred to as the duty cycle. The output load consuming current 106 may be any type of electronic device including a processor, memory (DRAM, NAND flash), RF chip, WiFi combined chip, and power amplifier.

The efficiency of buck regulator 100 can be calculated as:

wherein P is_LIndicates power delivered to output load 106 and P_OIndicating the output power of the buck regulator 108. P_LIt can be calculated as follows: p_L＝P_O-P_LOSSIn which P is_LOSSIncluding the amount of power lost during the voltage regulation process.

The primary power loss P associated with buck regulator 100_LOSSOne includes resistive loss P caused by parasitic resistance of inductor 108_R. When buck regulator 100 provides current 112 to provide workWhen the rate is delivered to output load 106, buck regulator 100 ideally provides all of its output power to output load 106. However, in actual practice, buck regulator 100 dissipates some of its output power internally at inductor 108. Ideally, inductor 108 has zero resistance. Thus, the current through inductor 108 will not dissipate any power. However, in practice, inductor 108 is associated with a finite resistance, primarily due to the resistance of the material forming inductor 108. This undesirably finite resistance of inductor 108 is referred to as parasitic resistance. Parasitic resistance may cause resistive power loss because parasitic resistance may cause energy to be dissipated by the current through inductor 108. Thus, resistive power loss may reduce the power conversion efficiency of buck regulator 100.

When the current alternates, then the resistive power loss can be calculated as P_R＝I_L，RMS ²R_LWherein R is_LIs the parasitic resistance value of inductor 108, and I_L，RMSIs the root mean square of the current through inductor 108. Can be reduced by reducing the inductor current (I)_L，Pp120) To reduce I_L，RMS. Therefore, buck regulator 100 may reduce inductor current I_L，PP120 peak-to-peak ripple to reduce resistive loss P_R。

There are two methods for reducing the inductor current I_L，PP120 peak-to-peak ripple. First, buck regulator 100 can switch at a high frequency and reduce the period T of the switching regulator. However, this scheme may increase the power consumed to charge and discharge the parasitic capacitance at the junction 208 between the switches 114, 116. This capacitive power loss may be significant because the size of the switches 114, 116 may be large (which increases parasitic capacitance) and because V_xThe voltage swing on 202 is large. This capacitive power loss can be calculated as follows: p_C＝fCV²Where C is the amount of parasitic capacitance at the junction 208, f is the frequency at which the buck regulator 100 switches, and V is the voltage swing at the junction 208. This power loss can be significant because of the large size of the switches 114, 116(which increases parasitic capacitance) and because of V_XThe voltage swing on 202 is large.

Second, the buck regulator 100 may use an inductor 108 with a high inductance value to reduce the parasitic resistance R_L. However, this approach makes inductor 108 large and makes integration difficult.

The switching regulator may further include a Switched Capacitor (SC) regulator. SC regulators may use one or more capacitors (instead of inductors) to transfer charge from a power source to an output load. SC regulators may use power switches to connect/disconnect one or more capacitors from one of a plurality of voltages to provide an output voltage that is a weighted average of the plurality of voltages. SC regulators can control the output voltage by changing the configuration and sequence in which capacitors are coupled to each other. SC IVR with small size is easier to implement because capacitors are easier to integrate on chip or package than inductors.

One type of SC regulator is the Dickson Star SC regulator. In fig. 2, 3: an example of a 1 buck Dickson Star SC regulator (buck Dickson Star SC regulator configured to divide an input voltage level by 1/3). The Dickson Star SC regulator has several advantages over other SC regulator topologies. First, it uses fewer capacitors than other SC regulator topologies, such as a stepped SC regulator. Second, it may use transistors with lower voltage ratings as switches compared to other SC regulator topologies such as series connection of parallel SC regulators. Third, it can be more easily scaled to higher input voltages than other SC regulator topologies, such as series connection of parallel SC regulators.

The Dickson Star SC regulator 200 may include a switched capacitor C1_FLY204 and C2_FLY206, and a switch matrix including a plurality of switches 216 and 228, the plurality of switches 216 and 228 configured to switch a capacitor C1_FLY204 and C2_FLY206 are electrically coupled to an input voltage node V_IN202. Output voltage node V_OUT208 and ground node GND 210. Output node V_OUT208 are coupled to an output load I_OUT212 and goCoupling capacitor C_OUT 214。

Figures 3A-3C illustrate the basic operation of the Dickson Star SC regulator 200. As shown in fig. 3C, the Dickson Star SC regulator 200 duty cycles with a duty cycle D over time between state 0 (shown in fig. 3A) and state 1 (shown in fig. 3B). The value of the duty cycle (D) may be any value between 0 and 1, and is preferably between 0.25 and 0.75.

When the capacitor C1 is switched_FLY204 and C2_FLY206 are sufficiently large, the voltage V across these switched capacitors_C1FLY、V_C2FLYRemain substantially constant between state 0 and state 1, respectively. In addition, a generally large decoupling capacitor C_OUT214 are always coupled to the output V_OUT208 to reduce noise on the output. Thus, the output voltage V_OUT208 remain substantially constant in state 0 and state 1. Based on these characteristics, the following voltage relationship can be derived:

state 0: v_OUT 208+V_C1FLY＝V_C2FLY

State 1: v_OUT 208＝V_C1FLY

State 1: v_OUT 208+V_C2FLY＝V_IN 202

By eliminating V from these relationships_C1FLYAnd V_C2FLYThe following relationship can be derived:

V_OUT＝(1/3)×V_IN

this indicates that the alternation between state 0 and state 1 provides 3: step-down voltage regulation of 1. This 3: the 1 buck Dickson Star SC regulator design can be extended to N: 1 buck Dickson Star SC regulator, where N is a number greater than 3.

FIGS. 35A-35B show N: 1 step-down Dickson Star SC regulator topology and operation. N: a 1 buck Dickson Star SC regulator may include a capacitor matrix (also referred to as a capacitor bank). The capacitor matrix may include a first capacitor sub-matrix and a second capacitor sub-matrix. The capacitors in the first sub-matrix of capacitors are referred to as C (1, j), where the first index "1" refers to the "first" sub-matrix of capacitors and the second index "j" refers to the jth capacitor in the first sub-matrix of capacitors. Likewise, the capacitors in the second sub-matrix of capacitors are referred to as C (2, j). In fig. 35A-35B, a first capacitor sub-matrix includes M capacitors; and the second sub-matrix of capacitors comprises K capacitors. M may be equal to floor (N/2) and K may be equal to floor ((N-1)/2).

N: the 1 buck Dickson-Star SC regulator includes a plurality of switch matrices. The switches in the first switch sub-matrix comprise the bottom four switches SW 1216, SW 2218, SW 3220, SW 4222. The switches in the second sub-matrix of switches are referred to as SW (2, j), where the index "j" refers to the jth switch in the switch matrix.

In fig. 35A-35B, the number of switches and the connections of the switches of SW 1216, SW 2218, SW 3220, SW 4222 in the first switch submatrix do not change regardless of the value of "N". The second switch submatrix includes F number of switches and the value F may be equal to M + K + 1.

SW 1216 is connected to V_OUT208, and SW 2218. SW 2218 is connected to V_OUT208, and one terminal of SW 4222. All switches in the second sub-matrix of switches are connected in series. For example, SW (2, j) is connected to one terminal of C (1, p) and C (2, q). The value p may be equal to ceiling (j/2) and the value q may be equal to floor (j/2). SW 1216 and SW 2218 are connected to the other terminal of C (1, p), and SW 3220 and SW 4222 are connected to the other terminal of C (1, q).

By turning on and off the switches in the switch matrix, N: the 1 buck Dickson-Star SC regulator may be duty cycled between state 0 and state 1 as shown in fig. 35A and 35B, respectively.

FIGS. 35A-35B show N: 1 depressurization Dickson Star SC regulator at N: operation in 1-conversion mode. In state 0, in the first switch submatrix, SW 1216 and SW 3220 are turned off, and SW 2218 and SW 4222 are turned on. In the second switch sub-matrix, all odd-indexed switches are off, while all even-indexed switches are on. Subsequently, in state 1, all switch states are inverted compared to state 0.

Advantages of this switch configurationThe point is that, no matter how large N is, all switches have only at most V applied across them_OUT208. One disadvantage is that some capacitors have a high voltage applied across them, which requires high voltage rated capacitors, which can be bulky and expensive. In some embodiments, the voltage across the capacitor, V_C(1,p)And V_C(2,q)Is equal to ((p-1). times.2 + 1). times.V_OUT208 and qx 2 xV_OUT208. Thus, this Dickson Star configuration is useful when low voltage switches and high voltage capacitors are available.

While a Dickson Star SC regulator may be useful, such a design is still limited to a single slew ratio (input voltage V)_IN202 and an output voltage V_OUTRatio N between 208: 1 and cannot effectively regulate the voltage to provide other conversion ratios).

One drawback to using a single conversion ratio SC regulator is the limited range of output voltages. In general, the efficiency of an SC regulator may decrease at an output voltage that is not a predetermined fraction (e.g., 1/N) of the input voltage. As discussed with respect to fig. 3A-3C, SC regulators are typically optimized to achieve high efficiency at a single conversion ratio. For example, when an SC regulator is coupled to a battery providing 3.3V, the SC regulator may be optimized to receive 3.3V and provide a fixed output voltage of 1.1V. In this case, the efficiency of the SC regulator is optimized to provide an output voltage of 1.1V — when the output voltage deviates from 1.1V, the efficiency of the SC regulator will decrease. In other words, the SC regulator may be optimized to operate at 3: a conversion ratio of 1 provides high efficiency, and the efficiency of an SC regulator may deviate from 3: 1 and decreases. This efficiency reduction is unfortunate because a system on a chip (SoC) can operate at many voltage levels, and it would be desirable to use a single SC regulator to accommodate all those voltage levels in the SoC.

One way to support multiple conversion ratios is to provide multiple regulators each dedicated to a particular conversion ratio, and enable only one of these regulators depending on which conversion ratio needs to be supported. However, this requires many redundant capacitors and switches. For example, when 3: 1 when the regulator is used, 2: 1 and 1: all switches and capacitors of the 1-regulator remain idle and are not used. Redundant capacitors and switches require space real estate on the integrated circuit chip and add cost, both of which are undesirable.

It is therefore desirable to provide a single SC regulator that can achieve high efficiency at multiple conversion ratios. In other words, it is desirable to provide a single SC regulator that can be reconfigured for one of many conversion ratios (e.g., 1/2, 1/3, 2/3, 2/5, 3/5, 4/5) so that the single SC regulator can efficiently accommodate one of many output voltage levels.

The present disclosure shows a reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator that can support multiple conversion ratios by reconfiguring between various modes. Reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulators are designed to reduce the number of redundant capacitors by reusing capacitors and switches across multiple operating modes (across multiple conversion ratios).

In some embodiments, the reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator includes a regular Dickson Star SC regulator and a mode switch matrix. The mode switch matrix includes a plurality of switches coupled to a regular Dickson Star SC regulator. Depending on the desired conversion ratio, one or more switches in the mode switch matrix may be enabled to reconfigure the arrangement of capacitors in a regular Dickson Star SC regulator. In this way, the mode switch matrix is able to reconfigure the slew ratio of the regular fixed slew mode Dickson Star SC regulator.

In some embodiments, depending on the reconfigured slew ratio of the reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator, the switches in the regular fixed slew mode Dickson Star SC regulator may be controlled differently (as compared to its regular fixed slew mode operation) to account for the reconfigured arrangement of capacitors.

In the preceding discussion, N: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator refers to a reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator that can be reconfigured to provide M: 1, where M is a value between 1 and N.

Fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator that may be reconfigured to support multiple conversion ratios in accordance with some embodiments. Fig. 4 shows 3: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator 400 that can be reconfigured to convert to 3: 1. 2: 1. 1: 1. 3: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator 400 includes fixed 3 of fig. 2 identified using block 404: 1Dickson Star SC regulator 200, and a mode switch matrix 406 including a single mode switch SW 8402. This additional mode switch 402 can be selectively operated to switch from the fixed 3: 1Dickson Star SC regulator shift 3: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator.

Fig. 5A-7C illustrate the reconfigurable regulator of fig. 4 for a conversion ratio of 3: 1. 2: 1. 1: 1. As shown in fig. 5A-5C, to change the orientation of the optical lens at 3: operating reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator 400 in 1-switch mode, mode switch SW 8402 may be simply turned off (in the "on" position), and the fixed 3: the 1Dickson Star SC regulator 404 may operate in the same manner as in fig. 3 (multiple switches may be duty cycled to switch the regulator between state 0 and state 1).

As shown in fig. 6A-6C, to change the position of the lens at 2: reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator 400 is operated in a 1-switch mode when a fixed 3: when the 1 regulator 404 is duty cycled between state 0 and state 1, the switch SW 8402 may be turned on during state 0 and the switch SW 8402 may be turned off during state 1. In a sense, such 3: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator in 2: 1-switching mode operation because the mode switch SW 8402 connects all the switched capacitors C1 in parallel_FLY 204、C2_FLY206 are connected together and operate them collectively as a single large capacitor in state 0, as in the conventional 2: as in a 1SC regulator. For example, in conventional 2: in a 1SC regulator, a switched capacitor or several switched capacitors connected in parallel acting as one switched capacitor is connected between an input voltage and an output voltage in one state and between the output voltage and ground in another state. By passing throughThe two states are switched, and the output voltage becomes half of the input voltage. The switches in fig. 6A-6B are turned on and off accordingly, so that the switched capacitor behaves as in conventional 2: as in a 1SC regulator.

As shown in fig. 7A-7C, to convert between 1: operating reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator 400 in a 1-switching mode, switch SW 8402 may be turned on during state 0 and switch SW 8402 may be turned off during state 1 when the regulator is duty cycled between state 0 and state 1. The remaining switches are turned on and off accordingly, so that the switched capacitor behaves as in the conventional 1: as in a 1SC regulator. For example, in the conventional 1: in a 1SC regulator, a switched capacitor or several switched capacitors connected in parallel acting as one switched capacitor is connected between an input voltage and ground in one state and between an output voltage and ground in another state. By switching between these two states, the output voltage becomes similar to the input voltage. The switches in fig. 7A-7B are turned on and off accordingly, so that the switched capacitor behaves as in conventional 1: as in a 1SC regulator.

In some embodiments, the reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator may be 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator. In other words, the reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator may be configured to provide the following conversion ratio: 4: 1. 3: 1. 2: 1. 3: 1. To facilitate the pairing of 4: 1 discussion of reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator, fig. 8 shows a fixed conversion ratio of 4: 1Dickson Star SC regulator 800. And 3 in fig. 2: 1Dickson Star SC regulator 200, 4: the 1Dickson Star SC regulator 800 has one more switched capacitor C3_FLY802 and one more switch SW 9804.

Similarly to 3: 1Dickson Star SC regulator 200, 4: the 1 regulator 800 duty cycles between state 0 and state 1 to provide voltage regulation. Fig. 9A-9C show 4: the 1-regulator 800 cycles on the duty cycle between state 0 and state 1. Assume switched capacitor C1_FLY 204、C2_FLY206 and C3_FLY802 and a decoupling capacitor C_OUT214 isLarge, then the following relationship can be derived for the two states:

state 0: v_IN 202＝V_C3FLY+V_OUT 208

State 0: v_C2FLY＝V_C1FLY+V_OUT 208

State 1: v_OUT 208＝V_C1FLY

State 1: v_C3FLY＝V_OUT 208+V_C2FLY

Wherein V_C1FLYIs a first switched capacitor C1_FLY204 voltage across, V_C2FLYIs a second switched capacitor C2_FLY206, and V across_C1FLYIs a third switched capacitor C3_FLY802 across the capacitor. These relationships can be reorganized as follows:

V_C2FLY＝2×V_OUT

V_C3FLY＝3×V_OUT

V_OUT＝(1/4)×V_IN

thus, the Dickson Star SC regulator shown in fig. 8 is implemented as a 4: 1 step down Dickson Star SC regulator.

In some embodiments, fixed conversion mode 4: the 1Dickson Star SC regulator may be augmented with a mode switch matrix to provide a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator. Fig. 10 illustrates a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator. 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator 1000 includes fixed conversion mode 4: a 1Dickson Star SC regulator and a mode switch matrix having two mode switches SW 101002 and SW 111004. The mode switch matrix is designed to reconfigure the fixed switching mode 4: 1Dickson Star SC regulator 800, to enable a voltage regulation between 4: 1. 3: 1. 2: 1. 1: 1 conversion ratio.

11A-11C illustrate a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator in 4: operation in 1-conversion mode. In this mode of operation, when the Dickson Star SC regulator is duty cycled between state 0 and state 1 as shown in fig. 11C, the mode switches SW 101002 and SW 111004 are also duty cycled to provide 4: 1 conversion ratio, behaves like SW 1216 and SW 2218. For example, in the state 0, the first mode switch SW 101002 is turned off ("on") and the second mode switch SW 111004 is turned on ("off"), and in the state 1, the first mode switch SW 101002 is turned on ("off") and the second mode switch SW 111004 is turned off ("on").

Assume switched capacitor C1_FLY 204、C2_FLY206 and C3_FLY802 and a decoupling capacitor C_OUT214 is large, the following relationship can be derived for the two states:

state 0: v_IN 202＝V_C3FLY+V_OUT 208

State 0: v_C2FLY＝V_C1FLY+V_OUT 208

State 1: v_OUT 208＝V_C1FLY

State 1: v_C3FLY＝V_OUT 208+V_C2FLY

Wherein V_C1FLYIs a first switched capacitor C1_FLY204 voltage across, V_C2FLYIs a second switched capacitor C2_FLY206, and V across_C1FLYIs a third switched capacitor C3_FLY802 across the capacitor. These relationships can be reorganized as follows:

V_C2FLY＝2×V_OUT

V_C3FLY＝3×V_OUT

V_OUT＝(1/4)×V_IN

thus, the reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator shown in fig. 11A-11B acts as a 4: 1 step down Dickson Star SC regulator.

12A-12C illustrate a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator in 3: operation in 1-conversion mode. In this mode of operation, when the regulator is duty cycled between state 0 and state 1 as shown in fig. 12C, the mode switches SW 101002 and SW 111004 are also duty cycled to provide 3: 1 conversion ratio. For example, in the state 0, the first mode switch SW 101002 is turned on ("off") and the second mode switch SW 111004 is turned off ("on"), and in the state 1, the first mode switch SW 101002 is turned off ("on") and the second mode switch SW 111004 is turned on ("off").

In a sense, such 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator in 3: the operation in the 1-switch mode is similar to the fixed switch mode 3 in fig. 2: 1Dickson Star SC regulator 200. For example, switched capacitor C2_FLY206 and C3_FLY802 are connected together in parallel to provide a larger single capacitor, which together are shown as C2 in fig. 2_FLY206. As another example, switched capacitor C1 in FIGS. 12A-12B_FLY204 as C1 in FIG. 2_FLY204. Therefore, although 4: 1 the number of capacitors in the reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator differs from the fixed conversion mode 3 in fig. 2: 1Dickson Star SC regulator, but 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator can be implemented in 3: operating in the 1-conversion mode.

Assume switched capacitor C1_FLY 204、C2_FLY206 and C3_FLY802 and a decoupling capacitor C_OUT214 is large, the following relationship can be derived for the two states:

state 0: v_C2FLY＝V_C3FLY

State 0: v_C2FLY＝V_C1FLY+V_OUT 208

State 1: v_OUT 208＝V_C1FLY

State 1: v_IN 202＝V_OUT 208+V_C2FLY

Wherein V_C1FLYIs a first switched capacitor C1_FLY204 voltage across, V_C2FLYIs a second switched capacitor C2_FLY206, and V across_C1FLYIs a third switched capacitor C3_FLY802 across the capacitor. These relationships can be reorganized as follows:

V_C2FLY＝2×V_OUT 208

V_C3FLY＝2×V_OUT 208

V_OUT＝(1/3)×V_IN

thus, the reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator shown in fig. 12A-12C acts as a 3: 1 step down Dickson Star SC regulator.

13A-13C illustrate a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator in 2: operation in 1-conversion mode. In this mode of operation, when the Dickson Star SC regulator is duty cycled between state 0 and state 1 as shown in fig. 13C, the mode switches SW 101002 and SW 111004 are also duty cycled to provide 2: 1 conversion ratio. For example, in the state 0, the first mode switch SW 101002 is turned off ("on") and the second mode switch SW 111004 is turned on ("off"), and in the state 1, the first mode switch SW 101002 is turned on ("off") and the second mode switch SW 111004 is turned off ("on").

In a sense, such 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator in 2: 1-conversion mode operation because the regulator will switch all three capacitors C1_FLY 204、C2_FLY 206、C3_FLY802 are connected together in parallel and operate them collectively as a single large capacitor, as in conventional 2: as in a 1SC regulator. For example, in conventional 2: in a 1SC regulator, a switched capacitor or several switched capacitors connected in parallel acting as one switched capacitor is connected between an input voltage and an output voltage in one state and between the output voltage and ground in another state. By switching between these two states, the output voltage becomes half of the input voltage. The switches in fig. 13A-13B are turned on and off accordingly, so that the switched capacitor behaves as in conventional 2: as in a 1SC regulator.

Assume switched capacitor C1_FLY 204、C2_FLY206 and C3_FLY802 and a decoupling capacitor C_OUT214 are large, then the two states can be addressedThe following relationships are derived:

state 0: v_C1FLY＝V_C2FLY＝V_C3FLY＝V_IN 202-V_OUT 208

State 1: v_C1FLY＝V_C2FLY＝V_C3FLY＝V_OUT 208

Wherein V_C1FLYIs a first switched capacitor C1_FLY204 voltage across, V_C2FLYIs a second switched capacitor C2_FLY206, and V across_C1FLYIs a third switched capacitor C3_FLY802 across the capacitor. These relationships can be reorganized as follows:

V_C1FLY＝V_OUT

V_C2FLY＝V_OUT

V_C3FLY＝V_OUT

V_OUT＝(1/2)×V_IN

thus, the reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator shown in fig. 13A-13C acts as a 2: 1 step down Dickson Star SC regulator.

14A-14C illustrate a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator in 1: operation in 1-conversion mode. In this mode of operation, when the Dickson Star SC regulator is duty cycled between state 0 and state 1 as shown in fig. 14C, the mode switches SW 101002 and SW 111004 are not duty cycled. For example, in both state 0 and state 1, the first mode switch SW 101002 is turned on ("off") and the second mode switch SW 111004 is turned off ("on").

In a sense, such 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator in 1: 1-conversion mode operation because the regulator will switch all three capacitors C1_FLY 204、C2_FLY 206、C3_FLY802 are connected together in parallel and operate them collectively as a single large capacitor, as in conventional 1: as in a 1SC regulator. For example, in the conventional 1: in 1SC regulators, switched capacitors either act as a parallel connected capacitor as one switched capacitorThe dry-switched capacitor is connected between the input voltage and ground in one state and between the output voltage and ground in another state. By switching between these two states, the output voltage becomes similar to the input voltage. The switches in fig. 14A-14B are turned on and off accordingly, so that the switched capacitor behaves as in conventional 1: as in a 1SC regulator.

Assume switched capacitor C1_FLY 204、C2_FLY206 and C3_FLY802 and a decoupling capacitor C_OUT214 is large, the following relationship can be derived for the two states:

state 0: v_C1FLY＝V_C2FLY＝V_C3FLY＝V_IN 202

State 1: v_C1FLY＝V_C2FLY＝V_C3FLY＝V_OUT 208

Wherein V_C1FLYIs a first switched capacitor C1_FLY204 voltage across, V_C2FLYIs a second switched capacitor C2_FLY206, and V across_C1FLYIs a third switched capacitor C3_FLY802 across the capacitor. These relationships can be reorganized as follows:

V_C1FLY＝V_OUT

V_C2FLY＝V_OUT

V_C3FLY＝V_OUT

V_OUT＝V_IN

thus, the reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator shown in fig. 14A-14C is implemented as a 1: 1 step down Dickson Star SC regulator.

In some embodiments, 3: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator 400 and 4: the 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator 1000 may be extended to N: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator, where N can be any number greater than one.

15A-15B illustrate N: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator.

In some embodiments, N: the 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator 1500 may include a matrix of capacitors (also referred to as a capacitor bank). The capacitor matrix may include a first capacitor sub-matrix and a second capacitor sub-matrix. The capacitors in the first sub-matrix of capacitors are referred to as C (1, j), where the first index "1" refers to the "first" sub-matrix of capacitors and the second index "j" refers to the jth capacitor in the first sub-matrix of capacitors. Likewise, the capacitors in the second sub-matrix of capacitors are referred to as C (2, j). In fig. 15A-15B, a first capacitor sub-matrix includes M capacitors; and the second sub-matrix of capacitors comprises K capacitors. In some embodiments, M is equal to floor (N/2) and K is equal to floor ((N-1)/2).

In some embodiments, N: 1, reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator 1500 includes a switch matrix having a first switch sub-matrix, a second switch sub-matrix, a third switch sub-matrix, a fourth switch sub-matrix, and a fifth switch matrix.

The switches in the first switch sub-matrix are referred to as SW (1, j), wherein the first index "1" refers to the "first" switch matrix and the second index "j" refers to the jth switch in the first switch sub-matrix. Likewise, the switches in the second switch sub-matrix are referred to as SW (2, j); the switches in the third switch sub-matrix are referred to as SW (3, j); the switches in the fourth switch sub-matrix are referred to as SW (4, j); and the switches in the fifth switch sub-matrix are referred to as SW (5, j).

In fig. 15A-15B, the first and second switch sub-matrices each include M switches; the third switch sub-matrix and the fourth switch sub-matrix each comprise K switches; and the fifth switch sub-matrix comprises L switches. In some embodiments, M is equal to floor (N/2); k is equal to floor ((N-1)/2); and L is equal to N.

In some embodiments, regulator 1500 can be duty cycled between states 0 and 1 by turning on and off switches in a switch matrix of this regulator 1500.

15A-15B illustrate N: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator 1500 in N: operation in 1-conversion mode. In state 0, all switches in the first switch sub-matrix at the bottom left side are turned on, while all switches in the second switch sub-matrix side are turned off. In addition, all switches in the third switch sub-matrix are turned off, while all switches in the fourth switch sub-matrix are turned on. In the fifth switch sub-matrix, all odd-indexed switches are off, and all even-indexed switches are on. Subsequently, in state 1, all switch states are inverted compared to state 0. Although there are additional switches, including SW (j, 1), SW (j, 2), SW (j, 3), SW (j, 4), where j is greater than 1, the capacitor topology is similar to N in fig. 35A-35B: 1Dickson Star, reduced pressure.

In order to make N: 1 reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator 1500 at (N-1): operating in the 1-switching mode, the capacitors with the highest index in the first sub-matrix of capacitors (C (1, M)) and the capacitors with the highest index in the second sub-matrix of capacitors (C (2, K)) may be connected together in parallel to operate as a single capacitor. This "single" capacitor can work similar to (N-1): 1C (1, M) in a fixed transition mode Dickson-Star SC regulator-which is such a Dickson-Star SC regulator: equivalent to no C (2, K) (which is connected to V by fewer switches)_IN202) and the top switch in the fifth switch matrix (which is SW (5, L)) and SW (3, K) and SW (4, K) (which are two switches connected to C (2, K)): 1 fixed switching mode Dickson-Star SC regulator.

In order to make N: 1 reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator in (N-2): operating in 1-switching mode, with the minimum switches (or differently placed) in the fifth switch sub-matrix connected to V_IN202 may be connected together in parallel to operate as a single capacitor. The three capacitors include, for example, one capacitor C (1, M) with the highest index in the first sub-matrix of capacitors and two capacitors (C (2, K), C (2, K-1)) with the highest index in the second sub-matrix of capacitors. This "single" capacitor can work similar to (N-2): 1C (2, K-1) -in a fixed transition mode Dickson-Star SC regulator-it is a Dickson-Star SC regulator: equivalent to N without C (1, M) and C (2, K) and the top two switches in the fifth switch matrix (which are SW (5, L) and SW (5, L-1)) and SW (1, M), SW (2, M), SW (3, K), SW (4, K) (which are switches connected to C (1, M) and C (2, K)): 1 fixed switching mode Dickson-Star SC regulator.

More generally, to make N: 1 reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator in (N-R): operating in 1-switching mode, connected to V by the least switches of the fifth switch sub-matrix_IN202, "R + 1" capacitors may be connected together in parallel to operate as a single capacitor, and as if operating (N-R): the remaining switches are operated as in the 1 fixed transition mode Dickson-Star SC regulator.

In some embodiments, another topology of the Dickson Star SC regulator may enable reconfiguration between transition modes. Fig. 16 illustrates a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator. And fixed conversion mode 4 in fig. 8: 1Dickson Star SC regulator 800, 4 in FIGS. 10-14C: the 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator 1000 has two additional mode switches SW 101002 and SW 111004. Fig. 16 shows different types of 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator that uses two additional mode switches SW 121602 and SW 131604 in different positions.

17A-17C illustrate a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator operating at 4: operation in 1-conversion mode. The capacitor topologies in state 0 and state 1 are the same as the regulator 1000 in fig. 11A-11B, although the positions of the mode switches are slightly different. Thus, the relationship between the voltages across the capacitor in state 0 and state 1 in FIGS. 17A-17B is the same as the relationship between the voltages across the capacitor in state 0 and state 1 in FIGS. 11A-11B. As shown in FIGS. 11A-11B, assume a switched capacitor C1_FLY 204、C2_FLY206 and C3_FLY802 and a decoupling capacitor C_OUT214 is large, the following relationship can be derived for the two states:

state 0: v_IN 202＝V_C3FLY+V_OUT 208

State 0: v_C2FLY＝V_C1FLY+V_OUT 208

State 1: v_OUT 208＝V_C1FLY

State 1: v_C3FLY＝V_OUT 208+V_C2FLY

Wherein V_C1FLYIs a first switched capacitor C1_FLY204 voltage across, V_C2FLYIs a second switched capacitor C2_FLY206, and V across_C1FLYIs a third switched capacitor C3_FLY802 across the capacitor. These relationships can be reorganized as follows:

V_C2FLY＝2×V_OUT

V_C3FLY＝3×V_OUT

V_OUT＝(1/4)×V_IN

thus, the reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator shown in fig. 17A-17B acts as a 4: 1 step down Dickson Star SC regulator.

18A-18C illustrate a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator in 3: operation in 1-conversion mode. 3: the principle of operation in the 1-switch mode is similar to 3 shown in fig. 2: 1SC regulator. Switched capacitor C1_FLY204 and C3_FLY802 are connected together in parallel as a capacitor C1 similar to that of fig. 2_FLY204, is operated by a single large capacitor. Switched capacitor C2 in FIGS. 18A-18B_FLY206 and C2 in fig. 2_FLY206 operate in a similar manner.

Assume switched capacitor C1_FLY 204、C2_FLY206 and C3_FLY802 and a decoupling capacitor C_OUT214 is large, the following relationship can be derived for the two states:

state 0: v_C2FLY＝V_C3FLY

State 0: v_C2FLY＝V_C1FLY+V_OUT 208

State 1: v_OUT 208＝V_C1FLY

State 1: v_IN 202＝V_OUT 208+V_C2FLY

Wherein V_C1FLYIs a first switched capacitor C1_FLY204 voltage across, V_C2FLYIs a second switched capacitor C2_FLY206, and V across_C1FLYIs a third switched capacitor C3_FLY802 across the capacitor. These relationships can be reorganized as follows:

V_C2FLY＝2×V_OUT 208

V_C3FLY＝2×V_OUT 208

V_OUT＝(1/3)×V_IN

thus, the reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator shown in fig. 18A-18C acts as a 3: 1 step down Dickson Star SC regulator.

19A-19C illustrate a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator operating when operating at 2: operation in mode 1. The basic principle is similar to 4 shown in FIGS. 13A-13B: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator. Switched capacitor C1_FLY 204、C2_FLY 206、C3_FLY802 are connected in parallel to operate as a single large capacitor, like capacitor C1_FLY 204、C2_FLY 206、C3_FLY802 are connected in parallel to operate as a single large capacitor in fig. 13A-13B.

Assume switched capacitor C1_FLY 204、C2_FLY206 and C3_FLY802 and a decoupling capacitor C_OUT214 is large, the following relationship can be derived for the two states:

state 0: v_C1FLY＝V_C2FLY＝V_C3FLY＝V_IN 202-V_OUT 208

State 1: v_C1FLY＝V_C2FLY＝V_C3FLY＝V_OUT 208

Wherein V_C1FLYIs a first switched capacitor C1_FLY204 voltage across, V_C2FLYIs a second switched capacitor C2_FLY206, and V across_C1FLYIs a third switched capacitor C3_FLY802 across the capacitor. These relationships can be reorganized as follows:

V_C1FLY＝V_OUT

V_C2FLY＝V_OUT

V_C3FLY＝V_OUT

V_OUT＝(1/2)×V_IN

thus, the reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator shown in fig. 19A-19C acts as a 2: 1 step down Dickson Star SC regulator.

20A-20C illustrate a 4: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator operating when operating at 1: operation in mode 1. Switched capacitor C1_FLY 204、C2_FLY 206、C3_FLY802 are connected in parallel to operate as a single large capacitor, like capacitor C1_FLY 204、C2_FLY 206、C3_FLY802 are connected in parallel to operate as a single large capacitor in fig. 14A-14B.

Assume switched capacitor C1_FLY 204、C2_FLY206 and C3_FLY802 and a decoupling capacitor C_OUT214 is large, the following relationship can be derived for the two states:

state 0: v_C1FLY＝V_C2FLY＝V_C3FLY＝V_IN 202

State 1: v_C1FLY＝V_C2FLY＝V_C3FLY＝V_OUT 208

Wherein V_C1FLYIs a first switched capacitor C1_FLY204 voltage across, V_C2FLYIs a second switched capacitor C2_FLY206, and V across_C1FLYIs a third switched capacitor C3_FLY802 across the capacitor. These relationships can be reorganized as follows:

V_C1FLY＝V_OUT

V_C2FLY＝V_OUT

V_C3FLY＝V_OUT

V_OUT＝V_IN

thus, the reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator shown in fig. 14A-14C is implemented as a 1: 1 step down Dickson Star SC regulator.

The regulators in fig. 10-14C and the regulators in fig. 16-20C use a mode switch matrix with switches located at different positions, but the final capacitor arrangement is the same. Reconfigurable regulator 1000 is thus functionally identical to reconfigurable regulator 1600.

In some embodiments, 4: the 1 reconfigurable regulator 1600 may be generalized to provide N: 1a reconfigurable regulator, wherein N is greater than 1. 21A-21B illustrate N: 1 reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator.

N: the 1 reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator 2100 may also include a matrix of capacitors. The capacitor matrix may include a first capacitor sub-matrix and a second capacitor sub-matrix. The capacitors in the first sub-matrix of capacitors are referred to as C (1, j), where the first index "1" refers to the "first" sub-matrix of capacitors and the second index "j" refers to the jth capacitor in the first sub-matrix of capacitors. Likewise, the capacitors in the second sub-matrix of capacitors are referred to as C (2, j). In fig. 21A-21B, a first capacitor sub-matrix includes M capacitors; and the second sub-matrix of capacitors comprises K capacitors. In some embodiments, M is equal to floor (N/2) and K is equal to floor ((N-1)/2).

In some embodiments, N: the 1 reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator 2100 includes a switch matrix having a first switch sub-matrix, a second switch sub-matrix, and a third switch sub-matrix. The switches in each of these matrices are arranged in series at an input voltage V_IN202 and GND 210.

The switches in the first switch sub-matrix are referred to as SW (1, j), wherein the first index "1" refers to the "first" switch matrix and the second index "j" refers to the jth switch in the first switch sub-matrix. Likewise, the switches in the second switch sub-matrix are referred to as SW (2, j), and the switches in the third switch sub-matrix are referred to as SW (3, j). In fig. 21A-21B, the first switch submatrix includes E switches; the second switch submatrix comprises D switches; and the third switch sub-matrix comprises F switches. In some embodiments, E is equal to 2 × ceiling (N/2) -1; d is equal to floor (N/2); and F is equal to N.

In some embodiments, the switches in the first sub-matrix of switches connect two capacitors in the first sub-matrix of capacitors. For example, C (1, p) and C (1, p +1) are connected by SW (1, p). Similarly, the switches in the second sub-matrix of switches connect two capacitors in the second sub-matrix of capacitors. For example, C (2, p) and C (2, p +1) are connected by SW (2, p). Switches in the third sub-matrix of switches connect capacitors in the first sub-matrix of capacitors to capacitors in the second sub-matrix of capacitors. For example, C (1, p) and C (2, p) are connected by SW (3, 2 × p), and C (1, p +1) and C (2, p) are connected by SW (3, 2 × p + 1).

In some embodiments, the regulator 2100 can be duty cycled between states 0 and 1 by turning on and off switches in a switch matrix of the regulator 2100.

21A-21B illustrate N: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator 2100 in N: operation in 1-conversion mode. In state 0, in the third switch sub-matrix, all odd-indexed switches are off, while all even-indexed switches are on. Subsequently, in state 1, all switch states in the third switch sub-matrix are inverted compared to state 0. In both state 0 and state 1, all switches in the first switch sub-matrix and all switches in the second switch sub-matrix side are open. Although there are additional switches including the first switch matrix and the second switch matrix, since all those switches are open, the capacitor topology is similar to N in fig. 35A-35B: 1Dickson Star, reduced pressure.

In order to make N: 1 reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator 2100 in (N-1): operating in 1-switching mode, by the least switches (or, in other words, closest to the input terminals) in the third sub-matrix of switchesTo V_INThe capacitor of 202, which is C (2, K) in fig. 21A-21B, and the capacitor in the same matrix but with a lower bit index, which is C (2, K-1) in fig. 21A-21B, may be connected together in parallel to operate as a single capacitor. In order to keep the two capacitors connected as a "single" capacitor, SW (2, D) is always on in state 0 and state 1. This "single" capacitor can work similar to (N-1): 1C (1, M) in a fixed transition mode Dickson-Star SC regulator-which is such a Dickson-Star SC regulator: n equivalent to that in the absence of C (2, K) and SW (3, F): 1 fixed switching mode Dickson-Star SC regulator. Since C (2, K) is no longer present independently (or works with C (2, K-1)), SW (3, F-1) is turned off in both state 0 and state 1. C (1, M) acts as a top capacitor, so SW (1, E) acts as a top switch, and SW (3, F) is turned off in both state 0 and state 1. In summary, SW (2, D) is always on in state 0 and state 1, SW (3, F-1) and SW (3, F) are always off in state 0 and state 1, and SW (1, E) is on and off in state 0 and state 1, respectively.

In order to make N: 1 reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator in (N-2): operating in 1-switching mode, connected to V by a minimum of switches_IN202 may be connected together in parallel to operate as a single capacitor. In FIGS. 21A-21B, the three capacitors are C (2, K), C (1, M), and C (2, K-1). This "single" capacitor can work similar to (N-2): 1C (2, K-1) in Dickson-Star SC regulator, which is a Dickson-Star SC regulator as follows: n equivalent to that in the absence of C (2, K), C (1, M), SW (3, F), SW (F-1): 1 fixed switching mode Dickson-Star SC regulator. To keep the three capacitors connected as a "single" capacitor, SW (2, D), SW (3, E-1) are always on in state 0 and state 1. Since C (2, K) and C (1, M) are no longer independent, SW (3, F-1) and SW (3, F-2) are turned off in both state 0 and state 1. C (2, K-1) acts as the top capacitance, so SW (3, F) acts as the top switch, and SW (1, E) is turned off in both state 0 and state 1. In any case, it is preferable that,SW (2, D) and SW (1, E-1) are always on in state 0 and state 1, SW (3, F-1), SW (3, F-2), SW (1, E) are always off in state 0 and state 1, and SW (3, F) is off and on in state 0 and state 1, respectively.

More generally, to make N: 1 reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator in (N-R): operating in 1-switching mode, connected to V by the least switches of the third switch sub-matrix_IN202, "R + 1" capacitors may be connected together in parallel to operate as a single capacitor, and as if operating (N-R): the remaining switches are operated as in the 1 fixed transition mode Dickson-Star SC regulator.

In some embodiments, the control module is configured to perform the following switching operations to cause N: 1 reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator in (N-R): operating in the 1-conversion mode. The control module is configured to turn on the top "R" switches in the first and second matrices (e.g., the R switches closest to the input voltage terminals, or in other words, the R switches with the fewest number of switches between them and the input voltage terminals), excluding the top switch SW (1, E) in the first switch sub-matrix that is directly connected to the input voltage terminals. When the first switch in the first switch sub-matrix and the second switch in the second switch sub-matrix have the same number of switches between them and the input voltage terminal and only one of them can be included in the R switch sets, then the second switch in the second switch sub-matrix will be selected. For example, if R is equal to 3, SW (2, D), SW (1, E-1), SW (2, D-1) are selected as the "3" switches closest to the input voltage terminal. The control module is configured to keep the R-switch on in both state 0 and state 1 to connect the top 3 capacitors in parallel.

Furthermore, the control module is configured to open the top "R" switches in the third switch matrix (e.g., the R switches closest to the input voltage terminals, or in other words, the R switches with the fewest number of switches between them and the input voltage terminals), excluding the top switch SW (3, F) in the third switch matrix that is connected to the input voltage terminals. For example, if R equals 3, then SW (3, F-1), SW (3, F-2), SW (3, F-3) are always off in State 0 and State 1.

Also, when R is an odd number, the control module is configured to turn off the top switch SW (3, F) in the third switch sub-matrix and operate the top switch SW (1, E) in the first switch sub-matrix as if the top switch SW (1, E) in the first switch sub-matrix were the top switch of the third switch sub-matrix.

In some embodiments, when R is an even number, the control module is configured to turn off the top switch SW (1, E) in the first switch sub-matrix and cause the top switch SW (3, F) in the third switch sub-matrix to operate as if the top switch SW (3, F) in the third switch sub-matrix were the top switch of the first switch sub-matrix.

In some embodiments, the state of the top switch is inverted compared to the topmost switch in the third switch matrix, which is not always open. For example, if R is equal to 3, SW (3, F) is turned off since R is an odd number. SW (3, F-1), SW (3, F-2) and SW (3, F-3) are always off. Thus, the top switch, which is SW (1, E), is in a state that is inverted compared to SW (3, F-4), which SW (3, F-4) is the topmost switch in the third switch matrix that is not always off.

In some embodiments, a reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator may operate as part of a voltage regulator system. The voltage regulator system may operate in multiple interleaved phases (e.g., in a time-interleaved manner within a single cycle), and the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator may be used to provide an output voltage in one of the interleaved phases. For example, a voltage regulator system may include three reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulators each operating 0 degrees, 120 degrees, 240 degrees out of phase, respectively.

In some embodiments, the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator may be used for various applications including Power Management Integrated Circuits (PMICs), battery chargers, LED drivers, envelope tracking power amplifiers.

In some embodiments, a switched capacitor (e.g., C1)_FLY 204、C2_FLY206 and C3_FLY802) Can be controlled byIs set in proportion to the output current of the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator. For example, the capacitance of the switched capacitor may be in the range of 0.1nF/mA and 100nF/mA, depending on the target power efficiency. The reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator may improve its efficiency by using larger capacitance values.

In some embodiments, the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator may operate in an inverted configuration (e.g., the input and output nodes of the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator are toggled). The operational direction of the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator may be flexibly modified to accommodate various types of input voltage sources and output loads coupled to the input and output nodes of the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator.

In some embodiments, the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator may operate in a reverse direction (reverse direction) to operate it as a boost regulator. For example, an input node of the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator may be coupled to a target load (e.g., a chip), and an output node of the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator may be coupled to an input voltage source (e.g., a battery).

Fig. 22-24 illustrate a boost reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator in accordance with some embodiments. Regulator 2200 is a boost reconfigurable 1: 3Dickson-Star SC regulator; regulator 2300 is a boost reconfigurable 1: 4Dickson-Star SC regulator; and regulator 2400 is a boost reconfigurable 1: 4Dickson-Star SC regulator. The boost reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator of FIGS. 22-24 is similar to the buck regulator of FIGS. 6A-6C, 10 and 16, respectively, except that V_IN202 and V_OUT208 are swapped and V_IN202 is lower than V_OUT208.

In some embodiments, the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator may operate in the reverse direction to operate it as a battery charger. For example, an input node of the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator may be coupled to a power supply, such as a power line of a Universal Serial Bus (USB), and an output node of the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator may be coupled to a battery, such that an output voltage and an output current of the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator are used to charge the battery.

In some embodiments, the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator may be particularly useful in charging a battery in a handheld device. Handheld devices, such as smartphones, may use lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) batteries configured to provide a voltage output in the range of approximately 2.8-4.3V depending on whether the battery is charged (e.g., 4.3V when fully charged, 2.8V when fully discharged). The lithium ion battery in the handheld device may be charged using a Universal Serial Bus (USB). The current version of the USB power cord uses 5V (and future versions of USB may use higher voltages), which is higher than the voltage output of the lithium ion battery. Therefore, the voltage from the USB power line should be reduced before it is used to charge the lithium ion battery. To this end, the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator may be configured to receive a power line voltage (and current) from the USB and provide a reduced version of the power line voltage (and current) to the lithium-ion battery so that the lithium-ion battery may be charged based on the voltage and current from the USB.

In some embodiments, The above-described configuration of charging a battery using a USB power line may be reversed for use as USB On-The-go (otg), where a battery in a first device may deliver power over USB to a second device to charge The second device. In this case, the battery in the first device is configured to deliver current to the battery in the second device over the USB. While the output voltage of the battery in the first device may be lower than the USB power line voltage, the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator may operate in a boost configuration to boost the output voltage of the battery to the voltage of the USB power line. In this way, the battery in the first device may charge the battery in the second device through the USB power cord.

In some embodiments, an SC regulator (such as a reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator) may operate in conjunction with another voltage regulator to provide two-stage voltage regulation. Fig. 25 illustrates a two-stage voltage regulation system in which an SC regulator provides a first stage of voltage regulation, according to some embodiments. Fig. 25 includes a regulator 2502 and a second stage voltage regulator 2504. SC regulator 2502 may be any type of SC regulator, including, for example, one of the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulators disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the second stage voltage regulator 2504 may include one or more of a buck regulator, an SC regulator, a linear regulator, and/or any type of voltage regulator capable of providing voltage regulation.

In some embodiments, the SC regulator 2502 may be operated to provide an output voltage at which the SC regulator 2502 may provide high efficiency, and then the second stage regulator 2504 is used to regulate the output voltage of the SC regulator 2502.

For example, reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator 2502 may convert input voltage 202 to V_TMP2506, which is a portion of the input voltage 202, at which the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator 2502 may provide high efficiency. For example, V_TMP2506 may be V_INand/N, wherein N is the step-down ratio. Second stage voltage regulator 2504 may then receive V_TMP2506 and adjusting it to provide V_OUT 208。

Fig. 26A illustrates the embodiment of fig. 25 in which the second stage regulator is a buck converter, according to some embodiments. Here, V_TMP2506 are adjusted by the buck converter 100 in fine steps using the plurality of power switches 114, 116 and the one or more inductors 108. Fig. 26B shows a timing chart of signals in the regulator.

The two-stage regulator (also referred to as a hybrid regulator) shown in fig. 25-26B relies on the fact that: SC regulators are good at dividing across a predetermined fractional value, and second stage regulators (such as buck regulators) may be good at regulating in fine steps across a wide range of output voltages. For example, in a 12V-to-1V buck regulator, reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulator 2502 may be at V_IN202 receives 12V and provides 1/6 reduced pressure, thereby reducing the pressure at V_TMP2V is provided at 2506. The buck regulator 100 may then provide subsequent regulation to regulate 2V to 1V. Since the two-stage regulator will step downInternal node V of regulator 100_XThe voltage swing at is reduced to V_TMP2506 (which may be substantially less than V)_IN202) This topology may therefore reduce capacitive power losses in buck regulator 100 due to parasitic capacitance at junction 122.

Fig. 27 illustrates a two-stage voltage regulation system in which an SC regulator provides a second stage of voltage regulation, according to some embodiments. Fig. 27 includes a first stage voltage regulator 2702 and an SC regulator 2704. The SC regulator 2704 may be any type of SC regulator including, for example, one of the reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulators disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the first stage voltage regulator 2702 may include one or more of a buck regulator, an SC regulator, a linear regulator, and/or any type of voltage regulator capable of providing voltage regulation.

In fig. 27, the first stage regulator 2702 receives an input voltage V_IN202 as an output V_TMP2706 are provided to SC regulator 2704. SC regulator 2704 may then adjust V_TMP2706 and down to the desired output voltage 208.

When the first stage regulator 2702 is a switched inductor regulator, the two-stage voltage regulation system of fig. 27 can reduce the inductor resistive loss of the switched inductor regulator by operating the switched inductor regulator at a high switching frequency and with a small amount of current flowing through the inductor. This approach can reduce the resistive losses of the switched-inductor regulator even with small inductors having low inductance. In addition, this topology may also reduce capacitive losses (CV) of the switched inductor regulator by limiting the voltage swing across the switch²f loss).

In some embodiments, the first stage regulator 2702 may include only an inductor. Fig. 28A illustrates a two-stage voltage regulator in which the first stage regulator consists of an inductor alone, in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 28B illustrates a timing diagram of signals in the two-stage voltage regulator of FIG. 28A, according to some embodiments. Here, the first stage regulator is a single inductor 2802. One terminal of inductor 2802 is coupled to input voltage V_IN 202 and the other terminal of inductor 2802 is coupled to an input of SC regulator 2704. The input voltage to SC regulator 2704 is referred to as V_TMP 2706。

In some embodiments, input voltage V of SC regulator 2704_TMP2706 are connected to a switched capacitor C in the SC regulator 2704_FLY2804. When the SC regulator 2704 switches between state 0 and state 1 (see, e.g., FIGS. 3A-3B), the capacitor C is switched_FLY2804 Voltage potential V on the Top plate_TMP2706 at two voltages V₁And V₂To switch between. Based on this operation, the following relationship can be derived:

V_IN 202＝V₁D+V₂(1-D)

V₁and V₂Is regulated by SC regulator 2704 and V_OUT208, and a conversion ratio setting. Therefore, V can be finely controlled based on the duty ratio D and the conversion ratio of the SC regulator 2704_IN202 and V_OUT208. An advantage of the two-stage regulator in fig. 28A-28B is that the single stage SC regulator 2704, which may provide only an integer ratio conversion mode, may be converted to a two-stage regulator capable of providing a non-integer ratio conversion mode by the addition of only a single inductor 2802.

In some embodiments, a two-stage regulator may have a bypass switch SWI 2806 configured to short out an inductor 2802 in a first stage regulator. The bypass switch SWI 2806 allows the first stage regulator to be turned off without requiring its operation.

Fig. 29A-29B illustrate an embodiment in which SC regulator 2704 is 4: operation of the two-stage regulator of fig. 28A-28B of the 1Dickson Star Switched Capacitor (SC) regulator 800.

In some embodiments, the second stage 4: the 1 regulator 800 duty cycles between state 0 and state 1 to provide voltage regulation, also shown in fig. 9A-9B. Assume switched capacitor C1_FLY 204、C2_FLY206 and C3_FLY802 and a decoupling capacitor C_OUT214 is large, the following relationship can be derived for the two states:

state 0: v_TMP 2706＝V_C3FLY+V_OUT 208

State 0: v_C2FLY＝V_C1FLY+V_OUT 208

State 1: v_OUT 208＝V_C1FLY

State 1: v_C3FLY＝V_OUT 208+V_C2FLY

Wherein V_C1FLYIs a first switched capacitor C1_FLY204 voltage across, V_C2FLYIs a second switched capacitor C2_FLY206, and V across_C1FLYIs a third switched capacitor C3_FLY802 across the capacitor. These relationships can be reorganized as follows:

V_C2FLY＝2×V_OUT

V_C3FLY＝3×V_OUT

V_OUT＝(1/4)×V_TMP

thus, the second stage SC regulator acts as a 4: 1 buck regulator, and V_TMP2706 at 3 XV in State 0 and State 1_OUTAnd 4 XV_OUTAnd swings. The duty cycle of the second stage regulator and V are shown in FIG. 30_TMP2706.

Due to V_TMP2706 at 3 XV_OUTAnd 4 XV_OUTAnd thus this voltage swing is regulated by inductor 2802 to provide the following relationship:

V_IN 202＝(3×V_OUT)D+(4×V_OUT)(1-D)＝(4-D)×V_OUT

wherein D is a value between 0 and 1, and preferably between 0.25 and 0.75. In other words, the two-stage regulator in fig. 29A-29B allows the following voltage relationships:

V_OUT＝(1/(4-D))V_IN

thus, the voltage regulator control system can control the duty cycle D between 0 and 1 to fine tune V outside of the integer conversion ratio_IN202 and V_OUT208. In a sense, the second in FIGS. 28A-28BThe first and second stage regulators have the same duty cycle D.

Fig. 31 illustrates a two-stage voltage regulation system in which the second stage regulator is a multi-phase voltage regulator, according to some embodiments. A multi-phase voltage regulator in the second stage regulator allows the first stage regulator and the second stage regulator to use independent duty cycles. This may be beneficial in some cases because the efficiency of the SC regulator may decrease when the duty cycle of the SC regulator deviates from 0.5. By allowing the first and second stage regulators to have independent duty cycles, the second stage regulator can operate at a high efficiency level (e.g., a duty cycle near 0.5) regardless of the desired output voltage of the voltage regulation system.

As shown in fig. 31, in some embodiments, the second stage SC regulator has two 4: 1SC _ ph regulator modules SC _ ph 03102 and SC _ ph 13104, where SC _ ph 03102 and SC _ ph 13104 operate with their own phase. In some embodiments, the two SC regulator modules may be 180 degrees out of phase. According to some embodiments, the phase relationship between SC _ ph 03102 and SC _ ph 13104 is shown in fig. 32. In fig. 32, two 4: the 1SC regulator module operates at a duty cycle of 0.5, thereby achieving high efficiency.

Although two are 4: the 1SC regulator module operates at a duty cycle of 0.5, but the duty cycle of the switched inductor regulator in the first stage regulator can be independently controlled. In particular, the switched inductor regulator may have its own duty cycle D by switching switches SW 9804 and SW 173126 out of phase at duty cycle D, regardless of the two 4: what is the duty cycle of the 1SC regulator module.

For example, when both modules SC _ ph 03102 and SC _ ph 13104 operate at a duty cycle of 0.5, C3_FLY802 and C6_FLY3110 voltages V13130 and V23132 on the top plate are at 3V with a duty cycle of 0.5_OUT208 and 4 XV_OUT208 as shown in the waveform of fig. 32. Since at any given time C3_FLY802 and C6_FLY3110 voltages V13130 and V23132 at 3V_OUT208 and 4 XV_OUT208, and thus switches SW 9804 and SW173126 may be switched on and off (out of phase) at duty cycle D to thereby switch V at duty cycle D_TMP2706 connect to 3 XV_OUT208 or 4 XV_OUT208 as shown in fig. 32. This allows the first stage regulator to operate at duty cycle D while the second stage regulator (comprising two 4: 1SC regulator modules SC _ ph 03102 and SC _ ph 13104) operates at a duty cycle of 0.5, thereby increasing the operating efficiency of the second stage regulator.

When switches SW 9804 and SW 173126 are duty cycled with duty cycle D, the amount of time a particular SC module is used may depend on duty cycle D. For example, in fig. 32, the duty ratio D is less than 0.5. Thus, the first SC module 3102 is used less than 50% of the time, while the second SC module 3104 is used more than 50% of the time. In an extreme case, one SC module may be used for 100% of the time while the other SC module is used for 0% of the time. To accommodate this extreme, the size of all the switches and capacitors in the two SC modules 3102, 3104 may need to be large enough so that a single SC module can deliver the maximum required output power-as if the other SC module were not present.

In some embodiments, the switches SW 9804 and SW 173126 may be controlled such that each switch SW 9804 and SW 173126 is turned on for the same amount of time while maintaining the duty cycle of the first stage regulator. In this way, the SC modules in a multiphase regulator (second stage regulator) are used for the same amount of time regardless of the duty cycle of the first stage regulator. This allows the size of the switches and capacitors in the SC module to be approximately half compared to the situation where a single SC module needs to be able to deliver the maximum required output power.

Fig. 33 illustrates a control sequence of switches that allows each switch SW 9804 and SW 173126 to be turned on for the same amount of time while maintaining the duty cycle of the first stage regulator, in accordance with some embodiments. In a given period, the first switch SW 9804 is on for 50% of the time while keeping the second switch SW 173126 off, and the second switch SW 173126 is on for 50% of the time while keeping the first switch SW 9804 off. However, the time instance at which this period starts is determined such that the voltage V is_TMP2706 andduty ratio D at 3 x V_OUTAnd 4 XV_OUTAnd swings.

For example, when SW 9804 is turned on and SW17 is turned off, voltage V_TMP2706 are coupled to V13130 and when SW 9804 is turned off and SW17 is turned on, the voltage V_TMP2706 are coupled to V23132. Thus, by shifting time instance 3302, it is possible to control during which V is controlled_TMP2706 at 4 XV_OUTDuty cycle D of (D). For example, when time instance 3302 is shifted to the right, duty cycle D will increase proportionally; when time instance 3302 is shifted to the left, duty cycle D will be proportionally reduced. An additional benefit of this configuration is V_TMP2706 switch at twice the frequency of the switched inductor regulator and the switched capacitor regulator. This feature may enable the use of a smaller inductor 3302 without incurring additional switching losses.

Although a reconfigurable Dickson Star regulator is used to illustrate the second stage regulator, other types of SC regulators may be used for the second stage regulators in fig. 27-29B and 31. For example, the second stage regulator may include a step SC regulator, a reconfigurable step SC regulator, a series-to-parallel SC regulator, a reconfigurable series-to-parallel SC regulator, and/or any other type of SC regulator.

In some embodiments, the two-stage regulator may be used for various applications including Power Management Integrated Circuits (PMICs), battery chargers, LED drivers, envelope tracking power amplifiers.

In some embodiments, the capacitance of the switched capacitor regulator may be set to be proportional to the output current of the two-stage regulator. For example, the capacitance of the switched capacitor regulator may be in the range of 0.1nF/mA and 100nF/mA, depending on the target power efficiency. A two-stage regulator can increase its efficiency by using larger capacitance values.

In some embodiments, the two-stage regulator may operate in the reverse direction to operate it as a boost regulator. For example, an input node of the two-stage regulator may be coupled to a target load (e.g., a chip), and an output node of the two-stage regulator may be coupled to an input voltage source (e.g., a battery).

In some embodiments, the two-stage regulator may operate in the reverse direction to operate it as a battery charger. For example, an input node of the two-stage regulator may be coupled to a power source (e.g., a power line of a Universal Serial Bus (USB)), and an output node of the two-stage regulator may be coupled to a battery.

Various embodiments of the disclosed two-stage regulator may be used as a battery charger in a battery-operated device. For example, the output node of the two-stage regulator may be coupled to a battery such that the output voltage and output current of the two-stage regulator are used to charge the battery.

Two-stage regulators may be particularly useful in charging batteries in handheld devices. Handheld devices, such as smartphones, may use lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) batteries configured to provide a voltage output in the range of approximately 2.8-4.3V depending on whether the battery is charged (e.g., 4.3V when fully charged, 2.8V when fully discharged). The lithium ion battery in the handheld device may be charged using a Universal Serial Bus (USB). The current version of the USB power cord uses 5V (and future versions of USB may use higher voltages), which is higher than the voltage output of the lithium ion battery. Therefore, the voltage from the USB power line should be reduced before it is used to charge the lithium ion battery. To this end, the two-stage regulator may be configured to receive a supply line voltage and current from the USB and provide a reduced version of the supply line voltage and current to the lithium-ion battery so that the lithium-ion battery may be charged based on the voltage and current from the USB.

In some embodiments, The above-described configuration of charging a battery using a USB power line may be reversed for use as USB On-The-go (otg), where a battery in a first device may deliver power over USB to a second device to charge The second device. In this case, the battery in the first device is configured to deliver current to the battery in the second device over the USB. While the output voltage of the battery in the first device may be lower than the USB power line voltage, the two-stage regulator may operate in a boost configuration to boost the output voltage of the battery to the voltage of the USB power line. In this way, the battery in the first device may charge the battery in the second device through the USB power cord.

FIG. 34 is a block diagram of a computing device including a voltage regulation system according to some embodiments. The computing device 3400 includes a processor 3402, memory 3404, one or more interfaces 3406, an accelerator 3408, and a voltage regulator system 3410. Computing device 3400 may include additional modules, fewer modules, or any other suitable combination of modules to perform any suitable operation or combination of operations.

In some embodiments, accelerator 3408 may be implemented in hardware using an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). The accelerator 3408 may be part of a system on a chip (SOC). In other embodiments, the accelerator 3408 may be implemented in hardware using logic circuits, Programmable Logic Arrays (PLAs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), or any other integrated circuit. In some cases, accelerator 3408 may be packaged in the same package as other integrated circuits.

In some embodiments, the voltage regulator system 3410 may be configured to provide a supply voltage to one or more of the processor 3402, the memory 3404, and/or the accelerator 3408. The voltage regulator system 3410 may include one or more Voltage Regulator (VR) modules 3412-1.. 3412-N. In some embodiments, one or more of VR modules 3412-1.. 3412-N may be reconfigurable Dickson-Star SC regulators, e.g., as disclosed in fig. 4, 10, and 16. In some embodiments, one or more of the VR modules 3412-1.. 3412-N may be a two-stage regulator, e.g., as disclosed in fig. 27-29B, 31. One or more VR modules 3412-1.. 3412-N may operate with multiple interleaved phases.

In some embodiments, the voltage regulator system 3410 may include a switch control module configured to control a switch configuration in one or more VR modules 3412-1.. 3412-N. For example, when the switch control module receives a signal at 3: operation in 1 conversion mode 3: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC modulator, the switch control module may be configured to control the switch matrix 216 and 228 and the mode switch SW 8402 to switch between 3: the reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator is operated in a 1-conversion mode, as shown in fig. 5A-5C. As another example, when the switch control module receives a request at 2: operation in 1 conversion mode 3: 1 reconfigurable Dickson Star SC modulator, the switch control module may be configured to control the switch matrix 216 and 228 and the mode switch SW 8402 to switch between 2: the reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator is operated in a 1-conversion mode, as shown in fig. 6A-6C. In some embodiments, the switch control module may be synthesized using a hardware programming language. The hardware programming language may include Verilog, VHDL, Bluespec, or any other suitable hardware programming language. In other embodiments, the switch control module may be designed manually and may be arranged manually on a chip.

Computing device 3400 may communicate with other computing devices (not shown) via interface 3406. The interface 3406 may be implemented in hardware to send and receive signals in various media (such as optical, copper, and wireless) and in many different protocols, some of which may be non-transitory.

In some embodiments, computing device 3400 may comprise a user device. The user equipment may communicate with one or more radio access networks and with a wired communication network. The user device may be a cellular telephone having telephone communication capabilities. The user device may also be a smart phone providing functions such as word processing, web browsing, gaming, electronic book functions, operating system, and full keyboard. The user device may also be a tablet computer providing network access and most of the services provided by the smartphone. The user device operates using an operating system such as Symbian OS, iPhone OS, Blackberry by RIM, Windows Mobile, Linux, HP WebOS, Tizen, Android, or any other suitable operating system. The screen may be a touch screen for inputting data to the mobile device, in which case the screen may be used instead of a full keyboard. The user device may also maintain global positioning coordinates, profile information, or other location information. The user device may also be a wearable electronic device.

Computing device 3400 may also include any platform capable of computing and communicating. Non-limiting examples include Televisions (TVs), video projectors, set-top boxes or set-top box units, Digital Video Recorders (DVRs), computers, netbooks, laptops, and any other audio/video device with computing capability. The computing device 3400 may be configured with one or more processors that process instructions and execute software that may be stored in memory. The processor also communicates with the memory and the interface to communicate with other devices. The processor may be any suitable processor, such as a system on a chip combining a CPU, an application processor, and flash memory. The computing device 3400 may also provide various user interfaces such as a keyboard, touch screen, trackball, touchpad, and/or mouse. In some embodiments, computing device 3400 may also include speakers and a display device. Computing device 3400 may also include a biomedical electronic device.

It is to be understood that the disclosed subject matter is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The disclosed subject matter is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, devices, systems and methods for carrying out the several purposes of the disclosed subject matter. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the disclosed subject matter.

While the disclosed subject matter has been described and illustrated in the foregoing exemplary embodiments, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example, and that numerous changes in the details of the embodiments of the disclosed subject matter may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed subject matter, which is limited only by the claims which follow.