CN-117055669-B - Dynamic current scaling of regulators

Abstract

Dynamic current scaling of regulators is disclosed. A method and apparatus for performing dynamic current scaling of an input current of a voltage regulator are provided. The method and apparatus allow for regulating current consumption in various applications, calculating the duration of an active phase in which various algorithms are executed, and activating dynamic current scaling of the regulator if the active duration is shorter than a programmable threshold. The controller receives a threshold value of the activity duration and a window size for evaluating the activity duration.

Inventors

• MARCHESE CARMEL
• R. Bassol

Assignees

• 意法半导体股份有限公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20230509

Priority Date

20220511

Claims (20)

1. 1.A system, comprising: a regulator configured to receive an input current and provide a regulated voltage, and A controller configured to: Receiving a threshold of activity duration; determining a first activity duration in a first one of the plurality of output data rate periods; Comparing the first activity duration to a threshold of the activity duration; Avoiding performing dynamic current scaling on the input current during the first output data rate period in response to determining that the first activity duration exceeds the threshold value, and In response to determining that the first activity duration does not exceed the threshold, causing the dynamic current scaling to be performed on the input current during the first output data rate period.
2. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to cause the dynamic current scaling to be performed in the first output data rate period by reducing the input current from a first current level to a second current level that is lower than the first current level.
3. 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to cause the dynamic current scaling to be performed in the first output data rate period by reducing the input current from the first current level to the second current level in a first standby duration of the first output data rate period, wherein the first standby duration is subsequent to the first active duration in the first output data rate period.
4. 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the first standby duration is a portion of the first output data rate period during which the controller does not execute one or more algorithms scheduled during the first output data rate period.
5. 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first activity duration is a portion of the first output data rate period during which the controller executes one or more algorithms scheduled during the first output data rate period.
6. 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to avoid performing the dynamic current scaling by maintaining the input current at a first current level during both the first active duration and a first standby duration of the first output data rate period.
7. 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to: Receiving an indication of a window size; Determining that the window size is greater than 1, wherein a window size greater than 1 indicates that the controller is to evaluate dynamic current scaling based on a number of output data rate time periods specified by the window size; In response to determining that the window size is greater than 1, determining whether one or more activity durations of one or more of the plurality of output data rate periods do not exceed the threshold, respectively, and In response to determining that neither the one or more activity durations nor the first activity duration exceeds the threshold, causing the dynamic current scaling to be performed on the input current in a subsequent output data rate period following the first output data rate period and/or the plurality of output data rate periods, wherein the first output data rate period follows the one or more output data rate periods.
8. 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the regulated voltage powers the controller.
9. 9. A controller for a regulator, comprising: a memory configured to store executable instructions for execution during a first activity duration of a first output data rate period; a control stage configured to: Receiving a threshold of activity duration; determining a first timestamp prior to executing the executable instructions; Executing the executable instructions; determining a second timestamp after executing the executable instructions; Determining the first activity duration as a difference between the first timestamp and the second timestamp; comparing the first activity duration with the threshold value, and Determining whether to reduce the current supplied to the regulator based on comparing the first activity duration with the threshold by refraining from performing dynamic current scaling on the current supplied to the regulator during the first output data rate period in response to determining that the first activity duration exceeds the threshold or by not performing the dynamic current scaling on the current supplied to the regulator during the first output data rate period in response to determining that the first activity duration does not exceed the threshold, and A dynamic current scaling stage configured to set the current supplied to the regulator.
10. 10. The controller of claim 9, wherein the control stage is configured to reduce the current supplied to the regulator from a first current level to a second current level in response to determining that the first activity duration is less than the threshold.
11. 11. The controller of claim 10, wherein the control stage is configured to decrease the current supplied to the regulator for a first standby duration of the first output data rate period, wherein the first standby duration is subsequent to the first active duration.
12. 12. The controller of claim 11, wherein the dynamic current scaling stage is configured to increase the current supplied to the regulator from the second current level to the first current level for a second active duration of a second output data rate period, wherein the second output data rate period is subsequent to the first output data rate period.
13. 13. The controller of claim 9, wherein the control stage is configured to maintain a level of the current supplied to the regulator in response to determining that the first activity duration is greater than the threshold.
14. 14. The controller of claim 13, wherein the control stage is configured to maintain the level of the current supplied to the regulator for a first standby duration of the first output data rate period, wherein the first standby duration is subsequent to the first active duration.
15. 15. A method for dynamically scaling a current of a regulator, comprising: Receiving a threshold of activity duration; determining a first activity duration in a first one of the plurality of output data rate periods; Comparing the first activity duration with the threshold value of the activity duration, and In response to determining that the first activity duration exceeds the threshold, refraining from performing dynamic current scaling on the input current of the regulator during the first output data rate period, and in response to determining that the first activity duration does not exceed the threshold, causing the dynamic current scaling to be performed on the input current during the first output data rate period; The input current is received by the regulator and a regulated voltage is provided by the regulator.
16. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein causing the dynamic current scaling to be performed in the first output data rate period comprises reducing the input current from a first current level to a second current level lower than the first current level.
17. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein causing the dynamic current scaling to be performed in the first output data rate period comprises reducing the input current from the first current level to the second current level for a first standby duration of the first output data rate period, wherein the first standby duration is subsequent to the first active duration in the first output data rate period.
18. 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the first activity duration is a portion of the first output data rate period during which a controller executes one or more algorithms scheduled for execution during the first output data rate period.
19. 19. The method of claim 15, wherein refraining from performing the dynamic current scaling includes maintaining the input current at a first current level during both the first active duration and a first standby duration of the first output data rate period.
20. 20. The method of claim 15, comprising: Receiving an indication of a window size; Determining that the window size is greater than 1; In response to determining that the window size is greater than 1, determining whether one or more activity durations of one or more of the plurality of output data rate periods do not exceed the threshold, respectively, and In response to determining that neither the one or more activity durations nor the first activity duration exceeds the threshold, causing the dynamic current scaling to be performed on the input current in a subsequent output data rate period following the first output data rate period and/or the plurality of output data rate periods, wherein the first output data rate period follows the one or more output data rate periods.

Description

Dynamic current scaling of regulators Technical Field The present application relates to dynamically scaling the current of a regulator, and in particular to dynamically scaling the current based on the duration of activity of a controller powered by the regulator. Background The regulator is for providing a voltage having a substantially constant level. The regulator receives an input current and provides a voltage based on the received current. In many applications, such as low power applications including activity trackers and pedometers, computing activity may change over time. Furthermore, in applications, reducing the current supplied to the regulator results in achieving power savings. Disclosure of Invention In one embodiment, a system includes a regulator configured to receive an input current and provide a regulated voltage. The system includes a controller configured to receive a threshold of activity duration, determine a first activity duration of a first output data rate period of a plurality of output data rate periods, compare the first activity duration to the threshold of activity duration, refrain from performing dynamic current scaling on the input current in the first output data rate period in response to determining that the first activity duration exceeds the threshold, and cause the input current to be performed dynamic current scaling in the first output data rate period in response to determining that the first activity duration does not exceed the threshold. In one embodiment, the controller is configured to cause dynamic current scaling to be performed during the first output data rate period by reducing the input current from a first current level to a second current level that is lower than the first current level. In one embodiment, the controller is configured to cause dynamic current scaling to be performed during the first output data rate period by reducing the input current from the first current level to the second current level during a first standby duration of the first output data rate period. In one embodiment, the first standby duration is after the first active duration in the first output data rate period. In one embodiment, the first standby duration is a portion of a first output data rate period during which the controller does not execute one or more algorithms scheduled during the first output data rate period. In one embodiment, the first activity duration is a portion of a first output data rate period during which the controller executes one or more algorithms scheduled during the first output data rate period. In one embodiment, the controller is configured to avoid performing dynamic current scaling by maintaining the input current at the first current level during the first active duration and the first standby duration of the first output data rate period. In one embodiment, the controller is configured to receive an indication of a window size, determine that the window size is greater than 1, determine, in response to determining that the window size is greater than 1, whether one or more activity durations of one or more of the plurality of output data rate time periods, respectively, do not exceed a threshold, and in response to determining that neither the one or more activity durations nor the first activity duration exceed the threshold, cause dynamic current scaling to be performed on the input current in the first output data rate time period. In one embodiment, the first output data rate period is subsequent to the one or more output data rate periods. In one embodiment, the regulated voltage powers the controller. In one embodiment, a controller for a regulator includes a memory configured to store executable instructions for execution during a first active duration of a first output data rate period. The controller includes a control stage configured to receive a threshold of an activity duration, determine a first timestamp prior to executing the executable instructions, execute the executable instructions, determine a second timestamp after executing the executable instructions, determine the first activity duration as a difference between the first timestamp and the second timestamp, compare the first activity duration to the threshold, and determine whether to reduce a current provided to the regulator based on the comparison of the first activity duration to the threshold. In one embodiment, the controller includes a dynamic current scaling stage configured to set a current provided to the regulator. In one embodiment, the control stage is configured to reduce the current supplied to the regulator from the first current level to the second current level in response to determining that the first activity duration is less than the threshold. In one embodiment, the control stage is configured to reduce the current supplied to the regulator for a first standby duration of the first output data rate period. In one embodiment, the first st