CN-122026293-A - Multi-rail power supply system and controller and control method of multi-phase voltage stabilizer of multi-rail power supply system

Abstract

A multi-rail power supply system, a controller for a multi-phase voltage regulator in the multi-rail power supply system, and a corresponding control method are disclosed, the controller including a dynamic overcurrent unit and a switch control circuit. The dynamic overcurrent unit provides an overcurrent threshold based on a system input current, wherein the system input current is indicative of a total input current of the multi-phase voltage regulator and the at least one other voltage regulator. The switch control circuit provides a plurality of switch control signals to control a plurality of switch circuits of the multi-phase voltage regulator such that an output voltage of the multi-phase voltage regulator is regulated to a preset level and an output current of the plurality of switch circuits is controlled based on an overcurrent threshold. The controller of the present disclosure coordinates the overcurrent limiting of the plurality of voltage regulators based on the system input current, achieves thermal balancing of the multi-rail power supply system by dynamically adjusting the overcurrent threshold, and controls the total power consumption to avoid overheating.

Inventors

• Aniruda Arthur Mahajan
• ZHANG FANGYU
• HUANG DAOCHENG

Assignees

• 成都芯源系统有限公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20251103

Priority Date

20241112

Claims (20)

1. 1. A controller for a multiphase voltage regulator in a multi-rail power supply system, comprising: a dynamic over-current unit configured to provide an over-current threshold based on a system input current, wherein the system input current is indicative of a total input current of the multi-phase voltage regulator and at least one other voltage regulator, and A switch control circuit configured to provide a plurality of switch control signals to control a plurality of switch circuits of the multi-phase voltage regulator such that an output voltage of the multi-phase voltage regulator is regulated to a preset level and to control an output current of the plurality of switch circuits based on the over-current threshold.
2. 2. The controller of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to limit a current output by each of the plurality of switching circuits in response to the over-current threshold.
3. 3. The controller of claim 1, wherein: In response to the system input current being less than a first threshold, the over-current threshold is maintained at a first value, and The over-current threshold decreases with increasing system input current in response to the system input current being above the first threshold.
4. 4. The controller of claim 1, further comprising: a memory configured to store first data for setting an initial overcurrent threshold and second data for setting an input current threshold, wherein The dynamic overcurrent unit is configured to receive a current detection signal indicative of the system input current, the initial overcurrent threshold, and the input current threshold, and to provide the overcurrent threshold in response to the current detection signal, the initial overcurrent threshold, and the input current threshold.
5. 5. The controller of claim 4, wherein: In response to the current sense signal being less than the input current threshold, the over-current threshold remains at the initial over-current threshold, and In response to the current detection signal being above the input current threshold, the over-current threshold varies from the initial over-current threshold according to a difference between the input current threshold and the current detection signal.
6. 6. The controller of claim 4, wherein the memory is further configured to store third data for setting a minimum over-current threshold for setting a minimum value of the over-current threshold.
7. 7. The controller of claim 4, wherein the memory is further configured to store fourth data, wherein the fourth data is used to set a rate of decrease of the over-current threshold.
8. 8. The controller of claim 1, wherein the dynamic overcurrent unit comprises: a first digital-to-analog converter configured to provide an initial over-current threshold based on the first data; Current source, and A comparator configured to compare a current detection signal indicative of the system input current with an input current threshold, wherein When the current detection signal is higher than the input current threshold, the current source pulls down the overcurrent threshold under the control of the output of the comparator.
9. 9. The controller of claim 8, wherein the dynamic overcurrent unit further comprises: A second digital-to-analog converter configured to provide a minimum over-current threshold based on the second data, and And a clamping circuit configured to clamp the overcurrent threshold to not lower than the minimum overcurrent threshold.
10. 10. The controller of claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of comparison circuits configured to compare the plurality of phase current detection signals with the overcurrent threshold respectively to provide a plurality of overcurrent indication signals, wherein In response to one of the plurality of phase current detection signals being above the overcurrent threshold, the controller turns off the corresponding switching circuit.
11. 11. A control method for a multiphase voltage regulator in a multi-rail power supply system, comprising: Providing an overcurrent threshold; Providing a plurality of switch control signals to control a plurality of switch circuits of the multiphase voltage regulator, enabling the output voltage of the multiphase voltage regulator to be regulated to a preset level, and controlling the output current of the plurality of switch circuits based on the overcurrent threshold, and In response to a dynamic overcurrent limiting function being enabled, the overcurrent threshold is dynamically adjusted according to a system input current, wherein the system input current is indicative of a total input current of the multi-phase voltage regulator and at least one other voltage regulator.
12. 12. The control method according to claim 11, further comprising: In response to the dynamic overcurrent limiting function being disabled, the overcurrent threshold is maintained constant.
13. 13. The control method according to claim 11, further comprising: in response to the over-current threshold, limiting a current delivered by each of the plurality of switching circuits.
14. 14. The control method according to claim 11, further comprising: Receiving a current sense signal indicative of the system input current; Maintaining the overcurrent threshold at an initial overcurrent threshold when the current sense signal is less than the input current threshold, and When the current detection signal is higher than the input current threshold, the overcurrent threshold is controlled to decrease from the initial overcurrent threshold.
15. 15. The control method according to claim 14, further comprising: reading the first data to set the initial overcurrent threshold and The second data is read to set the input current threshold.
16. 16. The control method according to claim 11, further comprising: Receiving a current sense signal indicative of the system input current; Maintaining the overcurrent threshold at an initial overcurrent threshold when the current sense signal is less than an input current threshold, and When the current detection signal is higher than the input current threshold, the overcurrent threshold is changed according to a difference between the input current threshold and the current detection signal.
17. 17. A multi-rail power supply system comprising: a first voltage regulator including an input node, an output node configured to provide a first output voltage, a first plurality of switching circuits, and a first controller, and A second voltage regulator, wherein the first voltage regulator includes an input node and an output node configured to provide a second output voltage, the input node of the first voltage regulator being coupled to the input node of the second voltage regulator, wherein The first controller is configured to dynamically set a first over-current threshold in accordance with a system input current to limit current through each of the first plurality of switching circuits, wherein the system input current is indicative of a total input current of at least the first and second voltage regulators.
18. 18. The multi-rail power supply system of claim 17, wherein the first controller further comprises: a dynamic overcurrent unit configured to provide an overcurrent threshold based on the system input current, and A switch control circuit configured to provide a plurality of switch control signals to control the first plurality of switch circuits to regulate the first output voltage, and configured to limit a current flowing through each of the first plurality of switch circuits based on the overcurrent threshold.
19. 19. The multi-rail power supply system of claim 17, wherein the second voltage regulator further comprises: A second plurality of switching circuits and a second controller configured to dynamically set a second overcurrent threshold according to the system input current to limit current flowing through each switching circuit of the second plurality of switching circuits.
20. 20. The multi-rail power supply system of claim 17, wherein: When the system input current is less than a first threshold, the first overcurrent threshold is maintained at a first value, and When the system input current is greater than a first threshold, the first overcurrent threshold decreases as the system input current increases.

Description

Multi-rail power supply system and controller and control method of multi-phase voltage stabilizer of multi-rail power supply system Technical Field The present invention relates to electronic circuits, and more particularly, to a voltage regulator. Background The rapid development of electronics, particularly in the field of high performance computing, communications, and portable consumer devices, has driven a continual increase in power demands of integrated circuits. To meet higher power demands and maintain tight voltage regulation, modern power supply systems employ multi-rail regulators to provide dedicated power domains to different functional units. Thermal management has become a critical design consideration as the overall power density of the system increases, as excessive temperatures can lead to performance degradation, reduced device life, and reliability impact. In conventional voltage regulator architectures, load line regulation techniques are used to prevent the voltage regulator from experiencing excessive current. This technique reduces the output voltage proportionally with the increase in output current, thereby limiting the maximum power supply capability of the voltage regulator. Although this technique is suitable for a single rail configuration, it does not work well in a multi-rail power supply system. Each power rail accumulates package thermal load, which can result in excessive conservation of power budget if load line margin is uniformly applied to all power rails, and as a result, the system may operate in a significantly redundant state, resulting in insufficient utilization of available power, thereby reducing overall performance. Disclosure of Invention Therefore, in order to solve the technical problems, the invention provides a multi-rail power supply system, a controller of a multi-phase voltage stabilizer and a control method thereof. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a controller for a multiphase voltage regulator in a multi-rail power supply system is presented, comprising a dynamic overcurrent unit and a switch control circuit. The dynamic over-current unit is configured to provide an over-current threshold based on a system input current, wherein the system input current is indicative of a total input current of the multi-phase voltage regulator and at least one other voltage regulator. The switch control circuit is configured to provide a plurality of switch control signals to control a plurality of switch circuits of the multi-phase voltage regulator such that an output voltage of the multi-phase voltage regulator is regulated to a preset level, wherein an output current of the plurality of switch circuits is controlled based on the over-current threshold. According to an embodiment of the invention, a control method for a multi-phase voltage regulator in a multi-track power supply system is provided, and the control method comprises the steps of providing an overcurrent threshold, providing a plurality of switch control signals to control a plurality of switch circuits of the multi-phase voltage regulator, enabling output voltages of the multi-phase voltage regulator to be regulated to a preset level, controlling output currents of the switch circuits based on the overcurrent threshold, and dynamically adjusting the overcurrent threshold according to system input currents in response to the dynamic overcurrent limiting function being enabled. Wherein the system input current is indicative of a total input current of the multi-phase voltage regulator and at least one other voltage regulator. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a multi-rail power supply system is provided that includes a first voltage regulator and a second voltage regulator. The first voltage regulator includes an input node, an output node configured to provide a first output voltage, a first plurality of switching circuits, and a first controller. A second voltage regulator, wherein the first voltage regulator includes an input node and an output node configured to provide a second output voltage, the input node of the first voltage regulator being coupled with the input node of the second voltage regulator. The first controller is configured to dynamically set a first over-current threshold in accordance with a system input current to limit a current flowing through each of the first plurality of switching circuits. Wherein the system input current is indicative of a total input current of at least the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator. Compared with the prior art, the controller coordinates the overcurrent limitation of the plurality of voltage regulators based on the input current of the system, realizes the heat balance of the multi-rail power supply system by dynamically adjusting the overcurrent threshold, and controls the total power consumption to avoid overheating. Drawings For a better understanding of the present invention,