Abstract:
Methods and apparatuses are provided for achieving efficient power usage by a power amplifier. For example, there is provided an apparatus comprising: a processor unit providing one or more processor outputs, one of the processor outputs comprising a control voltage; and a variable gain amplifier operatively coupled to the processor and the power amplifier, wherein the variable gain amplifier comprises a piecewise linear circuit that receives the control voltage from the processor unit and provides a supply voltage to the power amplifier. In one embodiment, the processor unit is operatively coupled to a receiver that receives a feedback signal via radio link from a remote base station. The piecewise linear circuitry adjusts the supply voltage to the power amplifier at an exponential rate according to power requirements of the power amplifier.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION DATA  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/550,380, filed Oct. 17, 2006, which claims the benefit pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/727,741, filed Oct. 17, 2005. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to switching mode power converter circuits, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for using switching mode power converter circuits to provide efficient power use by a power amplifier.  
         [0004]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0005]     The latest generation of communication devices, such as third generation (3G) mobile phones, provide more data transmission capabilities than their predecessors. Mobile phones usually include an RF power amplifier (PA) that generates the transmit power required to communicate with a base station. Some of the latest data transmission applications, such as on-line gaming, data web surfing, and the like, require the RF power amplifier to operate more frequently than they would for an ordinary voice call. As a result, the RF power amplifier tends to consume more current and the battery tends to run down (i.e., discharge) more quickly. It is, therefore, desirable to increase the efficiency of the phone circuitry (i.e., reduce current consumption) so as to maximize battery life.  
         [0006]     One known method for reducing current consumption is to adaptively control the power supplied to the RF power amplifier. Adaptive power supply control is achieved by varying the supply voltage level based on the power requirements of the power amplifier. For example, if the power amplifier is at maximum power, the power supply would be set to its highest level (i.e., equal to the battery voltage) so that the power amplifier is not power limited. Conversely, during transmission periods in which lower power levels are required, the adaptive controller can decrease the input voltage to the power amplifier in order to maintain the maximum efficiency in the power amplifier while drawing less battery current.  
         [0007]     A common technique for increasing efficiency while decreasing the supply voltage involves using a switch-mode step-down (buck) DC-DC converter as the power supply. A buck converter provides a regulated DC output voltage to a load by alternately using the input supply and an inductor to supply load current. When the supply is connected to the load, current passes through an inductor which stores energy at the same time. When the supply is disconnected, another switch from ground to the input of inductor is connected, allowing the inductor to discharge its stored energy and supply current to the load. The amount of time each phase of operation takes place depends on the desired output voltage. The total time the supply is connected is determined by the ratio of the desired voltage to the actual supply voltage. For example, if the supply is 5V and the desired supply is 2.5V, then the supply will only be connected for 50% of the total time. During the second 50% of any period, the load is supplied by the discharging inductor. To reduce voltage ripple, a capacitor is added to the output of the inductor to form a low pass filter.  
         [0008]     In conventional mobile phone circuitry using Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) standards, the handset battery is typically connected directly to the power amplifier. Newer designs have inserted a buck converter to reduce the PA supply voltage while improving system efficiency. These converters typically provide a linear transfer function that takes an analog input control signal and generates an output supply voltage using a fixed gain constant. Such systems typically require the system processor to use a look-up table to match the control signal to the desired output voltage for the desired RF output power level. Using a converter like this can involve complex software development and other related steps, which makes this approach less than optimal from the standpoint of efficiency.  
         [0009]     CDMA PAs need to have excellent linearity, so their voltage requirements for optimal efficiency typically follow a nonlinear relationship with respect to output power. Accordingly, it would be very desirable to provide an improved method and apparatus for improving PA system efficiency that takes into consideration the non-linear voltage requirements of CDMA PAs.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a method and apparatus for measuring output current and power in real-time for a CPU core powered by a DC-to-DC power converter having active voltage positioning.  
         [0011]     In accordance with one aspect of the embodiments described herein, there is provided a system for optimizing PA system efficiency that uses the same power control signal that the transmitter uses to set the output power level to determine the optimal supply voltage. Such a system could employ a buck converter with an exponential transfer function instead of linear to match a PA&#39;s power requirements to the expected transmit control signal, thereby optimizing efficiency while eliminating the need to develop additional software and look-up tables.  
         [0012]     In an embodiment of the invention, a switched mode power converter comprises at least one power switch operatively coupled to an input voltage source, an output filter operatively coupled to the at least one power switch to provide an output voltage and output current to a load, and a control circuit coupled to the at least one power switch. The control circuit activates the power switch with a duty cycle controlled to regulate at least one of the output voltage and the output current. The control circuit receives a first control signal defining a desired value for the output voltage, a second control signal defining a relationship between voltage input and current draw for the load, and a voltage sense signal corresponding to an actual value of the output voltage. The control circuit thereby provides a measurement of load current in accordance with the following equation: 
 
 I   LOAD =( V   DAC   −V   OUT )/ AVP   SLOPE  
 
 wherein, V DAC  is the desired output voltage, V OUT  is the voltage sense signal, AVP SLOPE  is the slope of the load-line signal, and I LOAD  is the load current. 
 
         [0013]     In another embodiment of the invention, a method for monitoring load current drawn by a microprocessor comprises the steps of (a) providing a regulated output voltage and output current to the microprocessor, (b) receiving a first control signal defining a desired value for the output voltage, a second control signal defining a relationship between voltage input and current drawn by the microprocessor, and a voltage sense signal corresponding to an actual value of the output voltage, and (c) deriving the microprocessor load current in accordance with the equation set forth above.  
         [0014]     In accordance with another aspect of the embodiments described herein, there is provided an apparatus for controlling power usage by a power amplifier, comprising: a processor unit providing one or more processor outputs, one of the processor outputs comprising a control voltage; and a variable gain amplifier operatively coupled to the processor and the power amplifier. In one embodiment, the variable gain amplifier comprises a piecewise linear circuit that receives the control voltage from the processor unit and provides a supply voltage to the power amplifier. The piecewise linear circuitry preferably adjusts the supply voltage to the power amplifier at an exponential rate according to power requirements of the power amplifier.  
         [0015]     In accordance with another aspect of the embodiments described herein, there is provided a method for controlling power usage by a power amplifier to achieve efficient power usage, comprising: providing a control voltage to a variable gain amplifier operatively coupled to the power amplifier; providing a supply voltage from the variable gain amplifier to the power amplifier, the supply voltage having a supply voltage power level based at least in part on the control voltage; and receiving a feedback signal representing power requirements of the power amplifier. The method further comprises adjusting the control voltage based according to the received feedback signal; and adjusting the supply voltage power level to the power amplifier at an exponential rate according to the adjusted control voltage.  
         [0016]     In accordance with another aspect of the embodiments described herein, there is provided a system for controlling power usage in a mobile phone, comprising: a processor unit providing one or more processor outputs, one of the processor outputs comprising a control voltage signal; a variable gain amplifier operatively coupled to the processor to receive the control voltage signal; and a power amplifier operatively coupled to the variable gain amplifier to receive a supply voltage signal from the variable gain amplifier. In one embodiment, the variable gain amplifier adjusts the supply voltage to the power amplifier at an exponential rate according to power requirements of the power amplifier.  
         [0017]     In accordance with yet another aspect of the embodiments described herein, there is provided a processor readable recording medium for storing instructions that makes a processor execute: provide a control voltage signal to a variable gain amplifier operatively coupled to a power amplifier, the control voltage signal controlling at least in part a supply voltage signal from the variable gain amplifier to the power amplifier; receive a feedback signal representing power requirements of the power amplifier; and adjust the control voltage signal based on the received feedback signal to adjust power level of the supply voltage signal to the power amplifier at an exponential rate.  
         [0018]     A more complete understanding of the method and apparatus for achieving efficient power usage by a power amplifier of a communication device will be afforded to those skilled in the art, as well as a realization of additional advantages and objects thereof, by a consideration of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment. Reference will be made to the appended sheets of drawings, which will first be described briefly.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]      FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a mobile phone transmit line;  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  are graphs showing an ideal exponential transfer function and an piece-wise linear transfer function used to approximate the exponential transfer function;  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a bandgap reference cell used to produce a plurality of reference voltages;  
         [0022]      FIG. 4  is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of an individual current steering element;  
         [0023]      FIG. 5  is a graph showing an idealized transfer function for the current steering element of  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0024]      FIG. 6  is a schematic block diagram of a plurality of current steering elements operatively coupled to a common resistor;  
         [0025]      FIG. 7  is a graph illustrating a piece-wise linear transfer function produced by the plurality of current steering elements of  FIG. 6 ; and  
         [0026]      FIG. 8  is an exemplary schematic diagram of a power converter control circuit that provides an approximate exponential transfer function in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0027]     The present invention satisfies the need for a power converter that has an exponential transfer function to obtain greater efficiency from the RF power amplifier of a CDMA mobile phone.  
         [0028]      FIG. 1  illustrates a schematic block diagram of a mobile phone transmit line  30  including a digital processor  32 , a variable gain amplifier  34 , a power amplifier  36 , and an antenna  38 . The digital processor  32  provides a signal P m  to be transmitted by the mobile phone. The signal P m  has a fixed amplitude. The processor  32  provides a control voltage V cont  that determines the gain of the variable gain amplifier  34 . The variable gain amplifier  34  amplifies the signal P m  by the variable gain determined by the control voltage V cont  and provides an input signal to the power amplifier  36  having power level P i . The power amplifier  36  further amplifies the signal and provides an output signal having power level P o . The amplified signal is thereafter provided to the antenna  38 , which radiates the amplified signal for eventual receipt by a base station.  
         [0029]     The mathematical relationship between the output voltage amplitude of the variable gain amplifier and the control voltage V cont  is represented by the following equation: 
 
 V   out   =A×e   B×V     cont     +C   +D  
 
 where A, B, C and D are constants for a particular system design. This equation shows that the output voltage signal amplitude is a logarithmic function of the gain control voltage V cont . The output power level P o  is calibrated to meet a certain level of accuracy in order to satisfy type approval for certain wireless communication standards. In other words, the relationship between the output power level P o  and the control voltage is made to fit the relationship defined by the foregoing equation. 
 
         [0030]     In order to maintain linearity and efficiency, the supply voltage V s  to the power amplifier must track the signal amplitude in accordance with the following equation: 
 
 V   s   =x×V   out  
 
 in which x is chosen to maintain the highest efficiency without failing the linearity requirements. By combining the foregoing two equations, the relationship between the power amplifier supply voltage V s  and the control voltage V cont  may be obtained, as follows: 
 
 V   s   =x×A×e   B×V     cont     +C   +D  
 
 In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the variable gain amplifier is constructed to exhibit this non-linear relationship between the power amplifier supply voltage V s  and the control voltage V cont . This leads to longer battery life in comparison to conventional systems using a variable gain amplifier having a fixed or linear relationship between the power amplifier supply voltage V s  and the control voltage V cont . 
 
         [0031]      FIG. 2  illustrates in graphical form an ideal exponential transfer function  40  and a piece-wise linear transfer function  42  used to approximate the exponential transfer function. The graph  40  on the left illustrates an ideal exponential transfer function. In order to approximate the exponential transfer function, the graph  42  on the right uses a piece-wise linear technique to construct a curve from a plurality of line segments. The accuracy of the piece-wise linear transfer function  42  in approximating the exponential transfer function  40  is determined by the number of segments and the linearity of each segment.  
         [0032]      FIG. 3  illustrates a bandgap reference cell  50  hat is used to generate a plurality of reference voltage levels  52   1 ,  52   2 , . . .  52   n . The bandgap reference cell  50  provides a reference voltage  52  to a plurality of serially coupled resistors  54   1 ,  54   2 , . . .  54   n . The resistors ( 54   1 ,  54   2 , . . .  54   n ) divide the bandgap reference voltage into a plurality of successive reference voltages ( 52   1 ,  52   2 , . . .  52   n ). The reference voltages ( 52   1 ,  52   2 , . . .  52   n . are in turn applied to respective current steering cells, such as the current steering cell  56  illustrated in  FIG. 4 . The exemplary current steering cell  56  receives as inputs a reference voltage  52  from the bandgap reference cell  50  and the control voltage V cont . In one embodiment, the current steering cell  56  produces a current if the reference voltage  52  is close to, i.e., within a predetermined range or margin of error of, the control voltage V cont , as reflected by the transfer function  60  illustrated in  FIG. 5 .  
         [0033]     As shown in  FIG. 6 , a plurality of like current steering cells ( 56   1 ,  56   2 , . . .  56   n ) are coupled to a common resistor  58 . Accordingly, the output voltage V out  across the common resistor  58  varies with respect to the control voltage V cont  in accordance with the transfer function  70  shown in  FIG. 7 , which approximates the ideal exponential transfer function. The output voltage V out  may then be used as a reference to a conventional DC-to-DC converter that is optimized to meet the requirements of the intended application, i.e., to provide power supply voltage to a power amplifier in a wireless system.  
         [0034]     Referring now to  FIG. 8 , an exemplary DC-to-DC power converter control circuit  10  provides an approximate exponential transfer function in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The DC-to-DC power converter  10  corresponds to the variable gain amplifier of  FIG. 1 , and provides an output voltage (V OUT ) to a power amplifier. The DC-to-DC power converter  10  further includes a high-side power switch  12  and a low-side power switch  14  connected to an input voltage source (V IN ). The high-side power switch  12  and the low-side power switch  14  are generally provided by MOSFET devices, with the source of high-side power switch  12  electrically connected to the input voltage source V IN , the drain of the high-side power switch  12  electrically connected to the drain of the low-side power switch  14 , and the source of the low-side power switch  14  electrically connected to ground. A power phase node is defined between the source of the high-side power switch  12  and the drain of the low-side power switch  14 . An output inductor  16  is connected in series between the power phase node and the load. A capacitor  18  is electrically connected in parallel with the load to provide smoothing of the output voltage V OUT . A control circuit  20  is connected to the gates of both the high-side power switch  12  and low-side power switch  14  through suitable drivers, and generates a series of pulse width modulated control pulses for the power switches  12 ,  14  to regulate the output voltage V OUT  coupled to the load. The control circuit  20  provides a signal to turn on the power switches  12 ,  14  in an alternating manner. The control circuit  20  regulates the current through the output inductor  16  by controlling the timing and duration of conduction of the power switches  12 ,  14 .  
         [0035]     A bypass switch  22  enables the input voltage V IN  to be directly coupled to the output voltage V OUT , so that power amplifier is at maximum power (i.e., output equal to the battery voltage). The control circuit  20  provides an activation signal to the bypass switch  22  through a suitable driver.  
         [0036]     The control circuit  20  also provides the piecewise linear circuitry described above. The control circuit  20  receives two input signals from the digital processor that determine the output voltage V OUT , including an analog control voltage V DAC  and a mode voltage V MODE . The mode voltage V MODE  has a high and a low state corresponding to low and high power, respectively. In one embodiment, the control circuit  20  uses the analog control voltage V DAC  and mode voltage V MODE  to select the appropriate transfer function in accordance with the preceding description. The control circuit  20  then adjusts the duty cycle applied to the high and low side switches  12 ,  14  to change the output voltage V OUT  accordingly.  
         [0037]     In accordance with another aspect of the embodiments described herein, there is provided a system comprising a processor unit, a variable gain amplifier operatively coupled to the processor unit, and a power amplifier operatively coupled to the variable gain amplifier to receive a supply voltage signal from the variable gain amplifier. The variable gain amplifier preferably adjusts the supply voltage to the power amplifier at an exponential rate according to the power requirements of the power amplifier. The system typically further comprises an antenna operatively coupled to the power amplifier to facilitate communicating with a remotely located base station.  
         [0038]     In one embodiment, the system further comprises a receiver unit (e.g., receiver, transceiver, or the like) operatively coupled to the processor unit. The receiver unit can receive a feedback signal from the base station via a radio link or the like. The feedback signal can comprise information relating to the power requirements of the power amplifier. The feedback signal can be used to adjust the supply voltage to the power amplifier, such as, for example, by adjusting a control voltage signal from the process unit to the variable gain amplifier. In another embodiment, an internal feedback signal is used (in conjunction with or in lieu of a radio link feedback signal) is used to adjust the supply voltage to the power amplifier. For example, the power amplifier can provide a feedback signal to the digital processor, which in turn adjusts the control voltage V CONT  to provide closed loop control over a DC-to-DC power converter or the like.  
         [0039]     Having thus described a preferred embodiment of a method and apparatus for optimizing power amplifier system efficiency by using the same power control signal that the transmitter uses to set the output power level to determine the optimal supply voltage, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain advantages of the within system have been achieved. It should also be appreciated that various modifications, adaptations, and alternative embodiments thereof may be made within the scope and spirit of the present invention. For example, certain switching mode power converter circuits have been presented in the context of mobile phones, but it should be apparent that many of the inventive concepts described above would be equally applicable for other communication devices and systems.