Non-linear voltage regulator, particularly for an automotive alternator

Abstract: The invention relates to a voltage regulator of the type comprising a linear filter (2), a comparator (3), and a stretcher filter (4) which are connected in cascade with one another between an input terminal (I1) and an output terminal (O1) of the regulator (1), the input terminal (I1) receiving an error signal (ERR) as converted by the comparator (3) into a square-wave error signal (ERRq), and the output terminal (O1) delivering a square-wave output control signal (Sout) which has a stretched duty cycle over the square-wave error signal (ERRq) by a time delay (t A ) introduced from the stretcher filter (4). The regulator of this invention further comprises a non-linear filtering section (5) for the error signal (ERR) which is connected between the input terminal (I1) of the regulator (1) and the linear filter (2) and has linear gain with the error signal (ERR) below a first value (X1), gain approximately of unity with the error signal (ERR) between the first value (X1) and a second value (X2), and zero gain with the error signal (ERR) above the second value (X2). The invention also concerns a method for filtering a noisy electric signal.

Description: Field of Invention This invention relates to a non-linear voltage regulator. More specifically, the invention relates to a voltage regulator of the type comprising a linear filter, a comparator, and a stretcher filter which are connected in cascade with one another between an input terminal and an output terminal of the regulator, said input terminal receiving an error signal as converted by the comparator into a square-wave error signal, and said output terminal delivering a square-wave output control signal which has a stretched duty cycle over the square-wave error signal by a time delay introduced from the stretcher filter. The invention also concerns a method of filtering a noisy electric signal, which method comprises: a first step of linearly filtering the signal in order to reduce the noise amplitude; a second step of "squaring" the filtered signal to provide a square-wave signal having a predetermined period and predetermined duty cycle; a third step of stretching the square-wave signal to provide a stretched square-wave signal having the same period but a duty cycle which has been stretched by a predetermined time delay. The invention relates, particularly but non exclusively, to a voltage regulator for an automotive alternator of an automobile vehicle, for example a car, and the description to follow will make reference to this field of application for convenience of explanation. Background Art As is well known, a regulator for an automotive alternator is mainly to drive the excitation winding of the alternator such that a regular voltage value is obtained at the output of a voltage generator for charging the battery and, hence, power the electric utilities of the whole automobile vehicle. The battery charging procedure depends on the type of the battery and its construction technology. The specifications usually set for the voltage regulator of an alternator provide for: its output voltage to lie close to a reference value; the regulator switching frequency to be within a predetermined frequency range. A typical precision value requirement is of 300mV for steady-state error. Also, minimum and maximum frequencies would be set at 50Hz and 400Hz, respectively. These specifications must be held for a load variation within 10% to 90% of the maximum current, and a variation of the alternator speed within 2000 to 20000 rpm. In addition, the appearance of a noise signal at the alternator output, as represented by a sinusoidal function, and particularly a rectified sinus, makes these specifications quite strict. In fact, the peak-to-peak amplitude of this noise signal may be of 8-10V, and the noisy frequency range may extend from 1,2 kHz to 14,4 kHz. Prior approaches have been aimed at reducing the amplitude of the noise signal by filtering the output voltage of the alternator through a linear filter. In particular, a cutoff frequency of -3dB is selected for the linear filter, as a tradeoff between an adequate filtering of the noise signal and the assurance of a minimum switching frequency of the alternator under light load conditions. In actual practice, this tradeoff is never fully successful in filtering out the noise signal, and an additional digital filter, called a stretcher, has to be provided. In particular, the error due to the difference between the output voltage and the reference voltage is filtered by the linear filter, and then "squared" through a comparator in order to produce a square wave, called the field control signal. The signal applied to the comparator input is less than thoroughly filtered by the linear filter, and due to the presence of the noise signal, it is bound to produce spurious comparator switchings. The field control signal output from the comparator is input to the stretcher filter. The stretcher filter FA, shown schematically in Figure 1, will present, at its output terminal OUT correspondingly with a square-wave input signal S1 having a period T and duty cycle D being applied to its input terminal IN, a square-wave output signal S2 having the period T and a duty cycle (DT+t A )/T, where t A is a parameter referred to as the delay of the stretcher filter FA. Shown in Figure 2 on a common time base t, are the patterns of the input S1 and output S2 square wave signals of the stretcher filter FA of Figure 1. The stretcher filter FA suppresses most of the spurious switchings, thereby reducing the switching frequency of the linear filter/stretcher filter/comparator system. While being advantageous in several ways, this prior approach cannot suppress all of the comparator spurious switchings, and requires a stretcher filter with a non-trivial delay t A . In addition, the provision of a stretcher filter is apt to enhance the steady-state error, which is also dependent on the load being applied to the alternator and on the engine revolutions per minute [rpm]. Other known voltage regulators of this type are shown, for example, in the European Application No. 0 690 552 in the name of Moto Meter GmbH and in the US Patent No. 4,219,769 to Macfarlane et al.. The underlying technical problem of this invention is to provide a voltage regulator for an alternator, which has such constructional and functional features as to ensure regulation of the switching frequency of the output control signal and accuracy of the alternator steady state, thereby overcoming the limitations with which prior art regulators have been beset. Summary of Invention The solvent idea on which this invention stands is one of subjecting the noisy signal to a frequency filtering process of a fuzzy and non-linear type. Based on this solvent idea, the technical problem is solved by a voltage regulator as previously indicated and defined in the characterizing portion of Claim 1. The problem is also solved by a non-linear filtering method as previously indicated and defined in the characterizing portion of Claim 10. The features and advantages of a voltage regulator according to this invention will be apparent from the following description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of non-limitative example with reference to the accompanying drawings. Brief Description of Drawings In the drawings: Figure 1 shows schematically a stretcher filter according to the prior art; Figure 2 shows the patterns vs time of signals related to the stretcher filter of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows schematically a voltage regulator according to this invention; Figure 4 shows in linear scale the pattern of the characteristics of a detail of Figure 3; Figure 5 shows in linear scale the pattern of the characteristic of another detail of Figure 3; Figure 6 shows in linear scale the patterns of the characteristic of Figure 5 under different operating conditions. Detailed Description Referring in particular to Figure 3, generally and schematically shown at 1 is a voltage regulator embodying this invention and intended for an automotive electric power supply, specifically of an automobile vehicle. The regulator 1 comprises a linear filter 2, specifically of the low-pass type, a comparator 3, and a stretcher filter 4, which are connected, in cascade with one another, between an input terminal I1 and an output terminal O1 of the regulator 1. In particular, the linear filter 2 has an input terminal I2 connected to the input terminal I1 of the regulator 1, and an output terminal 02 connected to an input terminal I3 of the comparator 3. The latter has an output terminal 03 connected to an input terminal I4 of the stretcher filter 4. The stretcher filter 4 has an output terminal 04 connected to the output terminal O1 of the regulator 1. The above components provide similar functions to those shown for homonym components in the prior art. An output control signal Sout is present at the output terminal O1 of the regulator 1, while the input terminal I1 is applied an error signal ERR which corresponds to the difference between an output voltage Vout of the alternator and a reference voltage Vref as set by the alternator specifications. The error signal ERR is, therefore, substantially proportional to the noisy signal or noise affecting the regulator 1. It is filtered through the linear filter 2 and "squared" by the comparator 3, thereby providing a square-wave squared error signal ERRq. The squared error signal ERRq is input to the stretcher filter 4, which develops, at its output terminal 04 correspondingly with a square-wave input signal ERRq having a period T and duty cycle D, a stretched square-wave output signal ERRt having the period T and a duty cycle (DT+t A )/T, with t A being the delay of the stretcher filter 2. The regulator 1 of this invention further comprises a non-linear filtering section 5 connected between the input terminal I1 of the regulator 1 and the input terminal 12 of the linear filter 2, and a frequency control section 6 connected between the output terminal 04 of the stretcher filter 4 and the output terminal O1 of the regulator 1. In particular, the non-linear filtering section 5 comprises a non-linear filter 7 having an output terminal 07 connected to the input terminal I2 of the linear filter 2, and first I7 and second I7' input terminals connected to the input terminal I1 of the regulator 1. Further, the non-linear filtering section 5 comprises an integrator 8 having an input terminal I8 connected to the input terminal I1 of the regulator 1 and having an output terminal 08 connected to the second input terminal I7' of the non-linear filter 7. As shown in Figure 4, the non-linear filter 7 has a non-linear input/output characteristic. In particular, this characteristic exhibits linear gain when the error signal ERR is small, i.e. below a first reference value X1, which is of 250mV in the example of Figure 4, approximately a gain of unity when the error signal ERR absolute value lies between the first reference value X1 and a second reference value X2, which is of 1V in the example of Figure 4, and zero gain (i.e. the block is saturated) when the error signal ERR exceeds X2, i.e. 1V. In addition, the characteristic of the non-linear filter 7 has, within the X1 to X2 range, enhanced slope across the zero value of the error signal ERR. This increases offset sensitivity. that is the ability to "feel" the error at steady state, and improves noise rejection of the regulator 1. Thus, according to the invention, the non-linear filter 7 provided is advantageous in that it reduces the noise amplitude at the input terminal I2 of the linear filter 2, irrespective of the alternator load and the engine rpm. Furthermore, to regulate the output voltage Vout for the alternator and remove the steady-state error, the non-linear filter 7 shifts the level positions to the flat region, based upon the mean error value ERRm, while retaining the gains of all the linear portions, as shown in Figure 5, where the input/output characteristics of the non-linear filter 7 are shown in linear scale for different values of the mean error ERRm. Notice that if the mean error ERRm is zero, the characteristic of Figure 5 is same as that of Figure 4. The mean error ERRm is obtained from the integrator 8. In fact, the saturation mechanics of the voltage signal at the output of the non-linear filter 2, while affording a reduction in the amplitude of the noise, does result in loss of the information related to the continuous component that the noise signal adds to the output voltage Vout of the regulator 1; the mean error ERRm, by changing the pattern of the characteristic of the non-linear filter 2, allows this information to be recovered and provides a steady-state error which is by two orders of magnitude smaller than in conventional controllers. The voltage regulator 1 of this invention is advantageous in having a fuzzy type of behaviour. The frequency control section 6 of the regulator 1 according to the invention comprises a frequency reader 9 having an input terminal I9 connected to the output terminal 04 of the stretcher filter 4, a first output terminal 09 connected to the output terminal O1 of the regulator 1, and a second output terminal 09' connected to the second input terminal I4' of the stretcher filter 4 via a frequency controller 10. In particular, the frequency controller 10 has an input terminal I10 connected to the second output terminal O9' of the frequency reader 9, and an output terminal O10 connected to the second input terminal I4' of the stretcher filter 4. The frequency controller 10 has a non-linear input/output characteristic linking the frequency f A of the output control signal Sout of the regulator 1 to the characteristic delay t A of the stretcher filter 4. Specifically, the characteristic of the frequency controller 10 shows a first flat portion below a first frequency value f1, a second linear portion with a first slope between the first frequency value f1 and a second frequency value f2, a third linear portion with a second slope between the second frequency value f2 and a third frequency value f3, and a fourth flat portion above said third frequency value f3. In the example shown in Figure 6, f1 is 100Hz, f2 is 300Hz, and f3 is 700Hz. In addition, in this invention, the first slope (between f1 and f2) is advantageously greater than the second slope (between f2 and f3). Simulations performed by the Applicant show that the voltage regulator according to the invention and its non-linear characteristic allows the frequency f A to be controlled from a minimum of 70Hz to a maximum of 160Hz for all the load values and all the engine rpm values. Concurrently therewith, a non-zero delay t A for the stretcher filter 4 will avoid the phenomenon of spurious switchings of the comparator 3. According to the invention, such spurious switchings of the comparator 3 are advantageously removed completely even for minimal delays t A of the stretcher filter 4 by the provision of the non-linear filtering section 5 for the input noise signal. In conclusion, the regulator of this invention ensures regulation of the switching frequency of the comparator 4 and full accuracy of the regulator at steady state. In addition, it can be implemented in a fully analog and integratable form. Finally, with regulators which involve no specifications as to minimum and maximum switching frequencies, only the non-linear filtering section 5 may be provided, using an stretcher filter 4 with a fixed delay t A .

Claims: A voltage regulator of the type comprising a linear filter (2), a comparator (3), and a stretcher filter (4) which are connected in cascade with one another between an input terminal (I1) and an output terminal (O1) of the regulator (1), said input terminal (I1) receiving an error signal (ERR) as converted by the comparator (3) into a square-wave error signal (ERRq), and said output terminal (O1) delivering a square-wave output control signal (Sout) which has a stretched duty cycle over the square-wave error signal (ERRq) by a time delay (t A ) introduced from the stretcher filter (4), characterized in that it comprises a non-linear filtering section (5) for the error signal (ERR) which is connected between the input terminal (I1) of the regulator (1) and the linear filter (2), said non-linear filtering section (5) having linear gain with the error signal (ERR) below a first value (X1), gain approximately of unity with the error signal (ERR) between the first value (X1) and a second value (X2), and zero gain with the error signal (ERR) above the second value (X2). A voltage regulator according to Claim 1, characterized in that said non-linear filtering section (5) comprises a non-linear filter (7) having an output terminal (07) connected to the linear filter (2), and first (I7) and second (I7') input terminals connected to the input terminal (I1) of the regulator (1). A voltage regulator according to Claim 2, characterized in that said non-linear filtering section (5) further comprises an integrator (8) having an input terminal (I8) connected to the input terminal (I1) of the regulator (1) and an output terminal (08) connected to the second input terminal (I7') of the non-linear filter (7). A voltage regulator according to Claim 3, characterized in that said non-linear filter (7) shifts the gain of the non-linear filtering section (5) to either below the first value (X1) of the error signal (ERR) or above the second value (X2) of the error signal (ERR) according to a mean error value (ERRm) supplied from the integrator (8). A voltage regulator according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a frequency control section (6) connected between the stretcher filter (4) and the output terminal (O1) of the regulator (1) and connected to an input terminal (I4') of the stretcher filter (4), said frequency control section (6) controlling the time delay (t A ) from the stretcher filter (4) according to a switching frequency (f A ) of the square-wave output control signal (Sout). A voltage regulator according to Claim 5, characterized in that said frequency control section (6) comprises a frequency reader (9) having an input terminal (I9) connected to the stretcher filter (4), a first output terminal (09) connected to the output terminal (O1) of the regulator (1), and a second output terminal (O9') connected to the input terminal (I4') of the stretcher filter (4) via a frequency controller (10). A voltage regulator according to Claim 6, characterized in that said frequency controller (10) has a non-linear input/output characteristic, in particular with a first flat portion, second and third linear portions having different slopes, and a fourth flat portion. A voltage regulator according to Claim 7, characterized in that the input/output characteristic of the frequency controller (10) has the first flat portion below a first value (f1) of the switching frequency (f A ) of the output control signal (Sout), the second linear portion with a first slope (p1) between the first (f1) and second (f2) values, the third linear portion with a second slope (p2) between the second value (f2) and a third value (f3), and the fourth flat portion above said third value (f3). A voltage regulator according to Claim 8, characterized in that said first slope (p1) of the input/output characteristic of the frequency controller (10) is greater than said second slope (p2). A method for filtering a noisy electric signal (ERR), which method comprises: a first step of linearly filtering said signal (ERR) in order to reduce the noise amplitude; a second step of "squaring" the filtered signal to provide a square-wave signal (ERRq) having a predetermined period (T) and predetermined duty cycle (D); a third step of stretching the square-wave signal (ERRq) to provide a stretched square-wave signal (ERRt) having the same period (T) but a duty cycle ((DT+t A )/T) which has been stretched by a predetermined time delay (t A ) ; characterized in that it includes a preliminary step of non-linearly filtering the electric signal (ERR) with a filtering characteristic which has linear gain with the electric signal (ERR) below a first value (X1), gain approximately of unity with the electric signal (ERR) between the first value (X1) and a second value (X2), and zero gain with the electric signal (ERR) above the second value (X2), and has enhanced slope across the zero value of the error signal (ERR). A filtering method according to Claim 10, characterized in that said preliminary non-linear filtering step shifts the gain of the non-linear filtering (5) characteristic to below the first value (X1) of the electric signal (ERR) and above the second value (X2) of the error signal (ERR) according to a mean value (ERRm) supplied from the integration of the signal (ERR). A filtering method according to Claim 10, characterized in that it includes a final frequency controlling step for regulating the predetermined time delay (t A ) according to a switching frequency (f A ) of an output control signal (Sout) developed from the stretched signal (ERRt). A filtering method according to Claim 12, characterized in that said final frequency controlling step has a non-linear characteristic. A filtering method according to Claim 13, characterized in that said final frequency controlling step has a characteristic with a first flat portion, second and third linear portions having different slopes, and a fourth flat portion. A filtering method according to Claim 14, characterized in that the input/output characteristic of the final frequency control step has the first flat portion below a first value (f1) of the switching frequency (f A ) of the output control signal (Sout), the second linear portion with a first slope (p1) between the first (f1) and second (f2) values, the third linear portion with a second slope (p2) between the second value (f2) and a third value (f3), and the fourth flat portion above said third value (f3). A filtering method according to Claim 15, characterized in that said first slope (p1) of the characteristic of the final frequency control step is greater than said second slope (p2).

Inventors: COCETTA FRANCO, MERLO MAURO, ZAFARANA ALESSANDRO, COCETTA, FRANCO, MERLO, MAURO, ZAFARANA, ALESSANDRO
Applicants: ST MICROELECTRONICS SRL, STMICROELECTRONICS S.R.L.
Application year: 1997
Main classification: H02P9
IPC codes: H02P9, H02M3