WO2013115039A1

WO2013115039A1 - Power supply device and transmission device using same

Info

Publication number: WO2013115039A1
Application number: PCT/JP2013/051345
Authority: WO
Inventors: 真明谷尾
Original assignee: 日本電気株式会社
Priority date: 2012-02-03
Filing date: 2013-01-23
Publication date: 2013-08-08
Also published as: JPWO2013115039A1; JP6115477B2

Abstract

[Problem] The objective of the present invention is to provide a power supply device which has a function in which output voltage changes in accordance with the magnitude of an input signal, and which is of high efficiency and high linearity. [Solution] This power supply device (101) is provided with: a low-pass filter (4); a high-pass filter (5); a switching amplification unit (6) which amplifies a low-frequency component in order to output the low-frequency component after amplification through the low-pass filter (4); a linear amplification unit (7) which is connected in parallel with the switching amplification unit (6) and which amplifies the high-frequency component in order to output the high-frequency component after amplification through the high-pass filter (5); a current detection unit (11) which detects a current flowing between the low-pass filter (4) and the high-pass filter (5); a voltage detection unit (10) which detects voltage between both ends of the high-pass filter (5); and a control unit (12) which, on the basis of the low-frequency component, the current value detected at the current detection unit (11), and the voltage value detected at the voltage detection unit (10), outputs a control signal with respect to the switching amplification unit (6).

Description

Power supply device and transmission device using the same

The present invention relates to a power supply apparatus having a function of changing an output voltage according to the magnitude of an input signal.

The digital modulation method used in recent wireless communication such as cellular phones and wireless LAN (Local Area Network) is QPSK (Quadrature Phase).
Modulation formats such as Shift Keying and multi-level QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) are employed. In such a modulation format, the signal trajectory generally involves amplitude modulation at the time of transition between symbols, and the amplitude (envelope) of the signal changes with time in a high-frequency modulation signal superimposed on a carrier signal in the microwave band.

At this time, the ratio between the peak power and the average power of the high-frequency modulation signal is called PAPR (Peak-to-Average Power Ratio). When a signal with a large PAPR is amplified, in order to ensure high linearity, it is necessary to supply a sufficiently large power from the power source to the amplifier so that the waveform is not distorted even with respect to the peak power. In other words, it is necessary to operate the amplifier with a margin (backoff) in a power region sufficiently lower than the saturation power limited by the power supply voltage. In general, in a linear amplifier operated in class A or class B, the power efficiency is maximized in the vicinity of the saturated output power, so that the average efficiency is lowered when operated in a region where the back-off is large.

In the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system using multicarriers used in next-generation mobile phones, wireless LANs, and digital television broadcasting, the PAPR tends to be very large, and the average of amplifiers Efficiency is further reduced. Therefore, it is desirable that the amplifier has high efficiency even in a power region with a large back-off.

As a method of amplifying signals with high efficiency over a wide dynamic range in a power region with a large back-off, there are transmission methods such as envelope removal / restoration (EER: Envelope 追跡 Elimination and Restoration) and envelope tracking (ET: Envelope Tracking). Are known.

In the EER system, first, an input modulation signal is decomposed into its phase component and amplitude component. The phase component is input to the power amplifier with a constant amplitude while maintaining the phase modulation information. At this time, the power amplifier is always operated in the vicinity of saturation where the efficiency is maximized. On the other hand, the amplitude component changes the output voltage of the power supply device according to the amplitude modulation information, and uses this as the power supply of the amplifier. By operating in this manner, the power amplifier operates as a multiplier, and the phase component and the amplitude component of the modulation signal are combined, and an output modulation signal amplified with high efficiency regardless of backoff is obtained.

On the other hand, even in the ET system, the amplitude component of the input modulation signal changes the output voltage of the power supply device according to the amplitude modulation information and uses it as the power source of the power amplifier, the same as the EER system. The difference is that, in the EER system, only a phase modulation signal with a constant amplitude is input to the amplifier for saturation operation, whereas in the ET system, an input modulation signal including both amplitude modulation and phase modulation is input to the amplifier as it is. It is a point to operate linearly. In this case, since the amplifier operates linearly, the efficiency is lower than that of the EER method. However, since the amplifier is supplied with a minimum amount of power according to the amplitude of the input modulation signal, the amplifier is driven by the amplitude. As compared with the case of using a constant voltage, it is possible to obtain high power efficiency. In addition, the ET method has an advantage that the timing margin for combining the amplitude component and the phase component is relaxed, and is easier to implement than the EER method.

The modulation power supply apparatus used for the EER method and the ET method needs to be a voltage source that can change the output voltage with high accuracy, low noise, and high efficiency according to the amplitude component of the input modulation signal. This is because in recent wireless communication systems using digital modulation such as mobile phones, leakage power to adjacent channels (ACPR: Adjacent Channel Leakage Power Ratio) and error vector intensity (EVM: Error Vector Magnitude) representing a modulation error The standard stipulates that the value is kept below a certain value. If the output voltage of the power supply device is not linear with respect to the input amplitude signal, ACPR and EVM deteriorate due to intermodulation distortion. Further, when power supply noise is mixed into the output of the amplifier, the ACPR also deteriorates.

Also, in the EER system and the ET system, it is said that the response band (speed) of the power supply device is required to be at least twice the band (speed) of the modulation signal. For example, the modulation band is about 5 MHz in the WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) standard for mobile phones, and the modulation band is about 20 MHz in the IEEE802.11a / g standard for wireless LAN. In a power supply device having a general switching converter configuration, it is difficult to output such a wide band modulation signal.

As a method for realizing a high-efficiency and high-quality voltage source, two basic configurations of a hybrid voltage source combining a high-efficiency switching amplifier and a high-accuracy linear amplifier are shown in the upper part of FIG. (Related technology 1).

7 has a basic configuration in which a switching amplification unit 6 that operates as a current source and a linear amplification unit 7 that operates as a voltage source are arranged in parallel. In this configuration, the highly accurate linear amplifying unit 7 plays a role of correcting the output voltage Vout so as to be equal to the input signal (also referred to as a reference signal) Vref. On the other hand, the switching amplifier 6 detects the output current Ic of the linear amplifier 7 and controls the input signal of the switching amplifier 6 by the control signal generator 8 based on the result. That is, the switching amplifier 6 operates as a current source, and most of the power supplied to the load 1 is supplied from the highly efficient switching amplifier 6. The linear amplification unit 7 with high accuracy but low efficiency consumes only enough power to remove the ripple included in the output voltage Vout. Therefore, a voltage source that achieves both high accuracy and high efficiency can be realized by such an operation.

Further, the output voltage Vout obtained in this way may be used as the power supply voltage of the power amplifier as the load 1 to perform the above-described EER or ET operation. In this case, since the power supply 201 supplies a minimum amount of power according to the amplitude of the input modulation signal, the power amplifier can always operate near a highly efficient saturation, and the power supply and the power amplifier are connected to each other. The power efficiency of the entire transmitter system provided is also improved. Note that a high-pass filter 9 is provided on the output side of the switching amplifier 6, and an output current Iout is supplied to the load 1.

On the other hand, other methods for realizing a high-efficiency and high-quality voltage source for EER and ET have been proposed in Non-Patent Document 2 and Patent Documents 1 and 2 (Related Technology 2). FIG. 8 illustrates the configuration of the related art 2. In the power supply device 202 of FIG. 8, two types of voltage sources are arranged in parallel, one is the high-frequency switching amplification unit 6 for low frequency, and the other is the linear amplification unit 7 for high frequency. In addition, an input unit filter for controlling the voltage source and an output unit filter for separating the band of the voltage source signal are provided. That is, low-

pass filters

2 and 4 are provided at the input and output parts of the switching amplifier 6, and high-

pass filters

3 and 5 are provided at the input and output parts of the linear amplifier 7, respectively. The frequency characteristics of these filters are as shown in FIG.

The operation will be described. The input signal Vref is band-separated at the input terminal, the low frequency is amplified by the switching amplifier 6 and the high frequency is amplified by the linear amplifier 7, and synthesized at the output terminal, whereby the input signal Vref is synthesized. Is obtained by linearly amplifying the output voltage Vout. With this configuration, power is supplied by the high-efficiency switching amplifier 6 in the low-frequency region that is the main component of voltage modulation, and the high-frequency component is a low-efficiency but high-linearity linear amplifier 7. Since power is supplied by this, a highly efficient and high quality power supply modulator can be realized.

Compared to the configuration of FIG. 7, the advantage of arranging the power supplies separated in band as shown in FIG. 8 in parallel is that the power supply can easily have a high withstand voltage. As a specific example, consider a case where the output voltage Vout reaches a maximum of 50V. At this time, in the configuration of FIG. 7, the linear amplification unit 7 needs to have a withstand voltage of 50 V, and it is very difficult to achieve high-speed operation and high withstand voltage with the current CMOS device technology. 7 is limited to about several kHz, and cannot follow the envelope band of a signal of several MHz band. On the other hand, in the configuration of FIG. 7, the linear amplification unit 7 amplifies only the high frequency component of the output voltage, so that the required withstand voltage is the maximum amplitude of the signal from which the offset component is removed from the 50V output. That is, by adjusting the offset amount of the output voltage Vout and performing power supply modulation in accordance with the maximum withstand voltage of the linear amplification unit 7, it is possible to cope with a higher withstand voltage of the power supply modulator.

Japanese Patent No. 4589665 US Pat. No. 6,084,468

However, a disadvantage of the band separation power source of FIG. 8 is that it is difficult to design a filter that separates the bands. When the load 1 is a resistance load, a filter that satisfies the characteristics shown in FIG. 9 can be easily designed. However, in ET and EER, the load component seen from the power source side is changing and not constant, and therefore the output filter of FIG. 8 does not have the band characteristics as shown in FIG.

In general, the output filter is composed of an inductor and a capacitor with no power loss from the viewpoint of efficiency, the high-pass filter is composed of a capacitor, and the low-pass filter is composed of an inductor. Therefore, a resonance point exists between the low-pass filter and the high-pass filter, and the impedance between the two power supplies becomes close to 0 near the resonance frequency. For this reason, complete band separation between the power sources cannot be achieved, and particularly in the vicinity of the resonance point, the impedance of the line connecting the power sources is close to 0, which causes fluctuations in voltage and current. By this operation, the output voltage Vout does not become a desired value and the resonance voltage is added, and linear amplification cannot be performed as a whole. In addition, current exchange in the parallel power supply causes a wasteful power loss, thereby reducing the efficiency. End up.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a power supply apparatus having a function of changing an output voltage according to the magnitude of an input signal and having high efficiency and high linearity.

The power supply device according to the present invention is
A low-pass filter,
A high-pass filter,
A switching amplifier for amplifying the low frequency component of the input signal and outputting the amplified low frequency component via the low pass filter;
A linear amplification unit that is connected in parallel to the switching amplification unit, amplifies the high-frequency component of the input signal, and outputs the amplified high-frequency component via the high-pass filter,
A current detector that detects a current flowing between the low-pass filter and the high-pass filter;
A voltage detector for detecting a voltage across the high-pass filter;
A control unit that outputs a control signal to the switching amplification unit based on a low frequency component of the input signal, a current value detected by the current detection unit, and a voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit;
It is provided with.

The transmission device according to the present invention is:
The power supply device according to the present invention was used as a power supply for an amplifier.
It is characterized by that.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a power supply apparatus that can accurately follow the input signal waveform and has low power loss with respect to the system.

It is a block diagram which shows Embodiment 1 of the power supply device which concerns on this invention. It is a circuit diagram which shows Embodiment 2 of the power supply device which concerns on this invention. It is a circuit diagram which shows Embodiment 3 of the power supply device which concerns on this invention. It is a circuit diagram which shows Embodiment 4 of the power supply device which concerns on this invention. It is a graph which shows the frequency characteristic of the high pass filter and low pass filter in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the transmission apparatus using the power supply device of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the related technique 1 of the power supply device which has a voltage modulation function. It is a block diagram which shows the related technique 2 of the power supply device which has a voltage modulation function. It is a graph which shows the frequency characteristic of the high pass filter and low pass filter in FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing Embodiment 1 of a power supply device according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a transmission device using the power supply device of the embodiment. Hereinafter, description will be given based on these drawings.

The power supply device 101 according to the first embodiment includes a low-pass filter 4, a high-pass filter 5, and a switching amplifier that amplifies the low-frequency component Vref_low of the input signal Vref and outputs the amplified low-frequency component via the low-pass filter 4. 6, a linear amplifier 7 that is connected in parallel to the switching amplifier 6 and amplifies the high-frequency component Vref_high of the input signal Vref and outputs the amplified high-frequency component via the high-pass filter 5, and the low-pass filter 4 and the high-pass The current detection unit 11 that detects a current flowing between the filter 5, the voltage detection unit 10 that detects the voltage between both ends of the high-pass filter 5, and the low-frequency component Vref_low of the input signal Vref and the current detection unit 11 detect the current. Switching amplification based on the detected current value and the voltage value detected by the voltage detector 10 A control unit 12 for outputting a control signal to 6, characterized by comprising a.

At this time, based on the low frequency component Vref_low of the input signal Vref, the current value detected by the current detection unit 11, and the voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit 10, the control unit 12 performs the low-pass filter 4 and the high-pass filter 5 A control signal may be output to the switching amplifier 6 so as to suppress the resonance.

The control unit 12 also detects the voltage detected by the voltage detection unit 10 based on the low frequency component Vref_low of the input signal Vref, the current value detected by the current detection unit 11 and the voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit 10. A control signal may be output to the switching amplifier 6 so that the value is constant and the current value detected by the current detector 11 decreases.

In other words, the power supply apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment operates as a switching amplifier 6 that operates as a low-frequency component voltage source, a low-pass filter 4 provided at the output terminal of the switching amplifier 6, and a high-frequency component voltage source. The linear amplifying unit 7 has a high-pass filter 5 provided at the output end of the linear amplifying unit 7. The switching amplification unit 6 and the low-pass filter 4, and the linear amplification unit 7 and the high-pass filter 5 are connected in parallel. Further, the power supply device 101 includes a voltage detection unit 10 that detects a voltage across the high-pass filter 5, a current detection unit 11 that detects a current flowing between the power supplies connected in parallel, that is, between the switching amplification unit 6 and the linear amplification unit 7, The control unit 12 generates a signal for controlling the switching amplification unit 6 based on the detection value in the voltage detection unit 10, the detection value in the current detection unit 11, and the low frequency component of the input signal.

The high frequency component Vref_high of the input signal Vref is extracted by the high pass filter 3. The signal that has passed through the high-pass filter 3, that is, the high-frequency component Vref_high is input to the linear amplification unit 7 and then output through the high-pass filter 5 at the output end thereof, thereby generating a high-frequency component of the output voltage Vout. .

On the other hand, the low frequency component Vref_low of the input signal Vref is extracted by the low pass filter 2. The signal that has passed through the low-pass filter 2, that is, the low-frequency component Vref_low is input to the control unit 12, is then converted into a pulse with a predetermined duty ratio by the switching amplifier 6, and is output via the low-pass filter 4 at the output end. As a result, it is generated as a low frequency component of the output voltage Vout. At this time, the control unit 12 controls the switching amplification unit 6 based on the signal that has passed through the low-pass filter 2, the detection value in the voltage detection unit 10, and the detection value in the current detection unit 11. The voltage detection unit 10 detects a voltage difference between both ends of the high pass filter 5, and the current detection unit 11 detects a current value flowing through the high pass filter 5.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the transmission apparatus 111 using the power supply apparatus 101 of the first embodiment, the load 1 is a power amplifier.

The control unit 12 controls the operation of the switching amplification unit 6 so that the voltage difference between both ends of the high pass filter 5 is a constant multiple of the low frequency component Vref_low of the input signal that has passed through the low pass filter 2. Therefore, a desired voltage is output after the voltage fluctuation due to resonance of the output voltage Vout is suppressed. At the same time, the control unit 12 negatively feeds back the current detected by the current detection unit 11 and thus generates a pulse for driving the switching amplification unit 6 so that the value of the current detection unit 11 becomes 0. Current fluctuation between the filter 5 and the low-pass filter 4 can be suppressed. As a result, useless current exchange between the linear amplification unit 7 and the switching amplification unit 6 can be suppressed, and a desired voltage that is not affected by resonance can be supplied as the output voltage Vout.

The effect of the first embodiment is that a power supply apparatus that can accurately follow the input signal waveform and has a small power loss to the system can be provided. The reason is that the power supply device according to the first embodiment detects voltage fluctuations caused by resonance between the high-pass filter and the low-pass filter by the voltage detection unit and current fluctuations by the current detection unit. By controlling the switching amplifier so as to suppress the fluctuation of the power, the power loss caused by the resonance caused by the related technology can be minimized and the modulation that also suppresses the voltage fluctuation caused by the resonance can be performed. is there.

Next, Embodiments 2 to 4 that further embody Embodiment 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing Embodiment 2 of the power supply device according to the present invention. Hereinafter, description will be given based on this drawing.

The power supply apparatus 102 according to the second embodiment includes a load 1, a low-pass filter 4, a high-pass filter 5, a switching amplification unit 6, a linear amplification unit 7, a voltage detection unit 10, a current detection unit 11, and a control unit 12 as functional blocks. It is provided similarly to the functional block of FIG. Further, the high-frequency component Vref_high as an input signal of the linear amplification unit 7 and the low-frequency component Vref_low as a reference signal of the control unit 12 are similar to the configuration of FIG. It is obtained by passing the input signal Vref through the low-pass filter 2.

Hereinafter, each functional block will be described in more detail. The high pass filter 5 includes a capacitor 26. The capacitance value (C26) is set so that the frequency characteristics of the capacitor 26 and the resistance component of the load 1 at the terminal of the output voltage Vout satisfy the high-pass filter characteristics of FIG.

The low-pass filter 4 is configured by a series circuit including a parallel circuit of an inductor 24 and a sense resistor 25 and an inductor 23. The inductance values (L23, L24) of the

inductors

23, 24 and the resistance value (R25) of the sense resistor 25 are set in the same way as the high-pass filter 5, with the resistance components of the low-pass filter 4 and the load 1 at the terminal of the output voltage Vout. Are set so as to satisfy the low-pass filter characteristics of FIG.

The ratio of the inductance values of the inductor 23 and the inductor 24 is determined at a ratio of, for example, 10: 1 so that the inductor 23 is larger than the inductor 24. The resistance value R25 of the sense resistor 25 needs to be set so that most of the current caused by resonance passes through the sense resistor 25 when it is in parallel with the inductor 24. That is, the resistance value R25 of the sense resistor 25 is set such that the cutoff frequency determined by R25 and L24 is higher than the resonance frequency determined by C26, L23, and L24. Thereby, the low-pass filter 4 and the high-pass filter 5 are set so as to follow the frequency characteristics of FIG.

The voltage detection unit 10 includes a differential amplifier 44 that detects and amplifies the voltage difference between both ends of the high-pass filter 5. The output value of the voltage detection unit 10 is (voltage difference between both ends of the high-pass filter 5) × (gain of the differential amplifier 44).

The current detection unit 11 includes a differential amplifier 43 that detects and amplifies the voltage difference of the sense resistor 25 in the low-pass filter 4. The output value of the current detection unit 11 is (current value flowing through the sense resistor 25) × (resistance value of the sense resistor 25) × (gain of the differential amplifier 43). Therefore, the current detection unit 11 outputs a constant multiple of the current value flowing through the sense resistor 25. Most components of the current value flowing through the sense resistor 25 are currents near the resonance frequency of the low-pass filter 4 and the high-pass filter 5. Therefore, the resonance current can be detected by the differential amplifier 43.

The controller 12 includes a differential amplifier 42, a comparator 41, and a hysteresis amplifier 31. The basic operation of the comparator 431 is to generate an ON pulse if the + input signal is smaller than the − input signal (Vref_low), and an OFF pulse if it is greater. By this control, the voltage difference between both ends of the high-pass filter 5 is maintained at Vref_low × constant multiple.

The switching amplifier 6 is configured by vertically stacking switching elements 21 and diodes 22. However, the switching amplifier 6 is not limited to this configuration. For example, a switching element (not shown) is arranged instead of the diode 22 and two types of input pulses of the switching element 21 and the switching element (not shown) are received. A configuration generated from the control unit 12 is also conceivable.

The linear amplification unit 7 includes an operational amplifier 51 and outputs a voltage of Vref_high × constant multiple. The linear amplifying unit 7 is not limited to an operational amplifier but can be replaced with a highly linear amplifier such as a class B amplifier or a class AB amplifier.

Next, the detailed operation of each functional block will be described. First, a voltage difference between both ends of the high-pass filter 5 is detected by the differential amplifier 44 (voltage detection unit 10). Further, the fluctuation of current caused by resonance by the low-pass filter 4 and the high-pass filter 5 is detected by the differential amplifier 43 (current detection unit 11). Then, after the signals detected by the voltage detection unit 10 and the current detection unit 11 are added together by the differential amplifier 42, the difference between this and Vref_low is obtained by the comparator 41, and the difference is obtained via the hysteresis amplifier 31. 21 as an input signal (control unit 12). Thereby, the input pulse of the switching element 21 is produced | generated by the comparator 41, and control of the switching amplifier 6 is performed (control part 12).

In this case, it is necessary to adjust the differential amplifier 43 so that the ratio of the + input signal to the −input signal of the differential amplifier 42 is sufficiently larger than the −input signal. In the most extreme example, the output of the differential amplifier 43 is always set to 0, and the function of the current detection unit 11 is eliminated. At this time, the voltage difference between both ends of the high pass filter 5 is controlled to be a constant multiple of the low frequency component Vref_low (gain multiple of the switching amplifier 6).

However, in this state, as described above, due to resonance between the high-pass filter 5 and the low-pass filter 4, current fluctuation near the resonance frequency occurs between the linear amplification unit 7 and the switching amplification unit 6, resulting in power loss. Various troubles such as increase in the number occur. Therefore, as a function of suppressing current fluctuation caused by resonance, the detection value of the current detection unit 11 that detects the resonance current is added to the detection value of the voltage detection unit 10, thereby negative feedback with respect to the current fluctuation due to resonance. It is carried out. At this time, if the ratio of the negative input signal of the differential amplifier 42 is increased too much, the function of maintaining the voltage difference between both ends of the high pass filter 5 at a constant multiple of the low frequency component Vref_low is lost, resulting in unstable operation. Note that it will end up.

Further, since the current detection unit 11 detects a resonance current between the high-pass filter 5 and the low-pass filter 4, the current detection unit 11 is not limited to that incorporated in the low-pass filter 4 shown in FIG. For example, the current detection unit 11 may be incorporated in the high-pass filter 5 or may be detected by arranging a sense resistor independently of the filter. In the third embodiment to be described later, the current detection unit 11 is incorporated in the high-pass filter 5.

The control unit 12 is not limited to the comparator 41. In the third embodiment to be described later, the control unit 12 adopts PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control.

As a result of these series of operations, according to the power supply device 102 shown in FIG. 2, the linear amplification relationship of (output voltage Vout = constant multiple of Vref_high + constant multiple of Vref_low = constant multiple of Vref) is maintained, and Since current fluctuation caused by resonance between the low-pass filter 4 and the high-pass filter 5 can be suppressed, a highly efficient and highly accurate power supply modulator can be realized.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing Embodiment 3 of the power supply device according to the present invention. Hereinafter, description will be given based on this drawing.

The difference between the third embodiment and the second embodiment is that the control unit 12 is replaced with a PWM generation circuit 61 and a triangular wave generation circuit 62 from the comparator 41, and the current sense resistor 25 is embedded in the high pass filter 5 instead of the low pass filter 4. This is the point. As in the second embodiment, the power supply device 103 according to the third embodiment has a load 1, a low-pass filter 4, a high-pass filter 5, a switching amplification unit 6, a linear amplification unit 7, a voltage detection unit 10, and a current detection unit as in the second embodiment. 11. The control part 12 is provided similarly to the functional block of FIG. Further, the high-frequency component Vref_high as an input signal of the linear amplification unit 7 and the low-frequency component Vref_low as a reference signal of the control unit 12 are similar to the configuration of FIG. It is obtained by passing the input signal Vref through the low-pass filter 2.

The low pass filter 4 is composed of an inductor 23. The inductance value is set so that the frequency characteristics of the inductor 23 and the resistance component of the load 1 at the terminal of the output voltage Vout satisfy the low-pass filter characteristics of FIG.

The high-pass filter 5 is constituted by a series circuit including a parallel circuit of a capacitor 27 and a sense resistor 25 and a capacitor 26. The capacitance values (C26, C27) of the

capacitors

26, 27 and the resistance value (R25) of the sense resistor 25 are similar to the low-pass filter 4 in that the frequency characteristics of the high-pass filter 5 and the resistance component of the load 1 at the output voltage Vout terminal. 9 is set so as to satisfy the high-pass filter characteristics of FIG.

The ratio of the capacitance values of the capacitor 27 and the capacitor 26 is determined, for example, at a ratio of 10: 1 so that the capacitor 27 is larger than the capacitor 26. The resistance value of the sense resistor 25 needs to be set so that most of the current caused by resonance passes through the sense resistor 25 in parallel with the capacitor 27. That is, the resistance value R25 of the sense resistor 25 is set such that the cutoff frequency determined by R25 and C27 is higher than the resonance frequency determined by C26, C27, and L23. Thereby, the low-pass filter 4 and the high-pass filter 5 are set so as to follow the frequency characteristics of FIG.

The current detection unit 11 includes a differential amplifier 43 that detects and amplifies the voltage difference between both ends of the sense resistor 25 in the high-pass filter 5. The output value of the current detector 11 is (current value flowing through the sense resistor 25) × (resistance value R25 of the sense resistor 25) × (gain of the differential amplifier 43). As a result, a constant multiple of the current value flowing through the sense resistor 25 is output from the current detection unit 11. Further, most components of the current flowing through the sense resistor 25 are currents near the resonance frequency of the low-pass filter 4 and the high-pass filter 5. Therefore, the resonance current can be detected by the differential amplifier 43.

The controller 12 includes a differential amplifier 42, a PWM generation circuit 61, and a triangular wave generation circuit 62. The basic operation of the control unit 12 is that the duty ratio of the pulse input to the switching element 21 in accordance with the two signals (low frequency component Vref_low and the output signal of the differential amplifier 42) input to the PWM generation circuit 61. Is to decide. The switching frequency of the pulse input to the switching element 21 is determined by the frequency of the triangular wave generated by the triangular wave generation circuit 62.

The switching amplifier 6 is configured by vertically stacking switching elements 21 and diodes 22. However, the switching amplifier 6 is not limited to this configuration. For example, a configuration in which a switching element (not shown) is arranged instead of the diode 22 and two types of input pulses of the switching element 21 and the switching element (not shown) are generated from the control unit 12 is also conceivable.

The linear amplifying unit 7 includes an operational amplifier 51 and outputs a voltage of (Vref_high × multiple of a constant). The linear amplifying unit 7 is not limited to an operational amplifier, and an amplifier with high linearity such as a class B amplifier or a class AB amplifier can be substituted.

Next, the detailed operation of each block will be described. First, a voltage difference between both ends of the high-pass filter 5 is detected by the differential amplifier 44 (voltage detection unit 10). Further, the fluctuation of current caused by resonance by the low-pass filter 4 and the high-pass filter 5 is detected by the differential amplifier 43 (current detection unit 11). Then, the signals detected by the voltage detection unit 10 and the current detection unit 11 are added together by the differential amplifier 42 and used as the input signal of the PWM generation circuit 61 together with the low frequency component Vref_low. While referring to the binary value input to the PWM generation circuit 61, a pulse with a changed duty ratio is generated in accordance with the frequency of the triangular wave output from the triangular wave generation circuit 62 (PWM generation circuit 61). By outputting this pulse to the switching element 21, the stable switching amplifier 6 is controlled (control unit 12).

However, in this state, as described above, due to resonance between the high-pass filter 5 and the low-pass filter 4, current fluctuation near the resonance frequency occurs between the linear amplification unit 7 and the switching amplification unit 6, resulting in power loss. Various troubles such as increase in the number occur. Therefore, as a function of suppressing the current fluctuation caused by resonance, the value of the resonance current detected by the current detection unit 11 is added to the value detected by the voltage detection unit 10 so as to be negative with respect to the current fluctuation due to resonance. Feedback is done. At this time, if the proportion of the −input signal of the differential amplifier 42 is increased too much, the function of maintaining the voltage difference between both ends of the high pass filter 5 at a constant multiple of the low frequency component Vref_low is lost, resulting in unstable operation. Note that it will end up.

Since the current detection unit 11 detects the resonance current between the high-pass filter 5 and the low-pass filter 4, the current detection unit 11 is not limited to the one incorporated in the high-pass filter 5 shown in FIG. For example, the current detection unit 11 may be configured to detect by arranging a sense resistor independently of other filters.

Further, the control unit 12 is not limited to the combination of the PWM generation circuit 61 and the triangular wave generation circuit 62. For example, the control unit 12 can be configured by PFM (Pulse Frequency Modulation) control.

As a result of these series of operations, according to the power supply device 103 shown in FIG. 3, the output voltage Vout = Vref_high is a constant multiple of + Vref_low is a constant multiple of = Vref. 4 can suppress current fluctuation caused by resonance between the high-pass filter 5 and the high-pass filter 5, thereby realizing a highly efficient and highly accurate power supply modulator.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing Embodiment 4 of the power supply device according to the present invention. Hereinafter, description will be given based on this drawing.

The basic configuration of the power supply device 104 of the fourth embodiment is the same as that of the second embodiment. The fourth embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that it has an offset adjustment function unit 13 that performs offset adjustment of the output voltage Vout by adjusting the offset voltage Vcc2 of the low-frequency component Vref_low of the input signal, and the input signal Vref. This is a detailed description of a specific example of the filter (configured by the low-pass filter 2, the high-pass filter 3, and the delay adjuster 14). In the fourth embodiment, the same reference numerals as those in the second embodiment are the same as those in the second embodiment, so that the description thereof will be omitted and only the differences will be described in detail.

The low-pass filter 2 and high-pass filter 3 of the input signal are composed of secondary Butterworth filters. The frequency characteristic in that case is as shown in FIG. Compared with the low-pass filter 4 and the high-pass filter 5 for the output signal, it is not necessary to consider the output impedance viewed from the load side. Therefore, the low-pass filter 2 and the high-pass filter 3 for the input signal are configured by high-order filters. And is not limited to Butterworth filters.

In order to correct the influence of the group delay due to the filter, a delay adjuster 14 is installed at the subsequent stage of the high-pass filter 3. The delay value of the delay adjuster 14 is set so that the signals input to the operational amplifier 51 and the comparator 41 are synchronized after calculating the group delay of the low-pass filter 2 and the high-pass filter 3.

The offset adjustment function unit 13 has a function of fixing the offset voltage of the low-frequency component Vref_low of the input signal that has passed through the low-pass filter 2 to the voltage Vcc2. Since the voltage input to the negative side of the comparator 41 changes in accordance with the change of the voltage Vcc2, the voltage difference between both ends of the high-pass filter 5 is reflected in the offset value set by the voltage Vcc2, resulting in output It has a function of adjusting the offset value of the voltage Vout. This offset function adjustment is included in the offset adjustment of Vref itself in the first and third embodiments.

The low-pass filter 2 includes

inductors

211 and 212 and a capacitor 213. The high pass filter 3 includes an inductor 311 and

capacitors

312 and 313. The offset adjustment function unit 13 includes a low-pass filter 131.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to each of the above embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to each of the above embodiments. Various changes that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention. Further, the present invention includes a combination of some or all of the configurations of the above-described embodiments as appropriate.

Some or all of the above embodiments can be described as in the following supplementary notes, but the present invention is not limited to the following configurations.

[Appendix 1] a low-pass filter;
A high-pass filter,
A switching amplifier for amplifying the low frequency component of the input signal and outputting the amplified low frequency component via the low pass filter;
A linear amplification unit that is connected in parallel to the switching amplification unit, amplifies the high-frequency component of the input signal, and outputs the amplified high-frequency component via the high-pass filter,
A current detector that detects a current flowing between the low-pass filter and the high-pass filter;
A voltage detector for detecting a voltage across the high-pass filter;
A control unit that outputs a control signal to the switching amplification unit based on a low frequency component of the input signal, a current value detected by the current detection unit, and a voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit;
A power supply device comprising:

[Appendix 2] The power supply device according to Appendix 1,
The control unit performs resonance between the low-pass filter and the high-pass filter based on a low-frequency component of the input signal, a current value detected by the current detection unit, and a voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit. Outputting a control signal to the switching amplifier so as to suppress,
A power supply device characterized by that.

[Appendix 3] The power supply device according to Appendix 2,
The control unit is configured to obtain a voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit based on a low frequency component of the input signal, a current value detected by the current detection unit, and a voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit. Outputting a control signal to the switching amplification unit so that the current value detected by the current detection unit is constant and reduced;
A power supply device characterized by that.

[Appendix 4] The power supply device according to any one of Appendixes 1 to 3,
The linear amplifying unit has a function of linearly amplifying a high frequency component of the input signal, and includes a voltage follower or a negative feedback amplifier that obtains a feedback signal from its output terminal.
A power supply device characterized by that.

[Appendix 5] The power supply device according to any one of Appendixes 1 to 4,
The voltage detection unit has a function of detecting a voltage between both ends of the high-pass filter, and includes a differential amplifier that inputs a voltage between the both ends.
A power supply device characterized by that.

[Appendix 6] The power supply device according to any one of appendices 1 to 5,
The power supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the low-pass filter and the high-pass filter have impedance values satisfying fh <fl, where cut-off frequencies of a circuit formed with a load resistance are fl and fh, respectively.

[Appendix 7] The power supply device according to any one of appendices 1 to 6,
The control unit sets the switching amplification unit so that a voltage detected by the voltage detection unit is a constant multiple of a low frequency component of the input signal, and a current detected by the current detection unit is zero. Control,
A power supply device characterized by that.

[Appendix 8] The power supply device according to any one of appendices 1 to 7,
The control unit includes a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control circuit, a PFM (Pulse Frequency Modulation) control circuit, or a comparator.
A power supply device characterized by that.

[Supplementary note 9] The power supply device according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 8,
An offset adjustment function unit for adjusting an offset voltage with respect to a low frequency component of the input signal input to the control unit;
A power supply device further comprising the power supply device.

[Supplementary Note 10] The power supply device according to any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 9 is used as a power source of an amplifier.
A transmission apparatus characterized by the above.

[Appendix 11] The power supply device according to any one of Appendixes 1 to 9,
The low-pass filter and the high-pass filter are composed only of passive elements,
A power supply device characterized by that.

[Supplementary Note 12] The power supply device according to any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 9,
The current detection unit has a function of detecting a current flowing between the high pass filter and the low pass filter, and includes a sense resistor, a band pass filter, and a differential amplifier.
A power supply device characterized by that.

[Supplementary Note 13] The power supply device according to Supplementary Note 12,
The band filter uses a resonance point of a circuit formed by the high pass filter and the low pass filter as a pass band,
A power supply device characterized by that.

This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-021595 filed on February 3, 2012, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein.

Examples of the use of the present invention include mobile phones, wireless LANs, terminals for WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), base stations, and transmitters used in terrestrial digital broadcasting stations.

1 Load (high frequency amplifier)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Low pass filter 3 High pass filter 4 Low pass filter 5 High pass filter 6 Switching amplification part 7 Linear amplification part 10 Voltage detection part 11 Current detection part 12 Control part 13 Offset adjustment function part 14 Delay regulator 21 Switching element 22 Diode 23 Inductor 24 Inductor 25 Sense resistor 26 Capacitor 27 Capacitor 31 Hysteresis amplifier 41 Comparator 42 Differential amplifier 43 Differential amplifier 44 Differential amplifier 51 Operational amplifier 61 PWM generation circuit 62 Triangular wave generation circuit 101 Power supply device 102 Power supply device 103 Power supply device 104 Power supply device 111 Transmission device

Claims

A low-pass filter,
A high-pass filter,
A switching amplifier for amplifying the low frequency component of the input signal and outputting the amplified low frequency component via the low pass filter;
A linear amplification unit that is connected in parallel to the switching amplification unit, amplifies the high-frequency component of the input signal, and outputs the amplified high-frequency component via the high-pass filter,
A current detector that detects a current flowing between the low-pass filter and the high-pass filter;
A voltage detector for detecting a voltage across the high-pass filter;
A control unit that outputs a control signal to the switching amplification unit based on a low frequency component of the input signal, a current value detected by the current detection unit, and a voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit;
A power supply device comprising:
The power supply device according to claim 1,
The control unit performs resonance between the low-pass filter and the high-pass filter based on a low-frequency component of the input signal, a current value detected by the current detection unit, and a voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit. Outputting a control signal to the switching amplifier so as to suppress,
A power supply device characterized by that.
The power supply device according to claim 2,
The control unit is configured to obtain a voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit based on a low frequency component of the input signal, a current value detected by the current detection unit, and a voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit. Outputting a control signal to the switching amplification unit so that the current value detected by the current detection unit is constant and reduced;
A power supply device characterized by that.
The power supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The linear amplifying unit has a function of linearly amplifying a high frequency component of the input signal, and includes a voltage follower or a negative feedback amplifier that obtains a feedback signal from its output terminal.
A power supply device characterized by that.
The power supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The voltage detection unit has a function of detecting a voltage between both ends of the high-pass filter, and includes a differential amplifier that inputs a voltage between the both ends.
A power supply device characterized by that.
The power supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The power supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the low-pass filter and the high-pass filter have impedance values satisfying fh <fl, where cut-off frequencies of a circuit formed with a load resistance are fl and fh, respectively.
The power supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The control unit sets the switching amplification unit so that a voltage detected by the voltage detection unit is a constant multiple of a low frequency component of the input signal, and a current detected by the current detection unit is zero. Control,
A power supply device characterized by that.
The power supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The control unit includes a PWM control circuit, a PFM control circuit, or a comparator.
A power supply device characterized by that.
The power supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
An offset adjustment function unit for adjusting an offset voltage with respect to a low frequency component of the input signal input to the control unit;
A power supply device further comprising the power supply device.
The power supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is used as a power supply for an amplifier.
A transmission apparatus characterized by the above.