New-Tech Europe | December 2016 | Digital Edition

Figures 2-5). In this architecture, the power management functions are added to the on-board control PLD. The control PLD monitors the "Power Good" signals of the input supply and each DC-DC converter (Fig.2). The sequencing algorithm implemented in a Control PLD generates the sequence of "Enable" signals needed to turn on the power to the payloads without causing damage or logical errors. The Control PLD also generates logical signals such as resets and power good to ensure that the payload devices can begin operation during power up or terminate their operations during power down. It is also responsible for generating a sequence to safely disable the supplies during power-down or when a fault is detected. PLDs can easily support Event-Based solutions which provide different responses to different combinations of faults. For this class of designs, all the power sequencing, protection and control functionality is implemented within the Control PLD, typically using VHDL or Verilog. Pros: • Low cost • Straightforward architecture enables the Control PLD's sequencing logic to be easily scaled to accommodate new applications. • Designs can be implemented using a single design environment (typically VERILOG). • Event-based architecture can respond to individual fault modes in a flexible manner. Cons: • Since each supply requires two signal paths, larger, more

Figure 1. Smart car systems

Power Architecture #1: Power Management & Housekeeping by Control PLD

Fig.2: A Hardware Management system implemented using a Control PLD to perform Power Management and Housekeeping. Power Architecture #2: Power Management using Power Manager ICs with Housekeeping by Control PLD

Fig.3: A Hardware Management system implemented using Power Manager ICs and a Control PLD.

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