
GENNUM CORPORATION
20352 - 2
9 of 10
G
LOW BATTERY INDICATOR (POWER-ON/POWER-OFF)
The DUET DIGITAL hybrids have two power management
components on their controller chips: the Power-On-Reset
sequence and turn off/end of battery life system.
The Power-On-Reset block's purpose is to ensure that a
stable turn-on state is achieved. The blocks that are kept
OFF are the A/D and preamp channels (both front and rear),
the controller, the DSP chip, and the EEPROM power. A
small portion of the controller is enabled to monitor the
signals coming from the analog POR block. The audio
output is muted when the supply voltage is below the turn-
on threshold and during the power-on sequence.
An analog voltage comparator monitors the supply voltage
and feeds its output to a digital timer whose purpose is to
deglitch bouncy turn-ons. When the supply crosses the
1.1Vdc level (V
BON
) the timer starts and if the supply voltage
maintains a level above 1.0Vdc (V
BOFF
) for at least 30ms,
the disabled blocks will be enabled, else the timer is reset
and waits for the analog comparator to signal that supply is
again above V
BON
. This ensures rejection of any turn on
transients. Only after this 30ms finishes can the part start to
down load EEPROM configuration data, then configure and
activate the DSP.
Once the part is ON, dropping the supply below V
BON
causes the Lowbat signal to become active but otherwise
the part continues to operate as normal. The Lowbat signal
true condition requires that the supply voltage remain below
V
BON
for at least 30ms.
Once the Lowbat signal becomes active, the audible low
battery voltage indicator will produce two consecutive
beeps, 0.45 second long. These two beeps will repeat
every 30 seconds. The communication with the hybrid is not
possible when the beeps are being produced by the
hybrid. The frequency and the amplitude of the beeps are
programmable.
If the supply drops below 1.0Vdc (V
BOFF
), then the part is
put into an OFF state, there is no debouncing of this signal,
and the action is immediate. This level was chosen since
the regulator has a 950mV regulation voltage. The regulator
needs some headroom to ensure that it maintains good
supply rejection, which is critical in high gain, high power
applications to prevent system instability.
The GB3212 operates in shallow-reset mode, during the
power-on sequence circuit starts when the supply voltage
rises above the turn-on threshold (V
BON
) after shutdown.
The device will function until the supply voltage drops
below the turn-off threshold (V
BOFF
) but will recover once the
supply voltage rises above the turn-on threshold (V
BON
)
again.
POWER MANAGEMENT
The DUET DIGITAL was designed to accommodate high
power applications. AC ripple on the supply can cause
instantaneous reduction of the battery's voltage, potentially
disruption the circuit's function. The GB3212 has a separate
power supply and ground connection for the output stage.
This allows hearing instrument designers to accommodate
external RC filters in order to minimize any AC ripple from
the supply line. Reducing this AC ripple greatly improves
the stability of the circuit and prevents unwanted reset of
the circuit caused by spikes on the supply line. For more
information on properly designing a filter to reduce supply
ripple, please refer to information note
Using the GB3211
PARAGON Digital in High Power Application Initial Design
Tips
document #24561.