CN108268113A - Power supply system and power supply method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a power supply system and a power supply method. The power supply system includes a target device, a power supply module and a control circuit. The control circuit is connected to the target device and the power supply module. If the power supply module does not meet the preset conditions, the control circuit transmits the power provided by the power supply module to the target device and disables the sub-target device in the target device. If the power supply module meets the preset conditions, the control circuit transmits the power provided by the power supply module to the target device and enables the sub-target device. The power supply system and the power supply method provided by the present invention can meet the supply requirements of electronic devices for power of different intensities.

Description

Power supply system and power supply method

technical field

The invention relates to a power management mechanism, in particular to a power supply system and a power supply method.

Background technique

With the continuous improvement of hardware specifications of computer devices such as notebook computers, the demand for power supply of computer devices is also increasing. For example, for a notebook computer dedicated to gaming in the future, the power supply requirement may increase to 500 watts (W). Therefore, judging from the specifications of the existing power supplies, it may be necessary to connect more than two power supplies in series at the same time to provide sufficient power for the computer device.

However, the existing power supply architecture generally does not support using more than two power supplies to supply power at the same time, and also lacks a system architecture that can dynamically switch the power supply paths of multiple power supplies.

Contents of the invention

The invention provides a power supply system and a power supply method, which can meet the supply requirements of electronic devices for power supplies of different strengths.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a power supply system, which includes a target device, a power supply module and a control circuit. The control circuit is connected to the target device and the power supply module. If the power supply module does not meet a predetermined condition, the control circuit transmits the power provided by the power supply module to the target device and disables sub-target devices in the target device. If the power supply module meets the preset condition, the control circuit transmits the power provided by the power supply module to the target device and enables the sub-target device.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a power supply method, which includes: judging whether the power supply module meets the preset conditions; if the power supply module does not meet the preset conditions, switching the power supply module to transferring the provided power to the target device and disabling sub-target devices in the target device; and transferring the power provided by the power supply module to the target device if the power supply module meets the predetermined condition the target device and enable the sub-target device.

Based on the above, if the power supply module does not meet the preset conditions, the control circuit will not only transmit the power provided by the power supply module to the target device, but also further disable the sub-target devices in the target device to prevent the electronic device from The power supply is insufficient to function properly. In addition, if the power supply module meets the preset conditions, the control circuit will not only transmit the power provided by the power supply module to the target device, but also enable the sub-target device, so as to improve electronic performance under the condition of sufficient power supply. The computing performance of the device.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, the following specific embodiments are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a power supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of using a first power supply path to transmit power according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of using a second power supply path to transmit power according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing power transmission using a third power supply path and a fourth power supply path according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a power supply method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Symbol Description

10, 20: Power supply system

11, 21: target device

12, 22: Power supply module

121, 122, 221, 222: power supply

13, 23: Control circuit

PWR: Power

211: System load

212, 213: display chip

231: Enabling unit

232: switch module

2321～2324: switch unit

201～204: power supply path

S501～S503: steps

Detailed ways

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a power supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , the power supply system 10 can be installed in various electronic devices with computing functions such as notebook computers, desktop computers, industrial computers, smart phones or tablet computers. The power supply system 10 includes a target device 11 , a power supply module 12 and a control circuit 13 .

The target device 11 includes any electronic circuit or peripheral equipment that needs to be powered in the electronic device provided with the power supply system 10, such as a central processing unit, a display chip, a memory, a screen, various input/output interfaces and/or network interface cards . The target device 11 includes sub-target devices 112 . The sub-target device 112 refers to an electronic circuit that can be dynamically disabled or enabled during the operation of the electronic device. Here, enabling the sub-target device 112 refers to allowing the sub-target device 112 to be powered (eg, turning on the power supply path connected to the sub-target device 112 ) and allowing the sub-target device 112 to participate in the operation of the electronic device. Conversely, disabling the sub-target device 112 means not allowing the sub-target device 112 to be powered (eg, cutting off the power supply path connected to the sub-target device 112 ) and not allowing the sub-target device 112 to participate in the operation of the electronic device.

In one embodiment, the electronic device includes a plurality of display chips, and the sub-target device 112 is a secondary display chip among the display chips. For example, in some cases, if the power supply of the electronic device is sufficient to support simultaneous operation of the primary display chip and at least one secondary display chip of the electronic device, the secondary display chip will be enabled (ie, the secondary display chip can be The main display chips operate simultaneously for image processing), thereby improving the overall image processing performance of the electronic device. However, in some cases, if the power supply of the electronic device is insufficient to support the simultaneous operation of the main display chip and at least one secondary display chip of the electronic device, the secondary display chip will be disabled (that is, only the main display chip The chip keeps running for image processing), so as to reduce the overall power consumption demand of the target device 11 .

It should be noted that in the following embodiments, the secondary display chip of the electronic device is used as an example of the sub-target device 112 . However, in other unmentioned embodiments, the sub-target device 112 may also refer to any electronic circuit in the electronic device that can be dynamically disabled or enabled in response to the current power supply status. For example, in an embodiment, the sub-target device 112 may also be a certain hardware core of a central processing unit or a certain connection interface (for example, a USB connection interface) of an electronic circuit, and the like.

The power supply module 12 is used to provide the power required for the operation of the electronic device. The power supply module 12 includes a plurality of power supplies. In this embodiment, a power supply (also referred to as a first power supply) 121 and a power supply (also referred to as a second power supply) 122 are used as examples of multiple power supplies in the power supply module 12 . It should be noted that the power supply specification of the power supply 121 may be different from or the same as that of the power supply 122 .

The control circuit 13 is connected to the target device 11 and the power supply module 12 . The control circuit 13 is used to transmit the power PWR provided by the power supply module 12 to the target device 11 . In other words, the power PWR provided by the power supply module 12 is provided to the target device 11 via the control circuit 13 for power supply.

In this embodiment, the control circuit 13 determines whether the power supply module 12 meets a preset condition. If the power supply module 12 does not meet the preset conditions, the control circuit 13 will not only transmit the power PWR provided by the power supply module 12 to the target device 11 , but also disable the sub-target device 112 in the target device 11 . In addition, if the power supply module 12 meets the preset condition, the control circuit 13 will transmit the power PWR provided by the power supply module 12 to the target device 11 and enable the sub-target device 112 .

In this embodiment, whether the control circuit 13 detects the power supply 121 and the power supply 122 in the power supply module 12 at the same time is used as a basis for judging whether the power supply module 12 meets the preset condition. For example, if the control circuit 13 detects the power supply 121 and the power supply 122 at the same time (that is, the power supply 121 and the power supply 122 have been connected to the electronic device or the power supply system 10), the control circuit 13 will determine that the power supply Module 12 meets preset conditions. On the contrary, if the control circuit 13 does not detect the power supply 121 and the power supply 122 at the same time (that is, the power supply 121 or the power supply 122 is not connected to the electronic device or the power supply system 10), the control circuit 13 will determine the power supply The provider module 12 does not meet the preset condition. In addition, corresponding to whether the power supply module 12 meets the preset condition, the control circuit 13 provides different power supply paths, so as to transmit the power PWR provided by the power supply module 12 to the target device 11 through these power supply paths.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of using a first power supply path to transmit power according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the power supply system 20 includes a target device 21 , a power supply module 22 and a control circuit 23 . The target device 21 includes a system load 211 , a display chip 212 and a display chip 213 . For example, the display chip 212 is the main display chip in the electronic device, the display chip 213 is the secondary display chip used to assist the main display chip in image processing in the electronic device, and the system load 211 is the rest of the electronic device that needs to be powered. electronic circuit.

In this embodiment, only the power supply 221 of the power supply module 22 is connected to the power supply system 20 . Therefore, the control circuit 23 detects the power supply 221 but does not detect the power supply 222 and determines that the power supply module 22 does not meet the preset condition. Since the control circuit 23 has detected the power supply 221 but not the power supply 222, the control circuit 23 will supply the power provided by the power supply 221 (also called the first power supply path) 201 via the power supply path (also called the first power supply path) 201. a power supply) to the target device 21. At the same time, the control circuit 23 disables the display chip 213 .

More specifically, the control circuit 23 includes an enabling unit 231 and a switch module 232 . The enabling unit 231 is used for detecting the connected power supply in the power supply module 22 . For example, in this embodiment, the enabling unit 231 will detect the connected power supply 221 . The switch module 232 is connected to the power supply module 22 and the target device 21 and forms one or more power supply paths between the power supply module 22 and the target device 21 .

In this embodiment, the power supply module 22 does not meet the preset condition, so the switch module 232 is in a preset state (also referred to as the first state). The switch module 232 in the first state forms the power supply path 201 and another power supply path (also referred to as the second power supply path). It should be noted that, for the description of the second power supply path, please refer to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 below, which is omitted here.

In this embodiment, the switch module 232 includes a switch unit (also called a first switch unit) 2321, a switch unit (also called a second switch unit) 2322, a switch unit (also called a third switch unit) connected to each other. 2323 and the switch unit (also referred to as the fourth switch unit) 2324, the connection relationship thereof is shown in FIG. 2 . In the first state, the switch units 2321 and 2323 are in an off state (ie, current can flow through the switch unit 2321 and the switch unit 2323), and the switch units 2322 and 2324 are in an open state (ie, current cannot flow through the switch unit 2322 and switch unit 2324), as shown in FIG. 2 . Therefore, in the first state, the power provided by the power supply 221 can be transmitted to the target device 21 along the power supply path 201 to supply power to the system load 211 and the display chip 212 . In addition, since the display chip 213 has been disabled, the display chip 213 does not cause additional power consumption (or, the power consumption of the display chip 213 is so small that it can be almost ignored).

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of using a second power supply path to transmit power according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3 , in this embodiment, only the power supply 222 of the power supply module 22 is connected to the power supply system 20 . Therefore, the control circuit 23 detects the power supply 222 but does not detect the power supply 221 , and determines that the power supply module 22 does not meet the preset condition. For example, the enabling unit 231 detects that the power supply 222 is connected. Since the control circuit 23 has detected the power supply 222 but not the power supply 221, the control circuit 23 will supply the power provided by the power supply 222 (also referred to as the second power supply path) via the power supply path 202 (ie, the second power supply path). power) to the target device 21. At the same time, the control circuit 23 also disables the display chip 213 .

In this embodiment, the power supply module 22 does not meet the preset condition, so the switch module 232 is also in the above-mentioned first state. The switch module 232 in the first state forms the power supply path 202 and the above-mentioned first power supply path (ie, the power supply path 201 in FIG. 2 ), as shown in FIG. 3 . Therefore, in the first state, the power provided by the power supply 222 can be transmitted to the target device 21 along the power supply path 202 to supply power to the system load 211 and the display chip 212 . Similarly, since the display chip 213 has been disabled, the display chip 213 does not cause additional power consumption (or, the power consumption of the display chip 213 is so small that it can be almost ignored).

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing power transmission using a third power supply path and a fourth power supply path according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4 , in this embodiment, the power supply 221 and the power supply 222 in the power supply module 22 are both connected to the power supply system 20 . Therefore, the control circuit 23 detects the power supply 221 and the power supply 222 simultaneously and determines that the power supply module 22 meets the preset condition. Since the power supply module 22 meets the preset conditions, the control circuit 23 transmits the power (ie, the first power) provided by the power supply 221 to the target device 21 via the power supply path (also referred to as the third power supply path) 203, and The power provided by the power supply 222 (ie, the second power) is transmitted to the target device 21 via a power supply path (also referred to as a fourth power supply path) 204 . At the same time, since the power supply module 22 meets the preset condition, the control circuit 23 will enable the display chip 213 .

More specifically, in this embodiment, the enabling unit 231 will simultaneously detect the connected power supply 221 and the power supply 222 and generate an enabling signal. The enable signal is used to enable the display chip 213 . For example, when the display chip 213 receives the enable signal, the display chip 213 will switch from the disabled state to the standby state (or, the working state). Alternatively, the enabling signal can also be sent to a central processing unit of the electronic device, which can be used to enable or disable the display chip 213 , and the device can enable the display chip 213 according to the enabling signal.

It should be noted that although in this embodiment, the enabling unit 231 is an AND gate (AND gate) as an example, however, in other embodiments, the enabling unit 231 may also be implemented by other types of circuit elements. Implementation, as long as it can be used to detect the connection between the power supply 221 and the power supply 222 and generate a corresponding enabling signal.

In this embodiment, the switch module 232 also receives the enabling signal generated by the enabling unit 231 . In response to the enabling signal, the switch module 232 switches from the above-mentioned first state to another state (also referred to as the second state). The switch module 232 in the second state forms the power supply path 203 and the power supply path 204 , as shown in FIG. 4 . For example, in response to the enable signal, the switch units 2321 and 2323 are switched from the original off state to the on state, and the switch units 2322 and 2324 are switched from the original on state to the off state. That is to say, in the second state, the current cannot flow through the switch unit 2321 and the switch unit 2323 , but can flow through the switch unit 2322 and the switch unit 2324 . Therefore, in the second state, the power provided by the power supply 221 will be transmitted to the target device 21 along the power supply path 203, and the power provided by the power supply 222 will be transmitted to the target device 21 along the power supply path 204, thereby The system load 211 , the display chip 212 and the display chip 213 in the target device 21 are jointly powered by the power supply 221 and the power supply 222 .

It should be noted that although the embodiments of FIGS. 2 to 4 have clearly shown the connection relationship of each switch unit 2321 - 2324 in the switch module 232 in the power supply system 20 . However, in other unmentioned embodiments, the connection relationship of the switch units 2321 - 2324 in the power supply system 20 can also be changed, and is not limited to the connection relationship shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 . In one embodiment, each of the switch units 2321 - 2324 may include, for example, one or more electronic components with a switch function such as transistors. In addition, more electronic circuit components such as switch units can also be added to the power supply system 20, as long as the path planning for transmitting power in the power supply system 20 meets the above conditions.

In addition, in an embodiment where the sub-target device that can be disabled is a secondary display chip, the electronic device provided with the power supply system 10 (or 20) usually has a screen as a display interface for the image data processed by the display chip. .

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a power supply method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Please refer to FIG. 5 , in step S501 , it is determined whether the power supply module meets a preset condition. If the power supply module does not meet the preset condition, in step S502 , transmit the power provided by the power supply module to the target device and disable the sub-target devices in the target device. In addition, if the power supply module meets the preset condition, in step S503 , the power provided by the power supply module is transmitted to the target device and the sub-target device is enabled.

However, each step in FIG. 5 has been described in detail above, and will not be repeated here. It should be noted that each step in FIG. 5 can be implemented as a plurality of program codes or circuits, which is not limited in the present invention. In addition, the method in FIG. 5 can be used in combination with the above exemplary embodiments, or can be used alone, which is not limited by the present invention.

To sum up, the power supply system and power supply method of the present invention can adaptively adjust the power supply path and decide whether to enable a specific sub-target device in the target device according to whether the power supply module meets the preset conditions. . For example, the sub-target device may be an electronic circuit in the target device whose power consumption is higher than a preset value or any preset electronic circuit. Therefore, in the case of low power supply (for example, only one power supply is connected), the present invention can prevent the electronic device from malfunctioning due to insufficient power supply. Or, in the case of sufficient power supply (for example, more than two power supplies are connected at the same time), the present invention can also improve the computing performance of the electronic device. Thereby, the present invention can strike a balance between the power supply and the performance of the electronic device.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above with the embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art can make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, this The scope of protection of the invention should be defined by the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. a kind of power system, including：

Destination apparatus；

Power supply unit module；And

Control circuit is connected to the destination apparatus and the power supply unit module,

If wherein described power supply unit module does not meet preset condition, the control circuit puies forward the power supply unit module Specific item device for mark in the power delivery of confession to the destination apparatus and destination apparatus described in forbidden energy,

If wherein described power supply unit module meets the preset condition, the control circuit is by the power supply unit module The power delivery provided is to the destination apparatus and specific item device for mark described in enable.

2. power system according to claim 1, the power supply unit module include the first power supply unit with Second source supply,

If wherein described control circuit is not detected simultaneously by first power supply unit and the second source supply, described Control circuit judges that the power supply unit module does not meet the preset condition,

If wherein described control circuit is detected simultaneously by first power supply unit and the second source supply, the control Circuit judges that the power supply unit module meets the preset condition.

3. power system according to claim 2, if the control circuit detects first power supply unit And the second source supply is not detected, the control circuit is via the first supply path by first power supply unit The first power delivery provided to the destination apparatus,

If wherein described control circuit detects the second source supply and first power supply unit, institute is not detected It states control circuit and the second source that the second source supply provides is transmitted to the target dress via the second supply path It puts,

If wherein described control circuit is detected simultaneously by first power supply unit and the second source supply, the control Circuit processed via third supply path by first power delivery to the destination apparatus, and via the 4th supply path by institute It states second source and is transmitted to the destination apparatus.

4. power system according to claim 3, the control circuit includes：

Enable unit；And

Switch module is connected to described control unit,

If wherein described power supply unit module does not meet the preset condition, the switch module is in first state,

Wherein the switch module in the first state forms first supply path and second supply path,

If wherein described power supply unit module meets the preset condition, the enable unit generates enable signal, and institute It states switch module and switches to the second state in response to the enable signal,

Wherein the switch module in second state forms the third supply path and the 4th supply path.

5. power system according to claim 4, the switch module includes first switch unit, second switch list Member, third switch unit and the 4th switch unit,

Wherein in said first condition, the first switch unit and the third switch unit are closed and institute It states second switch unit and is in opening with the 4th switch unit to form first supply path and the described second confession Power path,

Wherein in said second condition, the first switch unit is in the opening simultaneously with the third switch unit And the second switch unit and the 4th switch unit be in the closed state with formed the third supply path and 4th supply path.

6. a kind of power supply method, including：

Judge whether power supply unit module meets preset condition；

If the power supply unit module does not meet the preset condition, the power delivery that the power supply unit module is provided Specific item device for mark into destination apparatus and destination apparatus described in forbidden energy；And

If the power supply unit module meets the preset condition, the power supply that the power supply unit module is provided passes Transport to the destination apparatus and specific item device for mark described in enable.

7. power supply method according to claim 6, the power supply unit module include the first power supply unit with Second source supply,

Wherein judge that the step of whether the power supply unit module meets the preset condition includes：

If not being detected simultaneously by first power supply unit and the second source supply, the power supply unit mould is judged Block does not meet the preset condition；And

If being detected simultaneously by first power supply unit and the second source supply, the power supply unit module is judged Meet the preset condition.

8. power supply method according to claim 7, the power delivery that the power supply unit module is provided Include described in forbidden energy to the destination apparatus and the step of specific item device for mark：

It, will via the first supply path if detecting first power supply unit and the second source supply being not detected The first power delivery that first power supply unit provides is to the destination apparatus；And

It, will via the second supply path if detecting the second source supply and first power supply unit being not detected The second source that the second source supply provides is transmitted to the destination apparatus,

Wherein by the power delivery that the power supply unit module provides to the destination apparatus and sub-goal described in enable The step of device, includes：

Via third supply path by first power delivery to the destination apparatus, and via the 4th supply path by described in Second source is transmitted to the destination apparatus.

9. power supply method according to claim 8, further includes：

If the power supply unit module does not meet the preset condition, switch module is made to be in first state, wherein in institute The switch module for stating first state forms first supply path and second supply path；And

If the power supply unit module meets the preset condition, enable signal is generated, and in response to the enable signal And the switch module is switched into the second state, wherein the switch module in second state forms the third Supply path and the 4th supply path.

10. power supply method according to claim 6, the switch module includes first switch unit, second switch Unit, third switch unit and the 4th switch unit,

Wherein in said first condition, the first switch unit and the third switch unit are closed and institute It states second switch unit and is in opening with the 4th switch unit, to form first supply path and described second Supply path,

Wherein in said second condition, the first switch unit is in the opening simultaneously with the third switch unit And the second switch unit and the 4th switch unit be in the closed state, with formed the third supply path and 4th supply path.