CHARGING CONTROL METHOD AND DEVICE

The present application provides a charging control method, a device and a readable storage medium. The charging control method includes: determining whether a type of a power supply device is a preset type or a QC type when a connection port provided by the power supply device connected to the to-be-charged device is identified as a dedicated charging port; and, when the type of the power supply device is the QC type, obtaining QC protocol parameters stored in the device, and controlling charging of a battery cell of the device based on the QC protocol parameters. A maximum output voltage of the power supply device in the preset type is less than a maximum output voltage of the power supply device in the QC type. The method avoids the problem of unable to carry out fast charging or occurrence of dangerous situations due to conflicts between various fast charging schemes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of charging, and in particular to a charging control method, a to-be-charged device and an electronic device.

BACKGROUND

QC (Quick Charge) is a fast charging scheme. Unlike high-current fast charging, the QC protocol introduces a higher charging voltage in order to further increase a charging speed without changing an interface. Taking QC 2.0 as an example, the QC 2.0 supports voltage-current pairs of 5V/2 A, 9V/2 A and 12V/1.5 A. The QC 3.0 may dynamically adjust an output voltage of an adapter from 3.6V to 20V in steps of 0.2V.

In order to allow the QC scheme to be compatible with other fast charging schemes (such as high-current charging schemes) for a to-be-charged device (such as a smart phone, a mobile terminal or a smart device), a complete charging control scheme needs to be provided, such that a plurality of fast charging schemes do not conflict with each other when the to-be-charged device is being charged.

The above information in the background section is illustrated to facilitate understanding of the present disclosure. Therefore, the above information may include information that does not constitute prior art known to an ordinary skilled person in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In a first aspect, a charging control method, applied in a to-be-charged device, is provided and includes: determining whether a type of a power supply device is a preset type or a QC type in response to a connection port provided by the power supply device connected to the to-be-charged device being identified as a dedicated charging port; and obtaining a QC protocol parameter stored in the to-be-charged device in response to the type of the power supply device being the QC type, and controlling a process of charging a battery unit of the to-be-charged device based on the QC protocol parameter; and wherein a maximum output voltage of the power supply device in the preset type is less than a maximum output voltage of the power supply device in the QC type. A maximum output voltage of the power supply device in the preset type is less than a maximum output voltage of the power supply device in the QC type.

In a second aspect, a to-be-charged device is provided and includes: a charging interface, a battery unit, a first control module and a second control module. The first control module is connected to the charging interface, and in response to a connection port provided by a power supply device connected to the to-be-charged device being identified as a dedicated charging port, the first control module is configured to inform the second control module to identify whether the type of the power supply device is a preset type; to identify whether the type provided by the power supply device is a QC type; and to obtain a QC protocol parameter stored in the to-be-charged device in response to the type of the power supply device being identified as the QC type, and control a process of charging the battery unit of the to-be-charged device based on the QC protocol parameter. A maximum output voltage of the power supply device in the preset type is less than a maximum output voltage of the power supply device in the QC type.

In a third aspect, an electronic device is provided and includes: a memory, a processor and executable instructions stored in the memory and capable of being executed by the processor. The processor performs the method as described in the above.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments will be described more completely by referring to the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments may be implemented in various forms and shall not be limited to the examples set forth herein. On the contrary, provision of these embodiments allows the present disclosure to be more comprehensive and complete and illustrates ideas of the embodiments to the skilled person in the art in a comprehensive manner. The accompanying drawings are only schematic illustrations of the present disclosure and are not drawn in scale. Identical reference numerals in the drawings indicate identical or similar components, and repetitive descriptions thereof will be omitted.

In addition, features, structures or properties described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, various specific details are provided so as to provide a complete understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. However, ordinary skilled persons in the art shall understand that the technical embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed while omitting one or more of particular details, or that other methods, components, devices, operations and the like may be applied. In other cases, well-known structures, methods, devices, implementations or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the present disclosure due to overwhelming.

In the present disclosure, unless otherwise expressively specified and qualified, terms “connected”, “connection”, and the like, shall be understood in a broad sense, such as, either fixed connection, detachable connection, or being formed as one piece of structure, mechanical connection, electrical connection, or communicative connection, direct connection, indirect connection through an intermediate medium, connection within two elements or interaction between two elements. Meanings of the above terms in the context of the present disclosure shall be understood by any ordinary skilled person in the art case by case.

In addition, in the description of the present disclosure, terms “first” and “second” are used for descriptive purposes only and shall not be interpreted as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features. Therefore, a feature defined by “first” and “second” may explicitly or implicitly include one or more such features.

In a charging process, a power supply device (such as a power adapter, a mobile power supply (a power bank), and the like) is generally connected to a to-be-charged device via a cable. Power supplied by the power supply device is transmitted to the to-be-charged device via the cable to charge the to-be-charged device.

Before illustrating implementation of the present disclosure, a principle of the QC protocol will be briefly introduced. After the power supply device (such as a QC adapter, a QC mobile power) supporting the QC protocol is connected to the to-be-charged device, the power supply device communicates with an Application Processor (AP) in the to-be-charged device via a data line D+/D− in a USB cable to determine a currently suitable voltage-current pair. Taking the QC 2.0 protocol as an example, supported voltage-current pairs are shown in Table 1.

A QC adaptor and a to-be-charged device supporting a QC protocol of 9V/2 A may be taken as an example. Firstly, in response to the QC adapter being inserted into a charging port of the to-be-charged device, an AP in the to-be-charged device takes a BC1.2 protocol to identify whether a connection port provided by the QC adapter is a dedicated charging port (DCP). In response to the connection port provided by the QC adapter being identified as the DCP, the data cable D+/D− is shorted, and the QC adapter outputs a 5V/2 A voltage-current pair to provide a normal charging scheme for the to-be-charged device (compared to the fast charging scheme, a charging speed provided by the adapter is slower in the normal charging scheme, and it takes longer to fully charge a battery having a same power capacity).

Since the AP of the to-be-charged device supports the QC protocol, a service process named HVDCP may be initiated to further negotiate with the QC adapter about the voltage-current pair applicable for fast charging. The HVDCP process allows a voltage of 0.325V to be loaded on the data line D+, and the voltage remains for 1.25 seconds. In response to the QC adapter detecting that a voltage exceeding 0.325V is loading on the data line D+ for more than 1.25 seconds, the short of the data line D+/D− is disconnected. In this case, the voltage on the data line D− does not change as the voltage on the data line D+ changes, but decreases directly. In response to the AP of the to-be-charged device detecting that the voltage on the data line D− decreasing from 0.325V, the AP determines that the power supply device is the QC adapter and may start requesting a desired voltage from the QC adapter, such as requesting a voltage of 9V. In this case, the AP may request the voltage of 9V by setting 3.3V and 0.6V for the data lines D+ and D− respectively. When a current voltage needs to be decreased to 5V, the AP may set 0.6V and 0V for the data lines D+ and D− respectively. After the QC adapter detects corresponding voltages on the data lines D+ and D−, and the QC adapter may output corresponding voltages.

To be noted that, since to-be-charged devices in various models may be configured with various hardware, not all voltage-current pairs in Table 1 can be completely supported. For example, some to-be-charged devices may only be charged in the normal charging scheme via a 5V/2 A voltage-current pair even though the devices identify that the connected power adapter is the QC adaptor, whereas some to-be-charged devices may only support the 5V/2 A voltage-current pair, a 9V/2 A voltage-current pair, and the like. Charging parameters of specific QC protocols supported by the to-be-charged device may be obtained in preset files.

In the art, in addition to the QC schemes described above, high-current charging schemes may be present. In a high-current fast charging scheme, the power supply device may output a relatively high current (typically greater than 2.5 A, such as 4.5 A, 5 A or even higher). The power supply device may be a fast charging adapter in a first type, such as having a maximum output power of 50 W (10V/5 A), and charges the to-be-charged device in the fast charging scheme. Alternatively, the power supply device may be a fast charging adapter in a second type, such as having a maximum output power of 20 W (5V/4 A), and charges the to-be-charged device in the fast charging scheme.

As described in the above, in order to allow various fast charging schemes to be compatible in the to-be-charged device, a charging control method needs to be provided to avoid conflicts between the various fast charging schemes. The charging control method provided by the implementation of the present disclosure will be illustrated below.

FIG. 1is a flow chart of a charging control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The charging control method may be applied in the to-be-charged device.

The to-be-charged device may, for example, be a terminal or a communication terminal. The terminal or communication terminal includes, but is not limited to, a terminal provided with a connection via a wired line, such as via a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a digital subscriber line (DSL), a digital cable, a direct cable connection, and/or another data connection/network, such as, a cellular network, a wireless local area network (WLAN), a digital video broadcasting handheld, satellite networks, amplitude modulation-frequency modulation (AM-FM) broadcast transmitters, and/or a wireless interface of another communication terminal to receive/send communication signals. A communication terminal set to communicate via a wireless interface may be referred to as a “wireless communication terminal”, a “wireless terminal” and/or a “mobile terminal”.

Examples of mobile terminals include, but are not limited to, satellite or cellular phones; personal communication system (PCS) terminals that may combine cellular radio telephones with data processing, fax, and data communication capabilities; personal digital assistants (PDAs) that may include radio telephones, pagers, Internet/Intranet access, Web browsers, notepads, calendars and/or a global positioning system (GPS) receiver; and a conventional lap top and/or handheld receiver or other electronic devices including a radio telephone transceiver. In addition, the terminal may include, but is not limited to, rechargeable electronic devices such as e-book readers, smart wearable devices, mobile power sources (e.g. rechargeable batteries, travel chargers), e-cigarettes, wireless mice, wireless keyboards, wireless headphones, Bluetooth speakers, and other rechargeable electronic devices with charging capabilities.

As shown inFIG. 1, the charging control method10includes following operations.

In an operation S102, when a connection port provided by a power supply device connected to a to-be-charged device is identified as a DCP, it is determined whether the power supply device is in a preset type or in a QC type.

As described in the above, for example, the AP of the to-be-charged device identifies whether the connection port provided by the power supply device is the DCP via the BC1.2 protocol.

In some embodiments, the AP may inform a control module of the to-be-charged device to identify whether the power supply device is in the preset type when the connection port provided by the power supply device connected to the to-be-charged device is identified as the DCP.

After the AP identifies that the connection port provided by the power supply device is the DCP, the AP communicates with the control module of the to-be-charged device to inform the control module of the to-be-charged device to further identify whether the power supply device is in the preset type. The control module may be implemented as a separated Micro Control Unit (MCU) for controlling the high-current fast charging process as described above. The preset type can for example be the fast charging adapter in the first type in the high-current charging scheme described above or a fast charging adapter in a second type.

That is, after the DCP is identified, the AP delays to initiate the HVDCP server process. The AP firstly communicates with the control module to instruct the control module to firstly identify whether the power supply device is in the preset type.

Since the control module may need to take the data lines D+/D− in the USB cable to identify the power supply device in the preset type, the delayed initiation of the HVDCP server process may avoid the problem of incorrect type identification caused by the two fast charging schemes taking the lines D+/D− for identification at the same time. In response to a type identification error occurring, the fast charging may be unable to be performed, and a dangerous situation caused by inappropriate charging voltages/currents may occur. Further, the AP determines whether the type of the power supply device identified by the control module is the preset type.

After the control module identifies that the fast charging adapter is in the first type or the second type, the control module communicates with the AP to inform the AP the type of power supply device, and the control module controls the charging process that the fast charging adapter in the first type or the second type charges the to-be-charged device. In response to the control module failing to identify the fast charging adapter in the first type or the second type, the control module may also communicate with the AP to inform the AP that the power supply device in the preset type is not identified.

That is, in some embodiments, the AP may determine whether the type of the power supply device identified by the control module is the preset type based on the type informed by the control module.

In response to the control module failing to identify the fast charging adapter in the first type or the second type, the AP is not informed. Alternatively, some errors may occur, resulting in the AP not receiving feedback from the control module. In order to avoid the AP from waiting for the feedback, in some embodiments, the AP may set a preset time duration. The AP may determine that the type of the power supply device identified by the control module is not the preset type when the AP does not receive any type information from the control module within the preset time duration. Typically, the time consumed by the control module to identify the type of the power supply device may not be longer than 30 seconds. Therefore, the AP may set the preset time duration as 30 seconds, but the present disclosure does not limit to the preset time duration.

The AP identifies whether the type of the power supply device is the QC type when the AP determines that the type of the power supply device identified by the control module is not the preset type.

When it is determined that the power supply device is not in the preset type, the AP may determine whether the type of the power supply device is the QC type by initiating the HVDCP service process as described above. A specific identified type is described above. The HVDCP process allows the voltage of 0.325V to be loaded on the data line D+ for 1.25 seconds. When the QC adapter detects that the voltage of 0.325V is loaded on the data line D+ for more than 1.25 seconds, the short of the data lines D+/D− may be disconnected. In this case, the voltage on the data line D− does not change as the voltage on the data line D+ changes, but decreases directly. When the AP of the to-be-charged device detects that the voltage on the data line D− decreases from 0.325V, the power supply device is determined as being in the QC type, and the AP may start requesting the desired voltage from the QC adapter, such as requesting a voltage of 9V. In this case, the AP requests 9V by setting 3.3V and 0.6V on the data lines D+ and D− respectively. When the current voltage needs to be decreased to 5V, the AP may set 0.6V and 0V on the data lines D+ and D− respectively. The QC adapter may output corresponding voltages when the QC adapter detects corresponding voltages on the data lines D+ and D−.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, the AP may initiate the HVDCP service process first after identifying the DCP to perform the QC type identification as described above.

In an operation S104, when the type of the power supply device is the QC type, QC protocol parameters stored in the to-be-charged device are obtained, and a battery unit of the to-be-charged device is controlled for being charged based on the obtained QC protocol parameters.

As described above, the to-be-charged device supporting the QC protocol stores relevant parameters, such as a specific supported voltage-current pair, and the like, of the QC protocol in a preset file.

After obtaining the QC protocol parameters, the AP communicates with the QC adapter to control the voltage/current provided by the QC adapter to further control communication with the to-be-charged device.

According to the charging control method provided by implementation of the present disclosure, a charging control process is provided for the case where the to-be-charged device support both the QC fast charging scheme and other fast charging schemes, avoiding a problem of the device unable to be charged or other dangerous situations caused by conflicts between various fast charging schemes.

It shall be understood that, the present disclosure describes how particular examples are formed and performed, but principles of the present disclosure are not limited to any detail of these examples. On the contrary, the principles can be applied to many other embodiments based on the present disclosure.

FIG. 2is a flow chart of another charging control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Unlike the charging control method10shown inFIG. 1, the charging control method shown inFIG. 2further illustrates how to control the battery unit of the to-be-charged device to charge based on the QC protocol. That is, the charging control method shown inFIG. 2provides a detailed embodiment of the operation S104.

In the present embodiment, a voltage of the battery unit is compared to a preset voltage threshold to obtain a comparison result. The power supply device is requested to adjust an output voltage based on the comparison result.

In detail, as shown inFIG. 2, the operation5104includes following operations.

In an operation S1042, it is determined whether a voltage of the battery unit in the to-be-charged device is higher than a preset voltage threshold.

In the fast charging process, when the battery unit is almost fully charged, a problem of the battery unit unable to be fully charged due to a falsely high voltage of the battery unit may occur. To avoid the problem, embodiments of the present disclosure further provides a voltage fallback mechanism. A current voltage of the battery unit is compared to the preset voltage threshold to determine whether the high voltage (such as 9V, 12V, and the like) currently applied for fast charging needs to be adjusted back to a low voltage (such as 5V) to continue charging.

In an operation S1044, the power supply device is requested to adjust the output voltage to a first voltage in response to the voltage of the battery unit being higher than the voltage threshold.

The voltage of the battery unit being higher than the voltage threshold may indicate that the current voltage of the battery device is falsely high. In this case, communication with the QC adapter may be performed to request the QC adapter to adjust the output voltage (such as adjusting the voltage on the data lines D+ and D− as described above), such as, to request the QC adapter to adjust the output voltage to be the first voltage.

The first voltage may be, for example, 5V voltage as described above.

In an operation S1046, the power supply device is requested to adjust the output voltage to a second voltage in response to the voltage of the battery unit being lower than the voltage threshold.

In response to the voltage of the battery unit being lower than the voltage threshold, the AP may communicate with the QC adapter to request the QC adapter to adjust the output voltage to the second voltage higher than the first voltage.

The first voltage is lower than the second voltage, and the second voltage may be, for example, 9V, 12V, and the like, as mentioned above.

As described above, according to the charging control method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the charging voltage fallback mechanism is provided, such that the problem of the battery unit being not fully charged due to the falsely high battery voltage in the QC process may be avoided.

To be noted that, the above drawings are only schematic illustration of processes included in the method according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and shall not be interpreted as a limitation. That is, it does not require or imply that operations must be performed in the particular order, or that all the operations shown must be performed to achieve the desired result. Additionally or alternatively, certain operations may be omitted, a plurality of operations may be combined into a single step for execution, and/or one operation may be broken down into a plurality of operations for execution. Alternatively, the processes may be executed synchronously or asynchronously in various modules.

FIG. 3is a flow chart of still another charging control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Compared to the charging control method10shown inFIG. 1, the charging control method shown inFIG. 3further illustrates how to control the battery unit of the to-be-charged device to be charged based on the QC protocol. That is, the charging control method shown inFIG. 3further provides another detailed embodiment of the operation S104.

As shown inFIG. 3, the operation5104includes following operations.

In an operation S1041, it is determined whether the detected output voltage provided by the power supply device increases from the first voltage to the second voltage.

As described above, when the AP first identifies, via the BC1.2 protocol, the type of the connection port provided by the power supply device to be the DCP, the normal charging mode may be applied firstly to charge the battery unit in the to-be-charged device. At the same time, a corresponding thread may be initiated to set some current parameters to achieve an adaptive operation in the charging process. The adaptive operation may be, for example, an operation adapted based on a current battery temperature, and that is, the current parameter may be set to various values based on various battery temperatures.

For example, the AP may communicate with a module configured for voltage detection in the to-be-charged device to determine whether the output voltage is changed.

In the operation S1043, when the detected output voltage provided by the power supply device increases from the first voltage to the second voltage, setting of the current parameter in the to-be-charged device may be adjusted accordingly.

For example, the AP may initiate a dedicated thread to achieve the above operation. In order to not affect power consumption of the to-be-charged device, the thread may be carried out periodically, such as performing the detection every 50 milliseconds.

When an increase in the output voltage is detected, the AP needs to adjust the above current parameter setting accordingly to adapt to the change in the output voltage, such as an increase from 5V in the normal charging mode to 9V in the fast charging mode as described above.

In addition, the thread usually needs to run on a first detection only. Once the fast charging mode is initiated and a stable voltage is reached, the thread does not need to perform the detection any more. Therefore, the execution of the thread may be suspended to avoid power consumption of the to-be-charged device.

A charging parameter may include at least one of: an input current parameter for limiting a maximum output current of the power supply device, a charging current parameter for limiting a maximum current input to the battery unit, a cut-off current parameter for determining whether the battery unit is fully charged, and the like.

In addition, in some embodiments, the operation S104may further include following operations.

In an operation S1045, it is determined whether the detected output voltage provided by the power supply device decreases from the second voltage to the first voltage.

A change in the output voltage also needs to be detected when the output voltage decreases (as described above, the output voltage fallback mechanism provided to avoid the falsely high battery voltage).

For example, the AP may set up a dedicated thread to perform the detection. The thread may be performed periodically in order to save the power consumption of the to-be-charged device.

In the operation S1047, the setting of the current parameter in the to-be-charged device is adjusted accordingly when it is determined that the detected output voltage of the power supply device decreases from the second voltage to the first voltage.

The AP needs to adjust the setting of the current parameter accordingly when the decrease of the output voltage is detected, in order to avoid the problem that the adaptive parameter is applied incorrectly when the output voltage is changed.

FIG. 4is a flow chart of still another charging control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The charging control method shown inFIG. 4may be applied in the to-be-charged device.

As shown inFIG. 4, when the AP detects that the power supply device is plugged in, the AP performs USB port identification via the BC1.2 protocol (an operation S202). The AP determines whether the identified port is the DCP (an operation S204). In response to the identified port being the DCP, the AP may perform an operation S212to inform the control module to identify whether the type of the power supply device is the preset type. Further, in response to the identified port being the DCP, the AP may perform an operation S206to set the input current value in the normal charging mode. The input current value is configured to limit a maximum output current of the power supply device. Further, the AP may set the charging current value in the normal charging mode, which is configured to limit a maximum charging current loaded to the battery unit (an operation S208). The input current value and the charging current value cooperatively determine the charging process, and the charging current loaded to the battery unit must not exceed a minimum of the two values. Subsequently, the cut-off current value may set (an operation S210), which is configured to determine whether the battery unit is fully charged. When the voltage of the battery unit is higher than a voltage threshold for determining fully charging, and at the same time, the current entering the battery unit is less than the cut-off current value for a predetermined period of time, the AP determines that the battery unit is fully charged.

After the AP informs the control module in the operation S212to identify the preset type, the AP determines whether the type of the power supply device identified by the control module is the preset type (an operation S214). When the type of the power supply device identified by the control module is the preset type, the AP initiates a preset type fast charging thread and maintains communication with the control module, and the control module controls the charging process of the battery unit (an operation S216). When the type of the power supply device identified by the control module is not the preset type, the AP initiates the HVDCP service process to identify the adapter in the QC type and performs an operation S220to determine whether the type of the power supply device is the QC type. When the type of the power supply device is not the QC type, the operation S206is performed where the input current value, the charging current value, the cut-off current value mentioned above may be adaptively reset based on the detected temperature of the battery unit. When the type of the power supply device is the QC type, an operation S222is performed to initiate the charging process for the adapter in the QC type. Subsequently, it is determined whether the voltage of the battery unit is higher than the preset voltage threshold (an operation S224). When the voltage of the battery unit is not higher than the preset voltage threshold, an operation S226is performed to request the power supply device to adjust the output voltage to the second voltage. A preset thread is initiated (an operation S228) to detect a time point when the output voltage (such as 5V) in the normal charging mode increases to reach the second voltage (such as 9V). After the time point is detected, the operation S206is performed, values of the various adaptive current parameters may be adjusted. When it is determined that the voltage of the battery unit is higher than the preset voltage threshold, the operation S230performed to request the power supply device to adjust the output voltage to the first voltage. As described above, the operation is the output voltage fallback mechanism set up to avoid the battery unit from being unable to be fully charged due to the falsely high battery voltage. Further, the AP may initiate another dedicated thread for detecting a time point when the output voltage falls back from a current output voltage (such as 9V) to the first voltage (such as 5V) (an operation S232). The operation S206may be performed after when the time point is detected.

To be noted that, the operation S220needs to be performed only once, that is, the operation of identifying whether the adapter is in the QC type needs to be performed only once.

The following is an example of a device embodiment of the present disclosure that may perform the method in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Details not disclosed in the device embodiments may refer to the method embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5is a block diagram of a to-be-charged device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown inFIG. 5, the to-be-charged device1includes: a charging interface11, a battery unit12, a first control module13and a second control module14.

In particular, the to-be-charged device1is connected to a power supply device2via the charging interface11to charge the battery unit12.

The charging interface11may be, for example, a USB 2.0 interface, a micro USB interface or a USB TYPE-C interface. In some embodiments, the charging interface11may also be a lightning interface or any other type of parallel port or serial port capable of being configured for charging.

The battery unit12may include a single lithium battery containing a single cell or multiple cells; or include two battery units connected in series with each other, each of the two battery units is a lithium battery containing a single cell or multiple cells.

The battery unit containing a single battery cell may be taken as an example. For the to-be-charged device including the single battery cell, when a high charging current is applied to charge the single battery unit, the to-be-charged device may be heated severely. In order to ensure a charging speed of the to-be-charged device and to alleviate heating of the to-be-charged device in the charging process, a structure of the battery unit may be modified. A plurality of battery units may be connected in series with each other, and the plurality of battery units may be charged directly. That is, the voltage output from the adapter may be directly loaded onto two ends of the plurality of battery units.

Compared to the single battery unit (that is, considering a capacity of the single battery unit before improvement to be the same as a total capacity of the plurality of battery units connected in series after the improvement), a charging current required for the plurality of battery units is approximately 1/N of a charging current required for the single battery unit in order to achieve a same charging speed (N is the number of battery units connected in series). That is, in order to achieve the same charging speed, the plurality of battery units connected in series allows the charging current to be reduced significantly, further reducing the heat generated by the to-be-charged device in the charging process. Therefore, in order to increase the charging speed and reduce the heat generated by the to-be-charged device in the charging process, the to-be-charged device may be configured with the plurality of battery units connected in series.

The first control module13is connected to the charging interface11and is configured to inform the second control module14to identify whether the type of the power supply device1is the preset type when the first control module13identifies whether the connection port provided by the power supply device2connected to the to-be-charged device1is the DCP. The first control module13is configured to identify whether the type of the power supply device2is the QC type. The first control module13is configured to obtain QC protocol parameters stored in the to-be-charged device1when the first control module13identifies that the type of the power supply device2is the QC type, and to control a process of charging the battery unit12of the to-be-charged device1based on the QC protocol parameters.

In some embodiments, the first control module13, when controlling the process of charging the battery unit12of the to-be-charged device1, is configured to: determine whether the voltage of the battery unit12is higher than the preset voltage threshold; request the power supply device2to adjust the output voltage to the first voltage when the voltage of the battery unit12is higher than the voltage threshold; and request the power supply device2to adjust the output voltage to the second voltage when the voltage of the battery unit12is lower than the voltage threshold. The first voltage is lower than the second voltage.

In some embodiments, the first control module13, when controlling the process of charging the battery unit12of the to-be-charged device1, is configured to: determine whether the detected output voltage provided by the power supply device2increases from the first voltage to the second voltage; and adjust setting of the current parameter in the to-be-charged device1accordingly when the detected output voltage provided by the power supply device2is determined as increasing from the first voltage to the second voltage.

In some embodiments, the first control module13, when controlling the process of charging the battery unit12of the to-be-charged device1, is configured to: determine whether the detected output voltage provided by the power supply device2decreases from the second voltage to the first voltage; and adjust setting of the current parameter in the to-be-charged device1accordingly when the detected output voltage provided by the power supply device2is determined as decreasing from the second voltage to the first voltage.

In some embodiments, the current parameter includes at least one of: the input current parameter for limiting the maximum output current of the power supply device2, the charging current parameter for limiting the maximum current input to the battery unit12, and the cut-off current parameter for determining whether the battery unit12is fully charged.

In some embodiments, the first control module13is configured to determine, based on the type feedback from the second control module14, whether the type of the power supply device2identified by the second control module14is the preset type.

In some embodiments, the first control module13, when not receiving any type information sent from the second control module14within a preset period of time, is further configured to determine that the type of the power supply device2identified by the second control module14is not the preset type.

As described above, the first control module13may be the application processor of the to-be-charged device1, and the second control module14may be a micro control unit (MCU).

According to the to-be-charged device in the embodiments of the present disclosure, in a first aspect, a charging control process is provided for the situation that the to-be-charged device supports both the QC fast charging scheme and other fast charging schemes, avoiding the problem that the fast charging unable to be carried out or occurrence of dangerous situations due to conflict between various fast charging schemes. In a second aspect, the voltage fallback mechanism is provided to avoid the problem that the battery unit is unable to be fully charged due to the falsely high battery voltage in the fast charging process. In a third aspect, the time point when the maximum input current changes is detected, such that parameters in the adaptive operation may be adjusted in time to avoid application of unsuitable parameter values in the charging process.

To be noted that, the block diagrams shown in the drawings are functional entities and do not necessarily have to correspond to physically or logically independent entities. The functional entities may be implemented in a software form, or in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different network and/or processor devices and/or microcontroller devices.

FIG. 6is a structural schematic view of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The device700shown inFIG. 6may be a specific example of the to-be-charged device1as described above, but shall not limit the present disclosure. The device700may be, for example, a mobile phone, a computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a messaging device, a gaming console, a tablet device, a medical device, a fitness device, a personal digital assistant, and the like.

As shown inFIG. 6, the device700may include one or more of: a processing assembly702, a memory704, a power assembly706, a multimedia assembly708, an audio assembly710, an input/output (I/O) interface712, a sensor assembly714, and a communication assembly716.

The processing assembly702typically controls an overall operation of the device700, such as operations associated with displaying, phone calling, data communication, camera operation, and recording operations. The processing assembly702may include one or more processors720to execute instructions to complete all or some of the operations of the methods in various embodiments of the present disclosure described above. In addition, the processing assembly702may include one or more modules that facilitate interaction between the processing assembly702and other components. For example, the processing assembly702may include a multimedia module to facilitate interaction between the multimedia assembly708and the processing assembly702.

The memory704is configured to store various types of data to support operations performed on the device700. Examples of the data include instructions for any application or any method performed on the device700, contact data, phonebook data, messages, images, videos, and the like. The memory704may be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, such as a static random access memory (SRAM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), a read-only memory (ROM), a magnetic memory, a flash memory disk, a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

The power supply assembly706supplies power for various components of the device700. The power supply assembly706may include a power management system, one or more power sources, and other assemblies associated with generating power, managing power, and distributing power for the device700.

The multimedia assembly708includes a screen of an output interface between the device700and the user. In some embodiments, the screen may includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a touch panel (TP). When the screen includes the touch panel, the screen may be a touch screen to receive input signals from the user. The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors to sense touches, slidings and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensors may sense boundaries of the touches or the sliding operations, and may further detect duration and pressures associated to the touches or the sliding operations. In some embodiments, the multimedia assembly708may further include a front camera and/or a rear camera. The front camera and/or rear camera may receive external multimedia data when the device700is in an operating mode, such as a shooting mode or a video mode. Each of the front camera and the rear camera may be a fixed optical lens system or may have a focal length and an optical zooming capability.

The audio assembly710is configured to output and/or input audio signals. For example, the audio assembly710includes a microphone (MIC) configured to receive external audio signals when the device700is in an operating mode, such as a calling mode, a recording mode and a voice recognition mode. The received audio signals may be further stored in the memory704or sent via the communication assembly716. In some embodiments, the audio assembly710further includes a speaker for outputting the audio signals.

The input/output (I/O) interface712provides an interface between the processing assembly702and a peripheral interface module. The peripheral interface module may be a keypad, a click wheel, a button, and the like. The button may include, but is not limited to: a home button, a volume button, a start button and a lock button.

The sensor assembly714includes one or more sensors for providing status assessment of various aspects of the device700. For example, the sensor assembly714may detect an activated/deactivated state of the device700and a relative positioning of assemblies. For example, the assembly may be a display and a keypad of the device700, and the sensor assembly714may detect a change in position of the device700or a change in an assembly of the device700, presence or absence of a contact between the device700and the user, an orientation or acceleration/deceleration of the device700, and a change in a temperature of the device700. The sensor assembly714may include a proximity sensor configured to detect presence of an adjacent object without any physical contact. The sensor assembly714may also include a light sensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, configured for imaging applications. In some embodiments, the sensor assembly714may include an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor or a temperature sensor.

The communication assembly716is configured to facilitate wired or wireless communication between the device700and other devices. The device700may have access to a communication standard-based wireless network, such as a WiFi network, a 2G network, a 3G network, a 4G network, a 5G network, or a combination thereof. In an embodiment, the communication assembly716receives broadcast signals or broadcast-related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In an embodiment, the communication assembly716further includes a near-field communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-range communication. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on the radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, the infrared data association (IrDA) technology, the ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, the Bluetooth (BT) technology and other technologies.

FIG. 7is a schematic view of a computer-readable storage medium according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown inFIG. 7, the present embodiment of the present disclosure provides a program product900to perform the above methods. The program product900may employ a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), may include program codes, and may be run on a terminal device, such as a personal computer. However, the program product of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, in the present disclosure, the computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium containing or storing a program that may be executed by or executed cooperatively with an instruction execution system, a device or an apparatus.

The above computer-readable medium carries one or more programs which, when being executed by one device, cause the computer-readable medium to perform the functions as shown in theFIGS. 1-4.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are specifically illustrated and described above. It shall be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the detailed structures, arrangements or implementation methods described herein. Rather, the present disclosure is intended to cover a variety of modifications and equivalent settings within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.