Patent Description:
For some existing electronic devices (e.g., augmented reality (AR) glasses, AR helmets, and other augmented reality devices) that need to be coupled with a host device (e.g., a smart phone, and a dedicated server) through an interface (e.g., a USB interface), after the electronic device is coupled with the host device, generally, the host device serves as a master device (e.g., a USB host) while the electronic device serves as a slave device (e.g., a USB slave), and the host device supplies power to the electronic device. In this situation, both the host device and the electronic device are powered by a battery of the host device. Since both the host device and the electronic device generally have only one interface, after the interface is occupied, the electronic device can only be charged through the host device, and the host device, however, cannot be charged, which shortens a battery life of the electronic device and reduces user experience.

<CIT> relates to an electronic device. The electronic device includes: a first interface; a second interface; an input device; and a processor functionally connected to the first interface, the second interface, and the input device, wherein the processor can be configured to receive power from the first external electronic device through the first interface in a state in which the first external electronic device is connected to the first interface and a second external electronic device is connected to the second interface, and to receive power from the second external electronic device through the second interface when.

<CIT> relates to a head-mounted display system. The head-mounted display system includes a head-mounted display gear, a host, and two USB Type-C transmission lines. The two USB Type-C transmission lines are coupled between the head-mounted display gear and the host for transmitting power, data, and video streams.

<CIT> relates to user equipment. The user equipment includes: a USB Type-C interface, a USB physical layer, an audio codec, and an analog switch device. A left channel terminal and a right channel terminal of the audio codec and a data transmission terminal of the USB physical layer multiplex D+ and D- pins of the USB Type-C interface. The first analog switch device is configured to, when detecting that an analog audio cable is inserted into the USB Type-C interface, switch the D+ and D- pins of the USB Type-C interface to connect the left channel terminal and the right channel terminal of the audio codec, respectively.

Implementations discussed herein provide an electronic device and an interface control method thereof, and an interface control system of an electronic device, which can solve the problem in the related art that the electronic device can only be powered by a host device when the electronic device is coupled with the host device.

In the disclosure, the name of a device, such as a wireless communication terminal and a positioning system, does not limit the device itself. In an actual implementation, these devices can have other names. As long as functions of respective devices are similar to those of the disclosure, these devices shall all fall within the scope of claims of the disclosure and its equivalent technology.

These and other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent from description of the following implementations.

Hereinafter, technical solutions of implementations of the disclosure will be described in a clear and comprehensive manner with reference to accompanying drawings intended for the implementations.

It should be understood that, an electronic device to which the technical solutions of the implementations of the disclosure can be applied may be an augmented reality (AR) device, for example, AR glasses, an AR helmet, etc..

In the related art, when an electronic device is coupled with a host device through an interface, the electronic device can only be powered by the host device and the host device cannot be charged due to occupation of a charging interface, which results in a relatively short battery life of the electronic device. Therefore, a method and a device are required, which can solve, at least to a certain extent, the problem in the related art that the electronic device can only be powered by the host device when the electronic device is coupled with the host device.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device according to implementations of the disclosure. The electronic device may be used through a connection with a host device (e.g., a smart terminal device, a dedicated server, etc.). The electronic device may be, for example, an AR device, such as AR glasses, an AR helmet, and the like.

As illustrated in <FIG>, an electronic device <NUM> includes a first interface <NUM>, a second interface <NUM>, a switch unit <NUM>, and a control module <NUM>.

Optionally, in implementations of the disclosure, the first interface <NUM> and the second interface <NUM> may be, for example, a USB <NUM> interface, a Micro USB interface, a USB Type-C interface, or the like. In some implementations, the first interface <NUM> may also be a lightning interface, or any other type of parallel port or serial port that is capable of power supply/charging.

Specifically, the switch unit <NUM> is coupled with the first interface <NUM> and the second interface <NUM> respectively, and configured to switch a power-supply path <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM>.

The power-supply path <NUM> is provided by the first interface <NUM> or the second interface <NUM>. Power outputted by a device coupled with the first interface <NUM> or the second interface <NUM> is supplied to a circuit to-be-powered <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM> (e.g., an application processor (AP), a display module, an image collection module, a sensor, etc.) through the power-supply path <NUM>.

The control module <NUM> is coupled with the first interface <NUM>, the second interface <NUM>, and the switch unit <NUM> respectively, and configured to detect a type of a device coupled with the electronic device <NUM> through the first interface <NUM> and/or the second interface <NUM>. The control module <NUM> is configured to control, based on the type of the device, the switch unit <NUM> to switch the power-supply path <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM>.

The control module <NUM> may be, for example, a control chip or a microcontroller unit (MCU) that can fully or partially implement functions specified in a power delivery (PD) protocol. The control module <NUM> can recognize, based on the PD protocol, a type of a device coupled through the first interface and/or the second interface. In addition, the control module <NUM> can also negotiate, based on the PD protocol, a power-supply voltage, a current, a power-supply direction, and so on with the coupled device.

The control module <NUM> is further configured to control the switch unit <NUM> based on the recognized type, to control the power-supply path <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM>.

Those skilled in the art should understand that, although two interfaces (the first interface <NUM> and the second interface <NUM>) are taken as an example in <FIG>, the electronic device of implementations of the disclosure may have more interfaces. The control module <NUM> can control the switch unit <NUM> to switch a power-supply circuit of the electronic device by detecting a type of a device coupled with the electronic device through these interfaces, to solve the technical problem in the related art that the electronic device can only be powered by a host device.

Therefore, when in use, the power-supply path of the electronic device of implementations of the disclosure varies with a type of a coupled device, which can solve the technical problem in the related art that the electronic device can only be powered by the host device, thereby prolonging a battery life of the electronic device when in use.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating another electronic device according to implementations of the disclosure.

As an alternative implementation, different from the electronic device <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>, a switch unit <NUM> of an electronic device <NUM> includes a first switch <NUM> and a second switch <NUM>. The first interface <NUM> is coupled with a circuit to-be-powered <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM> through the first switch <NUM>. The second interface <NUM> is coupled with the circuit to-be-powered <NUM> through the second switch <NUM>.

In addition, a capacitor C coupled with the first switch <NUM> and the second switch <NUM> is configured to maintain power supply when the power-supply path <NUM> is switched, which can prevent power failure of the electronic device <NUM>.

Specifically, the first switch <NUM> and the second switch <NUM> may be, for example, controllable switches, such as controllable transistors, which is not limited in the disclosure.

A control module <NUM> is configured to control the first switch <NUM> and/or the second switch <NUM> to be turned on based on a detected type of a device coupled with the electronic device <NUM>, to switch the power-supply path <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM>.

<FIG> are schematic diagrams exemplarily illustrating controlled states of the first switch and the second switch when the electronic device is coupled with different devices, respectively.

For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, upon detecting that the electronic device <NUM> is coupled with a device <NUM> which is a host only through the first interface <NUM>, the control module <NUM> is configured to control the first switch <NUM> to be turned on and control the second switch <NUM> to be turned off, to allow the device <NUM> which is a host to supply power to the circuit to-be-powered <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, upon detecting that the electronic device <NUM> is coupled with another device <NUM> through the idle second interface <NUM> and the device <NUM> is a power-supply device (e.g., a power adapter), the control module <NUM> is further configured to control the second switch <NUM> to be turned on, to allow the power-supply device <NUM> to supply power to the circuit to-be-powered <NUM>. As such, it is no longer necessary to power the electronic device through the device <NUM>, thereby saving power of the host device <NUM>.

Specifically, the control module <NUM> may also be configured to keep a state of the first switch <NUM> to be turned on, to allow power outputted by the power-supply device <NUM> to be supplied to the host device <NUM> through the first interface <NUM>. That is, the host device <NUM> can be charged while the electronic device <NUM> is powered. As such, a battery life of the host device <NUM> can be further prolonged.

Those skilled in the art should understand that, <FIG> only illustrate an example in which the first interface <NUM> is coupled with the device <NUM> which is a host and the second interface <NUM> is coupled with the power-supply device <NUM>. Alternatively, the second interface <NUM> is coupled with the device <NUM> which is a host, and accordingly, the control module <NUM> is configured to control the second switch <NUM> to be turned on and control the first switch <NUM> to be turned off, to allow the device which is a host to supply power to the circuit to-be-powered <NUM> through the second interface <NUM>. The first interface <NUM> is coupled with the power-supply device <NUM>, and the first switch <NUM> is controlled to be turned on, to allow the power-supply device <NUM> to supply power to the circuit to-be-powered <NUM> through the first interface <NUM>. Further, the second switch <NUM> is controlled to keep turned on, to allow power outputted by the power-supply device <NUM> to be supplied to the host device <NUM> through the second interface <NUM>, to charge the host device <NUM> at the same time.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating yet another electronic device according to implementations of the disclosure.

As an alternative implementation, different from the electronic device <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> and the electronic device <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>, an electronic device <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> further includes a data selection unit <NUM>. The data selection unit <NUM> is coupled with the first interface <NUM> and the second interface <NUM> respectively, and configured to select to transmit data through the first interface <NUM> or the second interface <NUM> under control of a control module <NUM>. As an example, data inputted at the first interface <NUM> or the second interface <NUM> is outputted to a module (e.g., an AP) of the electronic device <NUM>, or data of the electronic device <NUM> is outputted to other devices (e.g., the host device <NUM>) coupled with the electronic device <NUM> through the first interface <NUM> or the second interface <NUM>.

In the following, for example, the electronic device <NUM> is AR glasses, and the first interface <NUM> and the second interface <NUM> are USB Type-C interfaces, how the data selection unit <NUM> selects, under control of the control module <NUM>, an interface for data transmission with a coupled device is described.

Specifically, <FIG> is a schematic diagram exemplarily illustrating AR glasses according to implementations of the disclosure. As illustrated in <FIG>, a first USB Type-C interface <NUM> and a second USB Type-C interface <NUM> are arranged on one temple of the AR glasses <NUM>. However, it should be noted that, positions of the first interface <NUM> and the second interface <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> are merely exemplary and not intended to restrict the disclosure. As an example, the first interface <NUM> and the second interface <NUM> may also be arranged on two temples respectively.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram exemplarily illustrating a USB Type-C socket interface. The USB Type-C interface supports forward insertion and reverse insertion. As illustrated in <FIG>, ports in a USB Type-C interface structure are divided into two parts by a dotted line in <FIG>. Arrangements of ports in the two parts are opposite to support forward and reverse insertion of a USB plug.

For forward insertion, ports TX1+, TX1-, RX1+, and RX1- provide two pairs of TX/RX differential lines, to support high-speed data transmission and reception that meets a USB <NUM>. x protocol (e.g., USB <NUM>, USB <NUM>, etc.). For reverse insertion, ports TX2+, TX2-, RX2+, and RX2-provide two pairs of TX/RX differential lines, to support high-speed data transmission and reception that meets a USB <NUM> protocol (e.g., USB <NUM>, USB <NUM>, etc.).

Generally, for USB <NUM>, only two pairs of TX/RX differential lines are used as data lines. As stated above, TX1/RX1 are connected in forward insertion, and TX2/RX2 are connected in reverse insertion. Therefore, in any case, two pairs of differential lines will not be used. A display port (DP) alternate mode is to load a DP signal onto two pairs of "remaining" differential lines, thus, USB <NUM> and DP can work simultaneously.

As an example, after the AR glasses <NUM> are coupled with the host device <NUM>, USB TPYE-C interfaces of the host device <NUM> and the AR glasses <NUM> are required to support a USB <NUM> high-speed data transmission mode and the DP alternate mode. That is, DP signal transmission and USB <NUM> high-speed data transmission (including transmitting Tx and receiving Rx) at the USB Type-C interface are performed simultaneously. The AR glasses <NUM> are configured to drive an image collection module (e.g., a camera) and other sensors of the AR glasses <NUM>, and transmit data collected by the image collection module and the sensors to the host device <NUM> through two pairs of TX1/RX1 differential lines (take forward insertion as an example). The host device <NUM> is configured to perform operations such as image rendering on received data, and transmit a rendered picture to the AR glasses <NUM> through another two pairs of TX2/RX2 differential lines for display. As such, the USB <NUM> high-speed data transmission mode and the DP alternate mode can be supported at the same time.

Optionally, in implementations of the disclosure, referring to <FIG>, the USB Type-C interface also supports four VBUSs and four GNDs to transmit power.

CC1 and CC2 ports are used for PD protocol communication. In case of forward insertion, a master device and a slave device communicate with each other through CC1. In case of reverse insertion, the master device and the slave device communicate with each other through CC2.

When a DP function is enabled, SBU1/SBU2 ports can be used to transmit side band (SB) data information of a device such as display port configuration data (DPCD), extended display identification data (EDID).

Two pairs of D+/D- data lines are configured for data transmission compatible with a USB <NUM> version.

Optionally, in implementations of the disclosure, <FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating a data selection unit according to implementations of the disclosure. As illustrated in <FIG>, a data selection unit <NUM> includes a first data selection unit <NUM>, a second data selection unit <NUM>, a third data selection unit <NUM>, and a fourth data selection unit <NUM>.

Optionally, in implementations of the disclosure, <FIG> is a schematic diagram exemplarily illustrating another data selection unit according to implementations of the disclosure.

The first data selection unit <NUM> may be, for example, coupled with D+/D- ports of the USB Type-C interface in <FIG>, and configured to select to transmit data through D+/D- data lines of the first interface <NUM> or the second interface <NUM> under control of the control module <NUM>. The first data selection unit <NUM> may be, for example, a controllable switch.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the first data selection unit <NUM> is configured to select to transmit data with a coupled device through the first interface <NUM> or the second interface <NUM>, such as data TYPEC1-DP/DM of the first interface <NUM>, or data TYPEC2-DP/DM of the second interface <NUM>. Data DP/DM selected is inputted to an audio switch (AS).

In the related art, a host device <NUM> (e.g., a smart phone) may only have a USB Type-C interface for coupling with an audio output device (e.g., an earphone, a speaker, etc.), and may have no conventional audio output device interface (e.g., a <NUM> audio interface). Based on this, since the host device <NUM> is coupled with the electronic device <NUM> through the USB Type-C interface, audio data cannot be outputted through an audio output device (e.g., an earphone, a speaker, etc.).

The above problem can be solved with the first data selection unit <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, upon detecting that the electronic device <NUM> is coupled with a device <NUM> which is a host through the first interface <NUM> and coupled with an audio output device <NUM> (e.g., an earphone, a speaker, etc.) through the second interface <NUM> (that is, other devices <NUM> in <FIG> are devices which are audio output devices), the control module <NUM> is configured to control the first data selection unit <NUM> to select to output audio data to the audio output device <NUM> through the second interface <NUM>.

Optionally, in implementations of the disclosure, still exemplary, the electronic device <NUM> is AR glasses, the host device <NUM> is configured to transmit an image of a rendered picture and audio data of the rendered picture to the AR glasses <NUM> via the first interface <NUM> in the DP alternate mode through high-speed data transmission lines (TX/RX). The AR glasses <NUM> are configured to parse received data, extract audio data from the received data, and output audio data to the audio output device <NUM> through D+/D- data lines of the second interface <NUM>. As such, an audio output device such as an earphone can still be used when the host device <NUM> without an independent earphone interface is coupled with the electronic device <NUM>.

Those skilled in the art should understand that, <FIG> illustrates an example in which the electronic device is coupled with the host device <NUM> through the first interface <NUM> and coupled with the audio output device <NUM> through the second interface <NUM>. However, the electronic device may also be coupled with the host device <NUM> through the second interface <NUM> and coupled with the audio output device <NUM> through the first interface <NUM>. Accordingly, the control module <NUM> is configured to control the first data selection unit <NUM> to output audio data to the audio output device <NUM> through the first interface <NUM>.

Specifically, the second data selection unit <NUM> may be, for example, coupled with TX1/TX2 ports of the USB Type-C interface in <FIG>, and configured to select to transmit transmission data (TX) through data lines TX1/TX2 of the first interface <NUM> or the second interface <NUM> under control of the control module <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the second data selection unit <NUM> includes a first port Port21, a second port Port22, and a third port Port23. As an example, the second data selection unit <NUM> is a controllable data selector (e.g., a MUX). The data selector is generally configured to select any one of paths according to needs in multiplexed data transmission. As illustrated in <FIG>, the second data selection unit <NUM> is configured to select to connect the first port Port21 with the third port Port23 or select to connect the second port Port22 with the third port Port23, to select to output TypeC1-TX1 and TypeC1-TX2 inputted at the first interface <NUM> or TypeC2-TX1 and TypeC2-TX2 inputted at the second interface <NUM> through the third port Port23, for example, output to a DP/USB3 demultiplexer (DeMUX).

Specifically, the third data selection unit <NUM> may be, for example, coupled with RX1/RX2 ports of the USB Type-C interface in <FIG>, and configured to select to transmit reception data (RX) through data lines RX1/RX2 of the first interface <NUM> or the second interface <NUM> under control of the control module <NUM>.

The third data selection unit <NUM> includes a first port Port31, a second port Port32, and a third port Port33. As an example, the third data selection unit <NUM> is a controllable data selector (e.g., a MUX). As illustrated in <FIG>, the third data selection unit <NUM> is configured to select to connect the first port Port31 with the third port Port33 or select to connect the second port Port32 with the third port Port33, to select to output data (RX1/RX2) outputted by a DP/USB3 DeMUX through the first interface <NUM> or the second interface <NUM> to an external device coupled with the third data selection unit <NUM>, for example, output data (e.g., TypeC1-RX1 and TypeC1-RX2) through the first interface <NUM> or data (e.g., TypeC2-RX1 and TypeC2-RX2) through the second interface <NUM> to the external device.

Still exemplary, the electronic device <NUM> is AR glasses, referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the electronic device <NUM> for example is coupled with a host device <NUM> through the first interface <NUM> and coupled with other devices <NUM> (e.g., the above-mentioned audio output device or the above-mentioned power-supply device) through the second interface <NUM>. When the host device <NUM> jointly transmits a rendered picture and audio data to the electronic device <NUM>, the control module <NUM> is configured to control the second data selection unit <NUM> to communicate the first port Port21 with the third port Port23, and control the third data selection unit <NUM> to communicate the first port Port31 with the third port Port33, to transmit high-speed USB transmission data and high-speed USB reception data with the host device <NUM> through the first interface <NUM>.

Specifically, the fourth data selection unit <NUM> may be, for example, coupled with SBU1/SBU2 ports of the USB Type-C interface in <FIG>, and configured to select to transmit side band data through data lines SBU1/SBU2 of the first interface <NUM> or the second interface <NUM> under control of the control module <NUM>. The fourth data selection unit <NUM> may be, for example, a controllable switch.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the fourth data selection unit <NUM> is configured to select to transmit side band data at a USB Type-C interface with a coupled device through the first interface <NUM> or the second interface <NUM>.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating an interface control method of an electronic device according to implementations of the disclosure. For details not disclosed in method implementations of the disclosure, reference may be made to the relevant implementations of the electronic device of the disclosure. As illustrated in <FIG>, the method includes all or part of the following.

At S502, a type of at least one device coupled with the electronic device is detected.

The electronic device is coupled with the at least one device through all or part of at least two interfaces.

At S504, a switch unit of the electronic device is controlled based on the type of the at least one device to switch a power-supply path of the electronic device.

The at least two interfaces may include, for example, the first interface <NUM> and the second interface <NUM>.

Specifically, by adopting the interface control method of the electronic device, the power-supply path of the electronic device with multiple interfaces (e.g., the first interface <NUM> and the second interface <NUM>) varies with a type of a coupled device when the electronic device is in use, which can solve the technical problem in the related art that the electronic device can only be powered by a host device.

As an alternative implementation, <FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating an interface control method of an electronic device according to implementations of the disclosure. Different from the method illustrated in <FIG>, the method illustrated in <FIG> further provides a specific implementation of controlling, based on the type of the device, the switch unit of the electronic device to switch the power-supply path of the electronic device. That is, the method further provides a specific implementation of the operations at S504.

Specifically, as illustrated in <FIG>, the operations at S504 include the following.

At S5042, upon detecting that the electronic device is coupled with the device which is a host only through one of the first interface and the second interface, the switch unit is controlled, to allow the host to supply power to a circuit to-be-powered.

At S5044, upon detecting that the electronic device is coupled with another device through the other one of the first interface and the second interface and the other device is a power-supply device, the switch unit is controlled, to allow the power-supply device to supply power to the circuit to-be-powered through the other interface, and allow power outputted by the power-supply device to be supplied to the host through the one of the first interface and the second interface.

By adopting the above method, the host device coupled with the electronic device can be charged while the electronic device is powered, thereby further prolonging the battery life of the host device <NUM>.

As an alternative implementation, <FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating an interface control method of an electronic device according to implementations of the disclosure. As illustrated in <FIG>, the method includes all or part of the following.

At S502, a type of a device coupled with the electronic device through a first interface and/or a second interface of the electronic device is detected.

At S504, a switch unit of the electronic device is controlled based on the type of the device to switch a power-supply path of the electronic device.

At S602, a data selection unit of the electronic device is controlled based on the type of the device to select to transmit data through the first interface or the second interface.

The difference from the method <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> is that the method <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> further includes the operations at S602. The first interface and the second interface may be, for example, USB Type-C interfaces.

At S6022, upon detecting that the electronic device is coupled with the device which is a host through one of the first interface and the second interface and coupled with another device which is an audio output device through the other one of the first interface and the second interface, the data selection unit is controlled to select to output audio data to the audio output device through the other one of the first interface and the second interface.

At S6024, the data selection unit is controlled to select to transmit at least one of transmission data, reception data, or side band data with the host through the first interface or the second interface which is coupled with the host.

Specifically, the difference from the method illustrated in <FIG> is that the method illustrated in <FIG> further provides a specific implementation of controlling, based on the type of the device, the data selection unit of the electronic device to select to transmit data through the first interface or the second interface. That is, a specific implementation of the operations at S602 is further provided.

Therefore, according to the interface control method of the electronic device of implementations of the disclosure, when in use, the power-supply path of the electronic device varies with a type of a coupled device, which can solve the technical problem in the related art that the electronic device can only be powered by a host device, thereby significantly prolonging the battery life of electronic device. In addition, when in use, the power-supply device that supplies power to the electronic device can also charge the host device through a connection interface between the electronic device and the host device, which can solve the problem that the host device cannot be charged when the electronic device is coupled with the host device, without adding a charging interface for the host device. Furthermore, when the electronic device is coupled with the host device, the electronic device can also be coupled with an audio output device such as an earphone through another interface of the electronic device, which can solve the problem that the audio output device cannot be used when the electronic device is coupled with the host device, without adding an independent earphone interface for the host device.

It should be understood that, the terms "system" and "network" herein are generally used interchangeably. The term "and/or" herein is merely used to describe the association of associated objects and indicates that there can be three relationships. For example, "A and/or B" may mean three situations, that is, A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" herein generally indicates that the associated objects before and after the character are in an "or" relationship.

It should also be understood that, in various implementations of the disclosure, the size of sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean an execution sequence. The execution sequence of the processes should be determined according to functions and an internal logic of the processes, which should not constitute any limitation on an implementation process of the implementations of the disclosure.

It should be noted that, the above accompanying drawings are merely used to schematically illustrate a process of the method according to exemplary implementations of the disclosure, rather than a restrictive purpose. It is easy to understand that, processes illustrated in the above accompanying drawings do not indicate or limit a chronological order of these processes. In addition, it is also readily understood that, these processes may be, for example, performed synchronously or asynchronously in multiple modules.

An interface control method of an electronic device of implementations of the disclosure has been described in detail above. In the following, an interface control system of an electronic device of implementations of the disclosure will be described with reference to accompanying drawings. The technical features described in the method implementations are applicable to system implementations below.

<FIG> is a schematic block diagram illustrating an interface control system <NUM> of an electronic device according to implementations of the disclosure. As illustrated in <FIG>, the system <NUM> includes a device type detection module <NUM> and a power-supply path selection module <NUM>. The device type detection module <NUM> is configured to detect a type of at least one device coupled with the electronic device. The power-supply path selection module <NUM> is configured to control, based on the type of the at least one device, a switch unit of the electronic device to switch a power-supply path of the electronic device. The electronic device is coupled with the at least one device through all or part of at least two interfaces.

Optionally, in implementations of the disclosure, the at least two interfaces include a first interface and a second interface. The power-supply path selection module <NUM> is configured to control the switch unit to allow a host to supply power to a circuit to-be-powered, upon detecting that the electronic device is coupled with the device which is a host only through one of the first interface and the second interface.

Optionally, in implementations of the disclosure, the power-supply path selection module <NUM> is configured to control the switch unit to allow a power-supply device to supply power to the circuit to-be-powered through the other one of the first interface and the second interface which is not coupled with the device which is a host, and allow the power outputted by the power-supply device to be supplied to the host through one of the first interface and the second interface, upon detecting that the electronic device is coupled with another device through the other interface and the other device is a power-supply device.

Optionally, in implementations of the disclosure, the system <NUM> further includes an interface selection module. The interface selection module is configured to control, based on the type of the at least one device, a data selection unit of the electronic device to select to transmit data through the first interface or the second interface.

Optionally, in implementations of the disclosure, the first interface and the second interface are each a USB Type-C interface.

Optionally, in implementations of the disclosure, the interface selection module is configured to control a first data selection unit to select to output audio data to an audio output device through the other one of the first interface and the second interface, upon detecting that the electronic device is coupled with the device which is a host through one of the first interface and the second interface and coupled with another device which is an audio output device through the other one of the first interface and the second interface.

Optionally, in implementations of the disclosure, the interface selection module is configured to control the data selection unit to select to transmit at least one of transmission data, reception data, or side band data with the host through the first interface or the second interface which is coupled with the host.

It should be understood that, modules, units, and other operations and/or functions in the system <NUM> of implementations of the disclosure are to respectively implement corresponding processes of the method described with reference to <FIG>, which is not repeated herein for the sake of brevity.

<FIG> illustrates an electronic device <NUM> for implementing implementations of the disclosure according to implementations of the disclosure. The electronic device <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> is merely an example, and should not impose any limitations on the functions and the use scope of implementations of the disclosure. The electronic device may be an AR device such as AR glasses, an AR helmet, and the like.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the electronic device <NUM> may be in a form of a general-purpose computing device. Components of the electronic device <NUM> may include, but are not limited to, at least one processing unit <NUM>, at least one storage unit <NUM>, and a bus <NUM> coupled with different system components (including the storage unit <NUM> and the processing unit <NUM>).

The storage unit stores program codes. The program codes, when executed by the processing unit <NUM>, are operable with the processing unit <NUM> to perform all or part of the operations of various exemplary implementations of the disclosure described in the above-mentioned "exemplary method" of the specification.

The storage unit <NUM> may include a readable medium in a form of a transitory storage unit, such as a random access memory (RAM) <NUM> and/or a cache <NUM>. The storage unit <NUM> may further include a read-only memory (ROM) <NUM>.

The storage unit <NUM> may further include a program/utility <NUM> having a set (at least one) of program modules <NUM> including, but not limited to, an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data. The implementation of a network environment may be included in each or some combination of these examples.

The bus <NUM> may be representative of one or more of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or a memory controller, a peripheral bus, a graphics acceleration port, a processing unit, or a local bus using any of a variety of bus structures.

The electronic device <NUM> may also communicate with one or more external devices <NUM> (e.g., a keyboard, a pointing device, a bluetooth device, etc.). The electronic device <NUM> may also communicate with one or more devices that allow a user to interact with the electronic device <NUM>, and/or with any device (e.g., a router, a modem, etc.) that allow the electronic device <NUM> to communicate with one or more other computing devices. Such communication may be performed through an input/output (I/O) interface <NUM>. Also, the electronic device <NUM> may communicate with one or more networks (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and/or a public network such as the Internet) through a network adapter <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG>, the network adapter <NUM> can communicate with other modules of the electronic device <NUM> via the bus <NUM>. It should be understood that, although not illustrated, other hardware and/or software modules may be used in conjunction with the electronic device <NUM>, and include but not limited to: a microcode, a device driver, a redundant processing unit, an external disk drive array, an RAID system, a tape drive, and a data backup storage system.

From the description of the above implementations, those skilled in the art can easily understand that, exemplary implementations described herein may be implemented by software or software combined with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solutions of the implementations of the disclosure may be embodied in a form of a software product. The software product may be stored in a non-transitory storage medium (which may be a CD-ROM, a USB, a mobile hard disk, etc.) or stored on a network, and include several instructions to cause a computing device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a terminal device, or a network device, etc.) to execute the method according to the implementations of the disclosure.

In exemplary implementations of the disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is further provided. The computer-readable storage medium stores a program product capable of implementing the above method in the specification. In some possible implementations, various aspects of the disclosure may also be implemented in a form of a program product. The program product includes program codes. When the program product is run on a terminal device, the program codes cause the terminal device to perform the operations of various exemplary implementations of the disclosure described in the above-mentioned "exemplary method" of the specification.

<FIG> illustrates a program product <NUM> for implementing the above method of implementations of the disclosure according to implementations of the disclosure. The program product may adopt a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) and include program codes, and may run on a terminal device, such as a personal computer. However, the program product of the disclosure is not limited thereto, and in this document, a readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that contains or stores programs, the programs can be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, an apparatus, or a device.

The program product may be any combination of one or more readable media. The readable medium may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. For example, the readable storage medium may be, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or a combination of any of the above. Specific examples (non-exhaustive list) of the readable storage medium include: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable disk, a hard disk, a RAM, a ROM, an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a CD-ROM, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above.

A computer-readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, which carries readable program codes. Such propagated data signal may take a variety of forms, including but not limited to, an electromagnetic signal, an optical signal, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. The readable signal medium may also be any readable medium other than the readable storage medium, and the storage medium can send, propagate, or transmit programs which can be used by or in connection with an instruction execution system, an apparatus, or a device.

Program codes embodied in a readable medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

The program codes used to perform the operations of the disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The programming languages may include object-oriented programming languages (e.g., Java, C++, etc.) and conventional procedural programming languages (e.g., C language or similar programming languages). The program codes may be executed entirely on a user's computing device, executed partly on the user's computing device, executed as an independent software package, executed partly on the user's computing device and partly on a remote computing device, or entirely on the remote computing device or on a server. In the case of a remote computing device, the remote computing device may be coupled with a user computing device through any kind of network (including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), etc.), or may be coupled with an external computing device (for example, by means of an Internet service provider for Internet connection).

It should be noted that, although several modules or units of the device for action execution are mentioned in the above detailed description, the division is not mandatory. In fact, according to the implementations of the disclosure, features and functions of two or more modules or units described above may be embodied in a module or unit. On the contrary, features and functions of a module or unit described above may be further divided to be embodied in multiple modules or units.

In addition, although various operations of the method of the disclosure are described in a particular order in accompanying drawings, which does not require or imply that these operations must be performed in the particular order, or that all the operations must be performed so as to achieve a desired result. Additionally or alternatively, some steps/operations may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step for execution, and/or one step may be decomposed into multiple steps for execution, and so on.

From the description of the above implementations, those skilled in the art can easily understand that, exemplary implementations described herein may be implemented by software or software combined with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solutions of the implementations of the disclosure may be embodied in a form of a software product. The software product may be stored in a non-transitory storage medium (which may be a CD-ROM, a USB, a mobile hard disk, etc.) or stored on the network, and include several instructions to cause a computing device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a mobile terminal, or a network device, etc.) to execute the method according to the implementations of the disclosure.

Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, in combination with exemplary units and algorithm steps or operations described in the implementations disclosed herein, the disclosure can be implemented by way of electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether a function is implemented by way of hardware or software depends on a particular application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art may use different methods to implement described functions for each particular application, but such implementation should not be considered as beyond the scope of the disclosure.

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, a specific working process of the system, the device, and units described above may refer to a corresponding process in the foregoing method implementations, which will not be repeated herein.

It should be understood that, the system, the device, and the method disclosed in implementations of the disclosure may be implemented in other manners. For example, the device/apparatus implementations described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of the unit is only a logical function division and there can be other manners of division during actual implementations, for example, multiple units or assemblies may be combined or may be integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored, omitted, or not performed. In addition, coupling or communication connection between each illustrated or discussed component may be direct coupling or communication connection, or may be indirect coupling or communication among devices or units via some interfaces, and may be electrical connection, mechanical connection, or other forms of connection.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, the components illustrated as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be in a same place or may be distributed to multiple network elements. All or part of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the technical solutions of the implementations.

In addition, the functional units in various implementations of the disclosure may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may be physically present, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

Claim 1:
An electronic device, comprising:
at least two interfaces;
a switch unit (<NUM>, <NUM>) coupled with the at least two interfaces respectively and configured to switch a power-supply path (<NUM>) of the electronic device, the power-supply path being provided by one of the at least two interfaces; and
a control module (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) coupled with the at least two interfaces and the switch unit respectively, and configured to detect a type of at least one device coupled with the electronic device and control, based on the type of the at least one device, the switch unit to switch the power-supply path of the electronic device,
wherein the electronic device being coupled with the at least one device through all or part of the at least two interfaces,
wherein the at least two interfaces comprising a first interface (<NUM>) and a second interface (<NUM>), and
characterized in that:
the electronic device further comprises a data selection unit (<NUM>), and the data selection unit is coupled with the first interface and the second interface respectively and comprises a first data selection unit (<NUM>); and
the control module is configured to control the first data selection unit to select to output audio data from a host to an audio output device through the other one of the first interface and the second interface, in response to detecting that the electronic device is coupled with the device which is a host (<NUM>) through one of the first interface and the second interface and coupled with another device which is an audio output device through the other one of the first interface and the second interface.