Patent ID: 12235789

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The disclosure is to enable a dual power supply electronic device (e.g., a laptop, a tablet, or a cellphone) to directly and automatically switch a DRP device as a source end or a sink end. For instance, in response to the dual power supply electronic device powering a system with a DC-in jack and a Universal Serial Bus (USB) Type-C connector being plugged into a DRP device (e.g., a power bank) at the same time, the electronic device may be used as the source end to directly charge the power bank (SINK) without manual operations.

Furthermore, a controller may be used to distinguish whether an alternating current adapter is plugged into the DC-in jack by analyzing detection signals related to a voltage input of the DC-in jack. In response to the alternating current adapter being plugged into (or electrically connected to) the DC-in jack, the electronic device is set as the source end and the DRP device is set as the sink end, so that the DRP device is charged.

In brief, the disclosure may transfer the detection signals related to the voltage input of the DC-in jack to the general-purpose input/output (GPIO) pins of the controller and read the firmware of the controller. Thereby, in response to the dual power supply electronic device powering the system with the DC-in jack, the electronic device may be used as the source end to directly charge the DRP device (SINK) without manual operations through reading parameters in the firmware of the controller.

FIG.1is a schematic view of a system of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG.1, in this embodiment, an electronic device100includes at least a first power input end Tdock, a second power input end Tusb, a power delivery controller110, and a detection circuit140. The first power input end Tdock is adapted for coupling to an alternating current adapter10, and the second power input end Tusb is adapted for coupling to a DRP device20. The detection circuit140is coupled to the first power input end Tdock and the second power input end Tusb, and configured to detect whether the first power input end Tdock receives an adapter source voltage Pac and whether the second power input end Tusb is coupled to the DRP device20. The power delivery controller110is coupled to the detection circuit140and is configured to control the DRP device20to switch from the source end to the sink end in response to the detection circuit140detecting that the first power input end Tdock receives the adapter source voltage Pac from the alternating current adapter10and the second power input end Tusb being coupled to the DRP device. The detection circuit140may provide a detection signal DET to the power delivery controller110based on the detection result, and the power delivery controller110may control the DRP device20based on the detection signal DET.

In this embodiment, the first power input end Tdock may include a DC-in jack, and the second power input end Tusb may include a data transfer interface, such as an USB interface. In an embodiment, the second power input end Tusb may be an USB Type-C interface.

Further, the power delivery controller110determines whether the DRP device20is used as the source end or the sink end based on the communication with the DRP device in response to the alternating current adapter10not being coupled to (or plugged into) the first power input end Tdock and the DRP device20being coupled to (or plugged into) the second power input end Tusb. The communication may be conducted through pins of a configuration channel (CC) of the USB interface. That is, the power delivery controller110may be coupled to the second power input end Tusb, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In addition, the power delivery controller110ignores the communication with the DRP device20and forces the DRP device20to be used as the sink end in response to the alternating current adapter10being coupled to (or plugged into) the first power input end Tdock and the DRP device20being coupled to (or plugged into) the second power input end Tusb. Thereby, the DRP device20of the second power input end Tusb automatically switches from the source end to the sink end based on the adapter source voltage Pac from the first power input end Tdock, so as to improve the convenience for operation.

As shown inFIG.1, the electronic device100may further include a power sink switch120and a power source switch130. The power sink switch120and the power source switch130are both coupled to the second power input end Tusb, and the power sink switch120is further coupled to the detection circuit140. In response to the first power input end Tdock being determined (or detected) to receive the adapter source voltage Pac based on the detection signal DET, the power delivery controller110provides a source enabling signal SRC_EN to the power source switch130to enable (or turn on) the power source switch130and to provide a device source voltage Pdev from the interior of the electronic device100to the DRP device20through the turned-on power source switch130. The device source voltage Pdev is about 5V. At this moment, the power delivery controller110may not provide a sink enabling signal SNK_EN to the power sink switch120to disable (or disconnect) the power sink switch120.

In the embodiments of the disclosure, in response to the first power input end Tdock being determined to receive the adapter source voltage Pac based on the detection signal DET, the power delivery controller110may read the stored operation parameter and, based on the stored operation parameter, provide either the sink enabling signal SNK_EN or the source enabling signal SRC_EN. In other words, the states provided by the sink enabling signal SNK_EN and the source enabling signal SRC_EN are related to the result of the communication between the power delivery controller110and the DRP device20. In the embodiment, reading the operation parameter is a detection behavior associated with reading the firmware of the controller in order to switch the role of the DRP device20automatically.

In this embodiment, the sink enabling signal SNK_EN is provided to the power sink switch120to enable (or turn on) the power sink switch120. The turned-on power sink switch120receives and transmits an external source voltage Pusb from the DRP device20to the interior of the electronic device100. The range of the external source voltage Pusb is from 5V to 20V. In addition, in response to the sink enabling signal SNK_EN being provided to the power sink switch120, the power delivery controller110may not provide the source enabling signal SRC_EN to the power source switch130to disables (or disconnect) the power source switch130by not providing the source enabling signal SRC_EN.

FIG.2is a schematic view of a system of an electronic device according to another embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG.1andFIG.2, in this embodiment, an electronic device200is configured to provide further explanations for the electronic device100, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. The same or similar components are referenced with the same reference numerals or signs. In this embodiment, the electronic device200further includes a system controller220, a source selection circuit230, and a system circuit240. A detection circuit210may be operated with reference to the detection circuit140.

The detection circuit210is coupled to the first power input end Tdock, the second power input end Tusb, the power delivery controller110, and the system controller220. The detection circuit210provides a first detection signal DETa to the power delivery controller110and the system controller220based on a detection of the adapter source voltage Pac, and provides a second detection signal DETb to the system controller220based on a detection of the external source voltage Pusb. The power delivery controller110reads the operation parameter based on the first detection signal DETa in order to provide the source enabling signal SRC_EN. Besides, the system controller220is coupled to the power delivery controller110in order to set the operation parameter stored in the power delivery controller110based on the first detection signal DETa and the second detection signal DETb. In this embodiment, the system controller220may be coupled to the power delivery controller110through an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) bus to set the operation parameter stored in the power delivery controller110, such as utilizing a clock signal S_CLK, a data signal S_DAT, and the power delivery controller110, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

In addition, the source selection circuit230is coupled to the first power input end Tdock and to the second power input end Tusb through the power sink switch120to provide either the received adapter source voltage Pac or the received external source voltage Pusb to the system circuit240. The adapter source voltage Pac has priority over the external source voltage Pusb. That is, in response to the source selection circuit230simultaneously receiving the external source voltage Pusb and the adapter source voltage Pac, the source selection circuit230provides the adapter source voltage Pac to the system circuit240and stops the external source voltage Pusb from entering the system circuit240by using a hardware mechanism. Then, the system circuit240, based on the adapter source voltage Pac, provides the device source voltage Pdev to the DRP device20through the turned-on power source switch130.

However, after the source selection circuit230blocks the external source voltage Pusb by the hardware mechanism, the voltage on the circuit is still high, which affects the operation of the source selection circuit230. Therefore, the source selection circuit230may, based on the adapter source voltage Pac, provide an adapter source enabling signal ACP_EN to the power sink switch120to disable the power sink switch120based on the adapter source voltage Pac. In addition, the source selection circuit230may not provide the adapter source enabling signal ACP_EN to the power sink switch120based on not receiving the adapter source voltage Pac to enable (or turn on) the power sink switch120.

In the embodiments of the disclosure, when the power delivery controller110communicates with the DRP device20through pins of the configuration channel of an USB interface in order to enable the power sink switch120, and the source selection circuit230receives only the external source voltage Pusb, the source selection circuit230provides the external source voltage Pusb from the DRP device20to the system circuit240through the source selection circuit230.

FIG.3is a schematic view of a system of an electronic device according to yet another embodiment of the disclosure. ReferringFIGS.1to3, in this embodiment, an electronic device300is similar to the electronic device200, and the difference therebetween is that the electronic device300further includes an inverter310. The same or similar components are referenced with the same reference numerals or signs. In this embodiment, after the inverter310is used to invert the voltage level of the adapter source enabling signal ACP_EN, an inverted signal ACP_EN # is provided to meet the voltage requirement for disabling the power sink switch120.

To sum up, in the embodiments of the electronic device100/200/300of the disclosure, the DRP device20coupled to the second power input end Tusb automatically switches from the source end to the sink end based on the reception of the adapter source voltage Pac from the first power input end Tdock. Thereby, the electronic device100/200/300is coupled to the DRP device20and the states are switched without manual operations, so as to improve the convenience for operation.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the disclosure covers modifications and variations provided that they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.