TW201541803A - Portable electronic apparatus and charging control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable electronic apparatus and charging control method thereof are provided. The charging control method includes following steps: detecting whether the portable electronic apparatus is connected to a power delivery apparatus; when the portable electronic apparatus is detected to be connected to the power delivery apparatus, checking a system operation status of the portable electronic apparatus; and sending a charging requirement command to the power delivery apparatus so that the power delivery apparatus provides a charging power met the requirement of the portable electronic apparatus in response to the charging requirement command.

Description

Portable electronic device and charging control method thereof

The present invention relates to a power supply technology, and more particularly to a portable electronic device and a charging control method thereof.

With the development of technology, a variety of portable electronic devices, such as tablet computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, and smart phones ( Smart phone, etc., has become an indispensable tool for modern people. In addition, these electronic devices are gradually moving toward a light, thin and short trend for the convenience of users.

In the prior art, the portable electronic device can be charged by a power supply device conforming to a universal serial bus (USB) power delivery (PD) standard. The power supply device may have a plurality of USB ports for connecting the portable electronic devices, and thereby transmitting the power required by the portable electronic device via the USB interface.

Generally, after being connected to a power supply device, the portable electronic device requires a predetermined power supply requirement to the power supply device. However, portable electronics The power requirements required for the device are not the actual power consumed. More specifically, the actual power consumed by the portable electronic device may vary according to the operating state of the system. Therefore, the preset power supply requirement of the portable electronic device tends to be higher than the power consumption required for the actual operation.

Since the power supply device itself has a rated power supply wattage limit, the power supply device determines whether to supply power to the portable electronic device according to the remaining number of power supply watts. Therefore, when there are multiple portable electronic devices connected to the power supply device at the same time, since each portable electronic device may require more than the power demand that it actually needs, the power supply device tends to be due to the power supply tile. The number is insufficient to charge all of the portable electronic devices at the same time.

The invention provides a portable electronic device and a charging control method thereof, which can change the power requirement of the external power supply device according to the operating state of the system.

The charging control method of the portable electronic device of the present invention includes the steps of: detecting whether the portable electronic device is connected to the power supply device; and detecting the portable device when detecting that the portable electronic device is connected to the power supply device The system operating state of the electronic device; and issuing a charging demand command to the power supply device according to the operating state of the system, so that the power supply device responds to the charging demand command to provide a charging power source required for the portable electronic device.

In an embodiment of the invention, checking the system operation of the portable electronic device The step of the state includes: checking the operating state of the hardware unit of the portable electronic device and the power supply state of the power unit of the portable electronic device.

In an embodiment of the invention, the charging demand command is sent to the power supply device according to the operating state of the system, so that the power supply device responds to the charging demand command to provide the charging power required by the portable electronic device, including: operating according to the system The state selects one of a plurality of power supply specifications stored in the portable electronic device, and accordingly generates a charging demand instruction indicating one of the power supply specifications.

In an embodiment of the invention, the step of issuing a charging demand command to the power supply device according to the operating state of the system, so that the power supply device responds to the charging demand command to provide the charging power required by the portable electronic device, further includes: determining the system Whether the operating state changes; and when the operating state of the system changes, re-selecting the other one of the plurality of power supply specifications according to the operating state of the system, and generating a charging demand instruction indicating another one of the power specifications .

In an embodiment of the invention, the step of selecting one of the plurality of power supply specifications stored in the portable electronic device according to the operating state of the system, and generating a charging demand instruction for indicating one of the power specifications The method includes: when the portable electronic device is operating in a normal working state, issuing a charging demand instruction indicating the first power supply specification; and when the portable electronic device is operating in an idle/sleep state and the uncharged completed state, issuing the indication second The charging requirement command of the power specification, wherein the required power of the second power specification is smaller than the first power specification; when the portable electronic device operates in an idle/sleep state and the charged state is completed, a charging requirement indicating the third power specification is issued. Command, wherein the third power supply specification requires less power than the second power supply And a charging demand instruction indicating a fourth power specification when the portable electronic device is in a state of being turned off and charging is completed, wherein the power supply device stops the portable electronic device according to the charging demand instruction indicating the fourth power specification The device is charged.

The portable electronic device of the present invention is adapted to draw power from a power supply device via a universal serial bus interface. The portable electronic device includes a hardware unit, a power unit, and a control unit. The power unit is used to supply power to the hardware unit. The control unit is coupled to the hardware unit and the power unit, and is designed to perform the following actions: detecting whether the portable electronic device is connected to the power supply device; and detecting when the portable electronic device is connected to the power supply device, The operating state of the system of the portable electronic device; and issuing a charging demand command to the power supply device according to the operating state of the system, so that the power supply device responds to the charging demand command to provide a charging power source required for the portable electronic device.

In an embodiment of the invention, the control unit includes an embedded controller and a charge controller. The embedded controller is used to check the operating state of the system and issue a power selection command, wherein the operating state of the system includes the operating state of the hardware unit and the power supply status of the power unit. The charge controller stores a plurality of power supply specifications, wherein the charge controller selects one of the plurality of power supply specifications according to the power supply selection command, and accordingly generates a charge demand instruction indicating one of the power supply specifications.

In an embodiment of the invention, the embedded controller continuously determines whether the operating state of the system changes, and issues a corresponding power selection command when the operating state of the system changes, so that the charging controller selects the power according to the power selection instruction. One of a plurality of power supply specifications, and accordingly generating another power source indicating Specifications for charging demand instructions.

In an embodiment of the invention, when the embedded controller determines that the portable electronic device is operating in a normal working state, the charging controller issues a charging demand instruction indicating the first power specification according to the power selection command. When the embedded controller determines that the portable electronic device is operating in an idle/sleep state and is not fully charged, the charging controller issues a charging demand instruction indicating the second power specification according to the power selection command, wherein the second power specification requires the power supply The power is less than the first power supply specification. When the embedded controller determines that the portable electronic device is operating in an idle/sleep state and has completed charging, the charging controller issues a charging demand instruction indicating a third power specification according to the power selection command, wherein the third power specification requires the power supply The power is less than the second power supply specification. When the embedded controller determines that the portable electronic device is in the state of being turned off and charging is completed, the charging controller issues a charging demand instruction indicating the fourth power specification according to the power selection instruction, wherein the power supply device is charged according to the fourth power specification The demand command stops charging the portable electronic device.

Based on the above, the embodiment of the invention provides a portable electronic device and a charging control method thereof. The portable electronic device can adjust the power supply requirement of the external power supply device according to the operating state of the system, so that the external power supply device supplies the charging power source that meets the power requirement of the portable electronic device, thereby saving no The necessary power consumption, so that the power supply device can supply excess power to other portable electronic devices to be charged to improve the charging efficiency and the utilization rate of the power supply device.

In order to make the above features and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the following is a special The embodiments are described in detail below in conjunction with the drawings.

10‧‧‧Power supply unit

100‧‧‧Portable electronic devices

110‧‧‧ hardware unit

120‧‧‧Power unit

130‧‧‧Control unit

132‧‧‧Inline controller

134‧‧‧Charging controller

CMD_PWR‧‧‧Charging Demand Instruction

CMD_SEL‧‧‧Power Selection Command

P1~P4‧‧‧USB port埠

PWR‧‧‧Charging power supply

S210~S230, S310~S350‧‧‧ steps

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention.

2 is a flow chart showing the steps of a charging control method for a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of steps of a charging control method of a portable electronic device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a power supply specification table of a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention.

In order to make the disclosure of the present disclosure easier to understand, the following specific embodiments are examples of the disclosure that can be implemented. In addition, wherever possible, the same elements, components, and steps in the drawings and embodiments are used to represent the same or similar components.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1 , the portable electronic device 100 is, for example, a cell phone, a smart phone, a notebook, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet PC, or a game console. A variety of portable electronic devices are adapted to draw power from the power supply device 10 via a universal serial bus (USB) interface. Wherein, the power supply device 10 has, for example, a plurality of A USB power port (such as P1~P4) mobile power supply, power adapter, hub or other power supply device that can charge one or more portable electronic devices through USB. Here, the portable electronic device 100 is illustrated as being connected to the power supply device 10 via the USB port 埠 P3, but the invention is not limited thereto.

The portable electronic device 100 includes a hardware unit 110, a power supply unit 120, and a control unit 130. The hardware unit 110 is a hardware portion of the electronic device 100 for providing a specific function, and includes, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a chipset, a memory, a hard disk, and the like. The power supply unit 120 is a power supply portion of the electronic device 100 for providing power required for the operation of the hardware unit 110 and the control unit 130, and includes, for example, a battery, a charging circuit, and a power converter. In addition, the control unit 130 of the embodiment can be implemented by using a circuit structure composed of an embedded controller (EC) 132 and a charging controller 134, so as to implement the checking/monitoring operation of the hardware unit 110 and the power unit 120. The function of the status/power supply state, and accordingly, sends a corresponding control command to the power supply device 10 to supply the power supply device 10 with the charging power source PWR that meets the power requirements of the portable electronic device 100.

In this embodiment, the control unit 130 can be designed to perform the step flow shown in FIG. 2, wherein FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the steps of the charging control method of the portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 simultaneously, first, the control unit 130 detects whether the portable electronic device 100 is connected to the power supply device 10 (step S210). Control When detecting that the portable electronic device 100 is connected to the power supply device 10, the unit 130 further checks the system operation state of the portable electronic device 100 (step S220), and issues corresponding signals according to different operating states of the system. The charging demand command CMD_PWR is supplied to the power supply device 10 to cause the power supply device 10 to provide the charging power source PWR required for the portable electronic device 10 in response to the charging demand command CMD_PWR (step S230).

In the above step, the action of checking the operating state of the system can be implemented by the embedded controller 132 in the control unit 130, wherein the operating state of the system is, for example, the operating state of the hardware unit 110 (for example, the load status of the CPU and/or Or the state of the system power on/off) and the power state of the power supply unit 120 (eg, whether the battery is charging). The embedded controller 132 issues a power select command CMD_SEL to control the charge controller 134 based on the results of checking the hardware unit 110 and the power unit 120.

On the other hand, the action of the control unit 130 to issue the charging demand command CMD_PWR according to the operating state of the system can be implemented by the charging controller 134, wherein the charging controller 134 stores a plurality of power specifications that can be set by the designer, and the charging controller 134 may select one of the plurality of power supply specifications according to a power selection command CMD_SEL issued by the embedded controller 132 (which indicates a check result of the operating state of the system), and generate a charge indicating one of the power specifications. Demand instruction CMD_PWR.

For example, when the embedded controller 132 determines that the hardware unit 110 is operating in a state of heavy load (for example, a state of normal operation), the charging controller 134 issues a charge. The power demand command CMD_PWR requires the power supply device 10 to provide the charging power source PWR with higher power supply; conversely, when the embedded controller 132 determines that the hardware unit 110 is operating in a light load or other low power consumption operating state (eg In the idle/sleep state, another corresponding charging demand command CMD_PWR is issued to request the power supply device 10 to provide a charging power source PWR having a lower power source than when the hardware unit 110 is operating at a heavy load.

Based on the above charging control method and architecture, the embedded controller 132 can notify the charging controller 134 at any time according to the operating state of the system, so that the charging controller 134 changes the power supply device 10 correspondingly when the system operating state changes. The power demand so that the power supply device 10 does not provide the excess charging power PWR to the portable electronic device 100. In other words, under the charging control method, since the power supply device 10 can save excess power for use by other portable electronic devices to be charged, the overall charging performance and utilization rate of the power supply device 10 can be effectively improved.

The specific step flow of the above charging control method will be further described below with reference to the embodiment of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 3, in the flow of the charging control method of the embodiment, it is first detected whether the portable electronic device (eg, 100) is connected to the power supply device (eg, 10) (step S310). If the determination is no, step S310 is repeated; otherwise, if the determination is yes, the system operation status of the portable electronic device is further checked (step S320). The operating state of the portable electronic device includes, for example, the operating state of the hardware unit (such as 110) and the power supply of the power unit (such as 120). status. In addition, the action of checking the operational status of the system can be accomplished using an embedded controller (e.g., 132) in the portable electronic device.

Then, the step process selects one of the plurality of power supply specifications stored in the portable electronic device according to the obtained system operating state, and accordingly generates a charging demand instruction indicating the one of the power supply specifications (step S330). Wherein, the plurality of power supply specifications can be set by the designer and built in the charging controller (such as 134) of the portable electronic device. Moreover, the act of generating a charge demand command indicative of a particular power supply specification can be accomplished using a charge controller in the portable electronic device.

Therefore, after the step S330, the power supply device responds to the charging demand command issued by the portable electronic device to provide a charging power source conforming to the power source specification to the portable electronic device.

Thereafter, the portable electronic device continues to monitor its system operating status and accordingly determines whether its system operating status has changed (step S340). If it is determined that the operating state of the system has not changed, step S340 is repeatedly performed to continuously perform the monitoring/checking operation; otherwise, if it is determined that the operating state of the system changes, the portable electronic device will re-operate according to the operating state of the system. One of the power supply specifications selects another one, and accordingly generates a charging demand instruction indicating another of the power supply specifications (step S350). In other words, in step S350, when the operating state of the system changes, the portable electronic device selects another power supply specification that meets its requirements from the plurality of power supply specifications based on the current system operating state, and accordingly generates a corresponding The charging demand command causes the power supply device to provide a charging power source that meets its needs.

In order to more specifically describe the charging control method for selecting the corresponding power supply specification according to different system operating states, a plurality of system operating states generally common to the portable electronic device are combined with the power supply specification table shown in FIG. 4 as an example. Be explained.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 simultaneously, the power supply specifications built in the charging controller 134 are as shown in the power specification table of FIG. 4, and include power supply specifications PR1 to PR6. In this embodiment, the power supply specifications PR1 to PR3 define power supply specifications of the portable electronic device 100 in a working/idle/sleep state. The power specification PR4 defines a power supply specification in which the portable electronic device 100 is in a closed state. The power supply specifications PR5~6 define the power supply specifications of the portable electronic device 100 operating in a hibernation state.

Among them, the power supply specification PRI defines the required power supply of 100 watts (W) (the minimum required voltage / current is 5V / 2A, the highest demand voltage / current is 20V / 5A). The power supply specification PR2 defines the required power supply of 60W (minimum required voltage/current is 5V/2A, maximum demand voltage/current is 20V/3A). The power supply specification PR3 defines the required power supply of 36W (the minimum required voltage/current is 5V/2A, and the highest demand voltage is 12V/3A). The power supply specification PR4 defines the required power supply of 0W (that is, the power supply unit stops supplying power). The power supply specification PR5 defines the required power supply of 18W (the minimum required voltage/current is 5V/2A, and the highest demand voltage/current is 12V/1.5A). The power supply specification PR6 defines the required power supply of 10W (the highest required voltage/current is 5V/2A).

More specifically, when the embedded controller 134 is inspected according to the hardware unit 110 When it is determined that the portable electronic device 100 is operating in a normal working state with the result of the power supply unit 120, the charging controller 134 issues a charging request indicating the power supply specification PR1 according to the power supply selection command CMD_SEL issued by the embedded controller 134. The command CMD_PWR is such that the power supply device 10 supplies the charging power source PWR that meets the required power source power as defined by the power source specification PR2 to supply power to the portable electronic device 100.

When the embedded controller 132 determines that the portable electronic device 100 is operating in an idle/sleep state and is not fully charged, since the hardware unit 110 is in an idle state in this state, the power demand of the portable electronic device 100 is compared. Low (compared to the normal working state), therefore, the charging controller 134 issues a charging demand command CMD_PWR indicating the power supply specification PR2 according to the power supply selection command CMD_SEL, so that the power supply device 10 provides the required power supply as defined by the power supply specification PR2. The power charging power source PWR supplies power to the portable electronic device 100. Wherein, since the required power supply power (60 W) of the power supply specification PR2 is smaller than the required power supply power (100 W) of the power supply specification PR1, when the portable electronic device 100 is switched from the normal working state to the idle/sleep state and the uncharged completed state The power supply device 10 can save 40 W of power output.

When the embedded controller 132 determines that the portable electronic device 100 is operating in an idle/sleep state and has completed charging, the portable electronic device 100 is caused by the action that the power source unit 120 does not need to be recharged in this state. The power requirement can be further reduced, so the charging controller 134 sends a charging demand command CMD_PWR indicating the power specification PR3 according to the power selection command CMD_SEL, so that the power supply is provided. The device 10 is provided with a charging power source PWR that meets the required power source power as defined by the power source specification PR3 to supply power to the portable electronic device 100. Wherein, since the required power supply power (36W) of the power supply specification PR3 is smaller than the required power supply power (60W) of the power supply specification PR2, when the portable electronic device 100 is switched from the idle/sleep state and the uncharged state to the charged state. At the same time, the power supply device 10 can save an additional 18 W of power output.

On the other hand, when the embedded controller 132 determines that the portable electronic device 100 is in the state of being turned off and charging is completed, the hardware unit 110 and the power supply unit 120 are all stopped in this state (ie, the portable electronic device 100 is enabled). There is no power consumption at this time. Therefore, the charging controller 134 issues a charging demand command CMD_PWR indicating the power specification PR4 according to the power selection command CMD_SEL, so that the power supply device 10 stops charging the portable electronic device 100.

In addition to the charging control method in the operating states of the above systems, the present embodiment can also enable the power supply device 10 to use the power supply specification PR5 or PR6 for the portable electronic device according to the power management means of the portable electronic device 100. 100 for power supply. For example, the power supply specifications PR5/PR6 may correspond to the power requirements of the portable electronic device 100 in a dormant state, wherein the power supply requirements of the portable electronic device 100 in the dormant state are between a sleep state and a closed state. Therefore, the power supply specifications PR5 and PR6 respectively define the required power supply power of 18 W and 10 W lower than the power supply specification PR3, so that the power supply device 10 can further reduce the required charging power supply PWR.

In addition, the portable electronic device 100 is issued based on its sleep state. The operation of the corresponding charging demand command CMD_PWR to the power supply device 10 is similar to the above, and thus the details are not repeated herein.

It should be noted that the detailed data of each of the above power supply specifications and the condition setting of the operating states of the respective systems are merely examples for exemplifying the embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can define different system operating state conditions and power supply specifications by referring to the above contents and teachings, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

In summary, the embodiment of the invention provides a portable electronic device and a charging control method thereof. The portable electronic device can adjust the power supply requirement of the external power supply device according to the operating state of the system, so that the external power supply device supplies the charging power source that meets the power requirement of the portable electronic device, thereby saving no The necessary power consumption, so that the power supply device can supply excess power to other portable electronic devices to be charged to improve the charging efficiency and the utilization rate of the power supply device.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some changes and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

S210~S230‧‧‧Steps

Claims (9)

A charging control method for a portable electronic device, wherein the portable electronic device is adapted to draw power from a power supply device via a universal serial bus interface, the charging control method comprising: detecting whether the portable electronic device detects Connecting to the power supply device; when detecting that the portable electronic device is connected to the power supply device, checking a system operation state of the portable electronic device; and issuing a charging demand command according to the operating state of the system to The power supply device is configured to cause the power supply device to respond to the charging demand command to provide a charging power source that is required for the portable electronic device. The charging control method of the portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the step of checking the operating state of the portable electronic device comprises: checking a hardware unit of the portable electronic device The operating state and the power supply state of a power supply unit of the portable electronic device. The charging control method of the portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the charging demand command is issued to the power supply device according to the operating state of the system, so that the power supply device responds to the charging demand instruction The step of complying with the charging power required by the portable electronic device includes: selecting one of the plurality of power supply specifications stored in the portable electronic device according to the operating state of the system, and generating a power source indicating the one of the power supplies Specifications for charging demand instructions. Charging control of the portable electronic device as described in claim 3 The method, wherein the charging demand command is issued to the power supply device according to the operating state of the system, so that the step of the power supply device to provide the charging power required by the portable electronic device in response to the charging demand instruction further comprises: determining Whether the operating state of the system changes; and when the operating state of the system changes, re-selecting one of the power specifications according to the operating state of the system, and generating a charging demand indicating another power specification of the system instruction. The charging control method of the portable electronic device of claim 3, wherein one of the power supply specifications stored in the portable electronic device is selected according to the operating state of the system, and an indication is generated accordingly. The charging requirement instruction of one of the power supply specifications includes: when the portable electronic device is operating in a normal working state, issuing a charging demand instruction indicating a first power supply specification; when the portable electronic device operates When the idle/sleeping state is not completed, a charging demand instruction indicating a second power supply specification is issued, wherein the required power supply power of the second power supply specification is smaller than the first power supply specification; when the portable electronic device is operated to be idle When the state of hibernation and charging is completed, a charging demand instruction indicating a third power specification is issued, wherein the required power of the third power specification is less than the second power specification; and when the portable electronic device is turned off When the charging is completed, a charging demand instruction indicating a fourth power supply specification is issued, wherein the power supply device is based on It shows the fourth power specification request command and a charging stop charging the portable electronic device Electricity. A portable electronic device is adapted to draw power from a power supply device via a universal serial bus interface, the portable electronic device comprising: a hardware unit; and a power supply unit for supplying power to the hardware unit And a control unit coupled to the hardware unit and the power unit, configured to perform the following actions: detecting whether the portable electronic device is connected to the power supply device; when detecting the portable device When the electronic device is connected to the power supply device, checking a system operating state of the portable electronic device; and issuing a charging demand command to the power supply device according to the operating state of the system, so that the power supply device is responsive to the charging The demand instruction provides a charging power source that is required to comply with the portable electronic device. The portable electronic device of claim 6, wherein the control unit comprises: an embedded controller for checking the operating state of the system, and issuing a power selection command, wherein the system operates Including a working state of the hardware unit and a power supply state of the power unit; and a charging controller storing a plurality of power supply specifications, wherein the charging controller selects one of the power supply specifications according to the power selection instruction, and according to the To generate a charge demand instruction indicating one of the power specifications. The portable electronic device of claim 7, wherein the portable electronic device The embedded controller continuously determines whether the operating state of the system changes, and issues a corresponding power selection command when the operating state of the system changes, so that the charging controller selects one of the power specifications according to the power selection instruction. First, and accordingly generate a charging demand instruction indicating another of the power specifications. The portable electronic device of claim 7, wherein the charging controller issues an indication according to the power selection command when the embedded controller determines that the portable electronic device is operating in a normal working state. a first power specification charging demand command; when the embedded controller determines that the portable electronic device is operating in an idle/sleep state and is not fully charged, the charging controller issues an indication according to the power selection command. a charging requirement command of the power supply specification, wherein the required power supply power of the second power supply specification is smaller than the first power supply specification; when the embedded controller determines that the portable electronic device is operating in an idle/sleep state and has been charged, The charging controller issues a charging demand instruction indicating a third power specification according to the power selection command, wherein the required power of the third power specification is less than the second power specification; and when the embedded controller determines the portable When the electronic device is in a state of being turned off and charging is completed, the charging controller issues a command according to the power selection command to a fourth power Charging specification request command, wherein the power supply device according to the fourth power specification indicates the charging stop request command to charge the portable electronic device.