TW201837729A - Emarker and associated cable and method - Google Patents

Abstract

EMarker and associated cable and method. The cable includes a configuration channel wire, the eMarker includes an active trigger circuit and a protection circuit coupled to the active trigger circuit and the configuration channel wire. When a second port connects a first port via the cable, if a predefined event happens, the active trigger circuit triggers the protection circuit to change an electric characteristic of the configuration channel wire, such that the first port detects a detachment of the second port.

Description

Electronic marker and associated cable and method

The present invention relates to an electronic marker and related cable and method, and more particularly to a C-type USB (USB type C; USB capable of actively and spontaneously protecting against abnormal events such as overcurrent, overvoltage and/or overtemperature. Department of Universal Serial Bus, universal serial bus) electronic marker and related cables and methods.

The C-type USB specification is an emerging and versatile interface standard that not only supports typical USB data interconnections, but also provides a variety of power transmission options to power from one electronic product to another, such as The mobile power is supplied to the mobile phone, or from the host computer to the display, and the like. The power transmission options for the Type C USB include: 5 volts x 0.5 amp power supply for USB specification version 2.0, 5 volts x 0.9 amp power supply for USB version 3.1, and 5 volts x1 for USB battery charging (Battery Charging) specification version 1.2. 5 amp power supply (type A USB connector), 5 volts x 1.5 amp power supply (C-type USB connector), 5 volts x 3.0 amp power supply (C-type USB connector), and USB Power Delivery specification Configured and powered up to 20 volts x 5 amps (C-type USB connector).

In order to respond to diverse power transmission options, a configuration channel conductor and an electronic marker can be provided in the C-type USB specification cable; when the cable is connected to a USB power transmission specification and can be used as a power supply source (source) The interface 发出 can send a request message on the configured channel wire, and the electronic marker in the cable can respond to the request message after receiving the request message, so that the interface 埠Information about the cable can be known, such as voltage, current and/or power that the cable can carry, withstand.

Since the power difference between the different power transmission options in the C-type USB specification is quite large (from less than 5 watts to the highest 100 watts), power supply security has also become a focus of attention.

For power supply security, when one interface as a power supply and another interface as a sink are connected to each other via a C-type USB cable, if both interfaces support USB power transfer specifications, Over-voltage, over-current warning messages are exchanged via the configuration channel wires in the cable. However, such power supply security countermeasures require both the power supply interface and the power receiving interface to support the USB power transfer specification, but the C-type USB specification does not force the interface to support the USB power transfer specification; One of the interface 受 and the power receiving interface does not support the USB power transmission specification, and this power supply security mechanism cannot be implemented at all.

To overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings of the conventional power supply safety mechanism, the present invention provides an electronic marker for a cable; the cable includes a configuration channel conductor. The electronic marker can include an active trigger circuit and a protection circuit. The protection circuit is coupled to the active trigger circuit and the configuration channel conductor. When a second interface is connected to a first interface via the cable, if a preset event occurs, the active trigger circuit triggers the protection circuit to change the electrical characteristics of the configuration channel lead to make the first interface埠 Detected that the second interface is not attached. In one embodiment, when the active trigger circuit triggers the protection circuit to change the electrical characteristics of the configuration channel conductor, the protection circuit is triggered to pull the voltage of the configuration channel conductor to exceed a predetermined open circuit voltage. In one embodiment, the cable can be a Type C USB cable.

In one embodiment, the electronic marker may further include a configuration channel communication circuit coupled to the configuration channel conductor for performing bi-phase mark coded (BMC) communication on the configuration channel conductor. . In one embodiment, the cable may further include a bus bar power wire, and the active trigger circuit is further coupled to the bus bar power wire to depend on the power transmission characteristics (such as current, voltage, and/or temperature of the bus bar power wire). ) Determine if the preset event has occurred. In one embodiment, the preset event may be one of the following events: an overvoltage protection event, an overcurrent protection event, an over temperature protection event, and an event reflected via impedance sensing.

The invention provides a cable comprising a configuration channel conductor and an active protection module. The active protection module can be coupled to the configuration channel wire. When a second interface is connected to a first interface via the cable, the active protection module changes the electrical characteristics of the configuration channel wire when a preset event occurs, so that the first interface detects The second interface is not attached. In one embodiment, when the active protection module changes the electrical characteristics of the configuration channel conductor, the voltage of the configuration channel conductor is pulled to exceed a predetermined open circuit voltage. In one embodiment, the cable can be a Type C USB cable. In one embodiment, the cable may further include a configuration channel communication circuit coupled to the configuration channel conductor for performing dual phase mask code communication on the configuration channel conductor. In an embodiment, the cable may further include a bus bar power wire, and the active protection module is further coupled to the bus bar power wire to determine whether the preset event occurs according to a power transmission characteristic of the bus bar power wire. . In one embodiment, the preset event may be at least one of the following events: an overvoltage protection event, an overcurrent protection event, an over temperature protection event, and an event reflected via impedance sensing.

The present invention provides a method for applying a cable, which may include: when a second interface is connected to a first interface via the cable, if a preset event occurs, changing the power of the configured channel wire The feature is such that the first interface detects that the second interface is not attached. In one embodiment, when the electrical characteristics of the configuration channel conductor are changed, the voltage of the configuration channel conductor is pulled to exceed a predetermined open circuit voltage. In one embodiment, the cable can be a Type C USB cable. In an embodiment, the method further comprises: performing dual phase mask coding communication on the configuration channel conductor. In an embodiment, the method may further include: determining whether the preset event occurs according to a power transmission characteristic of a bus bar power wire in the cable. In one embodiment, the preset event may be at least one of the following events: an overvoltage protection event, an overcurrent protection event, an over temperature protection event, and an event reflected via impedance sensing.

In order to better understand the above and other aspects of the present invention, the following detailed description of the embodiments and the accompanying drawings

Please refer to Figure 1. Figure 1 illustrates a cable 10 and an electronic marker 60 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The cable 10 can be a Type C USB cable for connecting the two interfaces 埠P1 and P2; the two interfaces 埠P1 and P2 can belong to two different electronic products (not shown). The cable 10 can include an electronic marker 60, a wire CC, at least one wire Vbus and at least one wire GND; wherein the wire Vbus is a bus bar power wire, the wire CC is a channel wire, and the wire GND is a ground wire.

The cable 10 can also include a plurality of data wires 12 for supporting USB data interconnection between the interfaces 埠P1 and P2, for example, supporting a pair of differences in high-speed interconnection in USB version 2.0. Signal wires, several sideband signal wires, and/or multiple pairs of differential signal wires that support USB version 3.1 SuperSpeed interconnection.

The interface 埠P1 may include pins p1a to p1d; the pin p1a may be a bus bar power pin Vbus under the C-type USB specification, the pin p1d may be a ground pin GND under the C-type USB specification; the pin p1b may be It is one of the pins CC1 and CC2 under the C-type USB specification, and the pin p1c is the other of the pins CC1 and CC2. Similarly, the interface 埠P2 may include the pins p2a to p2d; the pin p2a may be the bus power pin Vbus under the C-type USB specification, and the pin p2d may be the ground pin GND of the C-type USB specification; The pin p2b can be one of the pins CC1 and CC2 of the C-type USB specification, and the pin p2c is the other of the pins CC1 and CC2.

When the interface 埠P1 and the interface 埠P2 are connected to each other via the cable 10, the pin p1a of the interface 埠P1 can be coupled to the pin p2a of the interface 埠P2 via the wire Vbus, and the pin p1b of the interface 埠P1 can be coupled via the wire CC Connected to the pin p2b of the interface 埠P2, the pin p1d of the interface 埠P1 can be coupled to the pin p2d of the interface 埠P2 via the wire GND.

The isolation component 52 is coupled between the node n1 and the node n2, and the isolation component 54 is coupled to the node n2 and the isolation component 52 and 54 are disposed on the wire Vconn. Between n3. When the interfaces 埠P1 and P2 are connected to each other via the cable 10, the pin p1c of the interface 埠P1 can be coupled to the node n1, the pin p2c of the interface 埠P2 can be coupled to the node n3, and the isolation elements 52 and 54 can be avoided. An end-to-end traverse occurs between the legs p1c and p2c via the wire Vconn.

The cable 10 can also include two impedances 56 and 58. The impedance 56 is coupled between the node n1 and the node G on the wire GND, and the impedance 58 is coupled between the node n3 and the node G. When the cable 10 is connected to the interface 埠P1, the cable 10 can exhibit a terminating resistance between the nodes n1 and G by the impedance 56, such as the resistance Ra under the C-type USB specification. Similarly, when the cable 10 is connected to the interface 埠P2, the cable 10 can exhibit a terminating resistance between the nodes n3 and G by the impedance 58, such as the resistance Ra under the C-type USB specification. In one embodiment, the impedance 56 in FIG. 1 and the Ra of the impedance 58 may be the same impedance element; for example, the impedance 58 may be omitted.

The electronic marker 60 in the cable 10 can include a configuration channel communication circuit 50 coupled to the wire CC at the node n4. To implement the present invention, an active protection module 40 can also be included. In one embodiment, the channel communication circuit 50, the active protection module 40, and the isolation elements 52 and 54 and the impedances 56 and 58 are packaged in the same electronic marker wafer. In another embodiment, the configuration channel communication circuit 50 and the active protection module 40 can be packaged in the same electronic marker chip, and the isolation elements 52 and 54 and/or the impedances 56 and 58 can be external.

When the interfaces 埠P1 and P2 are connected via the cable 10, if one of the interfaces 埠P1 and P2 can be used as the power supply terminal and the other can be used as the power receiving terminal, the power supply terminal interface can transmit power to the power receiving terminal on the wire Vbus. Interface 埠. For convenience of explanation, the following assumption is that the interface 埠P1 is the power supply end, and the interface 埠P2 is the power receiving end.

As mentioned earlier, the power supply security mechanism under the USB power transfer specification requires the interface 埠P1 and P2 to support the USB power transfer specification to operate; if one of the interfaces does not support the USB power transfer specification, the power supply security mechanism cannot be executed. Furthermore, the power supply security mechanism of the USB power transfer specification does not take into account the protection of cables and electronic markers. Moreover, in the USB power transmission specification, the purpose of the electronic marker is to passively respond to the message after receiving the request message of the interface, and it is not possible to actively initiate any power supply security mechanism.

In order to overcome the above disadvantages of the USB power transmission specification (and the C-type USB specification), the electronic marker 60 of the present invention is provided with an active protection module 40, which can actively initiate the power supply security mechanism of the present invention. The active protection module 40 can include an active trigger circuit 20 and a protection circuit 30. The channel configuration communication circuit 50, the active trigger circuit 20 and the protection circuit 30 are also coupled to the wires Vconn and Vbus to draw power required for operation from the wire Vconn or the wire Vbus. The protection circuit 30 is coupled to the active trigger circuit 20 and coupled to the conductor CC at the node n4. Together with Figure 1, please refer to Figure 2 and Figures 3a to 3c. 2 is a flow diagram 200 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; electronic marker 60 in cable 10 can execute process 200 to implement an active initiation power supply security mechanism in accordance with the present invention. Figures 3a through 3c illustrate the operation of cable 10 and interfaces 埠 P1, P2. 3a to 3c are only one embodiment of the present invention, and any application that enables the configuration channel communication circuit 50 and the active protection module 40 in the electronic marker 60 to draw power and start operation can implement the power supply security mechanism in the present case. . In one embodiment, the power (power required for operation) of the electronic marker 60 can be provided by the wire Vconn or the wire Vbus. In another embodiment, the power receiving of the electronic marker 60 can be provided by an external battery or a charger. In the following embodiments, the power receiving of the electronic marker 60 is provided by the wire Vconn as an example for explanation.

As shown in Figure 3a, in the interface 埠P1 which can be used as the power supply terminal, the pins p1b and p1c are respectively coupled to a high voltage Vcc (such as 3.3 volt or 5 VDC) via the two internal components E1 and E2; The components E1 and E2 may be resistors (such as the resistor Rp mentioned in the C-type USB specification) or current sources (such as the current source Ip mentioned in the C-type USB specification). The interface 埠P1 monitors the voltages of the pins p1b and p1c to detect whether another interface 埠 is attached to the interface 埠P1. In Fig. 3a, the interface 埠P1 has been connected to the cable 10, but no other interface 连接 is connected to the interface 埠P1 via the cable 10. Since the node n1 coupled to the pin p1c has the impedance 56 coupled to the ground terminal GND and the ground terminal p1d, the voltage of the pin p1c is pulled low. However, on the other hand, the wire CC connected to the pin p1b is not coupled to the ground wire GND, so the voltage of the pin p1b is not pulled low and is greater than a predetermined open circuit voltage (such as the C-type USB specification). The voltage mentioned in the vOPEN). The interface 埠P1 will judge that no other interface is attached to the interface 埠P1 because the voltage of the pin p1b is greater than the preset open circuit voltage; if not connected, the interface 埠P1 will not supply power (supply voltage and current) to the wire Vbus. .

In Fig. 3b, the interface 埠P2, which can be used as the power receiving end, is connected to the interface 埠P1 via the cable 10. In the interface 埠P2, the pins p2b and p2c are respectively coupled to the ground terminal p2d via the two internal impedances Z1 and Z2; the internal impedances Z1 and Z2 may be resistors (such as the resistor Rd mentioned in the C-type USB specification). Therefore, when the interface 埠P2 is connected to the interface 埠P1 via the cable 10, the wire CC coupled to the pin p1b is coupled to the ground wire GND coupled to the pin p2d via the internal impedance Z1 of the pin p2b. The voltage of the pin p1b is pulled lower than the aforementioned preset open circuit voltage. When the interface 埠P1 detects that the voltage of the pin p1b is less than the preset open circuit voltage, it will judge that another interface 埠P2 is attached to the interface 埠P1. Then, the interface 埠P1 can transmit power to the interface 埠P2 via the wire Vbus in the cable 10; and the interface 埠P1 or P2 can also be supplied to the wire Vconn via the node n1 or n3, so that the configuration channel in the electronic marker 60 The communication circuit 50 and the active protection module 40 can draw power from the wire Vconn to begin operation, and execute the process 200 of FIG. The main steps in the process 200 can be described as follows.

Step 202: As shown in FIG. 3b, when the interface 埠P1 is powered to the interface 埠P2 via the cable 10, the electronic marker 60 can start the process 200; the active protection module 40 can proceed to step 204 to implement the present invention. Power supply security mechanism. Furthermore, the configuration channel communication circuit 50 can also perform dual-phase mask coding communication under the USB power transmission specification on the wire CC, including: the SOP' (SOP is start of packet) packet sent by the receiving interface 埠P1 or P2, and Send the SOP' packet as a response. However, it should be emphasized that the power supply security mechanism of the present invention does not need to be implemented and started after the packet transmission between the interfaces 埠P1 and P2; as long as the electronic marker 60 receives the power supply, the power supply security mechanism of the present invention can be independently implemented, regardless of Whether packet transmission occurs between the interfaces 埠P1 and P2.

Step 204: If a preset event 22 (FIG. 1) occurs, the active trigger circuit 20 in the active protection module 40 may trigger the protection circuit 30 to proceed to step 206, otherwise return to step 204. In one embodiment, the preset event 22 reflects a power transmission anomaly event on the conductor Vbus. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the preset event 22 may include an overvoltage protection event 24a, an overcurrent protection event 24b, an internal over temperature protection event 24c, an external over temperature protection event 24d, and an event 24e reflected by the impedance sensing. and many more. Once any of the above events occur, the active protection module 40 may proceed to step 206.

In order to detect an abnormal event, the active trigger circuit 20 can couple the wire Vbus to the node n5 to determine whether the preset event 22 occurs according to the transmission characteristics of the wire Vbus (such as current, voltage, and/or temperature, etc.). For example, if the voltage of the wire Vbus is too high (above a safe voltage value), the active trigger circuit 20 can determine that the overvoltage protection event 24a has occurred. If the current of the wire Vbus is too large (above a safe current value), the active trigger circuit 20 can determine that the overcurrent protection event 24b has occurred. Moreover, the electronic marker 60 can sense the temperature according to its own semiconductor characteristic change, for example, an internal temperature sensor is built in the electronic marker 60 to sense the internal temperature of the wafer. If the temperature is too high (above an internal safe temperature), the active trigger circuit 20 can determine that an internal over temperature event 24c has occurred. In one embodiment, the electronic marker 60 can also be connected to a temperature sensing component (such as a thermistor, not shown) outside the wafer to sense the temperature; if the temperature is too high (above a safe temperature), the active trigger Circuit 20 can determine that an external over temperature event 24d has occurred. In one embodiment, the electronic marker 60 can detect the transmission characteristic of the wire Vbus via an impedance (not shown) coupled to the wire Vbus; for example, if the voltage across the impedance is too high, the current representing the wire Vbus is too large. The active trigger circuit 20 can determine that the event 24e reflected by the impedance sensing has occurred.

Step 206 (Fig. 2): As shown in Fig. 3c, the active trigger circuit 20 triggers the guard circuit 30 when the preset event 22 occurs, and the guard circuit 30 changes the electrical characteristics of the wire CC when triggered, so that The power supply interface 埠P1 detects that the power receiving interface 埠P2 is separated and not connected, even though the interfaces 埠P1 and P2 are actually connected to each other via the cable 10. In one embodiment, the guard circuit 40 can pull the voltage of the conductor CC beyond the preset open circuit voltage mentioned in Figures 3a, 3b (such as the voltage vOPEN defined in the Type C USB specification). Since the voltage vOPEN defined in the C-type USB specification may be 1.65 volts or 2.75 volts, in an embodiment of step 206, when a preset event occurs, the protection circuit 40 causes the voltage of the wire CC to be higher than a plurality of pre-predictions. Set the maximum of the open circuit voltage, for example above 2.75 volts. In an embodiment, the protection circuit 40 can couple the wire CC to the wire Vconn or Vbus when the active trigger circuit 20 is triggered, and the voltage of the wire CC is greater than the preset open circuit voltage by the voltage of the wire Vconn or Vbus, because the power is supplied to the wire. The voltage of Vconn or Vbus will be greater than the preset open circuit voltage.

As illustrated in Figure 3a, when the interface 埠P1 detects that the voltage of the pin p1b is higher than the preset open circuit voltage, it will be judged as “there is no other interface 埠 attached to the interface 埠P1” and is not attached. Will not supply power to the wire Vbus. Therefore, in FIG. 3c, when the preset event occurs to cause the protection circuit 30 to pull up the voltage of the wire CC beyond the preset open circuit voltage, the interface 埠P1 also detects that the voltage of the pin p1b is higher than the preset. The open circuit voltage is determined, and it is judged that the interface 埠P2 is separated and not connected, even though the interface 埠P2 is still connected to the interface P1 via the cable 10.

Step 208: When the power supply interface 埠P1 detects that the power receiving interface 埠P2 is separated and not connected, the interface 埠P1 stops supplying power to the wire Vbus, so that the power transmission abnormal event does not continue, and the power supply safety mechanism of the present invention is implemented. Flow 200 can also end. When the power supply interface 埠P1 stops transmitting power on the wire Vbus, the power on the wire Vconn is also stopped, causing the electronic marker 60 to stop operating. Thereafter, since the interface 埠P2 is still connected to the interface 埠P1 via the cable 10, the interface 埠P1 will re-sense that the interface 埠P2 has been attached and restart the power supply on the wire Vbus, and the process 200 can be re-executed. In an embodiment, the cable 10 is re-plugged to the interface 埠P1 and the interface 埠P2, and the process 200 of FIG. 2 is re-executed.

Referring to Figure 4, illustrated is a cable 10b and electronic markers 60, 60b in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The cable 10b can be a C-type USB cable for connecting the two interfaces 埠P1 and P2; the two interfaces 埠P1 and P2 can belong to two different electronic products (not shown). The cable 10b may include electronic markers 60 and 60b, a wire CC, at least one wire Vbus and at least one wire GND; wherein the wire Vbus is a bus bar power wire, the wire CC is a configuration channel wire, and the wire GND is a ground wire . The cable 10b may also include a plurality of data wires 12 for supporting USB data interconnection between the interfaces 埠P1 and P2, for example, a pair of differential signal wires supporting a high-speed interconnection in the USB version 2.0, and a plurality of wires. Sideband signal conductors and/or multiple pairs of differential signal conductors that support USB version 3.1 overspeed interconnect.

The interface 埠P1 may include pins p1a to p1d; the pin p1a may be a bus bar power pin Vbus under the C-type USB specification, the pin p1d may be a ground pin GND under the C-type USB specification; the pin p1b may be It is one of the pins CC1 and CC2 under the C-type USB specification, and the pin p1c is the other of the pins CC1 and CC2. Similarly, the interface 埠P2 may include the pins p2a to p2d; the pin p2a may be the bus power pin Vbus under the C-type USB specification, and the pin p2d may be the ground pin GND of the C-type USB specification; The pin p2b can be one of the pins CC1 and CC2 of the C-type USB specification, and the pin p2c is the other of the pins CC1 and CC2.

When the interface 埠P1 and the interface 埠P2 are connected to each other via the cable 10b, the pin p1a of the interface 埠P1 can be coupled to the pin p2a of the interface 埠P2 via the wire Vbus, and the pin p1b of the interface 埠P1 can be coupled via the wire CC Connected to the pin p2b of the interface 埠P2, the pin p1d of the interface 埠P1 can be coupled to the pin p2d of the interface 埠P2 via the wire GND.

Furthermore, spacer elements 52 and 52b may be included in the interior of cable 10b. The isolation component 52 is disposed on a wire Vconn and coupled between the node n1 and the node n2. The isolation component 52b is disposed on a wire VconnB and coupled between the node n1b and the node n2b. When the interface 埠P1 and the interface 埠P2 are connected to each other via the cable 10b, the pin p1c of the interface 埠P1 can be coupled to the node n1, and the pin p2c of the interface 埠P2 can be coupled to the node n1b.

Impedances 56 and 56b may also be included in cable 10b. The impedance 56 is coupled between the node n1 and the node G on the wire GND, and the impedance 56b is coupled between the node n1b and the node Gb on the wire GND. Impedances 56 and 56b can be matched. When the cable 10b is connected to the interface 埠P1, the cable 10b can exhibit a terminating resistance between the nodes n1 and G by the impedance 56, such as the resistance Ra under the C-type USB specification. Similarly, when the cable 10b is connected to the interface 埠P2, the cable 10b can exhibit a terminating resistance between the nodes n1b and Gb by the impedance 56b, such as the resistance Ra under the C-type USB specification.

The electronic marker 60 in the cable 10b can include a configuration channel communication circuit 50 coupled to the wire CC at the node n4. To implement the present invention, an active protection module 40 can also be included. Similarly, the electronic marker 60b can include a configuration channel communication circuit 50b coupled to the wire CC at the node n4b. To implement the present invention, an active protection module 40 can also be included. The active protection module 40 can include an active trigger circuit 20 and a protection circuit 30. The active protection module 40b can include an active trigger circuit 20b and a protection circuit 30b. The channel configuration communication circuit 50, the active trigger circuit 20 and the protection circuit 30 are coupled to the wires Vconn and Vbus to draw power required for operation from the wire Vconn or the wire Vbus. The protection circuit 30 is also coupled to the active trigger circuit 20 and coupled to the conductor CC at the node n4. The protection circuit 30b is also coupled to the active trigger circuit 20b and coupled to the conductor CC at the node n4b. The channel configuration communication circuit 50b, the active trigger circuit 20b and the protection circuit 30b are coupled to the wires VconnB and Vbus to draw power required for operation from the wire VconnB or the wire Vbus. 4 is only one embodiment of the present invention, and any application that enables the configuration channel communication circuits 50 and 50b in the electronic markers 60 and 60b and the active protection modules 40 and 40b to draw power to start operation can implement the present case. The power supply security mechanism. In one embodiment, the power receiving of the electronic markers 60 and 60b can be provided by the wire Vconn or the wire Vbus. In another embodiment, the power receiving of the electronic markers 60 and 60b can be provided by an external battery or a charger. In the following embodiments, the power receiving of the electronic markers 60 and 60b is provided by the wires Vconn and VconnB as an example for explanation.

In one embodiment, the method is implemented in accordance with FIG. 4-38 of the C-type USB specification version 1.2 and the related description. Steps 204 and 206 in FIG. 2 are performed by at least one of the active protection modules 40 and 40b. When the interfaces 埠P1 and P2 are connected to each other via the cable 10b, one of the interfaces 埠P1 and P2 can transmit power to the other interface via the wire Vbus in the cable 10b, and the electronic marker 60 and the electronic marker 60b can Only one (first connected to the interface 埠) will draw power so that one of the corresponding active protection modules 40 and 40b can perform steps 204 and 206 in FIG. The active trigger circuit 20 (or 20b) can be coupled to the wire Vbus at the node n5 (or n5b) to determine whether a power transmission abnormality event occurs according to the transmission characteristics of the wire Vbus (such as current, voltage, temperature, etc.), and when an abnormal event occurs. (Step 204) Triggering the protection circuit 30 (or 30b) to cause the protection circuit 30 (or 30b) to pull up the voltage of the conductor CC to exceed the preset open circuit voltage (step 206), so that the power supply interface is in the two interfaces, and the actual phase is still When connected, it detects that it is not connected, and then stops the power supply on the wire Vbus, so that the abnormal event does not continue. It is sufficient for the two active protection modules 40 and 40b to implement the power supply safety mechanism of the present invention as long as at least one of them can cause the voltage of the wire CC to exceed the preset open circuit voltage when an abnormal event occurs.

In another embodiment (not shown), it can be implemented according to FIG. 5-7 of the C-type USB specification version 1.2 and related descriptions, so that both the active protection modules 40 and 40b can simultaneously perform the operations in FIG. Steps 204 and 206.

In summary, the present invention enables the electronic marker and the cable to have an active power supply security mechanism, and can actively trigger the protection mechanism in response to the power transmission abnormal event, so that the abnormal event does not continue, thereby suppressing the abnormal event. Therefore, the electronic marker and cable of the present invention are not limited to the passive function under the USB power transmission specification, and are not only passively responding to the message after receiving the request message of the interface. Compared with the existing power supply security mechanism under the USB power transmission specification, the interfaces 埠P1 and P2 all support the USB power transmission specification. The electronic marker and cable of the present invention do not support the USB power transmission specification even in the interfaces 埠P1 and P2. In the case of the situation, the power supply safety can still be actively maintained. Moreover, the present invention not only protects the two interface ports connected via the cable, but also protects the cable and the electronic marker itself.

In conclusion, the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, but it is not intended to limit the present invention. A person skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

10, 10b‧‧‧ cable

12‧‧‧Information wire

20, 20b‧‧‧Active trigger circuit

22‧‧‧Predetermined events

24a‧‧‧Overvoltage protection event

24b‧‧‧Overcurrent protection event

24c‧‧‧Internal over temperature protection event

24d‧‧‧External over temperature protection event

24e‧‧‧Events reflected by impedance sensing

30, 30b‧‧‧ protective circuit

40, 40b‧‧‧ active protection module

50, 50b‧‧‧Configure channel communication circuit

52, 54, 52b‧‧‧Isolation components

56, 58, 56b‧‧‧ impedance

60, 60b‧‧‧Electronic marker

CC, Vbus, GND, Vconn, VconnB‧‧‧ wires

P1, P2‧‧‧ interface埠

P1a-p1d, p2a-p2d‧‧‧ pin

N1-n5, G, n1b-n5b, Gb‧‧‧ nodes

200‧‧‧ Process

202-208‧‧‧Steps

E1, E2‧‧‧ internal components

Z1, Z2‧‧‧ internal impedance

Vcc, vOPEN‧‧‧ voltage

Figure 1 illustrates a cable and electronic marker in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 illustrates a flow chart in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Figures 3a through 3c illustrate the operation of the cable, electronic marker and interface port of Figure 1. Figure 4 illustrates a cable and electronic marker in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (21)

An electronic marker (eMarker) for a cable; the cable includes a configuration channel wire, the electronic marker includes: an active trigger circuit; and a protection circuit coupled Connected to the active trigger circuit and the configuration channel conductor; wherein when a second interface is connected to a first interface via the cable, if a preset event occurs, the active trigger circuit triggers the protection circuit to change The electrical characteristics of the channel conductor are configured such that the first interface detects that the second interface is not detached. The electronic marker of claim 1, wherein when the active trigger circuit triggers the protection circuit to change an electrical characteristic of the configuration channel conductor, the protection circuit is triggered to pull the voltage of the configuration channel conductor to exceed a pre-control Set the open circuit voltage. An electronic marker as claimed in claim 1 wherein the cable is a Type C USB cable. The electronic marker of claim 1, further comprising: a configuration channel communication circuit coupled to the configuration channel conductor for performing bi-phase mask coding (BMC, bi-phase mark) on the configuration channel conductor Coded) communication. The electronic marker of claim 1, wherein the cable further comprises a busbar power wire, and the active trigger circuit is further coupled to the busbar power wire to determine the power transmission characteristic of the busbar power wire. Whether the preset event has occurred. For example, the electronic marker of claim 1 of the patent scope, wherein the preset event is an overvoltage protection event. For example, the electronic marker of claim 1 is wherein the preset event is an overcurrent protection event. For example, the electronic marker of claim 1 of the patent scope, wherein the preset event is a temperature protection event. The electronic marker of claim 1, wherein the preset event is an event reflected by impedance sensing. a cable includes: a configuration channel conductor; and an active protection module coupled to the configuration channel conductor; wherein, when a second interface is connected to a first interface via the cable, the active protection The module changes the electrical characteristics of the configuration channel wire when a preset event occurs, so that the first interface detects that the second interface is not attached. The cable of claim 10, wherein when the active protection module changes the electrical characteristics of the configuration channel conductor, the voltage of the configuration channel conductor is raised to exceed a predetermined open circuit voltage. The cable of the tenth item of the patent application is a type C USB cable. The cable of claim 10, further comprising: a configuration channel communication circuit coupled to the configuration channel conductor for performing dual phase mask coding communication on the configuration channel conductor. The cable of claim 10 further includes a bus bar power wire, and the active protection module is further coupled to the bus bar power wire to determine whether the preset event is determined according to a power transmission characteristic of the bus bar power wire occur. The cable of claim 10, wherein the preset event is at least one of the following events: an overvoltage protection event, an overcurrent protection event, an over temperature protection event, and an impedance sensing event. A method for applying a cable includes: when a second interface is connected to a first interface via the cable, if a predetermined event occurs, changing an electrical characteristic of the configured channel wire to enable the The first interface 埠 detects that the second interface is not attached. The method of claim 16, wherein when the electrical characteristics of the configuration channel conductor are changed, the voltage of the configuration channel conductor is raised to exceed a predetermined open circuit voltage. The method of claim 16, wherein the cable is a Type C USB cable. The method of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises: performing dual phase mask code communication on the configured channel conductor. The method of claim 16, wherein the cable further comprises a busbar power conductor, and the method further comprises: determining whether the preset event occurs according to a power transmission characteristic of the busbar power conductor. The method of claim 16, wherein the preset event is at least one of the following events: an overvoltage protection event, an overcurrent protection event, an over temperature protection event, and an event reflected via impedance sensing. .