TWI633422B - Extendable host device and power management method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An extended host and its power management method. The power management method includes: detecting, by using at least one connection interface of the extended host, a connection status of the at least one expansion device; setting a power threshold according to the connection status; and if the power consumption value of the expansion host exceeds The power threshold value performs a system protection operation to reduce the system load of the expansion host.

Description

Expansion host and its power management method

The present invention relates to a power management technique, and more particularly to an expansion host and a power management method thereof.

Before the electronic device that needs to be powered by an external power source such as a desktop computer is shipped from the factory, a power supply safety upper limit value is set in the system of the electronic device. This power supply upper limit is used to ensure that the future power consumption of the electronic device will not exceed a predetermined power supply upper limit when it is operating with external power. Once the overall power consumption of the electronic device exceeds the upper limit of the power supply safety, the electronic device has a high probability of occurrence of problems such as crashing or even burning of the circuit.

In general, this power supply upper limit is a fixed value that the system engineer presets based on the estimated system load. However, for some electronic devices that are scalable and can cause large changes in system load, the fixed power supply safety upper limit does not meet the actual use requirements.

In view of this, the present invention provides an extended host and a power management method thereof, which can dynamically adjust a power threshold for triggering system protection operations.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a power management method for an expansion host, wherein the expansion host includes at least one connection interface to connect at least one expansion device, and the power management method includes: connecting via the at least one connection The interface detects a connection status of the at least one expansion device; sets a power threshold according to the connection status; and if a power consumption value of the expansion host exceeds the power threshold, performs a system protection operation to reduce the The system load of the augmented host.

An embodiment of the invention provides an expansion host that includes at least one connection interface and a power management circuit. The at least one connection interface is configured to connect at least one expansion device. The power management circuit is coupled to the at least one connection interface. The power management circuit detects a connection status of the at least one expansion device via the at least one connection interface, and sets a power threshold according to the connection status, and if the power consumption value of the expansion host exceeds the power source A threshold value, the power management circuit instructing to perform a system protection operation to reduce the system load of the augmented host.

Based on the above, the extended host of the present invention and its power management method can dynamically determine the power threshold based on the connection status of the expansion device. Once the power consumption value of the expansion host exceeds the power threshold, the system protection operation is performed to avoid a hazard. Compared with the traditional use of a fixed value as the power supply upper limit, the dynamically determined power threshold can be more in line with the current system expansion state, taking into account power saving and security.

The above described features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

1 is a schematic diagram of an expansion host, an expansion device, and an external power supply according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the expansion host 10 is a computer host that can operate independently and can input, calculate, and output data, such as a desktop computer or a notebook computer. In this embodiment, the expansion host 10 has at least a central processing unit (CPU), a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), various input/output (I/O) interfaces, and the like. The basic building blocks that make up the computer. In addition, in an embodiment, the expansion host 10 can also have advanced signal processing components such as display chips and/or wired/wireless communication chips.

In this embodiment, the expansion host 10 further has a connection interface 101 (also referred to as a first connection interface) and a connection interface 102 (also referred to as a second connection interface). The connection interfaces 101 and 102 are compatible with the Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) standard, the Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA) standard, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). 1394 standard, Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCI Express) standard, Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard, Ultra High Speed-I (UHS-I) interface standard, Super High-speed second-generation (UHS-II) interface standard, Memory Stick (MS) interface standard, Universal Flash Storage (UFS) interface standard, integrated drive electronic interface (Integrated) Device Electronics, IDE) standards or other suitable standards. In addition, the connection interface standards used by the connection interfaces 101 and 102 may be the same or different, and the invention is not limited.

The expansion unit 10 can be connected to the expansion device 11 (also referred to as a first expansion device) via the connection interface 101 and/or to the expansion device 12 (also referred to as a second expansion device) via the connection interface 102. In this embodiment, the expansion device 11 may include various display chips such as a video graphics array (VGA) display chip (also referred to as a VGA display card), and the storage device may include a CD player, a hard disk (HDD), and a solid state drive. Various storage devices such as (SSD) or solid state hybrid hard disk (SSHD). Thereby, after the expansion host 10 is connected to the expansion device 11 via the connection interface 101, the display wafer in the expansion device 11 can serve as a primary or secondary display chip of the expansion host 10 and provide additional video (image) computing functions. And/or as a video signal transmission interface. Alternatively, after the expansion host 10 is connected to the expansion device 12 via the connection interface 102, the storage device in the expansion device 12 can provide additional storage space for use by the expansion host 10. In addition, in an embodiment, at least one of the expansion devices 11 and 12 may further include other types of peripheral/external devices, such as a wired/wireless network interface card, etc., as long as the corresponding connection interface (ie, connection) is met. The specifications of the interface 101 or 102) and the functions provided are compatible with the expansion host 10.

On the other hand, the expansion main unit 10 is connected to the external power supply 13 to receive the power supply PW required for operation from the external power supply 13. For example, the external power source 13 can include one or more power adapters. After being connected to at least one of the expansion devices 11 and 12, the power source PW is also supplied to the connected expansion device and the remaining peripheral devices connected.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an extended host according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the expansion host 10 further has a power management circuit 21 connected to the connection interface 101 or 102. The power management circuit 21 detects the connection status of the expansion devices 11 and 12 via the connection interfaces 101 and 102, and sets a power threshold based on the measured connection conditions. This power threshold is a power safety upper limit used as the overall system load of the augmented host 10. During operation of the augmented host 10, the power management circuit 21 continuously monitors the system load of the augmented host 10 and calculates a power consumption value. For example, the system load of the expansion host 10 includes the power load of the expansion host 10 itself, the power load of the connected expansion devices (for example, the expansion devices 11 and/or 12), and the power supply of the remaining peripheral devices operating according to the power supply PW. load. In other words, this power consumption value can be used to represent the (overall) system load of the current augmented host 10.

If the power consumption value exceeds the power threshold, the power management circuit 21 issues a notification to instruct the expansion host 10 to perform a system protection operation to reduce the system load of the expansion host 10. For example, in an embodiment, in accordance with this notification, the central processor of the augmented host 10 can actively perform down-conversion to reduce its operating frequency. Alternatively, in an embodiment, this notification may also be communicated to the Basic Input Output System (BIOS) of the augmented host 10, while the basic input output system instructs the central processor to perform a down frequency. In addition, in an embodiment, according to the notification, the expansion host 10 turns off the power supply of at least one electronic component in the expansion host 10, and even shuts down the expansion host 10, thereby rapidly reducing the system load of the expansion host 10. . It should be noted that in other embodiments not mentioned, the system protection operation may also include other operations that may be used to reduce the system load of the augmented host 10, and are not limited to the above. Further, if the current power consumption value does not exceed the power threshold value, the power management circuit 21 does not issue the above notification.

In an embodiment, the expansion host 10 further includes a detection pin 201 (also referred to as a first detection pin) and a detection pin 202 (also referred to as a second detection pin). The detection pin 201 is connected to the connection interface 101 and the power management circuit 21. The detection pin 202 is connected to the connection interface 102 and the power management circuit 21. The power management circuit 21 can detect the voltage states of the detection pins 201 and 202 to determine the connection status of the expansion devices 11 and 12. For example, if the expansion devices 11 and 12 are not connected, the detection pins 201 and 202 may both be at a high level; if the expansion device 11 is connected but the expansion device 12 is not connected, the detection pin 201 may be at The low potential (pull low) and the detection pin 202 may be at a high potential; if the expansion device 12 is connected but the expansion device 11 is not connected, the detection pin 202 may be at a low potential and the detection pin 201 may be at a high potential. If the expansion devices 11 and 12 are connected, the detection pins 201 and 202 may both be at a low potential. Therefore, according to the voltage states of the detection pins 201 and 202, the power management circuit 21 can obtain the connection status of the expansion devices 11 and 12.

In an embodiment, the power management circuit 21 may select one of a plurality of threshold values (also referred to as candidate threshold values) as the currently used power threshold based on the connection status of the expansion devices 11 and 12. For example, the power threshold may be related to the total number, type, and/or power consumption of the connected expansion devices. For example, in one embodiment, the power threshold is positively related to the total number of connected expansion devices. For example, if the total number of expansion devices connected at time point A is greater than the total number of expansion devices connected at time point B, the power threshold value determined corresponding to time point A may be higher than corresponding to time point B. Determine the power threshold. Alternatively, in an embodiment, the power threshold may also be positively related to the power consumption of the connected expansion device. For example, if the power consumption of the expansion device 11 is higher than the power consumption of the expansion device 12, the power threshold used when the expansion device 11 is connected may be higher than (only) used when the expansion device 12 is connected. Power threshold value. Moreover, in an embodiment, the currently used power threshold may also be dynamically calculated according to an algorithm. For example, the total number of currently connected expansion devices can be substituted into this algorithm, and the output of this algorithm can be used as the power threshold for the current use.

In an embodiment, the power management circuit 21 includes an embedded controller 211, a logic circuit 212, and a comparison circuit 213. The embedded controller 211 can detect the voltage states of the detection pins 201 and 202 and generate a signal GPO. The signal GPO will present different signal states (eg, voltage states) corresponding to different voltage states of the detection pins 201 and 202. According to the signal GPO, the logic circuit 212 can generate the power threshold value PTV via a look-up table or dynamic calculation or the like. The comparison circuit 213 can compare the power consumption value PCV with the power threshold value PTV and pass back the comparison result to the embedded controller 211. The power consumption value PCV corresponds to the current (overall) system load of the expansion host 10. For example, the power consumption value PCV can be positively related to the system load of the current augmented host 10. That is, if the system load of the expansion host 10 is higher, the power consumption value PCV will be larger. If the comparison result shows that the power consumption value PCV exceeds the power threshold value PTV, the embedded controller 211 issues the above notification to instruct the execution of the system protection operation. On the other hand, if the comparison result shows that the power consumption value PCV does not exceed the power threshold PTV, the embedded controller 211 does not issue the above notification.

3 to 6 are schematic diagrams of setting a power threshold value according to various embodiments of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, in an embodiment, the extended host 10 stores a table (also referred to as a power threshold value table) 31. Table 31 describes a plurality of threshold values (i.e., candidate threshold values) V1 to V4, which correspond to connection conditions 1 to 4, respectively. For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 3, assuming that the expansion host 10 is not connected to any expansion device and the connection status 1 corresponds to the connection status, then the threshold value V1 corresponding to the connection status 1 is selected as the power threshold value. . That is, during the period when the expansion host 10 is not connected to any expansion device, the threshold value V1 is compared with the current power consumption value of the expansion host 10 to determine whether to perform the above system protection operation.

Referring to FIG. 4, assuming that the expansion host 10 is (only) connected to the expansion device 11 and the connection status 2 corresponds to the connection status, then the threshold value V2 corresponding to the connection status 2 is selected as the power threshold value. That is, during the expansion of the expansion host 10 (only) to the expansion device 11, the threshold value V2 is compared with the current power consumption value of the expansion host 10 to determine whether to perform the above system protection operation.

Referring to FIG. 5, assuming that the expansion host 10 is (only) connected to the expansion device 12 and the connection status 3 corresponds to the connection status, then the threshold value V3 corresponding to the connection status 3 is selected as the power threshold value. That is, during the expansion of the expansion host 10 (only) to the expansion device 12, the threshold value V3 is compared with the current power consumption value of the expansion host 10 to determine whether to perform the above system protection operation.

Referring to FIG. 6, it is assumed that the expansion host 10 is simultaneously connected to the expansion devices 11 and 12 and the connection status 4 corresponds to the connection status. At this time, the threshold value V4 corresponding to the connection status 4 is selected as the power threshold value. That is, while the expansion host 10 is simultaneously connected to the expansion devices 11 and 12, the threshold value V4 is compared with the current power consumption value of the expansion host 10 to determine whether to perform the above system protection operation.

In an embodiment of FIGS. 3-6, the threshold value V1 is less than the threshold value V2, the threshold value V2 is equal to the threshold value V3, and the threshold value V3 is less than the threshold value V4. For example, the threshold value V1 can be 65 watts (W), the threshold values V2 and V3 can be 90 watts, and the threshold value V4 can be 135 watts. However, it should be noted that in another embodiment, the threshold value V2 may not be equal to the threshold value V3, which is not limited by the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of an extended host and an expansion device according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 7 , the expansion host 70 , the expansion device 71 , and the expansion device 72 are the same or similar to the expansion host 10 , the expansion device 11 , and the expansion device 12 . In the present embodiment, the expansion host 70 can connect the expansion device 71 to the surface 701 of the expansion host 70 via the connection interface 101, and the expansion host 70 can connect the expansion device 72 to the surface 702 of the expansion host 70 via the connection interface 102. . More specifically, the surface 701 is the side of the expansion unit 70, and the surface 702 is the bottom surface of the expansion unit 70. From another point of view, after connecting the expansion device 71, the expansion device 71 is connected to the side of the expansion host 70; and after the expansion device 72 is connected, the expansion device 72 is connected to the expansion host 70 (with the expansion device 71) The bottom surface of the ). In one embodiment, the area of the bottom surface (or top surface) of the expansion device 72 is approximately equal to the sum of the area of the bottom surface of the expansion unit 70 and the area of the bottom surface of the expansion device 71. In an embodiment, the connection interface 101 is also considered to be disposed on the surface 701 (or side) of the expansion unit 70, and the connection interface 102 is considered to be disposed on the surface 702 (or the bottom surface) of the expansion unit 70.

It should be noted that although FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of the power management circuit 21 in one embodiment of the present invention, in another embodiment, some of the electronic components in the power management circuit 21 may be of other types. Electronic components are replaced as long as the same or similar functions are available. Alternatively, more electronic components can be added to the power management circuitry 21 to provide additional functionality, depending on the actual needs. In addition, the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 7 are examples in which two expansion devices are used as expansion devices of the expansion host. However, in another embodiment, the total number of expansion devices that can be connected to the augmented host and operate in conjunction with the augmented host can be more, and the total number of available power thresholds (or candidate thresholds) can also be More or less, the invention is not limited. Moreover, the appearance of the expansion type host and the expansion device in the embodiment of FIG. 7 is also only a range. In other embodiments not mentioned, the expansion host and the expansion device may have other different appearances, shapes and sizes, and the invention is not limited thereto.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a power management method according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 8, in step S801, the connection status of the expansion device is detected via the connection interface of the expansion host. In step S802, a power threshold value is set according to the connection status. In step S803, it is determined whether the power consumption value of the expansion host exceeds the power threshold. If so, in step S804, a system protection operation is performed to reduce the power consumption (or system load) of the expansion host. If no, the process returns to step S801.

However, the steps in FIG. 8 have been described in detail above, and will not be described again here. It should be noted that the steps in FIG. 8 can be implemented as multiple codes or circuits, and the present invention is not limited. In addition, the method of FIG. 8 may be used in combination with the above exemplary embodiments, or may be used alone, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

In summary, the expansion host of the present invention and its power management method can dynamically determine the power threshold based on the connection status of the expansion device. Once the power consumption value of the expansion host exceeds the power threshold, system protection operations are performed to reduce the overall system load of the expansion host to avoid hazards. Compared with the traditional use of a fixed value as the power supply upper limit, the dynamically determined power threshold can be more in line with the current system expansion state, taking into account power saving and security.

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.

10, 70‧‧‧Extended host
11, 12, 71, 72‧‧‧ expansion devices
13‧‧‧External power supply
101, 102‧‧‧ connection interface
21‧‧‧Power Management Circuit
211‧‧‧ embedded controller
212‧‧‧Logical Circuit
213‧‧‧Comparative circuit
201, 202‧‧‧Detection
31‧‧‧Form
701, 702‧‧‧ surface
S801~S804‧‧‧Steps

1 is a schematic diagram of an expansion host, an expansion device, and an external power supply according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an extended host according to an embodiment of the invention. 3 to 6 are schematic diagrams of setting a power threshold value according to various embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of an extended host and an expansion device according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a power management method according to an embodiment of the invention.

Claims (10)

A power management method for an expansion host, wherein the expansion host includes at least one connection interface to connect at least one expansion device, and the power management method includes: detecting, by the at least one connection interface, one of the at least one expansion device a connection status; if the connection status is a first connection status, setting a first threshold value to a power threshold value; if the connection status is a second connection condition, setting a second threshold value to the power threshold value And the first threshold is different from the second threshold; and if a power consumption value of the expansion host exceeds the power threshold, performing a system protection operation to reduce a system load of the expansion host. The power management method of claim 1, wherein the at least one connection interface comprises a first connection interface and a second connection interface, and the expansion host further includes a first detection pin and a second Detecting a pin, the first detecting pin is connected to the first connecting interface, the second detecting pin is connected to the second connecting interface, and detecting the connection of the at least one expansion device via the at least one connecting interface The step of detecting includes: detecting a voltage state of the first detecting pin and the second detecting pin to determine the connection status of the at least one expansion device. The power management method of claim 1, further comprising: selecting the power threshold from a plurality of candidate threshold values according to the connection status, Wherein the power threshold is positively related to a total number of connected expansion devices. The power management method of claim 1, wherein the system protection operation comprises: reducing an operating frequency of the processor of the expansion host or turning off a supply power of at least one electronic component of the expansion host. The power management method of claim 1, wherein the at least one connection interface comprises a first connection interface and a second connection interface, and the power management method further comprises: extending the expansion via the first connection interface The side of the mainframe is connected to a first expansion device of the at least one expansion device; and a second expansion device of the at least one expansion device is connected to the bottom surface of the expansion host via the second connection interface. An expansion host includes: at least one connection interface for connecting at least one expansion device; and a power management circuit for connecting the at least one connection interface, wherein the power management circuit detects the at least one extension via the at least one connection interface a connection condition of the device, if the connection condition is a first connection condition, setting a first threshold value to a power threshold value, and if the connection condition is a second connection condition, setting a second threshold value to the The power threshold is different, and the first threshold is different from the second threshold, and if a power consumption value of the extended host exceeds the power threshold, the power management circuit instructs to perform a system protection operation to reduce the expansion Type of host System load. The expansion host of claim 6, wherein the at least one connection interface comprises a first connection interface and a second connection interface, the expansion host further includes a first detection pin and a second Detecting a pin, the first detecting pin is connected to the first connecting interface, and the second detecting pin is connected to the second connecting interface, wherein the power management circuit detects the first detecting pin and the first 2. Detecting the voltage state of the pin to determine the connection condition of the at least one expansion device. The expansion host according to claim 6, wherein the power management circuit selects the power threshold from a plurality of candidate thresholds according to the connection status, wherein the power threshold is positively related to the connected expansion device a total number. The expansion host of claim 6, wherein the system protection operation comprises: reducing an operating frequency of the processor of the expansion host or turning off a supply power of at least one electronic component of the expansion host. The expansion host of claim 6, wherein the at least one connection interface comprises a first connection interface and a second connection interface, the first connection interface is disposed on a side of the expansion host, and the The two connection interfaces are disposed on the bottom surface of the expansion host.