A device with a watchdog circuit

Abstract

The present invention provides a device with a watchdog circuit, comprising: a watchdog power supply, the watchdog power supply is used to provide a working voltage signal for the watchdog circuit; a watchdog circuit, the power supply port of the watchdog circuit is connected to the output end of the watchdog power supply; an enable circuit, the signal input end of the enable circuit is connected to the reset signal output end of the watchdog circuit, the output end of the enable circuit is connected to the reset signal input end of a system power circuit of the device with the watchdog circuit, the system power circuit is used to perform a reset operation when the reset signal is acquired; a delay circuit, the signal input end of the delay circuit is connected to the reset signal output end of the watchdog circuit, the output end of the delay circuit is connected to the reset pins of a main control circuit and other circuits with reset pins in the device with the watchdog circuit, thereby achieving complete protection of the circuits in the device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of electronic circuits, and in particular to a device with a watchdog circuit. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of electronic technology, the integration of ICs is getting higher and higher, the peripheral interface circuits are getting richer and richer, the software scale is getting larger and larger, and the processing power is increasing sharply, which leads to higher and higher requirements for the stability of electronic equipment. And it is required that electronic equipment can quickly recover from abnormalities after various unforeseen abnormalities occur, so as to minimize losses. In traditional electronic circuit equipment, our common abnormal recovery technology is to reset the watchdog. However, the main function of this type of conventional watchdog technology is to protect the software from abnormalities. When the software enters the abnormality and cannot respond to the watchdog normally, the watchdog circuit resets part of the circuit so that the system software can restart and run, so as to restore to normal. However, there are often many chips and circuits in the system circuit without clear reset control pins, which means that this type of chip cannot perform effective abnormal recovery when the watchdog is reset, and many abnormalities caused by hardware latches caused by harsh environments in industrial sites are also powerless by conventional watchdog technology. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a watchdog circuit with high reliability.

[0003] For example, in server product design, an independent BMC circuit is usually designed to monitor the power status of the server motherboard. The watchdog circuit is used to reset the BMC circuit. When an abnormality occurs in the service server, the BMC can reset and power on the server again. However, its disadvantage is that the BMC circuit is a relatively complex processor system. The BMC circuit itself also faces the challenge of traditional watchdog circuits. When the traditional watchdog circuit cannot restore the BMC abnormality, the entire system will be out of service, and staff will need to go to the site to troubleshoot. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, an embodiment of the present invention provides a device having a watchdog circuit applied thereto to achieve reliable protection of the device.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the embodiments of the present invention provide the following technical solutions:

[0006] A device using a watchdog circuit, comprising:

[0007] A watchdog power supply, wherein the watchdog power supply is used to provide an operating voltage signal for the watchdog circuit;

[0008] A watchdog circuit, wherein a power port of the watchdog circuit is connected to an output end of the watchdog power supply;

[0009] an enabling circuit, wherein a signal input terminal of the enabling circuit is connected to a reset signal output terminal of the watchdog circuit, an output terminal of the enabling circuit is connected to a reset signal input terminal of a system power circuit of the device to which the watchdog circuit is applied, and the system power circuit is used to perform a reset operation when the reset signal is obtained;

[0010] A delay circuit, wherein the signal input end of the delay circuit is connected to the reset signal output end of the watchdog circuit, and the output end of the delay circuit is connected to the reset pin of the main control circuit in the device with the watchdog circuit and other circuits with a reset pin.

[0011] Optionally, in the above-mentioned device with a watchdog circuit, the input end of the watchdog power supply is connected to the power input end of the device with a watchdog circuit.

[0012] Based on the above technical solution, the above solution provided by the embodiment of the present invention, when the watchdog generates a reset signal, the reset signal is transmitted to the main control circuit and other circuits with reset pins in the device using the watchdog circuit through the delay circuit, and these circuits are controlled to reset, and an enable signal for controlling the reset of the system power supply is generated through the enable circuit, and the system power supply is controlled to perform a reset operation, so that Figure 2 The circuit within the dotted box is completely protected by the watchdog circuit. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the provided drawings without paying creative work.

[0014] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the location of a watchdog circuit in a device in the prior art;

[0015] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a device with a watchdog circuit disclosed in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0017] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the position of a watchdog circuit in a device in the prior art, wherein: Figure 1 In the figure, VCC: system working input power; Power_EN: system power circuit enable control, converted from the reset signal, to ensure that the system power circuit can be reset by the watchdog control; VCC0: watchdog circuit power; VCC1: CPU power; VCC2: other circuits (with reset pin) circuit power; VCCn: other circuits (without reset pin) circuit power; Reset: reset signal generated by the watchdog, controlling the CPU and other circuits with reset pins;

[0018] Usually the types of reset of an electronic circuit system are:

[0019] Power-on reset: After the power is turned on, the internal or external circuits of various chips reset their respective subsystems, chips or subcircuits by monitoring the power supply voltage. It is the reset method with the highest coverage in electronic circuits and can cover all system circuits and chips.

[0020] Traditional watchdog reset: the watchdog circuit monitors the periodic dog feeding signal given by the CPU. When the dog feeding signal exceeds the set time and is not sent to the watchdog circuit, the watchdog circuit generates a reset and resets the chip with a reset pin;

[0021] exist Figure 1 Among the above-mentioned schemes disclosed:

[0022] Reset scope of watchdog: system CPU and other circuits with reset pins;

[0023] The rest of the circuits are not within the scope of the watchdog: system power circuit, other circuits without reset pin;

[0024] From this we can see the main limitations of traditional watchdog technology:

[0025] It only works on chips and circuits with reset control signals, and has no effect on chips and circuits without reset control signals.

[0026] The reset signal may not completely cover the internal circuit of the chip, which results in the uncontrolled circuit not being protected by the watchdog when the function is temporarily lost;

[0027] It only works when the hardware is intact and the software is abnormal. It is powerless against abnormalities such as hardware and software damage, hardware latching, and temporary loss of functions.

[0028] For any other abnormalities that cause the chip power supply circuit, clock, etc. to be disrupted, effective abnormal protection cannot be provided;

[0029] Unable to recover from power failure;

[0030] When an abnormality occurs in the system and needs to be resolved by powering on again, staff can only be arranged to go to the equipment site to power off and then power on the system, resulting in a long recovery time for the system under abnormal circumstances and high labor costs.

[0031] In view of the above problems, the present application discloses a device with a watchdog circuit, see Figure 2 , the device may include:

[0032] A watchdog power supply A, which is used to provide an operating voltage signal for the watchdog circuit;

[0033] A watchdog circuit B, wherein a power port of the watchdog circuit is connected to an output end of the watchdog power supply;

[0034] An enabling circuit C, wherein a signal input terminal of the enabling circuit is connected to a reset signal output terminal of the watchdog circuit, an output terminal of the enabling circuit is connected to a reset signal input terminal of a system power circuit of the device to which the watchdog circuit is applied, and the system power circuit is used to perform a reset operation when the reset signal is obtained;

[0035] A delay circuit D, wherein the signal input end of the delay circuit is connected to the reset signal output end of the watchdog circuit, and the output end of the delay circuit is connected to the reset pin of the main control circuit in the device with the watchdog circuit and other circuits with a reset pin.

[0036] Figure 2 The interpretation of each signal in is as follows:

[0037] VCC: system working input power;

[0038] Power_EN: System power circuit enable control, converted from the reset signal, to ensure that the system power circuit can be reset by the watchdog control;

[0039] VCC0: watchdog circuit power supply;

[0040] VCC1: CPU power supply;

[0041] VCC2: power supply for other circuits (with reset pin);

[0042] VCCn: power supply for other circuits (without reset pin);

[0043] Delay_Reset: The reset signal generated by the watchdog controls the CPU and other circuits with reset pins after a delay;

[0044] Watchdog_Clr: CPU feeds the watchdog circuit with a periodic dog-feeding signal. This signal must change the signal level within the agreed period time to inform the watchdog circuit that the CPU software is in a normal state. When the CPU software is abnormal, the CPU will not change the Watchdog_Clr state within the agreed period, and the watchdog circuit will generate a service; that is, when the watchdog circuit detects that the Watchdog_Clr state does not change within the agreed period, it generates and outputs a reset signal.

[0045] As can be seen from the above figure, when the watchdog generates a reset signal, the reset signal is transmitted to the main control circuit and other circuits with reset pins in the device using the watchdog circuit through the delay circuit, and these circuits are controlled to reset, and an enable signal for controlling the reset of the system power supply is generated through the enable circuit, and the system power supply is controlled to perform a reset operation, so that Figure 2 The circuit within the dotted box is completely protected by the watchdog circuit.

[0046] In the technical solution disclosed in the embodiment of the present application, the core is to place the watchdog circuit outside the system circuit, which can fully control all circuits of the protected system, even including the power circuit of the system, so as to achieve the maximum degree of abnormal protection of the system. The device can fully protect the monitored system and help it recover from abnormalities; and the device has the function of automatic power on and off, eliminating some abnormal faults that need to be re-powered on and off to eliminate. The watchdog is compatible with the interface between the traditional watchdog and the CPU, and there is no need to change the software.

[0047] This invention is used in application scenarios with high reliability of electrical equipment, such as network, computing, storage, industry, energy and other equipment that require hardware circuits. Its main function is to replace the traditional watchdog technology that only triggers system reset when an abnormality occurs. The new watchdog can fundamentally shut down the system and then power it on again, and completely power on and restart the system, helping the system to return to normal from various hardware or software abnormalities.

[0048] Furthermore, the input end of the watchdog power supply is connected to the power input end of the device to which the watchdog circuit is applied. Of course, the watchdog power supply may also be an independent power supply with its own power storage device.

[0049] In this specification, each embodiment is described in a progressive manner, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. The same or similar parts between the embodiments can be referred to each other. For the device disclosed in the embodiment, since it corresponds to the method disclosed in the embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the method part.

[0050] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables one skilled in the art to implement or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to one skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but rather to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A device using a watchdog circuit, characterized in that: include: A watchdog power supply, wherein the watchdog power supply is used to provide an operating voltage signal for the watchdog circuit; A watchdog circuit, wherein a power port of the watchdog circuit is connected to an output end of the watchdog power supply; an enabling circuit, wherein a signal input terminal of the enabling circuit is connected to a reset signal output terminal of the watchdog circuit, an output terminal of the enabling circuit is connected to a reset signal input terminal of a system power circuit of the device to which the watchdog circuit is applied, and the system power circuit is used to perform a reset operation when the reset signal is obtained; A delay circuit, wherein the signal input end of the delay circuit is connected to the reset signal output end of the watchdog circuit, and the output end of the delay circuit is connected to the reset pin of the main control circuit in the device with the watchdog circuit and other circuits with a reset pin.

2. The device using a watchdog circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The input end of the watchdog power supply is connected to the power input end of the device to which the watchdog circuit is applied.

Images