Sensor circuit, microphone sensor and electronic cigarette

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a sensor circuit, a microphone sensor and an electronic cigarette. The microphone sensor includes an oscillation circuit, a control circuit, a counting circuit, a comparison circuit, and a signal input interface. The first input terminal of the control circuit is connected to the SWP interface of the microphone sensor, the second input terminal of the control circuit is connected to the oscillation circuit, the input terminal of the counting circuit is connected to the output terminal of the control circuit, the output terminal of the counting circuit is connected to the first input terminal of the comparison circuit, the second input terminal of the comparison circuit is connected to the signal input interface, and the output terminal of the comparison circuit is connected to the storage device of the microphone sensor; wherein, the control circuit is configured to obtain a first signal according to the SWP signal transmitted by the SWP interface and the oscillation signal output by the oscillation circuit, and output the first signal to the counting circuit; the counting circuit is configured to count the first signal to obtain a second signal and output the second signal to the comparison circuit; the comparison circuit is configured to compare the second signal with a reference signal to obtain a digital electrical signal and output the digital electrical signal to the storage device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the technical field of sensors, and more particularly, to a sensor circuit, a microphone sensor, and an electronic cigarette. Background Art

[0002] In practical applications, an electronic cigarette uses a microphone sensor to sense whether a user has a smoking action. The interface of the most basic microphone sensor generally only has an output interface, a power supply interface, and a ground interface. However, with the diversification of electronic cigarette products, the requirements for the microphone sensor are increasing. For example, during the assembly process of the entire electronic cigarette unit, the assembler needs to adjust the parameters of the storage device of the microphone sensor, such as adjusting the inhalation trigger threshold, changing the maximum time setting for driving the heating wire, etc. This requires adding a data communication protocol function and its pins to the microphone sensor to meet the need for changing the settings of the microphone sensor.

[0003] The basic requirements of the data communication protocol are the transmission of clock / frequency signals and data signals. Currently, the data communication methods used in the market are mostly SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) or I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit). However, the number of output pins for its communication protocol encapsulation requires 4 - pins for the SPI interface, namely 1 - pin enable pin, 1 - pin clock / frequency pin, and 2 - pins data signal pins. At the same time, the I2C interface requires 2 - pins, namely 1 - pin clock / frequency pin and 1 - pin data signal pin. The more the number of output pins for data communication, the more packaging pins for the IC or finished product, that is, the cost increases. In addition, the more pins there are, the more pins need to be re - processed, which may also reduce the product yield. Summary of the Invention

[0004] An object of embodiments of the present disclosure is to provide a new technical solution for a sensor circuit.

[0005] According to a first aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, a sensor circuit is provided. The microphone sensor includes an oscillation circuit, a control circuit, a counting circuit, a comparison circuit, and a signal input interface.

[0006] A first input end of the control circuit is connected to the SWP interface of the microphone sensor, a second input end of the control circuit is connected to the oscillation circuit, an input end of the counting circuit is connected to an output end of the control circuit, an output end of the counting circuit is connected to a first input end of the comparison circuit, a second input end of the comparison circuit is connected to the signal input interface, and an output end of the comparison circuit is connected to the storage device of the microphone sensor.

[0007] Among them, the control circuit is used to obtain a first signal according to the SWP signal transmitted by the SWP interface and the oscillation signal output by the oscillation circuit, and output the first signal to the counting circuit;

[0008] The counting circuit is used to count the first signal to obtain a second signal and output the second signal to the comparison circuit;

[0009] The comparison circuit is used to compare the second signal with a reference signal to obtain a digital electrical signal and output the digital electrical signal to the storage device.

[0010] Optionally, the comparison circuit is used to sequentially output the digital electrical signal to the storage device.

[0011] Optionally, the control circuit is a gate circuit.

[0012] Optionally, the gate circuit is an AND gate circuit.

[0013] Optionally, the oscillation signal is a periodic signal.

[0014] According to a second aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a microphone sensor is provided. The microphone sensor includes a microphone and a chip. The microphone is connected to the chip. The chip includes a storage device, an SWP interface, and the sensor circuit as described in the first aspect above. The input end of the sensor circuit is connected to the SWP interface, and the output end of the sensor circuit is connected to the storage device.

[0015] Optionally, the chip further includes a power supply interface, an output interface, and a ground interface.

[0016] Optionally, the SWP interface and the output interface are the same interface.

[0017] According to a third aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronic cigarette is provided. The electronic cigarette includes a power supply, a switch circuit, an atomizer, and the microphone sensor as described in the first aspect above. The power supply is connected to the input end of the switch circuit, the output end of the switch circuit is connected to the atomizer, and the microphone sensor is connected to the control end of the switch circuit.

[0018] One beneficial effect of the embodiments of the present disclosure is that the SWP signal representing the parameter to be written is received through the SWP interface of the microphone sensor and transmitted to the control circuit. The control circuit obtains a first signal based on the SWP signal and the oscillation signal output by the oscillation circuit and outputs it to the counting circuit. The counting circuit counts the first signal to obtain a second signal and outputs it to the comparison circuit. The comparison circuit compares the second signal with the reference signal to obtain a digital electrical signal representing the parameter to be written and inputs it into the storage device of the microphone sensor. This setting can save the microphone sensor from adding more pins for data communication, saving pin costs and improving product yield.

[0019] Other features and advantages of the present specification will become clear through the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments of the present specification with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The drawings incorporated in the specification and constituting a part of the specification illustrate embodiments of the present specification and, together with the description, are used to explain the principles of the present specification.

[0021] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a sensor circuit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a sensor circuit according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of signal output according to an example of the present disclosure;

[0024] Figure 4 is a signal output waveform diagram according to another example of the present disclosure;

[0025] Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a microphone sensor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0026] Figure 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic cigarette according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0027] Now, various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that: Unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangements of components and steps, numerical expressions, and numerical values set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the present disclosure, its application, or its use.

[0029] Technologies, methods, and devices known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, such technologies, methods, and devices should be considered as part of the specification.

[0030] In all examples shown and discussed herein, any specific values should be construed as merely exemplary and not as a limitation. Thus, other examples of the exemplary embodiments may have different values.

[0031] It should be noted that like reference numerals and letters refer to like items in the following figures, and thus, once an item is defined in one figure, further discussion thereof is not required in subsequent figures.

[0032] <Sensor Circuit Embodiment>

[0033] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , which is a schematic diagram of the circuit structure of a sensor circuit provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1 , the sensor circuit 10 includes an oscillation circuit 110, a control circuit 120, a counting circuit 130, a comparison circuit 140, and a signal input interface. The first input terminal of the control circuit 120 is connected to the SWP interface of the microphone sensor, and the second input terminal of the control circuit 120 is connected to the oscillation circuit 110. The input terminal of the counting circuit 130 is connected to the output terminal of the control circuit 120, the output terminal of the counting circuit 130 is connected to the first input terminal of the comparison circuit 140, the second input terminal of the comparison circuit 140 is connected to the signal input interface N-set, and the output terminal of the comparison circuit 140 is connected to the storage device of the microphone sensor.

[0034] The single-wire connection protocol (SWP) interface of the microphone sensor uses a single-bus communication protocol, which uses only a single signal line to transmit both clock / frequency signals and data signals, and the data transmission is bidirectional, having many advantages such as saving I / O pin resources, simple structure, and low cost. The SWP signal representing the parameter to be written transmitted by the host computer can be received through the SWP interface of the microphone sensor.

[0035] Refer to Figure 3For the SWP signal shown, the host computer transmits m pieces of data in one cycle time (1 cycle time), which can be divided into D1 to Dm. Here, m can be 8-bit or 16-bit data, and this data is the parameter to be written. The On-duty is divided into On-duty1 and On-duty2, and (On-duty2) / (On-duty1)≥n, where n is a natural number or an integer greater than 1, and n can usually be taken as 3. Among them, On-duty1 is a clock / frequency signal, and the detection method of the clock / frequency signal can be that there is a cycle of On-duty1 within a fixed period of time Period T. The judgment of whether the transmitted data Data is "0" or Data is "1" is the output of the sensor circuit in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the signal of the single-wire connection protocol SWPOn-duty1 can be judged as a digital signal of "0", and the signal of On-duty2 can be judged as a digital signal of "1". That is to say, through the sensor circuit in the embodiment of the present application, the data transmitted through the single-wire connection protocol SWP can be decoded into a digital signal.

[0036] In this embodiment, the microphone sensor further includes a power supply interface VCC, an output interface OUT, and a ground interface GND.

[0037] In one example, an SWP interface can be added to the microphone sensor product, and this SWP interface is specifically used for data communication. For example, the microphone sensor product in the prior art has 3-pin leads, namely the power supply interface VCC, the output interface OUT, and the ground interface GND. While the microphone sensor product in the embodiment of the present application has 4-pin leads, namely the power supply interface VCC, the output interface OUT, the ground interface GND, and the data communication interface SWP.

[0038] In one example, the SWP interface and the output interface OUT are the same interface. That is to say, the SWP interface and the output interface OUT are shared, so the number of pins of the microphone sensor remains unchanged, and the product itself has an additional data communication function.

[0039] The oscillator circuit (Oscillator) 110 is used to generate an oscillation signal and output it to the control circuit 120. This oscillation signal is a periodic signal OSC, and this periodic signal OSC refers to Figure 4 the OSC signal shown.

[0040] The control circuit 120 can be a gate circuit. For example, it can be Figure 2The AND gate circuit shown. The AND gate circuit has the following characteristics: when a logic high level is input to the first input terminal of the AND gate circuit, a logic high level is input to the second input terminal of the AND gate circuit, and a logic high level is output at the output terminal of the AND gate circuit; when a logic high level is input to the first input terminal of the AND gate circuit, a logic low level is input to the second input terminal of the AND gate circuit, and a logic low level is output at the output terminal of the AND gate circuit; when a logic low level is input to the first input terminal of the AND gate circuit, a logic high level is input to the second input terminal of the AND gate circuit, and a logic low level is output at the output terminal of the AND gate circuit; when a logic low level is input to the first input terminal of the AND gate circuit, a logic low level is input to the second input terminal of the AND gate circuit, and a logic low level is output at the output terminal of the AND gate circuit. The control circuit 120 is used to obtain the first signal A-OUT according to the SWP signal transmitted by the SWP interface and the oscillation signal OSC output by the oscillation circuit 110, and output it to the counting circuit 130. The obtained first signal refers to Figure 4 as shown in the A-OUT signal, referring to Figure 4 it can be seen that the A-OUT signal can be divided into signals of a periods and signals of b periods, and a and b are related to the on-duty of the SWP signal.

[0041] The counting circuit 130 can be a number counter. The counting circuit 130 is used to count the first signal to obtain the second signal C-out signal and output it to the comparison circuit 140. The obtained second signal refers to Figure 4 as shown in the C-out signal, where the C-out signal is the value a or b after the counting period signal.

[0042] The first input terminal of the comparison circuit 140 is used to receive the second signal output by the counting circuit 130, and the second input terminal of the comparison circuit 140 is used to receive the reference signal input by the signal input terminal N-set. The reference signal is a reference voltage signal, and the present application embodiment does not limit the manner of providing the reference voltage signal. The comparison circuit 140 has the following characteristics: when the voltage C-out at the first input terminal of the comparison circuit 140 is greater than the voltage N-set at its second input terminal, the comparison circuit 140 outputs a logic high level; when the voltage C-out at the first input terminal of the comparison circuit 140 is less than the voltage N-set at its second input terminal, the comparison circuit 140 outputs a logic low level. The comparison circuit 140 is used to compare the second signal with the reference signal to obtain a digital electrical signal and output it to the storage device. The obtained digital electrical signal refers to Figure 4 as shown in the CMP-Out signal.

[0043] In specific implementation, the comparison circuit 140 is used to sequentially output the digital electrical signal to the storage device.

[0044] To reduce the cost of the microphone sensor and decrease its area, the interface of the microphone sensor generally includes a power supply interface, an output interface, and a ground interface. However, during the assembly process of the entire e-cigarette unit, assemblers often need to adjust the parameters of the storage device of the microphone sensor, such as adjusting the inhalation trigger threshold of the microphone sensor, adjusting the polarity value of the trigger signal of the microphone sensor, changing the maximum time setting for driving the heating wire, etc. Under the limitation of the microphone sensor interface, assemblers cannot adjust the parameters of the storage device of the microphone sensor. In the embodiments of the present application, to achieve the data communication function for adjusting the parameters of the storage device of the microphone sensor, an SWP interface is newly added to the microphone sensor. Compared with the I2C interface and the SPI interface, the SWP only uses a single signal line. The microphone sensor includes two parts, a microphone and a chip, and this chip is the detection chip of the microphone sensor. In this embodiment, a sensor circuit is arranged inside the detection chip, and the sensor circuit is used to achieve the purpose of writing parameters to the storage device of the microphone sensor.

[0045] Specifically, referring to Figure 2 and Figure 4 , when it is necessary to write parameters to the storage device inside the microphone sensor, the SWP signal Vswp representing the parameters to be written transmitted by the host computer can be received through the SWP interface of the microphone sensor. This SWP signal includes not only clock / frequency information but also parameter information to be written. A repetitive periodic signal OSC is generated through an oscillation circuit. The SWP signal Vswp and the repetitive periodic signal OSC are processed through an AND gate circuit to obtain the first signal A-out. Among them, the A-out signal after being processed by the AND gate circuit can be divided into signals of a cycles and signals of b cycles, which is related to the on-duty of the SWP signal. The first signal A-out is counted through a counting circuit to obtain the second signal C-out. Among them, the C-out signal is the value a or b after the counting cycle signal. A comparison circuit compares the second signal C-out with a reference signal N-set to obtain a digital electrical signal CMP-out. For example, when the second signal C-out is greater than the reference signal N-set, a logic high level is output. When the second signal C-out is less than the reference signal N-set, a logic low level is output, and a digital electrical signal D-out can be obtained. This digital electrical signal D-out is the parameter to be written after decoding. For example, after being restored to 010, the digital electrical signal is written bit by bit into the storage device in the order of time, that is, the purpose of modifying the parameters of the storage device of the microphone sensor is completed. That is, the embodiments of the present application provide a digital connection protocol SWP communication decoding circuit, which can save more pins added by the microphone sensor for increasing data communication, thereby saving pin costs and improving product yield.

[0046] According to an embodiment of the present application, an SWP signal representing a parameter to be written is received through the SWP interface of the microphone sensor and transmitted to the control circuit. The control circuit obtains a first signal based on the SWP signal and the oscillation signal output by the oscillation circuit, and outputs it to the counting circuit. The counting circuit counts the first signal to obtain a second signal and outputs it to the comparison circuit. The comparison circuit compares the second signal with a reference signal to obtain a digital electrical signal representing the parameter to be written and inputs it into the storage device of the microphone sensor. This setting can save the microphone sensor from adding more pins for data communication, save pin costs, and improve product yield.

[0047] In one embodiment, referring to Figure 2 , the comparison circuit 140 is a comparator Comparator. The non-inverting input terminal of the comparator CMP is connected to the output terminal of the counting circuit 110, the inverting input terminal of the comparator Comparator is connected to the signal input terminal N-set, and the output terminal of the comparator Comparator is connected to the storage device of the microphone sensor.

[0048] The comparator CMP has the following characteristics. When the voltage at the non-inverting input terminal of the comparator CMP is greater than the voltage at its inverting input terminal, the comparator CMP outputs a logic high level. When the voltage at the non-inverting input terminal of the comparator CMP is less than the reference voltage at its inverting input terminal, the comparator CMP outputs a logic low level. When the non-inverting input terminal of the comparator CMP receives the first signal, the above characteristics of the comparator CMP are used to generate Figure 4 the pulse signal CMP-Out shown, such as a square wave.

[0049] <Microphone sensor embodiment>

[0050] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the circuit structure of a microphone sensor according to an embodiment. As Figure 5 shown, the microphone sensor 50 includes a microphone 51 and a chip 52. The microphone 51 is connected to the chip 52. The chip 52 includes a storage device, an SWP interface, and a sensor circuit. The sensor circuit can be the sensor circuit 10 provided in the above embodiment. The input terminal of the sensor circuit 10 is connected to the SWP interface, and the output terminal of the sensor circuit 10 is connected to the storage device.

[0051] The microphone 51 is used to receive the inhalation volume of the user and transmit it to the chip 52, and the chip 52 is used to perform corresponding operations according to the received inhalation volume. Among them, the storage device is a random access memory. When the storage device is set as a random access memory, if the parameters of the storage device need to be modified, the data of the storage device can be cleared by power-off, and new parameters can be written into the storage device through the sensor circuit, making the modification of the parameters of the storage device simpler and more convenient. The detailed structure of the sensor circuit can refer to the above-mentioned embodiment and will not be elaborated here; it can be understood that since the above-mentioned sensor circuit is used in the microphone sensor of the embodiment of the present application, therefore, the embodiment of the microphone sensor of the embodiment of the present application includes all technical solutions of all embodiments of the above-mentioned sensor circuit, and the achieved technical effects are also exactly the same. That is, the SWP signal representing the parameter to be written is received through the SWP interface of the microphone sensor and transmitted to the control circuit. The control circuit obtains the first signal according to the SWP signal and the oscillation signal output by the oscillation circuit and outputs it to the counting circuit. The counting circuit counts the first signal to obtain the second signal and outputs it to the comparison circuit. The comparison circuit compares the second signal with the reference signal to obtain the digital electrical signal representing the parameter to be written and inputs it into the storage device of the microphone sensor. With such a setting, it is possible to save more pins for the microphone sensor to increase data communication, save pin costs and improve the product yield.

[0052] <Device Embodiment>

[0053] Figure 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic cigarette according to an embodiment. As Figure 6 shown, the electronic cigarette includes a power supply 610, a switch circuit 620, an atomizer 630, and a microphone sensor 640. The microphone sensor can be the microphone sensor 50 described in the above embodiment. The power supply 610 is connected to the input end of the switch circuit 620, the output end of the switch circuit 620 is connected to the atomizer 630, and the microphone sensor 640 is connected to the control end of the switch circuit 620.

[0054] In specific implementation, the working principle of the electronic cigarette is as follows: The microphone of the microphone sensor receives the user's inhalation volume and transmits the user's inhalation volume to the chip. The chip compares the received inhalation volume with the inhalation volume threshold pre-written in the storage device. If the received inhalation volume is greater than the inhalation volume threshold pre-written in the storage device, the chip outputs a control signal to the switch circuit to control the switch circuit to conduct, so that the power supply powers the atomizer. The detailed structure of the microphone sensor can refer to the above embodiment and will not be elaborated here. It can be understood that since the above microphone sensor is used in the electronic cigarette of the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the electronic cigarette of the embodiment of the present application includes all the technical solutions of all the embodiments of the above microphone sensor, and the achieved technical effects are exactly the same. That is, the SWP signal representing the parameter to be written is received through the SWP interface of the microphone sensor and transmitted to the control circuit. The control circuit obtains a first signal according to the SWP signal and the oscillation signal output by the oscillation circuit and outputs it to the counting circuit. The counting circuit counts the first signal, obtains a second signal and outputs it to the comparison circuit. The comparison circuit compares the second signal with the reference signal, obtains a digital electrical signal representing the parameter to be written and inputs it into the storage device of the microphone sensor. By setting like this, it is possible to save more pins added by the microphone sensor for data communication, save the pin cost and improve the product yield.

[0055] In the description of this specification, the descriptions with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "illustrative embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples", etc. mean that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

[0056] Although the embodiments of the present application have been shown and described, those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that various changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principle and spirit of the present application. The scope of the present application is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A sensor circuit, characterized in that, the sensor circuit includes an oscillation circuit, a control circuit, a counting circuit, a comparison circuit, and a signal input interface, a first input end of the control circuit is connected to the SWP interface of the microphone sensor, a second input end of the control circuit is connected to the oscillation circuit, an input end of the counting circuit is connected to an output end of the control circuit, an output end of the counting circuit is connected to a first input end of the comparison circuit, a second input end of the comparison circuit is connected to the signal input interface, and an output end of the comparison circuit is connected to the storage device of the microphone sensor; wherein, the control circuit is configured to obtain a first signal according to the SWP signal transmitted by the SWP interface and the oscillation signal output by the oscillation circuit, and output the first signal to the counting circuit; the counting circuit is configured to count the first signal to obtain a second signal and output the second signal to the comparison circuit; the comparison circuit is configured to compare the second signal with a reference signal to obtain a digital electrical signal and output the digital electrical signal to the storage device, and the reference signal is a reference voltage signal; wherein, the control circuit is a gate circuit, and the gate circuit is an AND gate circuit.

2. The sensor circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, the comparison circuit is configured to sequentially output the digital electrical signal to the storage device.

3. The sensor circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, the oscillation signal is a periodic signal.

4. A microphone sensor, characterized in that, the microphone sensor includes a microphone and a chip, the microphone is connected to the chip, the chip includes a storage device, an SWP interface, and the sensor circuit according to any one of claims 1-3, an input end of the sensor circuit is connected to the SWP interface, and an output end of the sensor circuit is connected to the storage device.

5. The sensor circuit according to claim 4, characterized in that, the chip further includes a power supply interface, an output interface, and a ground interface.

6. The sensor circuit according to claim 5, characterized in that, the SWP interface and the output interface are the same interface.

7. The microphone sensor according to claim 4, characterized in that, the storage device is a random access memory.

8. An electronic cigarette, characterized in that, the electronic cigarette includes a power supply, a switch circuit, an atomizer, and the microphone sensor according to any one of claims 4-7, the power supply is connected to an input end of the switch circuit, an output end of the switch circuit is connected to the atomizer, and the microphone sensor is connected to a control end of the switch circuit.

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