Embedded power management system and electrical appliance

Abstract

The application discloses an embedded power management system and an electric appliance. The embedded power management system comprises a main control unit for controlling load operation, a power supply unit for providing multiple power supply voltages, a switching unit for switching the power supply voltage of the power supply unit, and an output end of the power supply unit is connected to the main control unit and the load, and the output timing of the power supply voltage can be adjusted under the control of the switching unit. Compared with the prior art, the application realizes accurate power-on timing control through the switching unit, and can ensure that the power-on timing of each module meets the demand.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to power management, and in particular to an embedded power management system and electrical appliance. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of the chip industry, performance and processing speed are increasing, but the requirements for power supply voltage types and power-on sequence of each module are also becoming more stringent. Power management chips are generally used, but they are typically expensive and can only manage power supply uptime, not real-time control based on application requirements. Existing technology discloses a circuit for phase interleaving of multiple DC / DC converters. It uses a PWM module within a microcontroller to achieve intelligent control of the multiple DC / DC power converters. This method mainly relies on phase interleaving and a simple RC circuit to achieve a delay function, sending power to different DC / DC converters separately. It cannot achieve high-precision, real-time intelligent control.

[0003] Therefore, how to design an embedded power management system and electrical appliance that can achieve low-cost power timing management of complex chips is a technical problem that the industry urgently needs to solve. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the problem that existing power management solutions cannot achieve high-precision, real-time intelligent control, this invention proposes an embedded power management system and electrical appliance.

[0005] The technical solution of the present invention is to propose an embedded power management system, including a main control unit for controlling the operation of a load, and a power supply unit that can provide multiple power supply voltages, and a switching unit for switching the power supply voltage of the power supply unit. The output terminal of the power supply unit is connected to the main control unit and the load respectively, and the output timing of the power supply voltage can be adjusted under the control of the switching unit.

[0006] Furthermore, the switching unit includes multiple power conversion circuits, and all of the power conversion circuits have the same input voltage. Each power conversion circuit provides a power supply voltage at a certain level, and the magnitude of the power supply voltage matches the main control unit and the load settings.

[0007] Furthermore, it also includes a voltage conversion circuit connected to and supplying power to the switching unit. The voltage conversion circuit can be connected to an external power input and can output the operating voltage of the switching unit. The input voltage of the power conversion circuit is the same as the output voltage of the voltage conversion circuit.

[0008] Furthermore, each of the power conversion circuits is connected to a switching circuit, and the switching unit switches the power supply voltage output by the power supply unit by controlling the on / off state of the switching circuit.

[0009] Furthermore, the power conversion circuit includes: conversion chip U4, resistors R15, R16, R17, R18, R26, R94, capacitors C25, C26, C27, C28, C29, C30, inductor L4, and transistor Q1.

[0010] The first pin of the conversion chip U4 is grounded, and the second pin, connected in series with inductor L4, serves as the output terminal of the power conversion circuit and is connected to the switching circuit. The third pin is connected to the first terminals of capacitors C28 and C30, respectively. The other terminals of capacitors C28 and C30 are grounded, and the first terminals of capacitors C28 and C30 are also connected to a second power supply. The fourth pin of the conversion chip U4 is grounded after being connected in series with resistors R17 and R18. The fifth pin is connected between inductor L4 and the switching circuit. One end of resistor R15 is connected between inductor L4 and the switching circuit, and the other end is connected in series. Resistor R16 is connected between resistor R17 and the conversion chip U4. Capacitor C25 is connected in parallel across resistor R16. The collector of transistor Q1 is connected to the second power supply after series with resistor R94, the base is connected to the switching unit, and the emitter is connected to ground after series with resistor R26. The fifth pin of the conversion chip U4 is connected between resistor R94 and transistor Q1, and the sixth pin is connected to the second pin after series with capacitor C29. One end of capacitor C26 is connected between inductor L4 and the switching circuit, and the other end is grounded. One end of capacitor C27 is connected between inductor L4 and the switching circuit, and the other end is grounded.

[0011] Furthermore, the switching circuit includes: transistor Q5, resistor R25, and resistor R30;

[0012] The collector of transistor R5 is connected to the output terminal of the power conversion circuit, the base is connected to the switching unit after series with resistor R25, and the emitter is connected to ground after series with resistor R30. The input terminal of the load is connected between the emitter of transistor Q5 and resistor R30.

[0013] Furthermore, the voltage conversion circuit includes: conversion chip U3, resistors R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, capacitors C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, and inductor L1.

[0014] The first pin of the conversion chip U3 is grounded, the second pin is connected in series with the inductor L1 and then connected to the switching unit, and the third pin is connected to the first terminals of capacitors C4 and C5 respectively. The other terminals of capacitors C4 and C5 are grounded, and the first terminals of capacitors C4 and C5 are also connected to the first power supply. One end of resistor R1 is connected to the first power supply, and the other end is connected in series with resistor R2 and then grounded. One end of resistor R3 is connected between the inductor L1 and the switching unit, and the other end is connected in series with resistors R4 and R5 and then grounded. Capacitor C7 is connected in parallel across resistor R4. The fourth pin of the conversion chip U3 is connected between resistors R4 and R5, the fifth pin is connected between resistors R1 and R2, and the sixth pin is connected in series with capacitor C6 and then connected to the second pin. One end of capacitor C2 is connected between the inductor L1 and the switching unit, and the other end is grounded. One end of capacitor C3 is connected between the inductor L1 and the switching unit, and the other end is grounded.

[0015] Furthermore, the main control unit and the switching unit also establish UART communication, and the main control unit can output communication information to the switching unit to adjust the on / off state of the switching circuit.

[0016] Furthermore, the switching unit employs a microcontroller.

[0017] The present invention also proposes an electrical appliance having the above-described embedded power management system.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0019] This invention achieves precise power-on timing control by adjusting the output timing of the power supply voltage through a switching unit, ensuring that the power-on timing of each module meets the requirements. Furthermore, the main control unit communicates with the switching unit in real time to control the power supply of each module, achieving energy saving and low power consumption. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0021] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of an existing power management system.

[0022] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of the power management system of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the power conversion circuit.

[0024] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the switching circuit.

[0025] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the voltage conversion circuit.

[0026] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the overall circuit structure of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0027] To make the technical problems to be solved, the technical solutions, and the beneficial effects of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0028] Therefore, a feature pointed out in this specification is used to describe one feature of one embodiment of the invention, and does not imply that every embodiment of the invention must have the described feature. Furthermore, it should be noted that this specification describes many features. Although certain features may be combined to illustrate possible system designs, these features may also be used in other combinations not explicitly stated. Therefore, unless otherwise stated, the described combinations are not intended to be limiting.

[0029] The principles and structure of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0030] Chips have increasingly stringent requirements regarding power supply voltage types and power-on timing of each module. Power management chips are commonly used, but they are generally expensive and only manage power supply uptime, not real-time control based on application needs. The present invention addresses this by using a switching unit to adjust the output timing of the power supply voltage from the power supply unit, thereby achieving precise power-on timing control.

[0031] Please see Figure 1 Currently, the industry mainly uses relatively expensive power management chips to power the main control MCU. Generally, power management chips only power the main MCU (small package, limited power), and peripherals still need to be powered through other power conversion modules. Moreover, the power supply of peripherals is not controlled, which cannot achieve optimal performance for some systems with low power requirements.

[0032] The embedded power management system proposed in this invention includes a main control unit, a power supply unit, and a switching unit. The power supply unit can output multiple power supply voltages at different levels, which are respectively connected to the main control unit and the load. It provides normal power supply timing for the main control unit and supplies power to the load at different operating levels. The switching unit is connected to the power supply unit and can be used to control the output timing of the power supply voltage, thereby controlling the power-on timing of different loads. This design can replace traditional, expensive power management chips with the switching unit, and can achieve real-time load on / off control through the switching unit, providing more precise power-on timing control. Furthermore, in this invention, the switching unit can freely adjust the output timing of the power supply voltage from the power supply unit, thereby controlling the load operation and preventing continuous load operation and energy waste.

[0033] Please see Figure 2 The main control unit is the main control MCU, which is connected to the peripheral load circuit and can control the working timing of the load through data control. However, the main control MCU itself does not supply power to the load. The power supply unit is connected to the main control MCU and the peripheral load circuit respectively to supply power to the main control unit and the load. The switching unit adopts a microcontroller, which can be programmed and controlled in advance according to the power-on timing requirements of each module in the main control MCU to precisely adjust the output timing of the power supply voltage of the power supply unit to ensure the normal power-on operation of the main control MCU. In addition, the main control MCU also establishes normal data communication with the microcontroller to send corresponding control commands to the microcontroller to control the operation of the load.

[0034] Please see Figure 2 and Figure 6 The switching unit includes multiple power conversion circuits, each capable of outputting a single-level supply voltage, thus achieving multi-level voltage output from the power supply circuit. Each power conversion circuit has the same input voltage and can draw power from the same power source. This invention includes four power conversion circuits, namely... Figure 2 In this invention, DC / DC1, DC / DC2, DC / DC3, and DC / DC4 refer to DC / DC circuits, which are used to convert the input voltage of the power supply into multiple voltage levels for use by loads operating at different voltage levels, such as... Figure 6In this system, DC / DC1 converts a 5V input voltage to 3.3V, DC / DC2 converts it to 3.0V, DC / DC3 converts it to 1.8V, and DC / DC4 converts it to 1.2V. Therefore, this invention can adapt to loads operating at at least four voltage levels: 3.3V, 3.0V, 1.8V, and 1.2V. In other embodiments of this invention, the output level of the power conversion circuit can be adjusted according to the different load operating levels required to accommodate more loads. Furthermore, input fluctuations in the load can affect the stability of the output voltage and the reliability of the main control MCU; therefore, multiple power conversion circuits are needed to ensure system stability.

[0035] Please see Figure 3 The power conversion circuit includes: conversion chip U4, resistors R15, R16, R17, R18, R26, R94, capacitors C25, C26, C27, C28, C29, C30, inductor L4, and transistor Q1.

[0036] The first pin of the conversion chip U4 is grounded. The second pin, connected in series with inductor L4, serves as the output of the power conversion circuit and is connected to the switching circuit. The third pin is connected to the first terminals of capacitors C28 and C30, respectively. The other terminals of capacitors C28 and C30 are grounded, and the first terminals of capacitors C28 and C30 are also connected to a second power supply. The fourth pin of the conversion chip U4 is grounded after being connected in series with resistors R17 and R18. The fifth pin is connected between inductor L4 and the switching circuit. One end of resistor R15 is connected between inductor L4 and the switching circuit, and the other end is connected in series with... Resistor R16 is connected between resistor R17 and conversion chip U4. Capacitor C25 is connected in parallel across resistor R16. The collector of transistor Q1 is connected to the second power supply after series with resistor R94, the base is connected to the switching unit, and the emitter is connected to ground after series with resistor R26. The fifth pin of conversion chip U4 is connected between resistor R94 and transistor Q1, and the sixth pin is connected to the second pin after series with capacitor C29. One end of capacitor C26 is connected between inductor L4 and the switching circuit, and the other end is grounded. One end of capacitor C27 is connected between inductor L4 and the switching circuit, and the other end is grounded.

[0037] The second power supply has a voltage of 5V, provided by a voltage conversion circuit. This circuit draws power from an external source and converts an externally input 12V voltage to 5V to power multiple power conversion circuits. The conversion chip U4 has six pins: GND (first pin), SW (second pin), VIN (third pin), FB (fourth pin), EN (fifth pin), and BOOT (sixth pin). Capacitors C28 and C30 are used as energy storage capacitors to ensure a 5V input voltage at the VIN pin of conversion chip U4. Capacitors C26 and C27 also serve as energy storage capacitors, receiving the output voltage from conversion chip U4 and storing energy to ensure a 3.3V output voltage. The EN pin is connected between resistor R94 and transistor Q1 to draw power from the second power supply. This circuit design converts the 5V output voltage from the second power supply to 3.3V.

[0038] Please see Figure 2 and Figure 6 This invention includes four power conversion circuits. The other three power conversion circuits are configured in the same way as described above. The second power conversion circuit consists of conversion chip U5, resistors R19, R27, R34, R38, R96, R136, capacitors C8, C53, C57, C103, C104, C105, inductor L6, and transistor Q2.

[0039] The third power conversion circuit consists of conversion chip U6, resistors R7, R11, R12, R14, R21, R29, capacitors C1, C18, C20, C21, C22, C23, inductor L3, and transistor Q3.

[0040] The fourth power conversion circuit consists of conversion chip U7, resistors R6, R8, R9, R10, R23, R33, capacitors C11, C12, C13, C14, C15, C16, inductor L2, and transistor Q4.

[0041] The fourth power conversion circuit draws power from the second power source, that is, it obtains a 5V voltage through a voltage conversion circuit and can output 3.3V, 3.0V, 1.8V and 1.2V voltages respectively. Its specific working principle is the same as the above settings, and will not be repeated here.

[0042] Please see Figure 4 and Figure 6The switching circuit includes: transistor Q5, resistor R25, and resistor R30; the collector of transistor R5 is connected to the output terminal of the power conversion circuit, the base is connected to the switching unit after series with resistor R25, the emitter is connected to ground after series with resistor R30, and the input terminal of the load is connected between the emitter of transistor Q5 and resistor R30.

[0043] The switching unit is connected to the base of transistor Q5 to control the switching of transistor Q5, thereby controlling the operation of the load. In this invention, each power conversion circuit is equipped with a switching circuit, which consists of transistor Q6, resistor R24, and resistor R28 forming a second switching circuit, transistor Q7, resistor R31, and resistor R32 forming a third switching circuit, and transistor Q8, resistor R35, and resistor R36 forming a fourth switching circuit. The switching unit is connected to the base of transistor Q5, transistor Q6, transistor Q7, and transistor Q8, respectively, thereby controlling the switching of transistors Q5, Q6, Q7, and Q8, and thus controlling the power supply of the corresponding load.

[0044] Since the main control MCU needs to be continuously powered during normal operation, traditional solutions cannot control the load's operating status once the main control MCU is powered on, resulting in significant energy waste. This invention, through the design of a switching circuit, allows for free control of the load's on / off state, thereby achieving energy-saving control.

[0045] In this invention, the switching unit uses a microcontroller, which establishes UART communication with the main control unit. After the main control unit is powered on normally, the main control unit sends corresponding control commands to the switching unit. The switching unit controls the on / off state of transistors Q5, Q6, Q7, and Q8 to realize whether the relevant loads are powered or not, thereby achieving the purpose of energy saving.

[0046] Please see Figure 5 The voltage conversion circuit includes: conversion chip U3, resistors R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, capacitors C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, and inductor L1.

[0047] The first pin of the conversion chip U3 is grounded, the second pin is connected to the switching unit via inductor L1, and the third pin is connected to the first terminals of capacitors C4 and C5 respectively. The other terminals of capacitors C4 and C5 are grounded, and the first terminals of capacitors C4 and C5 are also connected to the first power supply. One end of resistor R1 is connected to the first power supply, and the other end is connected to ground via resistor R2. One end of resistor R3 is connected between inductor L1 and the switching unit, and the other end is connected to ground via resistors R4 and R5. Capacitor C7 is connected in parallel across resistor R4. The fourth pin of the conversion chip U3 is connected between resistors R4 and R5, the fifth pin is connected between resistors R1 and R2, and the sixth pin is connected to the second pin via capacitor C6. One end of capacitor C2 is connected between inductor L1 and the switching unit, and the other end is grounded. One end of capacitor C3 is connected between inductor L1 and the switching unit, and the other end is grounded.

[0048] The first power supply is an external power supply with a voltage of 12V. The voltage conversion circuit converts this 12V voltage to 5V, which serves as the second power input for the power conversion circuit. This voltage also serves as the input voltage for the switching circuit to ensure its normal operation. Figure 2 In the diagram, the DC / DC converter on the left side of the microcontroller is the voltage conversion circuit, which draws power from an external source to ensure the normal operation of the microcontroller.

[0049] Please see Figure 6 U1 is a microcontroller, U2 is the main control MCU, conversion chip U3 and its surrounding circuits form a voltage conversion circuit, and conversion chips U4 to U7 and their surrounding circuits form a power conversion circuit. The overall workflow of this invention is as follows: After the system is powered on, conversion chip U3 works first, supplying power to microcontroller U1. After microcontroller U1 starts working normally, it controls transistors Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 according to the power-on sequence requirements of the main control MCU, thereby controlling the power-on sequence of conversion chips U4, U5, U6, and U7. After the main control chip U2 completes power-on, it enters normal working mode and establishes normal data communication with microcontroller U1 (this circuit uses UART communication). If the entire system needs to enter a low-power mode or a certain peripheral circuit (load) is temporarily not in use and needs to be powered off for energy saving, the request can be sent to the microcontroller U1 via the communication bus. The microcontroller UI controls transistors Q5, Q6, Q7, and Q8 to control whether the relevant load is powered on or not, thereby achieving the purpose of energy saving.

[0050] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0051] This invention achieves precise power-on timing control by adjusting the output timing of the power supply voltage through a switching unit, ensuring that the power-on timing of each module meets the requirements. Furthermore, the main control unit communicates with the switching unit in real time to control the power supply of each module, achieving energy saving and low power consumption. Moreover, compared to conventional solutions, this invention requires only a simple microcontroller in its hardware circuitry, but eliminates the need for a power management chip. Since power management chips are expensive, this design significantly reduces the design cost of this invention.

[0052] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An embedded power management system, comprising a main control unit for controlling the operation of a load, and a power supply unit that can provide multiple power supply voltages, characterized in that, It also includes a switching unit for switching the power supply voltage of the power supply unit. The output terminal of the power supply unit is connected to the main control unit and the load respectively, and the output timing of the power supply voltage can be adjusted under the control of the switching unit. The switching unit includes multiple power conversion circuits, and all of the power conversion circuits have the same input voltage. Each power conversion circuit provides a power supply voltage at a certain level, and the magnitude of the power supply voltage is matched to the main control unit and the load settings. It also includes a voltage conversion circuit connected to and supplying power to the switching unit. The voltage conversion circuit can be connected to an external power input and can output the operating voltage of the switching unit. The input voltage of the power conversion circuit is the same as the output voltage of the voltage conversion circuit. Each power conversion circuit is also connected to a switching circuit between itself and the load. The switching unit controls the on / off state of the switching circuit to switch the power supply voltage output by the power supply unit. The power conversion circuit includes: conversion chip U4, resistors R15, R16, R17, R18, R26, R94, capacitors C25, C26, C27, C28, C29, C30, inductor L4, and transistor Q1. The first pin of the conversion chip U4 is grounded; the second pin, connected in series with inductor L4, serves as the output terminal of the power conversion circuit and is connected to the switching circuit; the third pin is connected to the first terminals of capacitors C28 and C30 respectively, with the other terminals of capacitors C28 and C30 grounded. The first terminals of capacitors C28 and C30 are also connected to a second power supply. The fourth pin of the conversion chip U4 is grounded after being connected in series with resistors R17 and R18. One end of resistor R15 is connected between inductor L4 and the switching circuit, and the other end is connected in series with resistor R16 and then to the resistor... Between R17 and the conversion chip U4, the capacitor C25 is connected in parallel across the resistor R16. The collector of the transistor Q1 is connected to the second power supply after series with the resistor R94, the base is connected to the switching unit, and the emitter is connected to the ground after series with the resistor R26. The fifth pin of the conversion chip U4 is connected between the resistor R94 and the transistor Q1, and the sixth pin is connected to the second pin after series with the capacitor C29. One end of the capacitor C26 is connected between the inductor L4 and the switching circuit, and the other end is grounded. One end of the capacitor C27 is connected between the inductor L4 and the switching circuit, and the other end is grounded. The main control unit and the switching unit also establish UART communication. The main control unit can output communication information to the switching unit to adjust the on / off state of the switching circuit. The switching unit uses a microcontroller.

2. The embedded power management system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The switching circuit includes: transistor Q5, resistor R25, and resistor R30; The collector of the transistor Q5 is connected to the output terminal of the power conversion circuit, the base is connected to the switching unit after series with resistor R25, and the emitter is connected to ground after series with resistor R30. The input terminal of the load is connected between the emitter of the transistor Q5 and resistor R30.

3. The embedded power management system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The voltage conversion circuit includes: conversion chip U3, resistors R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, capacitors C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, and inductor L1. The first pin of the conversion chip U3 is grounded, the second pin is connected in series with the inductor L1 and then connected to the switching unit, and the third pin is connected to the first terminals of capacitors C4 and C5 respectively. The other terminals of capacitors C4 and C5 are grounded, and the first terminals of capacitors C4 and C5 are also connected to the first power supply. One end of resistor R1 is connected to the first power supply, and the other end is connected in series with resistor R2 and then grounded. One end of resistor R3 is connected between the inductor L1 and the switching unit, and the other end is connected in series with resistors R4 and R5 and then grounded. Capacitor C7 is connected in parallel across resistor R4. The fourth pin of the conversion chip U3 is connected between resistors R4 and R5, the fifth pin is connected between resistors R1 and R2, and the sixth pin is connected in series with capacitor C6 and then connected to the second pin. One end of capacitor C2 is connected between the inductor L1 and the switching unit, and the other end is grounded. One end of capacitor C3 is connected between the inductor L1 and the switching unit, and the other end is grounded.

4. An electrical appliance, characterized in that, The electrical appliance has an embedded power management system as described in any one of claims 1 to 3.

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