External audio devices and methods for operating external audio devices

Abstract

This disclosure relates to an external audio device and a method for operating the external audio device. The external audio device includes a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector, an audio jack, a USB communication circuit, an audio jack detection circuit, a first power supply circuit, a second power supply circuit, and a control circuit. The USB communication circuit establishes a connection with a computer device coupled to the USB connector according to the USB communication standard. The audio jack detection circuit detects the insertion status of the audio jack. The first power supply circuit generates a second power supply to the USB communication circuit based on a first power supply received from the USB connector, and the second power supply circuit generates a third power supply to the audio jack detection circuit based on the first power supply. The control circuit enables or disables the first power supply circuit based on the insertion status of the audio jack.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an external audio device, and more particularly to an external audio device capable of adjusting power consumption according to the insertion state of the audio jack. Background Technology

[0002] To simplify the structure of electronic devices and make their design more flexible, manufacturers often try to reduce the number of external ports. For example, modern mobile devices often use the Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface as a charging port, and also as an interface for connecting external headphones or microphones.

[0003] Since most headphones on the market still use a 3.5mm audio plug, users must use an audio adapter to connect their 3.5mm headphones to the Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface on their mobile devices. In this case, the audio adapter needs to convert different audio file formats, and the mobile device supplies power to the adapter via the USB interface. In previous technology, when the audio adapter was plugged into the USB interface of a mobile device, the mobile device continuously supplied power to the adapter to maintain communication, even if no headphones were plugged into the adapter's headphone jack. Therefore, mobile devices often unnecessarily consume excessive power, causing inconvenience to users. Summary of the Invention

[0004] One embodiment of the present invention provides an external audio device, which includes a Universal Serial Bus (USB) plug, an audio jack, a USB communication circuit, an audio jack detection circuit, a first power supply circuit, a second power supply circuit, and a control circuit.

[0005] The Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector is used to couple to a computer device. The audio jack is used to couple to a headphone or microphone. The USB communication circuitry is used to establish a connection with the computer device according to the USB communication standard.

[0006] The audio jack detection circuit is used to detect the insertion status of the audio jack. The first power supply circuit generates a second power supply to the Universal Serial Bus (USB) communication circuit based on the first power received from the USB connector. The second power supply circuit generates a third power supply to the audio jack detection circuit based on the first power supply.

[0007] The control circuit enables or disables the first power supply circuit based on the insertion status of the audio jack.

[0008] Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for operating an external audio device, the external audio device including a Universal Serial Bus (USB) plug, an audio jack, a USB communication circuit, an audio jack detection circuit, a first power supply circuit, a second power supply circuit, and a control circuit.

[0009] The method of operating an external audio device includes a first power supply circuit generating a second power supply to a universal serial bus communication circuit based on a first power supply received from a universal serial bus plug, a second power supply circuit generating a third power supply to an audio jack detection circuit based on the first power supply, an audio jack detection circuit detecting the insertion state of an audio jack, and a control circuit enabling or disabling the first power supply circuit based on the insertion state of the audio jack. Attached Figure Description

[0010] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an external audio device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of an external audio device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of a method for operating an external audio device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0013] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an external audio device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The external audio device 100 includes a Universal Serial Bus (USB) plug 110, an audio jack 120, a USB communication circuit 130, an audio jack detection circuit 140, a first power supply circuit 150, a second power supply circuit 160, and a control circuit 170.

[0014] In some embodiments, the Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector 110 may be coupled to a computer device C1, which may be, for example, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, tablet computer, and laptop computer. The USB connector 110 may be, for example, but is not limited to, a Type-C connector as specified by Universal Serial Bus (USB).

[0015] The audio jack 120 can be coupled to headphones or a microphone, and the audio jack 120 can be, for example, but not limited to, a 3.5 mm audio jack. That is, through the external audio device 100, the computer device C1 can use headphones or a microphone with a 3.5 mm audio plug as an external audio output or input device.

[0016] The Universal Serial Bus (USB) communication circuit 130 can establish a connection with the computer device C1 according to the USB communication standard. In some embodiments, after the USB communication circuit 130 establishes a connection with the computer device C1, the computer device C1 can identify the external audio device 100 and control the USB communication circuit 130 according to the human interface device (HID) standard defined by USB.

[0017] In some embodiments, the external audio device 100 is powered by the computer device C1. For example, the computer device C1 can transmit a first power supply V1 to the external audio device 100 through the Universal Serial Bus connector 110, and the first power supply circuit 150 can generate a second power supply V2 based on the first power supply V1 received by the Universal Serial Bus connector 110 to supply the Universal Serial Bus communication circuit 130.

[0018] Furthermore, the audio jack detection circuit 140 can detect the insertion state of the audio jack 120, that is, the audio jack detection circuit 140 can determine whether the audio jack 120 is in an inserted state or an uninserted state. In some embodiments, the second power supply circuit 160 can generate a third power supply V3 based on the first power supply V1 to supply the audio jack detection circuit 140 as needed.

[0019] In some embodiments, to avoid unnecessary waste of power of the computer device C1 by the Universal Serial Bus communication circuit 130 in order to maintain the connection with the computer device C1 when the audio jack 120 is not coupled to a device such as an earphone or microphone, the control circuit 170 can enable or disable the first power circuit 150 according to the insertion state of the audio jack 120.

[0020] For example, when the external audio device 100 transitions from a power-off state to being able to receive the first power supply V1 through the Universal Serial Bus connector 110, the control circuit 170 can first activate the first power supply circuit 150 and the second power supply circuit 160. At this time, the external audio device 100 can establish a connection with the computer device C1 through the Universal Serial Bus communication circuit 130, and can detect the insertion status of the audio jack 120 through the audio jack detection circuit 140.

[0021] Next, if the audio jack detection circuit 140 detects that the audio jack 120 is not plugged in, it means that the user is not ready to use an external headset or microphone as an output or input device for the computer device C1. At this time, the control circuit 170 will disable the first power circuit 150 to disconnect from the computer device C1, thereby saving power.

[0022] However, when the audio jack detection circuit 140 detects that the audio jack 120 is plugged in, the control circuit 170 will continue or re-enable the first power circuit 150 so that the universal serial bus communication circuit 130 can continue or re-establish the connection with the computer device C1.

[0023] In addition, to ensure that the audio jack detection circuit 140 can detect the insertion status of the audio jack 120 in real time, the control circuit 170 can keep the second power circuit 160 enabled regardless of whether the audio jack detection circuit 140 detects that the audio jack 120 is not inserted or is inserted.

[0024] exist Figure 1 The external audio device 100 may also include an audio conversion circuit 180. The audio conversion circuit 180 can convert digital audio signals from the computer device C1 into analog audio signals, and can also convert analog audio signals from the microphone into digital audio signals. In this case, the first power supply circuit 150 can also generate a fourth power supply V4 required by the audio conversion circuit 180. Since the audio conversion circuit 180 and the universal serial bus communication circuit 130 mainly operate when the audio jack 120 is plugged in, and can stop operating when the audio jack 120 is not plugged in, they can both be powered by the first power supply circuit 150 and controlled by the control circuit 170.

[0025] exist Figure 1 In some embodiments, the first power supply circuit 150 and the second power supply circuit 160 are represented by two independent functional blocks. However, in some embodiments, the first power supply circuit 150 and the second power supply circuit 160 may share some circuits, and the first power supply circuit 150 and the second power supply circuit 160 may each include multiple voltage regulator and / or transformer circuits depending on the needs of the system.

[0026] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of an external audio device 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The external audio device 200 and the external audio device 100 may have similar structures and operate according to similar principles; however, the external audio device 200 may include audio jacks 220A and 220B. In some embodiments, audio jack 220A can be used to couple with headphones, and audio jack 220B can be used to couple with a microphone; however, the present invention is not limited thereto, and in some other embodiments, both audio jacks 220A and 220B can be coupled with headphones or a microphone.

[0027] In the external audio device 200, the audio jack detection circuit 240 can detect the insertion status of audio jacks 220A and 220B, and the control circuit 270 can enable or disable the first power circuit 250 according to the insertion status of audio jacks 220A and 220B. For example, when the audio jack detection circuit 240 detects that audio jacks 220A and / or audio jack 220B are inserted, the control circuit 270 can enable the first power circuit 250, at which time the universal serial bus communication circuit 230 and the audio conversion circuit 280 can operate normally. When the audio jack detection circuit 240 detects that both audio jacks 220A and 220B are not inserted, the control circuit 270 can disable the first power circuit 250, at which time the universal serial bus communication circuit 230 and the audio conversion circuit 280 will stop operating.

[0028] In addition, to ensure that the audio jack detection circuit 240 can detect the insertion status of the audio jacks 220A and 220B in real time, the control circuit 270 can keep the second power supply circuit 260 enabled.

[0029] Figure 3 This is a method 300 for operating an external audio device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Method 300 may include steps S310 to S360.

[0030] S310: When the external audio device 100 receives power from the computer device C1 through the Universal Serial Bus connector 110, the control circuit 170 activates the first power circuit 150 and the second power circuit 160.

[0031] S320: The first power supply circuit 150 generates a second power supply V2 to the universal serial bus communication circuit 130 based on the first power supply V1 received from the universal serial bus connector 110.

[0032] S330: The first power supply circuit 150 generates a fourth power supply V4 based on the first power supply V1 and sends it to the audio conversion circuit 180;

[0033] S340: The second power supply circuit 160 generates a third power supply V3 based on the first power supply V1 and sends it to the audio socket detection circuit 140;

[0034] S350: Audio jack detection circuit 140 detects the insertion status of audio jack 120;

[0035] S360: Control circuit 170 enables or disables first power circuit 150 based on the insertion status of audio jack 120.

[0036] In step S310, when the external audio device 100 transitions from a power-off state to being able to receive the first power supply V1 through the Universal Serial Bus connector 110, the control circuit 170 can first activate the first power supply circuit 150 and the second power supply circuit 160. Then, in steps S320 and S330, the first power supply circuit 150 can generate a second power supply V2 and a fourth power supply V4 based on the first power supply V1, respectively, to the Universal Serial Bus communication circuit 130 and the audio conversion circuit 180. Meanwhile, in step S340, the second power supply circuit 160 can generate a third power supply V3 based on the first power supply V1, to the audio jack detection circuit 140.

[0037] Next, the audio jack detection circuit 140 detects the insertion status of the audio jack 120 in step S350, and the control circuit 170 enables or disables the first power circuit 150 in step S360 based on the insertion status of the audio jack 120.

[0038] For example, when the audio jack detection circuit 140 detects that the audio jack 120 is inserted, the control circuit 170 can enable the first power circuit 150 to establish a connection between the universal serial bus communication circuit 140 and the computer device C1. When the audio jack detection circuit 140 detects that the audio jack 120 is not inserted, the control circuit 170 can disable the first power circuit 150 to disconnect the connection.

[0039] In this way, power can be stopped to the Universal Serial Bus communication circuit 130 and the audio conversion circuit 180 when the audio jack 120 is not coupled to a device such as a headphone or microphone, thus reducing the power consumption of the computer device C1.

[0040] In some embodiments, method 300 can also be applied to external audio device 200. In this case, the audio jack detection circuit 240 detects the insertion status of audio jacks 220A and 220B in step S350, and the control circuit 270 can enable or disable the first power circuit 250 according to the insertion status of audio jacks 220A and 220B. For example, when the audio jack detection circuit 240 detects that audio jacks 220A and / or audio jack 220B are inserted, the control circuit 270 can enable the first power circuit 250, at which time the universal serial bus communication circuit 230 and the audio conversion circuit 280 can operate normally. When the audio jack detection circuit 240 detects that both audio jacks 220A and 220B are not inserted, the control circuit 270 can disable the first power circuit 250, at which time the universal serial bus communication circuit 270 and the audio conversion circuit 280 will stop operating.

[0041] In addition, to ensure that the audio jack detection circuit 240 can detect the insertion status of the audio jacks 220A and 220B in real time, the control circuit 270 can keep the second power supply circuit 260 enabled.

[0042] In this way, when neither audio jacks 220A nor 220B are coupled to a device such as a headphone or microphone, power can be stopped from supplying power to the universal serial bus communication circuit 230 and the audio conversion circuit 280, thus reducing the power consumption of the computer device C1.

[0043] In summary, the external audio device and the method for operating the external audio device provided by the embodiments of the present invention can control the internal power circuit according to the insertion state of the audio jack, thereby reducing unnecessary power consumption. For example, when the audio jack is inserted, the control circuit can enable the power circuit of the universal serial bus communication circuit and the audio conversion circuit, enabling them to operate normally. When the audio jack is not inserted, the control circuit can disable the power circuit of the universal serial bus communication circuit and the audio conversion circuit, thereby reducing the power consumption of the computer device.

[0044] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. All equivalent changes and modifications made within the scope of the claims of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.

[0045] Symbol Explanation

[0046] 100, 200: External audio devices

[0047] 110: Universal Serial Bus connector

[0048] 120, 220A, 220B: Audio jacks

[0049] 130, 230: Universal Serial Bus Communication Circuit

[0050] 140, 240: Audio jack detection circuit

[0051] 150, 250: First power supply circuit

[0052] 160, 260: Second power supply circuit

[0053] 170, 270: Control circuit

[0054] 180, 280: Audio conversion circuit

[0055] V1, V2, V3, V4: Power supply

[0056] C1: Computer device

[0057] 300: Method

[0058] S310 to S360: Steps

Claims

1. An external audio device, comprising: Universal Serial Bus connector, used for coupling with computer devices; The first audio jack is used to couple with headphones or a microphone; A Universal Serial Bus (USB) communication circuit is used to establish a connection with the computer device via the USB connector according to the USB communication standard. An audio jack detection circuit is used to detect the insertion status of the first audio jack; An audio conversion circuit is used to convert digital audio signals transmitted from the computer device into analog audio signals, and to convert analog audio signals transmitted from the microphone into digital audio signals; The first power supply circuit is used to generate a second power supply to the universal serial bus communication circuit based on the first power supply received by the universal serial bus plug, and is also used to generate a fourth power supply to the audio conversion circuit. The second power supply circuit is used to generate a third power supply to the audio jack detection circuit based on the first power supply. and A control circuit for enabling or disabling the first power circuit based at least on the insertion state of the first audio jack; The computer device provides the first power supply to the second power supply circuit via the Universal Serial Bus connector, and The control circuit includes: Instead of being directly connected to the audio conversion circuit, the operation of the audio conversion circuit is controlled by activating or disabling the first power supply circuit. The operation of the universal serial bus communication circuit is controlled by enabling or disabling the first power supply circuit. The operation of the audio jack detection circuit can be controlled by activating or disabling the second power supply circuit.

2. The external audio device as claimed in claim 1, wherein: When the external audio device receives the first power supply through the Universal Serial Bus connector, the control circuit enables the first power supply circuit and the second power supply circuit.

3. The external audio device as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein: When the audio jack detection circuit detects that the first audio jack is plugged in, the control circuit enables the first power circuit to establish a connection between the universal serial bus communication circuit and the computer device; and When the audio jack detection circuit detects that the first audio jack is not plugged in, the control circuit disables the first power circuit to disconnect the connection.

4. The external audio device as described in claim 3, wherein: Once the second power supply circuit is enabled, the control circuit keeps the second power supply circuit enabled to ensure that the audio jack detection circuit can detect the insertion status of the first audio jack in real time.

5. The external audio device as claimed in claim 1, wherein: The Universal Serial Bus connector is a Type-C connector as specified by the Universal Serial Bus.

6. The external audio device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: The second audio jack is used to couple headphones or a microphone; in: The audio jack detection circuit is also used to detect the insertion status of the second audio jack; and The control circuit enables or disables the first power circuit based on the insertion status of the first audio jack and the second audio jack.

7. The external audio device as claimed in claim 6, wherein: When the audio jack detection circuit detects that the first audio jack and / or the second audio jack are plugged in, the control circuit enables the first power circuit. and When the audio jack detection circuit detects that the first audio jack and the second audio jack are not plugged in, the control circuit disables the first power circuit.

8. A method of operating an external audio device, the external audio device comprising a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector, a first audio jack, a USB communication circuit, an audio jack detection circuit, an audio conversion circuit, a first power supply circuit, a second power supply circuit, and a control circuit, the method comprising: The computer device provides a first power supply to the first power circuit via a Universal Serial Bus connector; The first power supply circuit generates a second power supply to the universal serial bus communication circuit based on the first power supply received by the universal serial bus connector, and generates a fourth power supply to the audio conversion circuit. The second power supply circuit generates a third power supply to the audio jack detection circuit based on the first power supply; The audio jack detection circuit detects the insertion status of the first audio jack; and The control circuit enables or disables the first power circuit based at least on the insertion state of the first audio jack. The control circuit includes: Instead of being directly connected to the audio conversion circuit, the operation of the audio conversion circuit is controlled by activating or disabling the first power supply circuit. The operation of the universal serial bus communication circuit is controlled by enabling or disabling the first power supply circuit. The operation of the audio jack detection circuit can be controlled by activating or disabling the second power supply circuit.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: When the external audio device receives power from the computer device through the Universal Serial Bus connector, the control circuit activates the first power circuit and the second power circuit.

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