System and method for controlling power level power modulation via an audio interface

Abstract

Systems and methods improve power efficiency in a communication system by examining a digital signal to determine if a threshold corresponding to an increase in power requirements is likely to be exceeded. The signal is encoded with information indicative of the likely change and transmitted to a driver that, after extracting the information, uses the information to instruct an amplifier to increase power output to accommodate the increase in power requirements. Once the threshold is no longer exceeded, the driver circuit advantageously reduces the power output to conserve energy. In various embodiments, the amplifier can improve power efficiency by switching from a low power circuit configuration to a high circuit configuration.

Description

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Nonprovisional Patent Application No. 17 / 712,815, filed April 4, 2022, with inventors Douglas Heineman, Feng Yu, Siwas Chandhrasri, Kevin Bryan LaVoie, and Brian Gregory Rush, entitled "Systems and Methods for Controlling Power Level Power Supply Modulation via Audio Interface," which claims priority to U.S. Nonprovisional Patent Application No. 17 / 712,815, filed June 17, 2021, with inventors Douglas Heineman, Feng Yu, Siwas Chandhrasri, and Kevin Bryan LaVoie, entitled "Systems and Methods for Controlling Power Level Power Supply Modulation via Audio Interface." The benefit of Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 212,092, entitled "[System and Method for Controlling Power Level Power Supply Modulation via Audio Interface]", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Each reference mentioned in this patent document is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background of the Invention

[0003] A. Technical Field

[0004] This disclosure generally relates to signal processing. More specifically, this disclosure relates to systems and methods for driving signals in signal amplifier architectures, such as audio circuitry, to efficiently drive loudspeakers in a sound system, for example, via an audio interface.

[0005] B. Background Technology

[0006] Signal processing applications are striving to increase the time between battery power recharge events. An increasingly common approach to reducing power consumption and extending battery life is to improve the efficiency of systems such as audio systems that use amplifier drivers to power a group of speakers. However, efficiency considerations must take into account that the power supply needs sufficient margin or safety to ideally recover the audio components of the signal at the amplifier or speaker, without signal integrity issues or other audible interference (such as clipping, which introduces distortion and fidelity loss). Efficiency considerations suggest that, depending on the signal threshold level, switching or transitioning between two or more power supplies or between different characteristics of the same power supply can improve efficiency. However, existing designs are often reliable but expensive or low-cost but less reliable, thus requiring higher safety margins. Accordingly, reliable, low-cost systems and methods are needed to achieve high-speed and time-accurate mode transitions, thereby improving efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0007] Reference will be made to embodiments of this disclosure, and examples of these embodiments may be illustrated in the accompanying drawings. These drawings are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Although the accompanying disclosure is described generally in the context of audio applications, it should be understood that this is not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the teachings of this disclosure are equally applicable to non-audio systems, including, for example, network communications in antenna networks and other signal processing applications. Items in the figures may not be drawn to scale.

[0008] Figure 1 This is a block diagram of an exemplary power control circuit for an audio amplifier device.

[0009] Figure 2 A timing diagram of the standard audio interface format is shown.

[0010] Figure 3 This demonstrates how control circuit algorithms can be applied to audio signals to control audio power.

[0011] Figure 4 Dynamic power conversion systems according to various embodiments of this disclosure are demonstrated.

[0012] Figure 5 Exemplary digital audio signals, including encrypted control information transmitted via an audio interface, are shown according to various embodiments of this disclosure.

[0013] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating a dynamic power conversion process according to various embodiments of this disclosure.

[0014] Figure 7Two graphs illustrating the relationship between system efficiency and output power for two different power supply configurations are shown, according to various embodiments of this disclosure.

[0015] Figure 8 Shown in Figure 7 The combined power efficiency curves between the two power supply configurations used have a switching threshold.

[0016] Figure 9 A illustrates combined power efficiency curves with programmable switching thresholds according to various embodiments of this disclosure.

[0017] Figure 9 B is Figure 9 A magnified view of the programmable switching threshold shown in Figure A.

[0018] Figure 10 Various embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. Figure 4 The more general signal processing system presented in the paper.

[0019] Figure 11 This is a flowchart illustrating a dynamic power conversion process according to various embodiments of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0020] In the following description, specific details are set forth for purposes of explanation in order to provide an understanding of this disclosure. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this disclosure may be practiced without these details. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments of this disclosure described below may be implemented in various ways, such as processes, apparatuses, systems / devices, or methods, on tangible computer-readable media.

[0021] The components or modules illustrated in the accompanying drawings are illustrative of exemplary embodiments of this disclosure and are intended to avoid obscuring the disclosure. It should also be understood that throughout this discussion, a component can be described as a separate functional unit that may include subunits; however, those skilled in the art will recognize that various components or portions thereof may be divided into separate components or may be integrated together, including within a single system or component. It should be noted that the functions or operations discussed herein can be implemented as components. Components can be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof.

[0022] Furthermore, the connections between components or systems shown in the accompanying drawings are not intended to be limited to direct connections. Instead, data between these components can be modified, reformatted, or otherwise altered via intermediate components. Moreover, additional connections or fewer connections may be used. It should also be noted that the terms “coupled,” “connected,” or “communicationally coupled” should be understood to include direct connections, indirect connections via one or more intermediate devices, and wireless connections.

[0023] In this specification, references to "one embodiment," "preferred embodiment," "one embodiment," or "multiple embodiments" mean that a specific feature, structure, characteristic, or function described in connection with that embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of this disclosure and may be included in more than one embodiment. Furthermore, the above phrases appearing in various places throughout this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or identical embodiments.

[0024] The use of certain terms in various places throughout this specification is illustrative and should not be construed as restrictive. The terms “include,” “including,” “comprise,” and “comprising” should be understood as open-ended terms, and any items listed thereafter are examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the listed items.

[0025] Services, functions, or resources are not limited to individual services, functions, or resources; the use of these terms may refer to related groups of services, functions, or resources, which may be distributed or aggregated. The use of terms such as memory, database, repository, data storage device, table, hardware, etc., may be used herein to refer to one or more system components in which information can be input or otherwise recorded. The terms “data,” “information,” and similar terms may be replaced by other terms referring to the same group and may be used interchangeably. Any headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and should not be used to limit the scope of the specification or claims. All documents referenced herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0026] In this document, the terms “data” and “data signal” are used interchangeably. The term “converter” refers to any electrical converter known in the art, including regulators such as boost regulators, buck regulators, etc. “Low power supply” refers to a low-voltage power supply used for low-output amplifier power, and “high power supply” refers to a high-voltage power supply used for high-output amplifier power.

[0027] It should be noted that although the embodiments described herein are given in the context of off-chip architecture, those skilled in the art will recognize that the teachings of this disclosure are not so limited and can be applied equally to on-chip applications.

[0028] Figure 1 This is a block diagram of an exemplary power control circuit for an audio amplifier system. The audio amplifier system 100 includes an audio controller 102, a converter circuit 104, an amplifier circuit 106, power supplies 110 and 112, and a speaker 108. As depicted, the audio controller 102 is in the amplifier path of the audio amplifier device 130 and includes an audio receiver interface 120 and power control circuitry 122; and the amplifier circuit 106 includes a modulator 126 and a power stage 128. The amplifier circuit 106 may include various auxiliary components, such as an ADC, DAC, control logic, etc. The power supplies 110 and 112 may be batteries, and, for example, the converter circuit 104 is a boost converter that delivers constant output power over the battery power supply voltage range.

[0029] It should be noted that the figures in this document are simplified illustrations intended to increase clarity. Those skilled in the art will understand, for example, that amplifier circuit 106 may have differential inputs that can be generated by a DAC. Figure 1 The amplifier circuit 106 in the amplifier circuit 106 may include a Class D amplifier, which may be chosen because its efficiency is higher than, for example, that of a Class AB amplifier. Higher efficiency can be achieved through a switching operation performed in the power stage 128 of the amplifier circuit 106.

[0030] In operation, the audio amplifier device 130 uses the audio controller 102 to perform power switching by first sensing an audio signal 114 (e.g., a pulse code modulation (PCM) signal) or some other signal at the speaker 108. Figure 2 An example signal is presented in the image.

[0031] Figure 2 This illustrates the standard I commonly used in audio applications. 2 The timing diagram is in S-interface format, where the data format is between 16 bits and 32 bits, although the actual bit width may be larger or smaller depending on the application. The digital audio signal 222 has an N-bit PCM signal comprising a most significant bit 224 and a least significant bit 226. The digital audio signal 222 can be decoded by an audio amplifier to determine, for example, whether the audio signal exceeds (or falls below) a certain threshold within a certain time period. In embodiments, this can be used as an indicator for switching from one power supply to another or from one power supply configuration to another to, for example, meet margin requirements.

[0032] It should be understood that, although Figure 2Signal 222 in the document includes digital audio signals, but those skilled in the art will understand that any other type and format of data can be encoded, including non-PCM data. As an example, non-audio applications may include RF signals having some arbitrary format, and the content of the RF signals may be examined, encoded, or decoded according to the embodiments presented herein in order to, for example, determine whether one or more characteristics of the RF signals exceed or fall below a certain threshold.

[0033] Figure 3 This demonstrates how control circuit algorithms can be applied to audio signals to control audio power (including using delay times) to reduce inrush current and potential clipping, for example, when a boost circuit is turned on. Other control circuits operating on other signals can achieve similar results.

[0034] Return to Figure 1 The audio amplifier device 130 can use power supplies 110, 112 and converter circuit 104 to generate two or more different power supply voltages to drive the speaker 108. Power supply 112 is configured to provide a predetermined output voltage, and power supply 112 combined with converter circuit 104 is configured to provide another output voltage.

[0035] In some existing designs, multi-stage power supplies with different gain settings can be used to drive speaker 108 at any number of voltages. Designs that use software and separate digital interfaces to control and switch power supplies 110, 112 in the control plane require communication with amplifier circuitry 106. As an example, therefore, the "boost bypass" mode switching occurs internally, meaning the "boost bypass" mode switching is closely related to the audio amplifier 130 itself.

[0036] like Figure 1 As shown in the diagram, the circuitry and algorithms for controlling the power stage 128 power supply scheme are generally co-located on the same device (here, the audio amplifier device 130). Therefore, conventional designs require a relatively large buffer to allow sufficient time between transitions to safely switch from one power supply configuration to another, i.e., without risking unwanted degradation in audio performance (such as total harmonic distortion (THD) or low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)).

[0037] Some off-chip methods have algorithms that are easier to reprogram, but require more precise methods to control the power switching process. Typically, communication is also implemented via a single GPIO connection. However, this is very expensive in terms of PCB routing on the host processor and the required pins. Alternatively, control words are implemented via, for example, I... 2The control bus uses the C control interface for transmission, which is quite unreliable in terms of timing because the (low-bandwidth) control bus may be tied up with other critical communications when power switching is required. Therefore, traditional designs require relatively high margins to be built in to ensure satisfactory operation. Thus, systems and methods that overcome the shortcomings of existing designs are desired.

[0038] Figure 4 A dynamic power conversion system according to various embodiments of this disclosure is illustrated. In embodiments, system 400 may include power supplies 402, 403, a host processor 404, a loudspeaker driver 406, and a speaker 408. As depicted, the host processor 404, which may be a third-party device, may include an audio signal processor (implemented herein as an audio DSP 410), which in turn may include power control or encoder circuitry 412 and an audio transmission interface 414.

[0039] Similarly, the loudspeaker driver 406 may include an audio controller 420, which may in turn include an audio decoder 434 and an audio receiver interface 432, and the amplifier circuitry 422 may include a modulator 442 and an output power stage 444. The speaker driver 406 may further include a converter circuitry 424 and an amplifier circuitry 422, and the speaker driver is designed to drive a speaker 408.

[0040] It should be understood that the teachings of this disclosure can be applied to any type of audio amplifier, including Class G and Class H modes, i.e., using different power supplies at different times to switch or transform between power supplies, and using the same power supply with different variations allows, for example, selection between two or more voltage levels of the same power supply. Audio data 430 can be any audio content, such as a continuous audio signal or data stream generated by any audio source or device known in the art.

[0041] In this embodiment, the audio transmission interface 414 can be any existing digital audio interface, such as I... 2 S, TDM, SoundWire, or any other interface that can be used to transmit audio content to the audio controller 420. Advantageously, in embodiments where power switching control is communicated using audio data 430, I 2 S and SoundWire enable deterministic communication. In operation, the audio transmit interface 414 in the host processor 404 can be used to facilitate power switching, as discussed in more detail below.

[0042] In an embodiment, the audio signal processor 410 in the host processor 404 can use the audio signal 430 to estimate or calculate whether the output voltage of the amplifier circuit 422 is likely to exceed a predetermined threshold. The audio signal processor 410 can use any threshold detection scheme known in the art (e.g., Figure 3 The scheme shown in the diagram is applied to audio signal 430 to make a suitable probability determination or calculation, which may include the use of statistical tools and calculated and / or measured data. In an embodiment, encoder circuit 412 in audio DSP 410 may use a process of encoding control information into audio data 430 to generate encoded audio data 431, the control information including information indicating that at least some audio signals will exceed a predetermined threshold.

[0043] In one embodiment, once encoded audio data 431 has been generated, the host processor 404 can use the transmit interface 414 to transmit the encoded audio data 431 to the audio amplifier driver 406. In another embodiment, after receiving the encoded audio data 431 at the interface 432 of the audio controller 420, the amplifier driver 406 can use the audio decoder 434 to extract control information and apply a switching process to the amplifier circuit 422 to perform power selection between power supplies 402, 403 or between various power supply configurations of one of the respective power supplies 402 and 403. As an example, the control information extracted from, for example, PCM data can be based on information transmitted within the audio data 430, the content of which (e.g., signal amplitude or frequency information) can be used by the audio controller 420 to define the minimum power required to displace the speaker coil to produce sound with appropriate pitch and volume. This information can then be used to inform the amplifier circuit 422 whether and when to initiate a switching process between the voltage levels of power supplies 402, 403 and / or ideally satisfying both audio performance and power consumption specifications.

[0044] In an embodiment, the switching process may include an audio controller 420 anticipating that an audio threshold will be exceeded, for example, based on a relatively large buffer, and controlling an amplifier circuit 422 to select a specific power configuration, for example, a power configuration that reduces power consumption until the audio controller 420 determines that the threshold will no longer be exceeded.

[0045] It should be noted that, for example, either of the power supplies 402 and 403 that drive the speakers may include a battery, and the converter circuit 424 may include a boost converter that can be programmed to automatically shut down once the battery is fully charged and able to directly power the amplifier circuit 422, thereby further reducing power consumption.

[0046] Figure 5Exemplary digital audio signals according to various embodiments of this disclosure are shown, including encrypted control information that can be transmitted over an audio interface. As depicted, the encoded digital signal 500 is an N-bit signal, where N can be, for example, 24. Signal 500 includes portions 502 to 504 for holding audio components and an encoded subframe 506 that can be dedicated to carrying at least one encoded control bit (ECB).

[0047] In an embodiment, subframe 506 in the digital audio signal 500 may be obtained, for example, by truncating the last one or more bits of the N-bit audio signal 500 to obtain portions 502 to 504 having a length of N minus ECB bits, and using subframe 506 as control bits(s) to determine which power supply to use, while maintaining the remaining bits as the audio signal. It should be understood that, in an embodiment, for example, if two or three power supplies are to be controlled, subframe 506 may include two or more bits.

[0048] In other words, depending on how many switching levels or power supplies exist in the audio system, control information that can be used to control power switching can be encoded into the digital audio signal 500 in one or more ECBs. As an example, to activate or turn on the boost power supply, a single bit of the ECB can be set to one; otherwise, it can be set to zero. Correspondingly, unlike the most significant bit (MSB) 502, the position of the least significant bit (LSB) 504 within the digital signal 500 can vary depending on the number of control bits used to encode in the subframe 506.

[0049] As those skilled in the art will understand, although reducing the available bits of the audio portion of the digital audio signal 500 by slicing off one or more bits may degrade the SNR of the audio signal, the audible impact on signal fidelity is negligible. As an example, encoding only one of the 24 bits in, for example, the digital audio signal 500 for control purposes still allows for a high-quality 23-bit audio signal (less than -138 dB, or -132 dB, for 22 bits and the two encoded bits used for control).

[0050] Advantageously, transmitting encoded audio signals 500 between audio interfaces to facilitate the switching process requires no PCB wiring or additional I / O pins on any device, saving area without adding cost.

[0051] Figure 6A This is a flowchart illustrating a dynamic power transition process according to various embodiments of this disclosure. In one embodiment, process 600 may begin at step 602 when a digital audio signal is received, for example, at a host processor communicatively coupled to a speaker driver.

[0052] At step 604, the host processor may use the audio controller to estimate whether the output voltage associated with the received digital audio signal is likely to exceed a predetermined threshold. If so, at step 606, the host processor may use encoder circuitry to encode at least a portion of the digital audio signal with some control information representing the digital audio signal falling below the threshold.

[0053] At step 608, the encoder circuit can transmit control information to the speaker driver, which uses the amplifier circuit to enter bypass mode, for example by switching from a high-power power supply circuit configuration to a low-power power supply circuit configuration, to adapt to the expected output voltage and improve the power efficiency of the amplifier.

[0054] Conversely, if the audio controller determines or estimates that the output voltage will exceed a threshold, the encoder circuit can encode at least a portion of the digital audio signal with control information at step 610 to instruct the amplifier circuit to return to a high-power circuit configuration at step 612 to accommodate the amplifier's expected higher output voltage.

[0055] Figure 6B This is a flowchart of another process for dynamic power transition according to various embodiments of this disclosure. In an embodiment, process 650 may begin at step 652 when a digital audio signal is received, for example, at a speaker driver. The digital audio signal may have been buffered in memory and includes control information in one or more bits representing a digital audio signal that has fallen below a threshold.

[0056] At step 654, the speaker driver can use a decoder to extract control information from the digital audio signal.

[0057] Finally, at step 656, in response to control information indicating that the digital audio signal has fallen below a threshold, in order to reduce power consumption, the speaker driver can use amplifier circuitry to switch from a first power supply configuration to a second power supply configuration to improve the power efficiency of the speaker driver.

[0058] Figure 7 Two graphs illustrating the relationship between system efficiency and output power for two different power supply configurations are shown, representing various embodiments according to this disclosure. It should be noted that any experiments and results provided herein are presented illustratively and were performed under specific conditions using one or more specific embodiments; accordingly, these experiments and their results should not be used to limit the scope of the disclosure in this patent document.

[0059] Figure 7 The graph on the left shows a low-power supply with a 4.4 V battery voltage (e.g., Figure 4The diagram illustrates the behavior of power supply 1) in bypass mode, i.e., operating without the assistance of converter circuitry. The graph on the right represents a relatively high-power supply with a battery voltage of 13.2 V, i.e., three times higher than the low-power supply. In embodiments, the high-power supply may be a conversion power supply comprising a boost converter based on the low-power supply, as commonly used in Class H designs, for example... Figure 4 The power supply 1 is combined with the converter circuit (represented by reference numeral 424 in the attached figure).

[0060] As from Figure 7 It is readily apparent that, when compared to high-power power supplies, low-power power supplies exhibit relatively better efficiency at lower power levels, even though the maximum power output achievable by low-power power supplies is limited to approximately 1 W. Conversely, high-power power supplies have relatively high efficiency at power levels from 1 W to approximately 4.4 W; however, when compared to low-power power supplies, they exhibit relatively poor efficiency at power levels of 1 W and below.

[0061] As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, efficiency gains and other technical benefits are achieved by utilizing a controlled switching mechanism, which, for example, depends on the operating conditions of the speaker driver circuitry to strategically switch between two (or more) power supplies to take advantage of the individual strengths of each power supply.

[0062] Figure 8 Shown in Figure 7 The combined power efficiency curves show a switching threshold between the two power supply configurations used. For example... Figure 8 As shown, once the efficient low-power supply, such as the audio signal level (i.e., the output power level), approaches its power limit, the audio system can automatically switch to the high-power supply to advantageously extend the power range. The high-power supply does not necessarily operate in the inefficient part of its output characteristics, thus greatly improving the overall system efficiency, especially for the low-power level (low audio amplitude).

[0063] Figure 9 A illustrates combined power efficiency curves with programmable switching thresholds according to various embodiments of this disclosure, wherein... Figure 9 B shows Figure 9 An enlarged view of the programmable switching threshold is shown in Figure A. As previously mentioned, mode transitions from one power supply configuration to another can include switching between two or more power supplies or a single power supply switching configuration.

[0064] Figure 9 A and Figure 9The exemplary modulation in B is implemented in class H, that is, using a power supply with different power levels. Specifically, 4.4 V (V BAT ) and 12 V boost. Different programmable thresholds are labeled A to D.

[0065] In this embodiment, the system can dynamically switch (e.g., as in...) once the signal level at the audio interface drops. Figure 8 (Similar to the previous example) to a lower power supply configuration to utilize higher efficiency at a lower power level. Figure 9 A and Figure 9 The combined efficiency curve in B shows that the threshold denoted as "A" (relative to -5 dB at full scale) provides the best efficiency.

[0066] In summary, manipulating and transmitting encoded audio signals over a standard audio interface (e.g., vendor-independent and using any type of modulation scheme) with minimal effort involved in specifying which power supply configuration to use in the data plane is a clever solution that improves efficiency and advantageously provides great flexibility to the audio system.

[0067] Figure 10 Various embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. Figure 4 The more general signal processing system presented herein. In an embodiment, system 1000 may include power supplies 1052 and 1053, a host processor 1054, a driver 1056, and a device 1058, which may be any arbitrary device. The host processor 1054 may include a signal processor, such as a DSP 1060, which may include power control or encoder circuitry 1062 and a transmit interface 1064. The driver 1056, which may be implemented as an RF driver, an optical driver, etc., may include a controller 1070, which includes a decoder 1084 and a receiver interface 1082. The driver 1056 may further include a converter circuitry 1074 and an amplifier circuitry 1072, which may include a modulator 1092 and an output power stage 1094 for the driver device 1058.

[0068] It should be understood that the teachings of this disclosure can be applied to any type of amplifier circuit that can utilize information transmitted via data 1080 to switch or transform between power supplies, for example, by switching between different power supplies at different times or between different power rails powered by the same power supply, to select between two or more output voltage levels. Data signal 1080 (e.g., a data stream including a modulated power signal) can include any content of any type or format generated by any source or device 1058 known in the art. In embodiments, transmit interface 1064 can be any existing digital interface that can transmit data 1080, for example, in a pre-processed format, to controller 1070.

[0069] In operation, the transmit interface 1064 in the host processor 1054 can be used to control and facilitate power switching, as discussed in more detail below. In an embodiment, the signal processor 1060 in the host processor 1054 can analyze one or more properties or characteristics of the signal 1080 and / or its contents to estimate or calculate whether the signal (e.g., the output voltage of amplifier circuit 1072) is likely to exceed a predetermined threshold to accommodate multiple characteristics. The signal processor 1060 can apply any threshold detection scheme known in the art to the data signal 1080 to, for example, make a probability determination or calculation of the data that can be used with statistical tools and / or measurements. In an embodiment, the DSP 1060 can encode control information into the data 1080 based on the analysis to generate encoded data 1082, which may include information indicating that at least some signals may exceed the predetermined threshold.

[0070] In one embodiment, once encoded data 1082 has been generated, host processor 1054 can use transmit interface 1064 to transmit encoded data 1082 to controller 1070. In another embodiment, after receiving encoded data 1082 at interface 1082 of controller 1070, controller 1070 can use decoder 1084 to extract information estimated or calculated by host processor 1054 to generate control information. In another embodiment, for example, during switching, control information can be applied to amplifier circuit 1072 to perform power selection between power supplies 1052 and 1053, between various power supply configurations of one of the respective power supplies 1052 and 1053, or within a single power supply coupled to different power rail configurations. In another embodiment, the switching process may include controller 1070 anticipating a threshold might be exceeded, for example, based on a relatively large buffer, and controlling amplifier circuit 1072 to select a specific power supply configuration, for example, one that advantageously reduces power consumption until controller 1070 determines that the threshold will no longer be exceeded.

[0071] It should be noted that, as a reference Figure 3As mentioned, any power source 1052, 1053 may include a battery, and the converter circuit 1074 may include a boost converter that can be programmed to automatically shut down once the battery is fully charged to directly power the amplifier circuit 1072, thereby further reducing power consumption.

[0072] Further attention should be paid to, Figure 11 The system 1000 shown herein is not limited to the structural details illustrated or described in the accompanying text. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the system 1000 may include various and / or additional components, such as memory devices, multiplexers, control logic (e.g., state machines) and control signals (e.g., reference signals) and clocks, filters (e.g., ripple or EMI filters), compression circuitry, protection circuitry, and other components useful or necessary for accomplishing the objectives of this disclosure. For example, the output of amplifier circuit 1072 may be routed to... Figure 10 The controller 1070 in the feedback loop is not shown. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that... Figure 10 One or more components can be integrated into a single device.

[0073] Figure 11 This is a flowchart illustrating a dynamic power transition process according to various embodiments of this disclosure. In an embodiment, process 1100 may begin at step 1102 when a digital signal is received, for example, at a host processor communicatively coupled to the driver.

[0074] At step 1104, the host processor may use the controller to estimate whether the output voltage associated with the received digital signal is likely to exceed a predetermined threshold. If so, at step 1106, the host processor may use an encoder circuit to encode at least a portion of the digital signal with some control information representing the digital signal falling below the threshold.

[0075] At step 1108, the encoder circuit can transmit control information to the speaker driver, which uses the amplifier circuit to enter bypass mode, for example by switching from a high-power power supply circuit configuration to a low-power power supply circuit configuration, to adapt to the expected output voltage and improve the power efficiency of the amplifier.

[0076] Conversely, if the controller determines or estimates that the output voltage will exceed a threshold, the encoder circuit can encode at least a portion of the digital signal with control information at step 1110 to instruct the amplifier circuit to return to a high-power circuit configuration at step 1112 to accommodate the amplifier's expected higher output voltage.

[0077] Aspects of the present invention can be implemented using instructions coded on one or more non-transitory computer-readable media for use with one or more processors or processing units to enable the steps to be executed. It should be noted that the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media should include both volatile and non-volatile memory. It should be noted that alternative implementations are possible, including hardware implementations or software / hardware implementations. The functionality of the hardware implementation can be implemented using (multiple) ASICs, programmable arrays, digital signal processing circuit systems, etc. Therefore, the term "means" in any claim is intended to cover both software and hardware implementations. Similarly, the term "one or more computer-readable media" as used herein includes software and / or hardware, or a combination thereof, having a program of instructions embodied thereon. In consideration of these alternative implementations, it will be understood that the accompanying drawings and description provide functional information that a person skilled in the art would need to write program code (i.e., software) and / or manufacture circuitry (i.e., hardware) to perform the desired processing.

[0078] It should be noted that embodiments of the present invention may further relate to computer products having non-transitory tangible computer-readable media having computer code thereon for performing various computer-implemented operations. The media and computer code may be media and computer code specifically designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or these media and computer code may belong to a class well known or available to those skilled in the art. Examples of tangible computer-readable media include, but are not limited to: magnetic media, such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes; optical media, such as CD-ROMs and holographic devices; magneto-optical media; and hardware devices specifically configured to store program code or to store and execute program code, such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), flash memory devices, and ROM and RAM devices. Examples of computer code include machine code generated by a compiler and files containing higher-order code executed by a computer using an interpreter. Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented wholly or partially as machine-executable instructions in program modules that can be executed by a processing device. Examples of program modules include libraries, programs, routines, objects, components, and data structures. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be physically located in a local, remote, or both environment.

[0079] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the absence of a computing system or programming language is essential for the practice of this invention. They will also recognize that the various elements described above can be physically and / or functionally divided into multiple sub-modules or combined together.

[0080] Those skilled in the art will understand that the foregoing examples and embodiments are exemplary and not limited to the scope of this disclosure. All arrangements, enhancements, equivalents, combinations, and modifications thereof that will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this specification and studying the accompanying drawings are intended to be included within the true spirit and scope of this disclosure. It should also be noted that the elements of any claim can be arranged in different ways, including having multiple dependencies, configurations, and combinations.

Claims

1. A method for improving power efficiency in a communication system, the method comprising: In response to receiving a digital signal including a characteristic, determine whether the characteristic exceeds a threshold corresponding to an increase in power requirement; At least a portion of the digital signal is encoded using control information indicating that the characteristic exceeds the threshold to obtain an encoded signal; The encoded signal is transmitted to the driver circuit, which decodes the encoded signal and uses the decoded signal to increase the power output of the amplifier circuit to accommodate the increased power requirement. as well as In response to determining that the characteristic no longer exceeds the threshold, the driver circuit reduces the power output to conserve energy.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The amplifier circuit uses at least one of a high-power circuit configuration or a low-power circuit configuration to drive one or more devices.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, In bypass mode, the amplifier circuit switches from a low-power circuit configuration to a high-power circuit configuration to improve the power efficiency of the communication system.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The control information includes one or more bits generated based on at least one of circuit gain, margin requirements, or safety margin requirements.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Receiving the digital signal includes at least one of the following operations: monitoring the digital signal or buffering the digital signal.

6. A system for improving power efficiency in a communication system, the system comprising: A signal processor that receives a digital signal including characteristics at an interface, and performs steps including the following: Determine whether this characteristic exceeds the threshold corresponding to the increase in the device's power requirements; In response to determining that the characteristic no longer exceeds the threshold, the driver circuit coupled to the signal processor reduces the power output to save energy; as well as At least a portion of the digital signal is encoded using control information indicating that the characteristic exceeds the threshold to generate an encoded signal. The driver circuit includes a controller that, in response to receiving the encoded signal, performs steps including the following: Extract this control information; as well as Use this control information to generate control signals; as well as An amplifier circuit coupled to the driver circuit increases the power output in response to receiving the control signal to accommodate the increased power requirements of the device.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein, The amplifier circuit uses at least one of a high-power circuit configuration or a low-power circuit configuration to drive the device.

8. The system according to claim 6, wherein, The amplifier circuit switches from a low-power circuit configuration to a high-power circuit configuration to improve the power efficiency of the communication system.

9. The system according to claim 6, wherein, The amplifier circuit includes a programmable boost converter that generates an output voltage that adjusts the power output.

10. The system according to claim 6, wherein, The amplifier circuit switches from a first power supply configuration to a second power supply configuration to reduce power consumption.

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