Circuit element protection device and method thereof

Abstract

The present application provides a circuit element protection device and its method, which is applied to a signal input end. The circuit element protection device comprises a slave processing unit, a main processing unit, a first slow start unit and a second slow start unit. The first slow start unit receives a signal of the signal input end and is used to filter noise of the signal and delay transmission of the signal to the slave processing unit. The second slow start unit receives the signal of the signal input end and is used to filter noise of the signal and delay transmission of the signal to the main processing unit. Thus, the technical problem that the prior art cannot consider the safe operation specification of all elements and the master-slave relationship of individual elements is solved, and the purposes of saving element maintenance cost and improving element operation convenience are achieved.

Description

Circuit component protection devices and methods Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a circuit element protection device and method, and more particularly to a circuit element protection device and method having a soft-start time difference. Background Technology

[0002] Connectors are widely used in various electrical products across different fields. As the power supply requirements of different electrical products change, connectors must be designed accordingly, leading to the development of various types of connectors. Connectors are commonly used to transmit signals or power, playing a crucial role in the connection between electrical products or machines. For example, in AC power connectors used for high current applications, in order to ensure sufficient current withstand capability at the terminals, in addition to the selection of materials, the dimensions must also be enlarged or thickened. With the rapid development of modern technology and the surge in demands for data processing speed, capacity, and functionality, the cables required for connectors have also increased. Especially when corresponding to different control units or processing units, the safe operating specifications of each component (such as current or voltage limits) must be considered. Therefore, circuit protection units with current-limiting or voltage-limiting functions are usually introduced at the front end of the connector to prevent some components from being damaged by noise or surges, thereby reducing maintenance costs.

[0003] However, conventional technologies apply the same safety operating procedure to all components at the connector's back end when using the aforementioned circuit protection unit. This can be considered as using a single circuit protection unit to filter all components. Figure 1 shows an embodiment of a prior art protection circuit where a soft-start unit 10 is configured between the gold finger 100 and the IC / MCU. The advantage is that a single soft-start unit 10 can protect all downstream electronic components (e.g., IC / MCU) (e.g., preventing damage from current surges). However, this means that some products, such as the MiniSAS HD, require the MCU to be started before the IC can be started. Therefore, a design like Figure 1 can affect the signal transmission during startup or operation of components with master-slave relationships, even causing them to malfunction, resulting in operational inconvenience. Furthermore, Figure 2 shows another embodiment of a prior art protection circuit. In conventional methods, to improve upon the shortcomings of Figure 1 and further adapt the circuit, some prior art designs exclude the soft-start unit 10 from the circuit design connected to the MCU, achieving the goal of starting the MCU first and then the IC. However, in this way, the MCU will no longer be protected by the soft-start unit 10, and will still have the technical problem of being easily damaged by current surge signals.

[0004] Therefore, how to design a circuit element protection device and method, especially to solve the aforementioned technical problems of the prior art, is an important research topic for the inventors of this case. Summary of the Invention

[0005] One objective of this invention is to provide a circuit element protection device that can solve the technical problem of existing technologies that cannot take into account the safe operation specifications of all elements and the master-slave relationship of individual elements, thereby saving element maintenance costs and improving the ease of element operation.

[0006] To achieve the aforementioned objectives, the circuit element protection device proposed in this invention is applied to a signal input terminal, and the circuit element protection device includes: a slave processing unit, a main processing unit, a first soft-start unit, and a second soft-start unit. The main processing unit is electrically coupled and used to control the slave processing unit. The first soft-start unit is disposed between the signal input terminal and the slave processing unit, and receives the signal from the signal input terminal, performs noise filtering on the signal, and delays its transmission to the slave processing unit. The second soft-start unit is disposed between the signal input terminal and the main processing unit, and receives the signal from the signal input terminal, performs noise filtering on the signal, and delays its transmission to the main processing unit. The delay time for the signal transmission by the first soft-start unit is greater than the delay time for the signal transmission by the second soft-start unit.

[0007] Furthermore, in the circuit element protection device, the first soft-start unit includes a bandpass filter or a bandstop filter.

[0008] Furthermore, in the circuit element protection device, the second soft-start unit includes a bandpass filter or a bandstop filter.

[0009] Furthermore, the circuit element protection device further includes an integrated circuit, which is electrically coupled to a signal input terminal, a first soft-start unit, and a second soft-start unit. At least one of the first and second soft-start units is controlled by the integrated circuit to adjust the signal delay transmission time of at least one of the first and second soft-start units.

[0010] Furthermore, the circuit element protection device further includes an integrated circuit, which is electrically coupled to a signal input terminal, a first soft-start unit, and a second soft-start unit. The integrated circuit separately adjusts the time for transmitting the signal to the first soft-start unit and the time for transmitting the signal to the second soft-start unit.

[0011] Furthermore, the circuit element protection device also includes a third soft-start unit, which is disposed between the signal input terminal and the integrated circuit. The third soft-start unit receives the signal from the signal input terminal and is used to filter out noise and delay the transmission of the signal to the integrated circuit.

[0012] Furthermore, in the circuit element protection device, the third soft-start unit includes a bandpass filter or a bandstop filter.

[0013] Another objective of this invention is to provide a circuit element protection method that can solve the technical problem of existing technologies that cannot take into account the safe operation specifications of all elements and the master-slave relationship of individual elements, thereby saving element maintenance costs and improving the ease of element operation.

[0014] To achieve the aforementioned objectives, the circuit element protection method proposed in this invention is applied to a signal input terminal, a slave processing unit, a main processing unit, a first soft-start unit, and a second soft-start unit. The circuit element protection method includes the following steps: the first soft-start unit receives a signal from the signal input terminal, performs noise filtering on the signal, and delays its transmission to the slave processing unit. The second soft-start unit receives a signal from the signal input terminal, performs noise filtering on the signal, and delays its transmission to the main processing unit. The main processing unit controls the slave processing unit. The delay time for signal transmission by the first soft-start unit is greater than the delay time for signal transmission by the second soft-start unit.

[0015] Furthermore, the circuit element protection method further includes the following steps: at least one of the first soft-start unit and the second soft-start unit is controlled by an integrated circuit to adjust the signal delay transmission time of at least one of the first soft-start unit and the second soft-start unit.

[0016] Furthermore, the circuit element protection method further includes the following steps: the integrated circuits individually adjust the time for transmitting signals to the first soft-start unit and the time for transmitting signals to the second soft-start unit.

[0017] When using the circuit element protection method and approach described in this invention, the first soft-start unit and the second soft-start unit can respectively filter and delay the transmission of the signal, so that both the slave processing unit and the master processing unit are protected by noise filtering, avoiding the situation where some components are damaged by noise or surges, thereby reducing maintenance costs. Furthermore, considering the linkage relationship where the slave processing unit is controlled by the master processing unit, this invention introduces an architecture where the signal delay transmission time of the first soft-start unit is greater than that of the second soft-start unit. Therefore, there is a time difference in signal delay transmission between the first soft-start unit and the second soft-start unit, allowing components with a master-slave relationship to operate normally.

[0018] Therefore, the circuit element protection device and method described in this invention can solve the technical problem that the prior art cannot take into account the safe operation specifications of all elements and the master-slave relationship of individual elements, thereby achieving the purpose of saving element maintenance costs and improving the ease of element operation.

[0019] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, so that those skilled in the art can better understand and implement the present invention. However, the embodiments described are not intended to limit the present invention. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 shows an embodiment of a protection circuit in the prior art;

[0021] Figure 2 shows another embodiment of the protection circuit in the prior art;

[0022] Figure 3 is a system architecture diagram of the first embodiment of the circuit element protection device of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 is a system architecture diagram of a second embodiment of the circuit element protection device of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 5 is a system architecture diagram of a third embodiment of the circuit element protection device of the present invention; and

[0025] Figure 6 is a flowchart of the circuit element protection method of the present invention.

[0026] In the picture:

[0027] 10: Soft start unit; 11: First soft start unit; 12: Second soft start unit; 13: Third soft start unit; 21: Subordinate processing unit; 22: Main processing unit; 23: Integrated circuit; 100: Gold finger; S1~S3: Steps. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The following describes the implementation of the present invention through specific embodiments. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific examples, and various details in the specification can be modified and changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0029] It should be noted that the structures, proportions, sizes, and number of components shown in the accompanying drawings are only for illustrative purposes and to enable those skilled in the art to understand and read the contents disclosed in the specification. They are not intended to limit the conditions under which the present invention can be implemented and therefore have no substantial technical significance. Any modifications to the structure, changes in the proportions, or adjustments to the size, without affecting the effects and objectives that the present invention can produce, should fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed in the present invention.

[0030] The technical content and detailed description of the present invention are explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0031] Please refer to Figure 3, which is a system architecture diagram of the first embodiment of the circuit element protection device of the present invention. The circuit element protection device proposed in this invention is applied to the signal input terminal. In the first embodiment of the present invention, the signal input terminal is the gold finger 100 of the connector. The circuit element protection device includes: a slave processing unit 21, a main processing unit 22, a first soft-start unit 11, and a second soft-start unit 12. The main processing unit 22 is electrically coupled to and used to control the slave processing unit 21. The first soft-start unit 11 is disposed between the gold finger 100 and the slave processing unit 21. The first soft-start unit 11 receives the signal from the gold finger 100 and is used to filter out noise and delay the transmission of the signal to the slave processing unit 21. The second soft-start unit 12 is disposed between the gold finger 100 and the main processing unit 22. The second soft-start unit 12 receives the signal from the gold finger 100 and is used to filter out noise and delay the transmission of the signal to the main processing unit 22. Furthermore, the delay time for signal transmission by the first soft-start unit 11 is greater than the delay time for signal transmission by the second soft-start unit 12.

[0032] In the first embodiment of the present invention, the first soft-start unit 11 may include a band-pass filter or a band-stop filter, and the second soft-start unit 12 may include a band-pass filter or a band-stop filter. Both the first soft-start unit 11 and the second soft-start unit 12 can adjust the signal delay transmission time by adjusting the RLC circuit (i.e., a circuit structure composed of resistors (R), inductors (L), and capacitors (C)). This time can be, for example, 800 milliseconds, 400 milliseconds, 1.2 microseconds, 100 microseconds, etc. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Furthermore, the subordinate processing unit 21 may be an integrated circuit (IC) with a specific function, and the main processing unit 22 may be a microcontroller (MCU), microprocessor (MPU), central processing unit (CPU), digital signal processor (DSP), graphics processing unit (GPU), etc. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0033] Please refer to Figure 4, which is a system architecture diagram of the second embodiment of the circuit element protection device of the present invention. The second embodiment disclosed in this invention is substantially the same as the first embodiment described above, except that it also includes integrated circuit 23. The integrated circuit 23 is electrically coupled to the gold finger 100, the first soft-start unit 11, and the second soft-start unit 12, and the integrated circuit 23 has two implementation states:

[0034] In one embodiment, at least one of the first soft-start unit 11 and the second soft-start unit 12 is controlled by the integrated circuit 23 to adjust the signal delay transmission time of at least one of the first soft-start unit 11 and the second soft-start unit 12. That is, both the first soft-start unit 11 and the second soft-start unit 12 can be controlled by instructions from the integrated circuit 23 to perform the delayed transmission operation, and both are adjustable. The integrated circuit 23 can adjust at least one of the first soft-start unit 11 and the second soft-start unit 12 according to user needs, so that the subordinate processing unit 21 and the main processing unit 22 receive signals simultaneously or not simultaneously.

[0035] In another embodiment, integrated circuit 23 separately adjusts the time for transmitting signals to the first soft-start unit 11 and the time for transmitting signals to the second soft-start unit 12. That is, both the first soft-start unit 11 and the second soft-start unit 12 are hardware-controlled in their delayed transmission operations and are not adjustable. Integrated circuit 23 can adjust the time for transmitting signals to the first soft-start unit 11 and the time for transmitting signals to the second soft-start unit 12 according to user needs, so that the subordinate processing unit 21 and the main processing unit 22 receive signals simultaneously or not simultaneously.

[0036] In the second embodiment of the present invention, the integrated circuit 23 may be a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0037] Please refer to Figure 5, which is a system architecture diagram of the third embodiment of the circuit element protection device of the present invention. The third embodiment disclosed in this invention is substantially the same as the aforementioned second embodiment, except that it further includes a third soft-start unit 13. The third soft-start unit 13 is disposed between the gold finger 100 and the integrated circuit 23. The third soft-start unit 13 receives the signal from the gold finger 100 and uses it to filter out noise from the signal and delay its transmission to the integrated circuit 23.

[0038] Please refer to Figure 6, which is a flowchart of the circuit element protection method of the present invention. The corresponding component symbols are shown in the foregoing content and Figures 3 to 5, and will not be repeated here. The circuit element protection method of the present invention includes the following steps: a first soft-start unit 11 receives a signal from the signal input terminal (i.e., the gold finger 100), filters out noise from the signal, and delays its transmission to the slave processing unit 21 (step S1). A second soft-start unit 12 receives a signal from the gold finger 100, filters out noise from the signal, and delays its transmission to the main processing unit 22 (step S2); and the main processing unit 22 controls the slave processing unit 21 (step S3).

[0039] Furthermore, the first soft-start unit 11, the second soft-start unit 12, and / or the third soft-start unit 13, as described above, can be existing electronic components used to limit inrush current and to limit abnormal conditions such as arcing or high voltage caused by the extension of inrush current, thereby reducing the stress on electronic components, extending component life, and improving system reliability. The soft-start device can be, for example, an inrush current limiter. In practice, it can be combined with a circuit composed of filters, resistors, or thermistors with a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) to achieve the aforementioned first soft-start unit 11, second soft-start unit 12, and / or third soft-start unit 13. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0040] When using the circuit element protection device described in this invention, the first soft-start unit 11 and the second soft-start unit 12 can respectively filter and delay the transmission of the signal, so that both the slave processing unit 21 and the main processing unit 22 are protected by noise filtering, which can prevent some components from being damaged by noise or surges, thereby reducing maintenance costs. Furthermore, considering the linkage relationship between the slave processing unit 21 and the main processing unit 22, this invention introduces an architecture where the signal delay transmission time of the first soft-start unit 11 is greater than the signal delay transmission time of the second soft-start unit 12. Therefore, there is a time difference in signal delay transmission between the first soft-start unit 11 and the second soft-start unit 12, allowing components with a master-slave relationship to operate normally.

[0041] Therefore, the circuit element protection device and method described in this invention can solve the technical problem that the prior art cannot take into account the safe operation specifications of all elements and the master-slave relationship of individual elements, thereby achieving the purpose of saving element maintenance costs and improving the ease of element operation.

[0042] The above-described embodiments are merely preferred embodiments provided to fully illustrate the present invention, and the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Equivalent substitutions or modifications made by those skilled in the art based on the present invention are all within the scope of protection of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A circuit element protection device, applied to a signal input terminal, characterized in that, The circuit element protection device includes: a slave processing unit; a main processing unit electrically coupled to and used to control the slave processing unit; a first soft-start unit disposed between the signal input terminal and the slave processing unit, the first soft-start unit receiving a signal from the signal input terminal and used to filter out noise from the signal and delay its transmission to the slave processing unit; and a second soft-start unit disposed between the signal input terminal and the main processing unit, the second soft-start unit receiving the signal from the signal input terminal and used to filter out noise from the signal and delay its transmission to the main processing unit; wherein the delay transmission time of the signal by the first soft-start unit is greater than the delay transmission time of the signal by the second soft-start unit.

2. The circuit element protection device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first soft-start unit includes a bandpass filter or a bandstop filter.

3. The circuit element protection device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The second soft-start unit includes a bandpass filter or a bandstop filter.

4. The circuit element protection device as described in claim 1, characterized in that... It also includes an integrated circuit electrically coupled to the signal input terminal, the first soft-start unit, and the second soft-start unit; wherein at least one of the first soft-start unit and the second soft-start unit is controlled by the integrated circuit to adjust the delay transmission time of the signal by at least one of the first soft-start unit and the second soft-start unit.

5. The circuit element protection device as described in claim 1, characterized in that... It also includes an integrated circuit electrically coupled to the signal input terminal, the first soft-start unit, and the second soft-start unit; wherein the integrated circuit respectively adjusts the time for transmitting the signal to the first soft-start unit and the time for transmitting the signal to the second soft-start unit.

6. The circuit element protection device as described in claim 4 or 5, characterized in that... It also includes a third soft-start unit, which is disposed between the signal input terminal and the integrated circuit. The third soft-start unit receives the signal from the signal input terminal and is used to filter out noise from the signal and delay its transmission to the integrated circuit.

7. The circuit element protection device as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The third soft-start unit includes a bandpass filter or a bandstop filter.

8. A circuit element protection method, applied to a signal input terminal, a slave processing unit, a main processing unit, a first soft-start unit, and a second soft-start unit, characterized in that, The circuit element protection method includes: a first soft-start unit receiving a signal from the signal input terminal, filtering out noise from the signal, and delaying its transmission to the slave processing unit; a second soft-start unit receiving the signal from the signal input terminal, filtering out noise from the signal, and delaying its transmission to the main processing unit; and the main processing unit controlling the slave processing unit; wherein the delay transmission time of the signal by the first soft-start unit is greater than the delay transmission time of the signal by the second soft-start unit.

9. The circuit element protection method as described in claim 8, characterized in that, It also includes the following steps: at least one of the first soft-start unit and the second soft-start unit is controlled by an integrated circuit to adjust the delay transmission time of the signal by at least one of the first soft-start unit and the second soft-start unit.

10. The circuit element protection method as described in claim 8, characterized in that, It also includes the following steps: an integrated circuit individually adjusts the time for transmitting the signal to the first soft-start unit and the time for transmitting the signal to the second soft-start unit.

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