A boost circuit, a boost method, a PCB board, a chip and an electronic cigarette

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of LED driving, and particularly discloses a boosting circuit, a boosting method, a PCB, a chip and an electronic cigarette. The boosting circuit comprises N port parts and N / 2 capacitors, wherein N>=4 and N is an even number; the N port parts are paired two by two, and one capacitor is connected between the paired port parts; the port parts without pairing relationship are connected with light-emitting diodes; the port parts are used for charging the connected capacitors and realizing output boosting; the boosting circuit can adjust the working state of the port parts according to the port information of the light-emitting diodes to be lighted, so as to adjust the voltage between the two ends of the capacitors, and make the two ends of the light-emitting diodes have a voltage difference of twice the power supply voltage, that is, the light-emitting diodes can be lighted even under the condition of low power supply voltage; the overall circuit can realize the lighting of the light-emitting diodes under the condition of low voltage by adding capacitors, and has the advantages of low circuit cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of LED driving technology, and in particular to a boost circuit, boost method, PCB board, chip, and electronic cigarette. Background Technology

[0002] In products that use lithium batteries, such as e-cigarettes, LEDs are generally used for indication or display functions. For more complex LED arrays, digital tubes, or even LCD / OLED array screens, due to the need for complex startup logic, MCUs or microcontrollers are usually used to align the output for control. However, different colored LEDs have different lighting voltages. For example, green LEDs can be lit at around 2.5V, but white LEDs require 3.3V or higher. Therefore, in order to ensure that the screen content can be displayed normally within the battery's operating voltage range, a boost operation is required for the output.

[0003] In existing technologies, the common approach is to boost the voltage of the overall control circuit, such as by using a BOOST circuit or a charge pump circuit. However, this method increases standby and operating current, which leads to increased energy consumption. Furthermore, to improve the safety of the circuit during operation, an additional isolation circuit needs to be set between the power supply and the MCU, which increases the circuit cost and thus the production cost of the product.

[0004] It is evident that existing technologies still need improvement and enhancement. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a boost circuit that can enable the LED to light up even when the power supply voltage is low, and has the advantage of low circuit cost.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0007] A boost circuit includes N port sections and N / 2 capacitors, wherein N ≥ 4 and N is an even number; the N port sections are paired in pairs, and a capacitor is connected between paired port sections, while light-emitting diodes are connected between unpaired port sections; the port sections are used to charge the capacitors connected to them and to boost the output voltage.

[0008] In the boost circuit, the port section includes a control unit, a PMOS transistor, and an NMOS transistor. The control unit is connected to the gates of the PMOS transistor and the NMOS transistor, respectively. The source of the PMOS transistor is connected to a power supply, and the source of the NMOS transistor is grounded. The drains of the PMOS transistor and the NMOS transistor are used to connect a capacitor and a light-emitting diode, respectively.

[0009] In the boost circuit, in the paired port sections, the drain of the PMOS transistor and the drain of the NMOS transistor in one port section are connected to one end of the corresponding capacitor, and the drain of the PMOS transistor and the drain of the NMOS transistor in the other port section are connected to the other end of the corresponding capacitor.

[0010] In the aforementioned boost circuit, N ports are used to drive and control m light-emitting diodes, where (N-1)*(N-2)≥m.

[0011] This application also provides a boost method for controlling the operation of the boost circuit as described above, the boost method comprising the steps of:

[0012] S100. Obtain the port information of the light-emitting diode to be lit, wherein the port information includes a first port portion, a second port portion and a third port portion, wherein the first port portion is a port portion connected to the positive terminal of the light-emitting diode; the second port portion is a port portion paired with the first port portion; and the third port portion is a port portion connected to the negative terminal of the light-emitting diode.

[0013] S200: Adjust the working state of the first port section and the second port section to charge the capacitor connected between the first port section and the second port section.

[0014] S300, then adjust the operating state of the first port section and the second port section to boost the voltage at the positive terminal of the LED;

[0015] S400. Adjust the working state of the third port to ground the negative terminal of the LED, and the LED will be lit.

[0016] In the aforementioned boost method, the first port section, the second port section, and the third port section have identical structures. The first port section includes a control unit, a PMOS transistor, and an NMOS transistor. The control unit is connected to the gates of the PMOS transistor and the NMOS transistor, respectively. The source of the PMOS transistor is connected to a power supply, and the source of the NMOS transistor is grounded. The drains of the PMOS transistor and the NMOS transistor are used to connect to a capacitor and to a light-emitting diode, respectively. In paired port sections, the drains of the PMOS transistor and the NMOS transistor in one port section are connected to one end of the corresponding capacitor, and the drains of the PMOS transistor and the NMOS transistor in the other port section are connected to the other end of the corresponding capacitor. Steps S200, S300, and S400 specifically involve:

[0017] S201, The control unit of the first port controls the PMOS transistor 1_P of the first port to turn on, and the control unit of the second port controls the NMOS transistor 2_N of the second port to turn on, and the capacitor connected between the first port and the second port is charged.

[0018] S301, the control unit of the first port controls the PMOS transistor 1_P of the first port to turn off, and the control unit of the second port controls the PMOS transistor 2_P of the second port to turn on, and the positive terminal of the light-emitting diode is boosted;

[0019] S401, the control unit of the third port controls the NMOS transistor 3_N of the third port to turn on, the negative terminal of the light-emitting diode is grounded, and the light-emitting diode is lit.

[0020] The aforementioned boosting method further includes the following steps:

[0021] The S500 performs high-frequency polling, exceeding the visibility of the human eye.

[0022] This application also provides a PCB board on which the boost circuit described in any of the above is printed.

[0023] This application also provides a chip that includes a boost circuit as described above.

[0024] This application also provides an electronic cigarette, including a housing, wherein a PCB board as described above is disposed inside the housing.

[0025] Beneficial effects:

[0026] This invention provides a boost circuit. In actual operation, the working state of the port section is adjusted according to the port information of the LED to be lit, so as to adjust the voltage across the capacitor connected to the port section, so that there is a voltage difference of twice the power supply voltage across the LED. That is, the LED can be lit even when the power supply voltage is low. The entire circuit can achieve LED lighting even when the voltage is low by adding a capacitor, which has the advantage of low circuit cost. Attached Figure Description

[0027] Figure 1 A circuit diagram of one embodiment of the boost circuit provided by the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 A connection structure diagram of a boost circuit and a light-emitting diode provided by the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a first logic flowchart of the boost method provided by the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 The second logic flowchart of the boost method provided by the present invention is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0031] This invention provides a boost circuit, a boost method, a PCB board, a chip, and an electronic cigarette. To make the objectives, technical solutions, and effects of this invention clearer and more explicit, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0032] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "installation" and "connection" should be interpreted broadly, and those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0033] Please see Figure 1 and Figure 2 This invention provides a boost circuit, including N port sections and N / 2 capacitors, wherein N≥4 and N is an even number; the N port sections are paired in pairs, and a capacitor is connected between paired port sections, while light-emitting diodes are connected between port sections that are not paired; the port sections are used to charge the capacitors connected to them and to boost the output voltage; in this embodiment, the port sections are MCU ports.

[0034] The lighting principle of LED arrays or digital tubes is basically the same as that of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), that is, a sufficient voltage difference between the positive and negative terminals can make the corresponding device emit light. This application discloses a boost circuit. In actual operation, the working state of the port section is adjusted according to the port information of the LED to be lit, so as to adjust the voltage across the capacitor connected to the port section. This allows the power supply VBAT to directly charge the capacitor or pull the voltage at the other end of the capacitor down to -VBAT, so that there is a voltage difference of twice the power supply voltage across the LED. That is, the LED can be lit even when the power supply voltage is low. The entire circuit can achieve LED lighting even when the voltage is low by adding a capacitor. Since it is not necessary to boost the voltage of the entire system, only the output of the port section needs to be boosted. This allows the screen to continue to be lit when the power supply voltage decays to the point that the output port voltage is lower than that of the LED array / other screens and other electrical appliances, thus realizing the output control function. It has the advantage of low circuit cost.

[0035] Further, please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2The port section includes a control unit, a PMOS transistor, and an NMOS transistor. The control unit is connected to the gates of the PMOS transistor and the NMOS transistor, respectively. The source of the PMOS transistor is connected to the power supply, and the source of the NMOS transistor is grounded. The drains of the PMOS transistor and the NMOS transistor are used to connect to a capacitor and to a light-emitting diode (LED). The drains of the PMOS transistor and the NMOS transistor in the port section are both used to connect to the positive terminal or the negative terminal of a certain LED. In this embodiment, the control unit is a CTR control unit, and the port section is a push-pull interface, which can perform pull-up to power supply and pull-down to ground operations, and all port sections are independently controlled.

[0036] Further, please refer to Figure 1 In the paired port sections, the drain of the PMOS transistor and the drain of the NMOS transistor in one port section are connected to one end of the corresponding capacitor, and the drain of the PMOS transistor and the drain of the NMOS transistor in the other port section are connected to the other end of the corresponding capacitor.

[0037] Further, please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 N ports are used to drive and control m LEDs, where (N-1)*(N-2)≥m; for example, when the number of LEDs to be lit is 20, at least 6 ports are needed to complete the lighting operation, that is, when m=20, N=6.

[0038] Please see Figure 3 and Figure 4 This application also provides a boost method for controlling the operation of the boost circuit as described above, the boost method comprising the steps of:

[0039] S100. Obtain the port information of the light-emitting diode to be lit, wherein the port information includes a first port portion, a second port portion and a third port portion, wherein the first port portion is a port portion connected to the positive terminal of the light-emitting diode; the second port portion is a port portion paired with the first port portion; and the third port portion is a port portion connected to the negative terminal of the light-emitting diode.

[0040] S200: Adjust the working state of the first port section and the second port section to charge the capacitor connected between the first port section and the second port section.

[0041] S300, then adjust the operating state of the first port section and the second port section to boost the voltage at the positive terminal of the LED;

[0042] S400. Adjust the working state of the third port to ground the negative terminal of the LED, and the LED will be lit.

[0043] This application discloses a voltage boosting method. In actual operation, the working state of the port connected to the LED is adjusted according to the port information of the LED to be lit, and the working state of the port paired with the port connected to the positive terminal of the LED is also adjusted. This achieves the adjustment of the voltage across the capacitor connected to the port. The power supply VBAT directly charges the capacitor or pulls the voltage at the other end of the capacitor down to -VBAT, so that there is a voltage difference of twice the power supply voltage across the LED. That is, the LED can be lit even when the power supply voltage is low, which improves the stability and reliability of light-emitting devices such as LED arrays or digital tubes.

[0044] Further, please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 4 The first port section, the second port section, and the third port section have the same structure. The first port section includes a control unit, a PMOS transistor, and an NMOS transistor. The control unit is connected to the gate of the PMOS transistor and the gate of the NMOS transistor, respectively. The source of the PMOS transistor is connected to a power supply, and the source of the NMOS transistor is grounded. The drain of the PMOS transistor and the drain of the NMOS transistor are used to connect to a capacitor and to a light-emitting diode, respectively. In the paired port sections, the drain of the PMOS transistor and the drain of the NMOS transistor in one port section are connected to one end of the corresponding capacitor, and the drain of the PMOS transistor and the drain of the NMOS transistor in the other port section are connected to the other end of the corresponding capacitor. Steps S200, S300, and S400 are specifically as follows:

[0045] S201, The control unit of the first port controls the PMOS transistor 1_P of the first port to turn on, and the control unit of the second port controls the NMOS transistor 2_N of the second port to turn on, and the capacitor connected between the first port and the second port is charged.

[0046] S301, the control unit of the first port controls the PMOS transistor 1_P of the first port to turn off, and the control unit of the second port controls the PMOS transistor 2_P of the second port to turn on, and the positive terminal of the light-emitting diode is boosted;

[0047] S401, the control unit of the third port controls the NMOS transistor 3_N of the third port to turn on, the negative terminal of the light-emitting diode is grounded, and the light-emitting diode is lit.

[0048] Further, please refer to Figure 3 The boosting method further includes the following steps:

[0049] The S500 uses high-frequency polling, and if the polling frequency exceeds the visibility of the human eye, the LED can be driven normally.

[0050] Please see Figure 1 and Figure 2Taking an example with 20 LEDs to be lit and 6 ports, i.e., m=20 and N=6, when the voltage at the port cannot reach the threshold voltage for the LEDs to turn on, assuming the LED to be lit is 1F, the positive terminal of 1F is connected to the drain of 1_F and the drain of 1_N, which is designated as port 1; the negative terminal of 1F is connected to the drain of 3_F and the drain of 3_N, which is designated as port 3; the ports paired with port 1 include 2_F, 2_N and CTR2, and the ports connected to the drains of 2_F and 2_N are designated as port 2.

[0051] When the power supply (VBAT) voltage is low, port 1 is pulled up to the power supply VBAT, and port 3 is pulled down to ground. Since the voltage difference at this time cannot reach the 1F turn-on voltage, a boost operation is required for port 1, as follows:

[0052] 1. When the upper transistor 1_P of the CTR1 control port 1 is turned on and the lower transistor 2_N of the CTR2 control port 2 is turned on, the power supply VBAT is equivalent to being directly connected to the two ends of the first capacitor C1 to charge the first capacitor C1.

[0053] 2. When the upper transistor 2_P of CTR2 control port 2 is turned on and the upper transistor 1_P of CTR1 control port 1 is turned off, since the voltage across the first capacitor C1 cannot change abruptly, the voltage of port 1 will be boosted to twice the power supply voltage.

[0054] 3. When the lower transistor 3_N of CTR3 control port 3 is turned on, there is a voltage difference of twice the power supply voltage across LED 1F between port 1 and port 3, and LED 1F is lit.

[0055] 4. Frequent polling, exceeding the visibility of the human eye.

[0056] Similarly, assuming the LED to be lit is 1A, the positive terminal of 1A is connected to the drain of 2_F and the drain of 2_N, which is designated as port 2; the negative terminal of 1A is connected to the drain of 3_F and the drain of 3_N, which is designated as port 3; the port portion paired with port 2 includes 1_F, 1_N and CTR1, and the port connected to the drain of 1_F and the drain of 1_N is designated as port 1.

[0057] When the power supply (VBAT) voltage is low, port 2 is pulled up to the power supply VBAT, and port 3 is pulled down to ground. Since the voltage difference at this time cannot reach the 1A turn-on voltage, a boost operation is required for port 2, as follows:

[0058] 1. When the upper transistor 2_P of the CTR2 control port 2 is turned on and the lower transistor 1_N of the CTR1 control port 1 is turned on, the power supply VBAT is equivalent to being directly connected to the two ends of the first capacitor C1 to charge the first capacitor C1.

[0059] 2. When the upper transistor 1_P of CTR1 control port 1 is turned on and the upper transistor 2_P of CTR2 control port 2 is turned off, since the voltage across the first capacitor C1 cannot change abruptly, the voltage at port 2 will be boosted to twice the power supply voltage.

[0060] 3. When the lower transistor 3_N of CTR3 control port 3 is turned on, there is a voltage difference of twice the power supply voltage across LED 1A between port 1 and port 3, and LED 1A is lit.

[0061] 4. Frequent polling, exceeding the visibility of the human eye.

[0062] Furthermore, assuming the light-emitting diode to be lit is S2, the positive terminal of S2 is connected to the drain of 3_F and the drain of 3_N, which is designated as port 3; the negative terminal of S2 is connected to the drain of 1_F and the drain of 1_N, which is designated as port 1; the port portion paired with port 3 includes 4_F, 4_N and CTR4, and the port connected to the drain of 4_F and the drain of 4_N is designated as port 4.

[0063] When the power supply (VBAT) voltage is low, port 3 is pulled up to the power supply VBAT, and port 1 is pulled down to ground. Since the voltage difference at this time cannot reach the turn-on voltage of S2, a boost operation is required for port 3, as follows:

[0064] 1. When the upper transistor 3_P of the CTR3 control port 3 is turned on and the lower transistor 4_N of the CTR4 control port 4 is turned on, the power supply VBAT is equivalent to being directly connected to the two ends of the second capacitor C2 to charge the second capacitor C2.

[0065] 2. When the upper transistor 4_P of the CTR4 control port 4 is turned on, and the upper transistor 3_P of the CTR3 control port 3 is turned off, since the voltage across the second capacitor C2 cannot change abruptly, the voltage at port 3 will be boosted to twice the power supply voltage.

[0066] 3. When the lower transistor 1_N of CTR1 control port 1 is turned on, there is a voltage difference of twice the power supply voltage across the LED S2 between port 3 and port 1, and the LED S2 is lit.

[0067] 4. Frequent polling, exceeding the visibility of the human eye.

[0068] Similarly, assuming the LED to be lit is 2A, the positive terminal of 2A is connected to the drain of 4_F and the drain of 4_N, which is designated as port 4; the negative terminal of 2A is connected to the drain of 1_F and the drain of 1_N, which is designated as port 1; the ports paired with port 4 include 3_F, 3_N and CTR3, and the ports connected to the drains of 3_F and 3_N are designated as port 3.

[0069] When the power supply (VBAT) voltage is low, port 4 is pulled up to the power supply VBAT, and port 1 is pulled down to ground. Since the voltage difference at this time cannot reach the 2A turn-on voltage, a boost operation is required for port 4, as follows:

[0070] 1. When the upper transistor 4_P of the CTR4 control port 4 is turned on and the lower transistor 3_N of the CTR3 control port 3 is turned on, the power supply VBAT is equivalent to being directly connected to the two ends of the second capacitor C2 to charge the second capacitor C2.

[0071] 2. When the upper transistor 3_P of the CTR3 control port 3 is turned on, and the upper transistor 4_P of the CTR4 control port 4 is turned off, since the voltage across the second capacitor C2 cannot change abruptly, the voltage at port 4 will be boosted to twice the power supply voltage.

[0072] 3. When the lower transistor 1_N of CTR1 control port 1 is turned on, there is a voltage difference of twice the power supply voltage across LED 2A between port 4 and port 1, and LED 2A is lit.

[0073] 4. Frequent polling, exceeding the visibility of the human eye.

[0074] This application also provides a PCB board on which the boost circuit described in any of the above is printed.

[0075] This application also provides a chip that includes a boost circuit as described above.

[0076] This application also provides an electronic cigarette, including a housing, wherein a PCB board as described above is disposed inside the housing.

[0077] It is understood that those skilled in the art can make equivalent substitutions or changes to the technical solution and inventive concept of the present invention, and all such changes or substitutions should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A boost circuit, characterized in that, It includes N port sections and N / 2 capacitors, where N≥4 and N is an even number; the N port sections are paired in pairs, and a capacitor is connected between paired port sections, while light-emitting diodes are connected between unpaired port sections; the port sections are used to charge the capacitors connected to them and to achieve output voltage boost. The port section includes a control unit, a PMOS transistor, and an NMOS transistor. The control unit is connected to the gates of the PMOS transistor and the NMOS transistor, respectively. The source of the PMOS transistor is connected to a power supply, and the source of the NMOS transistor is grounded. The drains of the PMOS transistor and the NMOS transistor are used to connect to a capacitor and to a light-emitting diode, respectively. The drains of the PMOS transistor and the NMOS transistor in the port section are both used to connect to the positive terminal or the negative terminal of a light-emitting diode.

2. The boost circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, In the paired port sections, the drain of the PMOS transistor and the drain of the NMOS transistor in one port section are connected to one end of the corresponding capacitor, and the drain of the PMOS transistor and the drain of the NMOS transistor in the other port section are connected to the other end of the corresponding capacitor.

3. A boost circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The N ports are used to drive and control m light-emitting diodes, where (N-1) (N-2)≥m.

4. A method for boosting voltage, characterized in that, The boost method is used to implement the operation control of the boost circuit as described in any one of claims 1-3, and the boost method includes the following steps: S100. Obtain the port information of the light-emitting diode to be lit, wherein the port information includes a first port portion, a second port portion and a third port portion, wherein the first port portion is a port portion connected to the positive terminal of the light-emitting diode; the second port portion is a port portion paired with the first port portion; and the third port portion is a port portion connected to the negative terminal of the light-emitting diode. S200: Adjust the working state of the first port section and the second port section to charge the capacitor connected between the first port section and the second port section. S300, then adjust the operating state of the first port section and the second port section to boost the voltage at the positive terminal of the LED; S400. Adjust the working state of the third port to ground the negative terminal of the LED, and the LED will be lit.

5. The boosting method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The first port section, the second port section, and the third port section have the same structure. The first port section includes a control unit, a PMOS transistor, and an NMOS transistor. The control unit is connected to the gates of the PMOS transistor and the NMOS transistor, respectively. The source of the PMOS transistor is connected to a power supply, and the source of the NMOS transistor is grounded. The drains of the PMOS transistor and the NMOS transistor are used to connect to a capacitor and to a light-emitting diode, respectively. In paired port sections, the drains of the PMOS transistor and the NMOS transistor in one port section are connected to one end of the corresponding capacitor, and the drains of the PMOS transistor and the NMOS transistor in the other port section are connected to the other end of the corresponding capacitor. Steps S200, S300, and S400 are specifically as follows: S201, The control unit of the first port controls the PMOS transistor 1_P of the first port to turn on, and the control unit of the second port controls the NMOS transistor 2_N of the second port to turn on, and the capacitor connected between the first port and the second port is charged. S301, the control unit of the first port controls the PMOS transistor 1_P of the first port to turn off, and the control unit of the second port controls the PMOS transistor 2_P of the second port to turn on, and the positive terminal of the light-emitting diode is boosted; S401, the control unit of the third port controls the NMOS transistor 3_N of the third port to turn on, the negative terminal of the light-emitting diode is grounded, and the light-emitting diode is lit.

6. The boosting method according to claim 4, characterized in that, It also includes the following steps: The S500 performs high-frequency polling, exceeding the visibility of the human eye.

7. A PCB board, characterized in that, The PCB board is printed with a boost circuit as described in any one of claims 1-3.

8. A chip, characterized in that, The chip includes a boost circuit as described in any one of claims 1-3.

9. An electronic cigarette, comprising a casing, characterized in that, The housing contains the PCB board as described in claim 7.

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