Voltage regulating module, electronic equipment and voltage regulating method

Abstract

The invention discloses a voltage regulation module, electronic equipment and a voltage regulation method. The voltage regulation module provided by the invention comprises a system-on-chip (SoC) chip, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) module and a voltage regulation module, the first control end of the SoC chip is connected with the control end of the PMIC module through the voltage adjusting module, and the voltage output end of the PMIC module is connected with the voltage input end of the SoC chip; wherein the input end of the voltage adjusting module is connected with the first control end of the SoC chip, and the output end of the voltage adjusting module is connected with the control end of the PMIC module.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of electronic technology, and specifically relates to a voltage regulating module, an electronic device and a voltage regulating method. Background Art

[0002] At present, in order to save power consumption, it is very important to use AVS (Adaptive Voltage Scaling) technology to adjust the output voltage of PMIC (Power Management Integrated Circuit) modules in electronic devices such as mobile phones and tablets.

[0003] In the related art, the power supply voltage in the SoC (System on Chip) is set by the platform vendor and cannot be modified by the user. As a result, it is difficult to meet actual usage requirements in many situations (such as when verifying the stability of the platform). Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application provides a voltage regulation module, an electronic device and a voltage regulation method to solve the problem in the related art that the power supply voltage in the SoC cannot be modified.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a voltage regulation module, including: a SoC chip, a PMIC module, and a voltage regulation module; The first control terminal of the SoC chip is connected to the control terminal of the PMIC module through the voltage adjustment module, and the voltage output terminal of the PMIC module is connected to the voltage input terminal of the SoC chip; The input end of the voltage adjustment module is connected to the first control end of the SoC chip, and the output end of the voltage adjustment module is connected to the control end of the PMIC module.

[0006] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, comprising the voltage regulating module as described in the first aspect.

[0007] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a voltage adjustment method, which is applied to the voltage adjustment module as described in the first aspect, and the method includes: The voltage adjustment module obtains a target voltage adjustment command; The voltage adjustment module outputs a target voltage adjustment command to the PMIC module; The target voltage adjustment command is used to adjust the output voltage provided by the PMIC module to the voltage input terminal of the SoC chip.

[0008] In an embodiment of the present application, the voltage regulating module includes a SoC chip, a PMIC module and a voltage regulating module; the first control end of the SoC chip is connected to the control end of the PMIC module through the voltage regulating module, and the voltage output end of the PMIC module is connected to the voltage input end of the SoC chip; wherein, the input end of the voltage regulating module is connected to the first control end of the SoC chip, and the output end of the voltage regulating module is connected to the control end of the PMIC module. Since the control end of the PMIC module is connected to the first control end of the SoC chip via the voltage regulating module, after the SoC chip outputs a voltage regulating command for setting the output voltage of the PMIC module, the voltage regulating module can further set the voltage regulating command output by the SoC chip, so that the voltage in the SoC chip can be adjusted through the voltage regulating module, thereby solving the problem that the power supply voltage in the SoC in the related art cannot be modified. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present application will become apparent and easily understood from the description of the embodiments in conjunction with the following drawings, in which: Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a voltage regulating module provided in the related art; Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a voltage regulating module provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 3 A schematic diagram of another voltage regulating module provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 4 A schematic diagram of another voltage regulating module provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 5 A schematic diagram of another voltage regulating module provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 6 A schematic diagram of another voltage regulating module provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 7 A schematic diagram of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 8 A schematic flow chart of a voltage adjustment method provided in an embodiment of the present application; Fig. 9 A schematic flow chart of another voltage adjustment method provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 10-1 A schematic flow chart of another voltage adjustment method provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 10-2 A schematic flow chart of another voltage adjustment method provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 10-3 A schematic flow chart of another voltage adjustment method provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 10-4 A schematic flowchart of another voltage adjustment method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0010] Description of reference numerals: 10-voltage regulation module; 100-SoC chip; 110-memory; 120-central processing unit; 130-arbitrator; 140-AVS sensor; 150-AVS controller; 200-PMIC module; 300-voltage adjustment module; 310-first controller; 320-configuration module; 321-LUT unit; 322-switching switch unit; 323-MCU; 324-SPMI correction unit; 330-second controller; 340-flash memory unit; A1-first control end of SoC chip; A2-second control end of SoC chip; B-control end of PMIC module; C-voltage output end of PMIC module; D-voltage input end of SoC chip; E-input end of voltage adjustment module; F-output end of voltage adjustment module; VDD-power supply voltage; 700-electronic device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present application, and should not be construed as limitations on the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0012] The term "first" or "second" in the specification and claims of this application may include one or more of the features explicitly or implicitly. In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more. In addition, "and / or" in the specification and claims means at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally means that the objects connected before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0013] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "inside", "outside", etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0014] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "connected" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an AVS voltage regulation system provided in the related art. Figure 1 In the related art, the AVS voltage regulation system in the electronic device may include a SoC chip and a PMIC module. The SoC chip includes a central processor, a memory, an arbitrator, an AVS sensor and an AVS controller.

[0016] The voltage regulation scheme based on AVS in the related technology includes: the central processing unit reads the initial voltage value pre-stored in the memory and gives the initial voltage value to the arbitrator; the arbitrator can send a voltage regulation command to the PMIC module through the SPMI (Serial Peripheral Management Interface) bus, and the voltage regulation command includes a power-on instruction and an initial voltage value; the PMIC module outputs the power supply voltage VDD to the SoC chip according to the voltage regulation command; the AVS sensor on the SoC chip detects the current power supply voltage VDD, as well as the sensor data such as the load and temperature in the current SoC chip and outputs them to the AVS controller; the AVS controller comprehensively determines a more appropriate voltage value based on the value of the current power supply voltage VDD and the sensor data such as the load and temperature in the current SoC chip, and then outputs it to the arbitrator to update the voltage value; the arbitrator sends a voltage regulation command to the PMIC module again through the SPMI bus, and the voltage regulation command includes the updated voltage value information; the PMIC module adjusts the power supply voltage VDD currently output by the PMIC module according to the updated voltage value information, and then can adjust the voltage multiple times until the power supply voltage VDD output by the PMIC module reaches the expected voltage value.

[0017] The SoC chip in the embodiment of the present application may include Figure 1 The various components in the SoC chip, for example, include a central processing unit, a memory, an arbitrator, an AVS sensor, and an AVS controller. The workflow of each component in the SoC chip in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the above description of Figure 1 Described workflow.

[0018] The voltage regulation module, electronic device and voltage adjustment method provided in the embodiments of the present application can freely modify the subsystem voltage within the SoC without the platform provider providing a voltage modification node, verify the system stability of the new platform, and further achieve voltage reduction and power saving in some scenarios.

[0019] In an embodiment of the present application, a voltage adjustment module (the voltage adjustment module can be a custom chip) is connected (for example, connected in series) between the SoC chip and the PMIC module as the master device end, and the interface between the SoC chip, the PMIC module and the voltage adjustment module can be various control interfaces, such as SPMI. In the case where the interface between the SoC chip, the PMIC module and the voltage adjustment module is SPMI, since SPMI supports multiple master device ends, the control relationship between the SoC chip, the PMIC module and the voltage adjustment module can be: the SoC chip and the voltage adjustment module are the master device end 1 (Master1) and the master device end 2 (Master2), and the PMIC module is the slave device end. Then, the SPMI instruction can be refreshed through the voltage adjustment module to freely modify or overwrite the voltage setting value of the platform provider. It should be understood that the SPMI information mentioned in the embodiment of the present application is only a specific interface that supports the master-slave relationship mode, and it is not limited. Other interfaces that support the master-slave relationship mode are also possible. The SPMI information mentioned in the embodiment of the present application can be SPMI configuration information, and the SPMI configuration information can be SPMI voltage configuration information.

[0020] The voltage adjustment module provided in the embodiment of the present application may be in the form of a customized IC (or configured IC) chip, and this customized IC chip may be a multiplexed RF customized IC chip, which may include a flash memory (Flash), a controller, and a LUT (Look Up Table) unit. The flash memory is the internal flash memory of the customized IC chip, and the firmware is downloaded to the IC chip through interfaces such as JTAG (Joint Test Action Group). The controller may be an SPMI controller. The number of controllers included in the customized IC chip may vary according to the actual scenario. In a specific scenario, the controller may include a first controller and a second controller. In the case where the customized IC includes the first controller and the second controller, the first controller may be connected to the SoC chip via a first control line, in which case the first controller may be a slave device end, and the SoC chip may be a master device end. At the same time, the second controller may be connected to the PMIC module via a second control line, in which case the second controller may be a master device end, and the PMIC module may be a slave device end. The second controller in the voltage adjustment module may be used to send a voltage adjustment command to the PMIC module. The first controller in the voltage adjustment module may receive a voltage adjustment command from the SoC chip and send it to the PMIC module through the second controller.

[0021] Among them, the LUT unit in the voltage adjustment module may include a truth table, the LUT unit can determine the scene, and modify the voltage according to the scene, and send it to the PMIC module through a voltage adjustment command (such as an SPMI voltage adjustment command). Alternatively, in addition to the LUT unit, the voltage adjustment module may include a microcontroller unit (MCU) and a correction unit. The microcontroller unit in the voltage adjustment module can determine the scene and determine the target voltage according to the scene. The correction unit modifies the voltage value in the voltage adjustment command from the SoC chip based on the target voltage, and sends it to the PMIC module through a voltage adjustment command (such as an SPMI voltage adjustment command).

[0022] The voltage regulating module provided in the embodiment of the present application is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0023] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a voltage regulating module provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0024] Reference Figure 2 The embodiment of the present application provides a voltage regulating module 10, which may include: SoC chip 100, PMIC module 200 and voltage adjustment module 300; The first control terminal A1 of the SoC chip 100 is connected to the control terminal B of the PMIC module 200 through the voltage adjustment module 300, and the voltage output terminal C of the PMIC module 200 is connected to the voltage input terminal D of the SoC chip 100; The input terminal E of the voltage adjustment module 300 is connected to the first control terminal A1 of the SoC chip 100 , and the output terminal F of the voltage adjustment module 300 is connected to the control terminal B of the PMIC module 200 .

[0025] The voltage output terminal C of the PMIC module 200 and the voltage input terminal D of the SoC chip 100 may be connected via a power line. Furthermore, the PMIC module 200 may provide a power supply voltage VDD to each subsystem in the SoC chip 100 via the voltage output terminal C.

[0026] In the voltage regulating module provided in the embodiment of the present application, the voltage regulating module includes a SoC chip, a PMIC module and a voltage adjusting module; the first control end of the SoC chip is connected to the control end of the PMIC module through the voltage adjusting module, and the voltage output end of the PMIC module is connected to the voltage input end of the SoC chip; wherein, the input end of the voltage adjusting module is connected to the first control end of the SoC chip, and the output end of the voltage adjusting module is connected to the control end of the PMIC module. Since the control end of the PMIC module is connected to the first control end of the SoC chip via the voltage adjusting module, after the SoC chip outputs the voltage regulating command for setting the output voltage of the PMIC module, the voltage adjusting module can further set the voltage regulating command output by the SoC chip, so that the voltage in the SoC chip can be adjusted through the voltage adjusting module, thereby solving the problem that the power supply voltage in the SoC in the related art cannot be modified.

[0027] In a possible implementation, both the SoC chip and the voltage adjustment module can serve as the master device. Specifically, during the interaction between the SoC chip and the PMIC module, the SoC chip can serve as the master device and the PMIC module as the slave device; and during the interaction between the voltage adjustment module and the PMIC module, the voltage adjustment module can serve as the master device and the PMIC module as the slave device. The SoC chip can serve as the master device to control the PMIC module for power configuration through SPMI information. Similarly, the voltage adjustment module can also serve as the master device to control the PMIC module for power configuration through SPMI information.

[0028] For example, the SoC chip 100 can output a first voltage regulation command for setting the output voltage of the PMIC module, and the voltage adjustment module can further modify the setting of the first voltage regulation command output by the SoC chip to obtain a target voltage regulation command, and use the target voltage regulation command to adjust the power supply voltage VDD provided by the PMIC module 200 to the SoC chip 100 through the voltage output terminal C.

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of another voltage regulating module provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 3 As shown, in the voltage regulation module provided in the embodiment of the present application, the voltage regulation module 300 may include: a first controller 310, a configuration module 320 and a second controller 330; the configuration module 320 is connected to the first controller 310 and the second controller 330 respectively; The first controller 310 is connected to the first control terminal A1 of the SoC chip 100 via the input terminal E of the voltage adjustment module 300 ; the second controller 330 is connected to the control terminal B of the PMIC module 200 via the output terminal F of the voltage adjustment module 300 .

[0030] In the embodiment of the present application, both the first controller 310 and the second controller 330 may be SPMI controllers. The first controller 310 may be used for SPMI interaction between the SoC chip 100 and the voltage adjustment module 300, and the second controller 320 may be used for SPMI interaction between the voltage adjustment module 300 and the PMIC module 200.

[0031] In the embodiment of the present application, the configuration module 320 in the voltage adjustment module 300 can determine the target voltage suitable for the current use scenario of the SoC chip 100, and then generate a target voltage adjustment command based on the target voltage, and send it to the PMIC module 200. The PMIC module 200 can adjust the output voltage provided to the voltage input terminal of the SoC chip based on the target voltage adjustment command.

[0032] In a specific embodiment, in order to flexibly set the voltage adjustment command according to the current usage scenario of the SoC chip, such as Figure 3 As shown, in the voltage regulation module provided in the embodiment of the present application, the SoC chip 100 also has a second control terminal A2, the second control terminal A2 of the SoC chip 100 is coupled to the configuration module 320 in the voltage adjustment module 300, and the first control terminal A1 is different from the second control terminal A2.

[0033] Among them, the second control terminal A2 of the SoC chip 100 can be an IIC (Inter-Integrated Circuit) interface, SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface), etc., and can be used to transmit information monitored by sensors in electronic devices (such as mobile phones, tablets, etc.), for example, the current power supply voltage value of each module in the SoC chip, the temperature and load conditions in the SoC chip, etc.

[0034] In this way, the configuration unit 320 in the voltage adjustment module 300 obtains the monitored information from the SoC chip 100 through the second control terminal A2, so that the voltage adjustment module 300 can determine the target voltage suitable for the current use scenario of the SoC chip 100, and then generate a target voltage adjustment command based on the target voltage, and send it to the PMIC module 200. The PMIC module 200 can adjust the output voltage provided to the voltage input terminal of the SoC chip based on the target voltage adjustment command. In the case where the platform provider reserves a large voltage margin for the SoC, the target voltage adjustment command output by the voltage adjustment module in the embodiment of the present application can achieve the effect of voltage reduction, thereby saving power consumption.

[0035] In practical applications, the configuration module 320 can be implemented using a variety of structures, which are described below with examples.

[0036] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of another voltage regulating module provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 As shown, in a specific example, in the voltage regulation module provided in the embodiment of the present application, the configuration module 320 may include a lookup table LUT unit 321 and a switch unit 322; Among them, the switching switch unit 322 has a first input end, a second input end and an output end. The first input end of the switching switch unit 322 is connected to the LUT unit 321, the second input end of the switching switch unit 322 is connected to the first controller 310, and the output end of the switching switch unit 322 is connected to the second controller 330.

[0037] Among them, the LUT unit 321 can store the mapping relationship between the target information and the preset voltage, and the target information is information associated with the voltage regulation. Specifically, the target information can be the current power supply voltage value of each module in the SoC chip, the temperature information in the SoC chip, the load information in the SoC chip, etc. In the embodiment of the present application, since the second control terminal A2 of the SoC chip 100 is coupled to the configuration module 320 in the voltage adjustment module 300, the LUT unit 321 in the configuration module 320 can obtain the target information monitored by the sensor in the electronic device via the second control terminal A2 of the SoC chip, and then determine the second voltage regulation command based on the target information and the mapping relationship stored in the LUT unit. The second voltage regulation command includes a second voltage, and the second voltage can be a target voltage suitable for the current usage scenario of the SoC chip 100.

[0038] Among them, the first input end of the switching switch unit 322 can input the first voltage regulation command from the SoC chip, the second input end of the switching switch unit 322 can input the second voltage regulation command determined by the LUT unit 321, and the output end of the switching switch unit 322 can output the first voltage regulation command or the second voltage regulation command as the target voltage regulation command.

[0039] For example, the switch unit 322 has a first working state and a second working state; In the first working state, the LUT unit 321 is connected to the second controller 330 via the switching unit 322. At this time, the LUT unit 321 is connected to the switching unit 322, and the switching unit 322 can output the second voltage regulation command determined by the LUT unit 321 as the target voltage regulation command; In the second working state, the first controller 310 is connected to the second controller 330 via the switch unit 322. At this time, the first controller 310 is connected to the switch unit 322, and the switch unit 322 can output the first voltage regulation command from the SoC chip 100 as the target voltage regulation command.

[0040] In this way, the voltage regulation module provided in the embodiment of the present application can flexibly configure the voltage regulation command according to the usage scenario, and realize the switching of the voltage regulation command by switching the switch unit. It can comprehensively select the first voltage regulation command from the SoC chip 100 or the second voltage regulation command determined by the LUT unit 321 to control the voltage regulation of the PMIC module 200, thereby realizing dynamic adjustment of the voltage regulation command, optimizing power consumption and performance, and optimizing the efficiency of the PMIC module 200.

[0041] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of another voltage regulating module provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 As shown, in another specific example, in the voltage regulating module provided in the embodiment of the present application, the configuration module 320 may include: a micro control unit MCU323 and a correction unit 324, The correction unit 324 has a first input end, a second input end and an output end. The first input end of the correction unit 324 is connected to the MCU 323 , the second input end of the correction unit 324 is connected to the first controller 310 , and the output end of the correction unit 324 is connected to the second controller 330 .

[0042] Among them, MCU323 can store the mapping relationship between target information and preset voltage, and the target information is information associated with voltage regulation. Specifically, the target information can be the current power supply voltage value of each module in the SoC chip, the temperature information in the SoC chip, the load information in the SoC chip, etc. In the embodiment of the present application, since the second control terminal A2 of the SoC chip 100 is coupled to the configuration module 320 in the voltage adjustment module 300, the MCU323 in the configuration module 320 can obtain the target information monitored by the sensor in the electronic device via the second control terminal A2 of the SoC chip, and then determine the target voltage suitable for the current use scenario of the SoC chip 100 based on the target information and the mapping relationship stored in the MCU323.

[0043] Among them, the correction unit 324 can be an SPMI correction unit, the first input end of the correction unit 324 can input the target voltage determined by MCU323, the second input end of the correction unit 324 can input the first voltage regulation command from the SoC chip, and the correction unit 324 can correct the first voltage contained in the first voltage regulation command from the SoC chip based on the target voltage to obtain a second voltage regulation command, and then output the second voltage regulation command as the target voltage regulation command.

[0044] The configuration module provided in this embodiment omits the switching switch unit and uses the SPMI correction module instead. It does not need a switching switch and can be used to correct the first voltage regulation command and rewrite the PMIC voltage configuration in the first voltage regulation command. When the SoC chip configures the output voltage of the PMIC through the SPMI bus, if the configuration needs to be modified, the custom IC (i.e., the voltage adjustment module) can directly output the modified voltage value to overwrite the voltage value originally set by the SoC chip. For example, when the voltage regulation command is 0x01, the corresponding voltage value is 1.1V, and when the voltage regulation command is 0x02, the corresponding voltage value is 1.15V. The SoC chip configures PMIC reg1 through the SPMI bus to make the PMIC module output 1.1V. At this time, if the custom IC needs to force the PMIC module to output 1.15V, after the SoC chip sends 0x01 through the SPMI bus, the custom IC can output 0x02 to configure PMIC reg1 through the MCU, overwriting the configuration effect of the SoC chip and making the PMIC module output 1.15V. For specific content, refer to the following table:

[0045] As can be seen from the above table, the SPMI configuration information output by the voltage adjustment module is mostly the same as the SPMI configuration information output by the SoC chip, except that the voltages corresponding to the specific data in the SPMI configuration information are different. In this way, the SPMI configuration information output by the voltage adjustment module can be used to overwrite the SPMI configuration information output by the SoC, thereby adjusting the voltage of the PMIC module.

[0046] In this way, in the voltage regulation module provided in the embodiment of the present application, the voltage adjustment module 300 (for example, a customized IC) can eliminate the switching switch, reduce the difficulty and cost of customized IC design, and simplify the control logic; and use the SPMI correction module to dynamically adjust the SPMI voltage data directly according to the scenario under the control of the MCU inside the customized IC, with a faster adjustment speed and a faster voltage adjustment response speed.

[0047] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of another voltage regulating module provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0048] In practical applications, such as Figure 6 As shown, in the voltage regulation module provided in the embodiment of the present application, the SoC chip 100 may include a memory 110, a central processing unit 120, an arbitrator 130, an AVS sensor 140 and an AVS controller 150. The workflow of each component in the SoC chip 100 in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the above description of the working process of each component in the SoC chip 100. Figure 1 The workflow described for the SoC chip shown.

[0049] Among them, Figure 6As shown, the voltage adjustment module 300 may further include a flash memory unit 340. The voltage adjustment module 300 may be a customized IC chip. The flash memory unit 340 may be an internal flash memory of the customized IC chip. The firmware may be downloaded to the IC chip via an interface such as JTAG.

[0050] Among them, Figure 6 As shown, the second control terminal A2 of the SoC chip 100 is coupled to the configuration module 320 through the flash memory unit 340, so that the flash memory unit 340 can receive and store the target information monitored by the sensor in the electronic device via the second control terminal A2 of the SoC chip, and the configuration module 320 can read the target information in the flash memory unit 340, and then determine the target voltage suitable for the current usage scenario of the SoC chip 100 based on the mapping relationship between the target information and the storage in the MCU323.

[0051] Therefore, after the SoC chip outputs the first voltage regulation command for setting the output voltage of the PMIC module, the configuration module 320 in the voltage adjustment module can further modify the setting of the first voltage regulation command output by the SoC chip to obtain a second voltage regulation command, and output the second voltage regulation command as the target voltage regulation command. In this way, the voltage in the SoC chip 100 can be adjusted through the voltage adjustment module 300, thereby solving the problem that the power supply voltage in the SoC cannot be modified in the related technology.

[0052] From the above description, it can be seen that the voltage regulation module provided in the embodiment of the present application can realize voltage regulation of subsystems within the SoC, improve system stability, and optimize system power consumption; at the same time, it can optimize the output voltage of the PMIC module according to the scenario, improve system performance, and optimize user experience.

[0053] like Figure 7 As shown, an embodiment of the present application further provides an electronic device 700 , including a voltage regulating module 10 .

[0054] It should be noted that the electronic device 10 provided in the embodiment of the present application includes the voltage regulating module provided in any of the above embodiments. The specific structure of the voltage regulating module can be referred to the above description, and will not be repeated here to avoid repetition.

[0055] In the embodiment of the present application, the electronic device may be a terminal or other device other than a terminal. For example, the electronic device may be a smart watch, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a PDA, a vehicle-mounted electronic device, a mobile Internet device (MID), an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) device, a robot, a wearable device, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a netbook or a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc. It may also be a server, a network attached storage (NAS), a personal computer (PC), etc., which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0056] Based on a concept similar to that of the voltage regulating module provided in any of the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a voltage regulating method, which is applied to the voltage regulating module provided in any of the above embodiments.

[0057] Figure 8 This is a flow chart of a voltage adjustment method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 As shown, the voltage adjustment method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the voltage adjustment module provided in any of the above embodiments, and the voltage adjustment method may include: Step 810: The voltage adjustment module obtains a target voltage adjustment command; Step 820: The voltage adjustment module outputs a target voltage adjustment command to the PMIC module; the target voltage adjustment command is used to adjust the output voltage provided by the PMIC module to the voltage input terminal of the SoC chip.

[0058] In an embodiment of the present application, the target voltage adjustment command in step 810 may include a target voltage, which may be a voltage directly obtained by the voltage adjustment module, or a voltage obtained by the voltage adjustment module by modifying the voltage configured for the PMIC module of the SoC chip.

[0059] Among them, step 810 can be executed when the SoC chip is idle, when the SoC chip has output a voltage adjustment command to the PMIC module, or when the voltage adjustment module receives a voltage adjustment command for the PMIC module sent by the SoC chip.

[0060] In step 820, the voltage adjustment module outputs a target voltage adjustment command to the PMIC module, and then the PMIC module can adjust the output voltage provided by the PMIC module to the voltage input terminal of the SoC chip based on the target voltage adjustment command.

[0061] In the embodiment of the present application, since the control end of the PMIC module is connected to the first control end of the SoC chip via the voltage adjustment module, after the SoC chip outputs the first voltage adjustment command for setting the output voltage of the PMIC module, the voltage adjustment module can further modify the setting of the first voltage adjustment command output by the SoC chip to obtain a target adjustment command. In this way, the voltage in the SoC chip can be adjusted through the voltage adjustment module, thereby solving the problem that the power supply voltage in the SoC cannot be modified in the related technology.

[0062] In a specific embodiment, in order to improve system stability, in the above step 810, the voltage adjustment module obtains the target voltage adjustment command, which may include: The voltage adjustment module receives a first voltage adjustment command from the SoC chip; When the first voltage regulation command includes a power-on command or a power-off command, the first voltage regulation command is used as the target voltage regulation command.

[0063] Among them, during the initialization process, in the power-on stage, the first voltage regulation command includes not only the initial voltage value but also a power-on instruction, such as a power-on instruction; in the power-off stage, the first voltage regulation command includes a power-off instruction, such as a power-off instruction. In the case where the first voltage regulation command includes a power-on instruction or a power-off instruction, the first voltage regulation command determined by the SoC chip is used as the target voltage regulation command to control the adjustment of the voltage in the SoC chip.

[0064] In other words, during the startup and shutdown phases, the SoC chip can take over the SPMI to complete the configuration of the system PMIC power on and off. After the startup is completed and before the shutdown, the voltage adjustment module (such as a custom IC) takes over the SPMI, and the custom IC configures the SPMI according to the usage scenario.

[0065] In this way, the SoC chip takes over SPMI during the startup and shutdown stages, and the customized IC takes over SPMI after the startup is completed and before the shutdown, preventing the customized IC abnormality from affecting the system startup, reducing the interference with the system startup / shutdown process, improving the system stability, and at the same time helping to reduce the difficulty of the algorithm.

[0066] Of course, in other embodiments, during initialization and use, the PMIC module can be taken over by the SoC chip and the custom IC and adjusted dynamically. The present application does not limit the specific source of the target voltage regulation command.

[0067] Fig. 9A flowchart of another voltage adjustment method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0068] like Fig. 9 As shown, the voltage adjustment method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the voltage adjustment module provided in any of the above embodiments, and the voltage adjustment method may include: Step 910: The voltage adjustment module obtains target information from the SoC chip; wherein the target information is information associated with voltage adjustment; Step 920: The voltage adjustment module obtains a second voltage adjustment command based on the target information; Step 930: The voltage adjustment module determines the second voltage adjustment command as the target voltage adjustment command; Step 940: The voltage adjustment module outputs a target voltage adjustment command to the PMIC module; the target voltage adjustment command is used to adjust the output voltage provided by the PMIC module to the voltage input terminal of the SoC chip.

[0069] Among them, steps 910 to 930 may be sub-steps of step 810 .

[0070] For step 940 , reference may be made to the specific content of step 820 .

[0071] Among them, in step 910, the target information may be the current power supply voltage value of each module in the SoC chip, the temperature information in the SoC chip, the load information in the SoC chip, etc. In the embodiment of the present application, since the second control terminal A2 of the SoC chip 100 is coupled to the configuration module 320 in the voltage adjustment module 300, the configuration module 320 can obtain the target information monitored by the sensor in the electronic device.

[0072] In step 920, the voltage adjustment module may determine a target voltage suitable for the current usage scenario of the SoC chip 100 based on the target information and a mapping relationship between pre-stored target information and a preset voltage, and determine a second voltage adjustment command based on the target voltage.

[0073] The target voltage is different from the first voltage included in the first voltage regulation command from the SoC chip.

[0074] In step 930, the voltage adjustment module may determine the second voltage adjustment command as the target voltage adjustment command output.

[0075] Thus, in the embodiment of the present application, since the target voltage suitable for the current use scenario of the SoC chip 100 is determined, and the second voltage regulation command is determined based on the target voltage, the second voltage regulation command is determined as the target voltage regulation command output, and then the output voltage of the PMIC module is optimized according to the scenario, the system performance is improved, and the user experience is optimized. In particular, when the platform provider reserves a large voltage margin for the SoC, the target voltage regulation command output by the voltage adjustment module in the embodiment of the present application can achieve the effect of voltage reduction, thereby saving power consumption.

[0076] In a specific example, in order to improve the voltage regulation speed, in the above step 920, the voltage regulation module obtains the second voltage regulation command based on the target information, which may specifically include: The voltage adjustment module determines a target voltage based on the target information; The voltage adjustment module corrects the first voltage included in the first voltage adjustment command from the SoC chip based on the target voltage to obtain a second voltage adjustment command.

[0077] It should be pointed out that the SPMI configuration information (i.e., the second voltage adjustment command) determined by the voltage adjustment module is mostly the same as the SPMI configuration information (i.e., the first voltage adjustment command) output by the SoC chip. The difference is that the voltages corresponding to the specific data in the SPMI configuration information are different.

[0078] In this way, the first voltage contained in the first voltage regulation command from the SoC chip can be corrected based on the target voltage to obtain the second voltage regulation command, and the SPMI configuration information output by the voltage adjustment module can be used to overwrite the SPMI configuration information output by the SoC, thereby adjusting the voltage of the PMIC module. There is no need to regenerate the configuration information in the second voltage regulation command, and the voltage adjustment response speed is fast.

[0079] In another specific embodiment, before the voltage adjustment module outputs the target voltage adjustment command to the PMIC module, the voltage adjustment method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: In the case where the voltage adjustment module includes a LUT unit and a switch unit, the switch unit is controlled to be conductive with the LUT unit.

[0080] Among them, reference Figure 4 The voltage regulation module shown, when the voltage adjustment module includes a LUT unit and a switching unit, controls the switching unit to be connected with the LUT unit, and the switching unit can output the second voltage regulation command determined by the LUT unit as the target voltage regulation command.

[0081] In this way, the voltage regulation module provided in the embodiment of the present application can flexibly configure the voltage regulation command according to the usage scenario, and realize the switching of the voltage regulation command by switching the switch unit. It can comprehensively select the first voltage regulation command from the SoC chip 100 or the second voltage regulation command determined by the LUT unit 321 to control the voltage regulation of the PMIC module 200, thereby realizing dynamic adjustment of the voltage regulation command, optimizing power consumption and performance, and optimizing the efficiency of the PMIC module 200.

[0082] Figure 10-1 A flowchart of a specific voltage adjustment method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0083] like Figure 10-1 As shown, the voltage adjustment method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the voltage adjustment module provided in any of the above embodiments, and the voltage adjustment method may include the following steps: During the booting phase, the SoC reads the internal ROM to obtain the SPMI configuration information, which may be the SPMI voltage configuration information; SoC outputs PMIC configuration information to the arbitrator; The SoC internal arbitrator comprehensively judges and outputs the SPMI configuration information; After receiving the SPMI configuration information, the PMIC module performs voltage configuration according to the SPMI configuration information and outputs the voltage value; The AVS sensor detects the current voltage value and obtains target information such as the current load and temperature in the SoC from the SoC and sends it to the AVS controller; After the AVS controller comprehensively determines a more appropriate voltage value, it sends it to the arbitrator to update the voltage value, and the arbitrator updates the SPMI configuration information; The voltage adjustment module obtains the monitoring information of the AVS sensor from the SoC through interfaces such as JTAG, I2C, and SPI; The voltage adjustment module determines the appropriate SPMI configuration information by looking up the table according to the user scenario; The voltage adjustment module outputs SPMI configuration information as the SPMI master device end; The voltage adjustment module (configuration IC) selects the data type transmitted to the PMIC module according to the scenario: selects the SPMI configuration information from the SoC end or selects the SPMI configuration information configured inside the voltage adjustment module; The PMIC module re-outputs the voltage value to the SoC load.

[0084] The voltage adjustment method provided in the embodiment of the present application can adjust the voltage in the SoC through the voltage adjustment module, thereby solving the problem that the power supply voltage in the SoC cannot be modified in the related art. At the same time, in the process of determining the target voltage adjustment command, the voltage adjustment module also considers the target information associated with the voltage adjustment obtained from the SoC chip, so that the determined target voltage adjustment command can be more accurate.

[0085] Furthermore, in the voltage adjustment method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the voltage adjustment module can flexibly configure the voltage adjustment command according to the usage scenario, and can comprehensively select the SPMI configuration information of the SoC chip configuration or the SPMI configuration information determined by the voltage adjustment module to control the voltage adjustment of the PMIC module, realize dynamic adjustment of the voltage adjustment command, optimize power consumption and performance, and optimize the efficiency of the PMIC module.

[0086] In actual applications, the voltage adjustment module (configuration IC) selects the SPMI configuration information configured inside the voltage adjustment module according to the target scenario and transmits it to the PMIC module. The target scenario may include a scenario where the output voltage needs to be increased by a custom IC and a scenario where the output voltage needs to be reduced by a configuration IC.

[0087] For example, for scenarios where it is necessary to increase the voltage by configuring the IC: the voltage is increased in scenarios with large instantaneous loads. To avoid system freezes caused by undervoltage protection, the customized IC is configured to force the voltage to be appropriately increased within a short period of time within the allowable range of the load operating voltage to maintain normal system operation; or, the voltage can be forced to be increased in specific scenarios of a certain module to improve system performance and user experience. For example, after a long period of use, the SoC-related IP core ages, and the power supply voltage of the IP core power domain can be appropriately increased to maintain the good working performance of the IP core and extend the service life of the machine.

[0088] At this time, if Figure 10-2 As shown, in the process of the AVS sensor monitoring the current voltage value and obtaining target information such as the current load and temperature in the SoC from the SoC, if a large draw current is detected or a large draw current scenario is predicted in advance, the SoC chip can notify the configuration IC to detect the situation, and the configuration IC can look up the table to increase the output voltage of the current scenario. The configuration IC outputs SPMI configuration information to control the PMIC to output a higher operating voltage, so as to maintain normal operation of the system or maintain better working performance.

[0089] For another example, in scenarios where the output voltage needs to be reduced by configuring the IC: without affecting system performance, some loads in the SoC chip can appropriately reduce the operating voltage to meet the minimum operating voltage of the load, thereby reducing power consumption. For example, if the normal configuration voltage of a certain IP core in the SoC (without the participation of a customized IC) is V1, the voltage can be forced to be configured to V2 through a customized IC (V1 and V2 are both within the operating voltage requirement range of the load, V1>V2), thereby reducing the power consumption of this path.

[0090] At this time, if Figure 10-3 As shown, in the process of the AVS sensor monitoring the current voltage value and obtaining target information such as the current load and temperature in the SoC from the SoC, if it is detected that part of the load in the SoC chip can appropriately reduce the operating voltage, the SoC chip can notify the configuration IC of the detection situation, the configuration IC can look up the table to obtain the minimum voltage required for the current scenario voltage, and the configuration IC outputs the SPMI configuration information to control the PMIC to output the minimum operating voltage, thereby reducing the power consumption of part of the load in the SoC chip.

[0091] In addition, the voltage adjustment module (configuration IC) can also select the SPMI configuration information from the SoC side to be transmitted to the PMIC module according to specific scenarios (such as the power-on / power-off phase).

[0092] For example, Figure 10-4 As shown, this voltage adjustment method is similar to Figure 10-1 The difference of the voltage adjustment method shown is that: in the process that the voltage adjustment module (configuration IC) selects the data type transmitted to the PMIC module according to the scenario (selects the SPMI configuration information from the SoC chip or selects the SPMI configuration information configured inside the voltage adjustment module), it can further determine whether the current working stage is the startup stage or the shutdown stage; If it is the startup stage or shutdown stage, the SPMI configuration information from the SoC chip can be selected to be transmitted to the PMIC module; If it is not the startup phase or the shutdown phase, the SPMI configuration information configured inside the voltage adjustment module can be selected to be transmitted to the PMIC module.

[0093] In this way, the SoC chip determines the SPMI configuration information during the startup and shutdown stages, and the customized IC determines the SPMI configuration information after the startup is completed and before the shutdown, preventing the customized IC abnormality from affecting the system startup, reducing the interference with the system startup / shutdown process, improving the system stability, and at the same time helping to reduce the difficulty of the algorithm.

[0094] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "illustrative embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples" means that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In this specification, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

[0095] Although the embodiments of the present application have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present application, and that the scope of the present application is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A voltage regulating module, characterized in that: include: System on chip SoC chip, power management integrated circuit PMIC module and voltage adjustment module; The first control terminal of the SoC chip is connected to the control terminal of the PMIC module through the voltage adjustment module, and the voltage output terminal of the PMIC module is connected to the voltage input terminal of the SoC chip; The input end of the voltage adjustment module is connected to the first control end of the SoC chip, and the output end of the voltage adjustment module is connected to the control end of the PMIC module.

2. The voltage regulating module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The voltage adjustment module includes a first controller, a configuration module and a second controller; the configuration module is connected to the first controller and the second controller respectively; The first controller is connected to the first control end of the SoC chip via the input end of the voltage adjustment module; the second controller is connected to the control end of the PMIC module via the output end of the voltage adjustment module.

3. The voltage regulating module according to claim 2, characterized in that: The second control terminal of the SoC chip is coupled to the configuration module in the voltage adjustment module, and the first control terminal is different from the second control terminal.

4. The voltage regulating module according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The configuration module includes a lookup table LUT unit and a switch unit; The switching switch unit has a first input end, a second input end and an output end, the first input end of the switching switch unit is connected to the LUT unit, the second input end of the switching switch unit is connected to the first controller, and the output end of the switching switch unit is connected to the second controller.

5. The voltage regulating module according to claim 4, characterized in that: The switching unit has a first working state and a second working state; In a first working state, the LUT unit is connected to the second controller via the switching unit; In the second working state, the first controller is connected to the second controller via the switching unit.

6. The voltage regulating module according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The configuration module includes a microcontroller unit MCU and a correction unit. The correction unit has a first input end, a second input end and an output end, the first input end of the correction unit is connected to the MCU, the second input end of the correction unit is connected to the first controller, and the output end of the correction unit is connected to the second controller.

7. An electronic device, characterized in that: It comprises a voltage regulating module as described in any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. A voltage adjustment method, characterized in that: Applied to the voltage regulating module according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the method comprises: The voltage adjustment module obtains a target voltage adjustment command; The voltage adjustment module outputs a target voltage adjustment command to the PMIC module; The target voltage regulation command is used to adjust the output voltage provided by the PMIC module to the voltage input terminal of the SoC chip.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The voltage adjustment module obtains a target voltage adjustment command, including: The voltage adjustment module obtains target information from the SoC chip; The voltage adjustment module acquires a second voltage adjustment command based on the target information; The voltage adjustment module determines the second voltage adjustment command as a target voltage adjustment command; The target information is information associated with voltage regulation.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The voltage adjustment module obtains a second voltage adjustment command based on the target information, including: The voltage adjustment module determines a target voltage based on the target information; The voltage adjustment module corrects the first voltage included in the first voltage adjustment command from the SoC chip based on the target voltage to obtain a second voltage adjustment command.

11. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that: Before the voltage adjustment module outputs the target voltage adjustment command to the PMIC module, the method further includes: In the case where the voltage adjustment module includes a LUT unit and a switch unit, the switch unit is controlled to be conductive with the LUT unit.

12. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The voltage adjustment module obtains a target voltage adjustment command, including: The voltage adjustment module receives a first voltage adjustment command from the SoC chip; In a case where the first voltage regulation command includes a power-on command or a power-off command, the first voltage regulation command is used as a target voltage regulation command.

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