Automatic energy saving circuit and method

Abstract

The invention provides an automatic energy-saving circuit and method. The automatic energy-saving circuit and method are used for switching signals between a south bridge chip and a functional card with PCIe transmission specifications. The automatic energy-saving circuit comprises a first current path and a second current path. The first current path is connected with a first universal input / output pin of the south bridge chip and a PRSNT pin of the function card. The second current path is connected with the first power management pin of the South Bridge chip and the switch assembly. Wherein the switch assembly selectively enables the first power management pin of the south bridge chip to be electrically connected with the second power management pin of the function card or enables the first power management pin of the south bridge chip to be grounded according to the control instruction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to an automatic energy-saving circuit and method, and more particularly to an automatic energy-saving circuit and method for use between a south bridge chip and a function card with PCIe transmission specifications. Background Art

[0002] Traditionally, the connection between a PCIe-compliant function card and the southbridge (PCH) is hardware (physical wiring). For example, a PCIe-compliant function card defines a PRSNT pin and a CLKREQ pin. The PRSNT pin is fixed low, while the CLKREQ pin switches between high and low. In one example, if the function card does not have power-saving features, the user would connect the southbridge's power management pin (SRCCLKREQ) directly to the PRSNT pin when connecting the function card to the southbridge. In this case, because the southbridge's power management pin always receives a low signal from the PRSNT pin, the southbridge will continue to send a clock signal (CLK) to the function card, preventing the southbridge from entering power-saving mode. In another example, if the function card does have power-saving features, the user would connect the southbridge's power management pin (SRCCLKREQ) directly to the CLKREQ pin when connecting the function card to the southbridge. At this time, the power management pin of the south bridge chip can intermittently send a clock signal (clk) to the function card according to the high and low potential signals of the CLKREQ pin, so that the south bridge chip can achieve the purpose of energy saving.

[0003] However, because the connection between PCIe-compliant function cards and the southbridge chip is physically wired, it cannot be altered once the hardware design is finalized. Those with general knowledge of the technology understand that if the system firmware doesn't have power-saving options that match the hardware, it can often lead to device compatibility issues and even system crashes. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by this application is to provide an automatic energy-saving circuit that can automatically identify whether a function card has an energy-saving function and automatically electrically connect the power management pin of the south bridge chip to the correct pin.

[0005] This application proposes an automatic power-saving circuit for switching signals between a southbridge chip and a function card with PCIe transmission specifications. The automatic power-saving circuit includes a first current path and a second current path. The first current path connects a first general-purpose input / output pin of the southbridge chip and a PRSNT pin of the function card. The second current path connects a first power management pin of the southbridge chip and a switch component. The switch component selectively connects the first power management pin of the southbridge chip to the second power management pin of the function card or grounds the first power management pin of the southbridge chip based on control instructions.

[0006] In one embodiment, the control instruction is associated with whether the function card supports the energy-saving function. When the function card supports the energy-saving function, the first power management pin can be electrically connected to the second power management pin via a switch component. When the function card does not support the energy-saving function, the first power management pin can be grounded via the switch component. The southbridge chip can provide a second general-purpose input / output pin connected to the control terminal of the switch component. The first power management pin of the southbridge chip can be the SRCCLKREQ pin, and the second power management pin of the function card can be the CLKREQ pin.

[0007] The present application provides an automatic energy-saving method, which can automatically identify whether a function card has an energy-saving function and automatically electrically connect the power management pins of the south bridge chip to the correct pins.

[0008] The present application proposes an automatic energy-saving method for switching signals between a southbridge chip and a function card with PCIe transmission specifications. The automatic energy-saving method includes the following steps: providing a first current path, the first current path connecting a first general-purpose input / output pin of the southbridge chip and a PRSNT pin of the function card; providing a second current path, the second current path connecting a first power management pin of the southbridge chip and a switch component; and, based on a control instruction, causing the switch component to selectively electrically connect the first power management pin of the southbridge chip to the second power management pin of the function card, or to ground the first power management pin of the southbridge chip.

[0009] In summary, unlike traditional southbridge chip and function card connection methods, where users must identify in advance whether the function card has energy-saving features before determining which pin on the function card the southbridge chip's power management pin should be connected to, the automatic energy-saving circuit and method provided in this application can automatically connect the southbridge chip's power management pin to the correct pin on the function card based on whether the function card has energy-saving features.

[0010] The details of other functions and embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to the drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in this application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0012] Figure 1 This is a functional diagram of a south bridge chip connected to a function card according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0013] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of the steps of the automatic energy saving method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0014] Explanation of symbols

[0015] 10: South Bridge Chip 12: Function Card

[0016] 14: Switch component 140: Control end

[0017] S20~S22:Step Flow DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The positional relationships described in the following embodiments include up, down, left, and right. Unless otherwise specified, they are based on the directions of the components shown in the drawings.

[0019] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a functional diagram of the south bridge chip connected to the function card in one embodiment of the present application. Different from the traditional connection method between the south bridge chip and the function card, the SRCCLKREQ pin of the south bridge chip is directly connected to the PRSNT pin or CLKREQ pin of the function card. Figure 1As shown, this embodiment demonstrates that when the southbridge chip 10 is connected to a function card 12 that meets the PCIe transmission specification, one of the southbridge chip 10's general-purpose input / output pins (the first general-purpose input / output pin), GPIO1, is connected to the function card 12's PRSNT pin. Furthermore, a switch component 14 is inserted between the southbridge chip 10's SRCCLKREQ pin (the first power management pin) and the function card 12's CLKREQ pin (the second power management pin). A control terminal 140 of the switch component 14 can be controlled by a control instruction, which can turn the switch component 14 on or off, selectively grounding the SRCCLKREQ pin. In practice, the control terminal 140 of the switch component 14 can also be connected to another general-purpose input / output pin (the second general-purpose input / output pin), GPIO2, of the southbridge chip 10, allowing the southbridge chip 10 to switch the switch component 14 on or off to automatically enable or disable the power-saving function. As can be seen from the above, this embodiment provides a current path (a first current path) between the first general-purpose input / output pin GPIO1 of the southbridge chip 10 and the PRSNT pin of the function card 12, and also provides a current path (a second current path) between the SRCCLKREQ pin (a first power management pin) of the southbridge chip 10 and the CLKREQ pin of the function card 12. These two current paths differ in their circuit connections, unlike conventional southbridge chip designs where the SRCCLKREQ pin is directly connected to the PRSNT pin or the CLKREQ pin of the function card.

[0020] In actual operation, because the function card's PRSNT pin is maintained at a low voltage, when the first general-purpose input / output pin GPIO1 of the southbridge chip 10 receives a low voltage signal, it can be determined that the southbridge chip 10 is connected to the function card 12, that is, the function card 12 is plugged into the motherboard. Those skilled in the art will understand that the first general-purpose input / output pin GPIO1 can be used to confirm whether the function card 12 is connected. Moreover, since this embodiment uses the first general-purpose input / output pin GPIO1 for detection, it is also a hardware detection method and should be faster than other detection methods. In addition, after the function card 12 is plugged into the motherboard, the motherboard (or southbridge chip 10) should obtain the specification information of the function card 12. This embodiment does not limit the method for obtaining this specification information. For example, the motherboard can determine whether the connected function card 12 supports the energy-saving function by using the manufacturer's data or a list of known function cards.

[0021] In one example, assuming that function card 12 supports the energy-saving function, the second GPIO pin GPIO2 of the southbridge chip 10 will turn off the switch component 14, allowing signals to be transmitted between the SRCCLKREQ pin of the southbridge chip 10 and the CLKREQ pin of the function card 12, thereby implementing the energy-saving function of function card 12. For example, when the switch component 14 is an NMOS, the second GPIO pin GPIO2 can provide a low signal to turn off the switch component 14. Conversely, assuming that function card 12 does not support the energy-saving function, the second GPIO pin GPIO2 of the southbridge chip 10 will turn on the switch component 14, connecting the SRCCLKREQ pin of the southbridge chip 10 to ground (i.e., to a low voltage). For example, when the switch component 14 is an NMOS, the second GPIO pin GPIO2 can provide a high signal to turn on the switch component 14. In other words, when a conventional function card does not support the energy-saving function, this embodiment can selectively connect the SRCCLKREQ pin of the southbridge chip 10 to ground, which is equivalent to the SRCCLKREQ pin of the southbridge chip 10 receiving a low signal provided by the PRSNT pin. Unlike conventional function cards that do not support the energy-saving function, which require the user to manually connect the SRCCLKREQ pin of the southbridge chip directly to the PRSNT pin (receiving a low signal), this embodiment can connect the SRCCLKREQ pin of the southbridge chip 10 to ground via the switch component 14 when it is determined that the function card 12 does not support the energy-saving function. This achieves the same effect without directly connecting the SRCCLKREQ pin of the southbridge chip 10 to the PRSNT pin of the function card 12.

[0022] To illustrate the automatic energy saving method of this application, please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 2 The flowchart of the automatic power saving method according to one embodiment of the present application is as follows. As shown, in step S20, a first current path is provided, connecting the first general-purpose input / output pin (GPIO1) of the southbridge chip 10 and the PRSNT pin of the function card 12. In step S22, a second current path is provided, connecting the first power management pin (SRCCLKREQ pin) of the southbridge chip 10 and the switch component 14. In step S24, based on a control instruction, the switch component 14 selectively connects the first power management pin (SRCCLKREQ pin) of the southbridge chip 10 to the second power management pin (CLKREQ pin) of the function card, or connects the first power management pin (SRCCLKREQ pin) of the southbridge chip 10 to ground.

[0023] In summary, the automatic energy-saving circuit and method provided by the present application can automatically electrically connect the power management pins of the south bridge chip to the correct pins of the function card according to whether the function card has the energy-saving function.

[0024] The embodiments and / or implementation methods described above are only used to illustrate the preferred embodiments and / or implementation methods for realizing the technology of the present application, and do not impose any form of limitation on the implementation methods of the technology of the present application. Any person skilled in the art may make slight changes or modifications to other equivalent embodiments without departing from the scope of the technical means disclosed in the content of the present application, but they should still be regarded as technologies or embodiments that are essentially the same as those of the present application.

Claims

1. An automatic energy-saving circuit for switching signals between a south bridge chip and a function card with PCIe transmission specifications, characterized in that: The automatic energy-saving circuit comprises: a first current path connecting a first general purpose input / output pin of the south bridge chip and a PRSNT pin of the function card; and a second current path connecting a first power management pin of the south bridge chip and a switch component; The switch component selectively connects the first power management pin of the south bridge chip to a second power management pin of the function card or grounds the first power management pin of the south bridge chip according to a control instruction.

2. The automatic energy-saving circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control instruction is associated with whether the function card supports the energy-saving function. When the function card supports the energy-saving function, the first power management pin is electrically connected to the second power management pin via the switch component. When the function card does not support the energy-saving function, the first power management pin is grounded via the switch component.

3. The automatic energy-saving circuit according to claim 2, characterized in that: The south bridge chip provides a second general purpose input / output pin connected to a control end of the switch component.

4. The automatic energy-saving circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first power management pin of the south bridge chip is a SRCCLKREQ pin, and the second power management pin of the function card is a CLKREQ pin.

5. An automatic energy-saving method for switching signals between a south bridge chip and a function card with PCIe transmission specifications, characterized in that: The automatic energy-saving method comprises: Providing a first current path, the first current path connecting a first general-purpose input / output pin of the south bridge chip and a PRSNT pin of the function card; Providing a second current path, the second current path connecting a first power management pin of the south bridge chip and a switch component; and According to a control instruction, the switch component selectively connects the first power management pin of the south bridge chip to a second power management pin of the function card, or grounds the first power management pin of the south bridge chip.

6. The automatic energy saving method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The control instruction is associated with whether the function card supports the energy-saving function. When the function card supports the energy-saving function, the first power management pin is electrically connected to the second power management pin via the switch component. When the function card does not support the energy-saving function, the first power management pin is grounded via the switch component.

7. The automatic energy saving method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The south bridge chip provides a second general purpose input / output pin connected to a control end of the switch component.

8. The automatic energy saving method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The first power management pin of the south bridge chip is a SRCCLKREQ pin, and the second power management pin of the function card is a CLKREQ pin.

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