Power connector detection circuit and power connector detection method

Abstract

The invention provides a power connector detection circuit and a power connector detection method. The circuit comprises a control chip, a switching circuit and an alarm circuit. The control chip is provided with an input port, a first output port and a second output port, the input port is electrically connected with an in-place detection pin of the power supply connector slot and is electrically connected with a standby power supply through a pull-up resistor, the in-place detection pin is a GND pin, other GND pins of the power supply connector slot are grounded, and the first output port and the second output port are electrically connected with the standby power supply through a pull-up resistor. The switching circuit comprises a control end which is electrically connected with the first output port and two conduction ends, one conduction end is electrically connected with a standby power supply through a pull-up resistor, the other conduction end is grounded, the alarm circuit is electrically connected with the second output port, and the control chip judges whether the power supply connector is in place according to a detection signal input from the input port; and when in place, the two conduction ends of the switch circuit are controlled to be conducted through the first output port, and when not in place, the alarm circuit is controlled to give an alarm through the second output port. The power supply connector is prevented from being burnt out, and the reliability of the mainboard is improved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of power supply, in particular to a power connector detection circuit and a power connector detection method. BACKGROUND

[0002] In a server system, in addition to the mainboard, there are GPU expansion boards, hard disk backplanes, fan backplanes and other expansion boards. The power supply connection between these boards and the mainboard is commonly connected by a combination of power connectors and cables. However, with the development of technology and the improvement of device performance, the power consumption of the system also increases, and the required power connectors also increase exponentially. In a server system, the most commonly used power connector is a P12V voltage track, and the pin number of the power connector is commonly 2*6 or 2*8. In the case of a temperature rise of 30 degrees Celsius, the current flowing through each pin is about 8-9A, and without considering design derating, only about 650W to 850W of power consumption can be provided. Therefore, for some expansion boards with power consumption exceeding 850W, two or even more 12V power connectors are generally needed to provide sufficient power supply capacity.

[0003] However, these high-power power connectors have a certain risk of burning out. Because the power of the expansion board is relatively large, the number of 12V power connectors used is relatively large. During the process of device shipment or maintenance, if there is a situation of not inserting, missing or not inserting a 12V power connector stably, in the case of using the device under high load, the originally designed 12V power supply is converted to be provided by a single power connector, and after long-time operation, the temperature of the power connector pin is too high, which may cause the power connector to burn out, and in severe cases, it may also cause a fire phenomenon, damaging the device and even causing a fire.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a power connector detection circuit and a power connector detection method to solve at least one of the above problems. SUMMARY

[0005] Based on the above reasons, the present application provides a power connector detection circuit and a power connector detection method.

[0006] In one aspect, the present application provides a power connector detection circuit, which comprises: A control chip having an input port, a first output port and a second output port, the input port being electrically connected to a presence detection pin of a power connector slot and to standby power of a computer device through a pull-up resistor, the presence detection pin being a GND pin, other GND pins of the power connector slot being grounded, power pins of the power connector slot being connected to system power of the computer device, the power connector being used for plugging to electrically connect the power connector; and A switch circuit comprising: a control terminal being electrically connected to the first output port; and two conducting terminals, one of which being electrically connected to the standby power through the pull-up resistor, and the other being grounded; and an alarm circuit being electrically connected to the second output port, wherein the control chip judges whether the power connector is present according to a detection signal input at the input port, outputs a control signal through the first output port to control the two conducting terminals of the switch circuit to be conductive when judging that the power connector is present, and outputs a control signal through the second output port to control the alarm circuit to alarm when judging that the power connector is not present.

[0007] In an embodiment, the alarm circuit comprises a buzzer and / or an alarm lamp.

[0008] In an embodiment, the control chip terminates the power-on process of the computer device when judging that the power connector is not present and receiving a power-on signal input by a user to the computer device.

[0009] In an embodiment, the control chip outputs another control signal to control the two conducting terminals of the switch circuit to be cut off when judging that the power connector is not present.

[0010] In an embodiment, the switch circuit comprises a first switch circuit and a second switch circuit, the first switch circuit comprising a first control terminal, a first conducting terminal and a second conducting terminal, the second switch circuit comprising a second control terminal, a third conducting terminal and a fourth conducting terminal, the first control terminal forming the control terminal of the switch circuit, the third conducting terminal and the fourth conducting terminal constituting the two conducting terminals of the switch circuit, the third conducting terminal being electrically connected to the standby power through the pull-up resistor, the fourth conducting terminal and the second conducting terminal being grounded, the second control terminal being electrically connected to the first conducting terminal and further electrically connected to the system power through another pull-up resistor.

[0011] In an embodiment, the first switch circuit comprises an NMOS transistor, and the second switch circuit comprises another NMOS transistor.

[0012] In another aspect, the application further provides a power connector detection method, which is applied to the power connector detection circuit, and the method comprises: The control chip initializes the ports to form the input port, the first output port and the second output port; The control chip receives a detection signal from the input port, and determines whether the power connector electrically connected to the input port is in place according to the received detection signal; If it is determined that the power connector is in place, the control chip controls the first output port to output a control signal to control the two conduction ends of the switch circuit to be conductive; and If it is determined that the power connector is not in place, the control chip controls the second output port to output a control signal to perform an alarm.

[0013] In an embodiment, the method further comprises: If it is determined that the power connector is not in place and a power-on signal input by a user to the computer device is received, the control chip terminates the power-on process of the computer device.

[0014] In an embodiment, the method further comprises: If it is determined that the power connector is in place and a power-on signal input by a user to the computer device is received, the control chip controls the computer device to complete power-on, so that the computer device enters a boot state.

[0015] In an embodiment, the control chip is a complex programmable logic device or a baseboard management controller in the computer device, and the control chip enables or disables the system power supply to enable or disable the computer device to power on.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the power connector detection circuit and the power connector detection method provided by the application can automatically detect whether the power connector is in place and provide an alarm function, thereby avoiding overloading of other correctly inserted power connectors due to non-insertion or incorrect insertion of the power connector, and improving the reliability of the motherboard. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments description. Obviously, the drawings in the following description only some of the embodiments of the present application, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained without creative labor based on these drawings. Figure 1 is a circuit block diagram of the power connector detection circuit provided by an embodiment of the present application; Figure 2 is a circuit schematic diagram of the power connector detection circuit provided by an embodiment of the present application; Figure 3 is a flow schematic diagram of the power connector detection method provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor fall within the scope of the present application.

[0019] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , as shown in Figure 1 is a circuit block diagram of the power connector detection circuit provided by an embodiment of the present application, Figure 2 is Figure 1 a specific circuit schematic diagram of the power connector detection circuit shown.

[0020] The power connector detection circuit 10 is applied to a computer device, for example, a server. In the computer device, in addition to a mainboard, there are some expansion board cards, for example, GPU expansion board, hard disk backboard, fan backboard, etc. These expansion board cards are connected with the mainboard by power connectors. The power connector detection circuit 10 can be used to detect whether the power connector in the computer device is in place, so as to avoid that the power connector is not inserted, inserted in error or not inserted stably. In the embodiments of the present application, the power connector in place means that the power connector is correctly inserted into the power connector slot which is electrically connected with the power connector detection circuit 10, and the power connector not in place means that the power connector is not inserted into or not correctly inserted into the power connector slot. The correct insertion and electrical connection between the power connector and the power connector slot have belonged to the prior art, and will not be introduced in detail here.

[0021] The power connector detection circuit 10 comprises a control chip 11 and a switch circuit 12. The control chip 11 and the switch circuit 12 are electrically connected to a power connector slot 20 for plugging and electrically connecting a power connector (not shown). The control chip 11 has an input port IO1 for receiving a detection signal of whether the power connector is in place and an output port IO2 for outputting a control signal to control the switch circuit 12. In the embodiment, the computer device has two power input, one is standby power 30 and the other is system power 40. After the computer device is connected to the standby power 30 by a power line, the standby power 30 outputs, the control chip 11 works, initializes its ports, and has the input port IO1 and the output port IO2, or further has other input ports and output ports, and the number of input ports and output ports is not limited. The input port IO1 is electrically connected to a GND pin 21 (hereinafter referred to as the in-place detection pin 21) of the power connector slot 20, and the input port IO1 is also electrically connected to the standby power 30 through a pull-up resistor R1. The switch circuit comprises a control end and two conduction ends, the control end is electrically connected to the output port IO2, one of the conduction ends is electrically connected to the standby power 30 through the pull-up resistor, and the other conduction end is grounded. In the embodiment, the switch circuit 12 comprises a first switch circuit 121 and a second switch circuit 122. The first switch circuit 121 comprises a first control end 1211, a first conduction end 1212 and a second conduction end 1213, and the second switch circuit 122 comprises a second control end 1221, a third conduction end 1222 and a fourth conduction end 1223. The first control end 1211 is electrically connected to the output port IO2, and the first control end 1211 forms the control end of the switch circuit 12. The third conduction end 1222 and the fourth conduction end 1223 constitute the two conduction ends of the switch circuit 12. The second control end 1221 is electrically connected to the first conduction end 1212, and the second control end 1221 is also connected to the system power 40 through a pull-up resistor R2. The third conduction end 1222 is also electrically connected to the standby power 30 through the pull-up resistor R1. The second conduction end 1213 and the fourth conduction end 1223 are grounded, and other ground pins GND of the power connector slot 20 except the in-place detection pin 21 are grounded, and power pins are connected to the system power 40. In an embodiment, the first switch circuit 121 and the second switch circuit 122 each comprise an NMOS. The first control end 1211 and the second control end 1221 are the gate of the NMOS, the first conduction end 1212 and the third conduction end 1222 are the drain of the NMOS, and the second conduction end 1213 and the fourth conduction end 1223 are the source of the NMOS.In other embodiments, the first switch circuit 121 and the second switch circuit 122 can comprise NPN type triodes.

[0022] In an embodiment, the control chip 11 is a CPLD (Complex Programming Logic Device) or a BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) in a server.

[0023] In an embodiment, the power connector detection circuit 10 further comprises an alarm circuit 13, which comprises a buzzer and / or an alarm lamp. The control chip 11 further comprises an output port IO3, and the alarm circuit 13 is electrically connected to the output port IO3.

[0024] The working principle of the power connector detection circuit 10 will be described below, Figure 2 The working principle of the power connector detection circuit 10 will be described below, Figure 2 The power connector detection method is shown in the flowchart.

[0025] In the embodiment, the power connector detection method is performed when the associated computer device is in a standby state. After the standby power supply 30 is connected to the computer device, the computer device is in a standby state before starting up, the system power supply 40 is in an off state, the standby power supply 30 is in power supply, and the control chip 11 is triggered to perform the power connector detection method when the standby power supply 30 starts to supply power. The power connector detection method comprises the following operations.

[0026] First, in operation 201, the control chip 11 initializes the ports, sets the port IO1 as an input port, sets the ports IO2 and IO3 as a first output port and a second output port respectively, and outputs a high-level control signal at the first output port IO2.

[0027] In operation 203, the control chip 11 receives a detection signal from the input port IO1, and judges whether the power connector is in place according to the received detection signal, i.e. whether the power connector is correctly plugged into the power connector slot 20 electrically connected to the input port IO1. If the power connector is in place, operation 205 is performed, and if the power connector is not in place, operation 211 is performed.

[0028] In operation 205, the control chip 11 controls the two conduction ends of the switch circuit to be conductive by outputting a control signal at the first output port IO2. In the embodiment, the control signal is a low-level control signal.

[0029] When the power connector is in place, the detection signal input from the input port IO1 is low level signal, and the control chip 11 judges that the power connector is in place according to the low level detection signal input from the input port IO1. After judging that the power connector is in place, the control chip 11 controls the first output port IO2 to output low level. At this time, the first control end 1211 of the first switch circuit 121 inputs low level, and the first conduction end 1212 and the second conduction end 1213 of the first switch circuit 121 are disconnected, so that the second control end 1221 of the second switch circuit 122 inputs high level, and the third conduction end 1222 and the fourth conduction end 1223 of the second switch circuit 122 are connected. In this way, the in-place detection pin 21 of the power connector is grounded through the second switch circuit 122, and the backflow function is realized.

[0030] When the power connector is not in place, the detection signal input from the input port IO1 is high level signal, and the control chip 11 judges that the power connector is not in place according to the high level detection signal input from the input port IO1. After judging that the power connector is not in place, the control chip 11 controls the first output port IO2 to continuously output high level. At this time, the first control end 1211 of the first switch circuit 121 inputs high level, and the first conduction end 1212 and the second conduction end 1213 of the first switch circuit 121 are connected, so that the second control end 1221 of the second switch circuit 122 is grounded through the first switch circuit 121 and inputs low level, and the third conduction end 1222 and the fourth conduction end 1223 of the second switch circuit 122 are disconnected, and the input port IO1 continuously inputs high level detection signal.

[0031] In operation 207, the control chip 11 judges whether the power-on signal input by the user to the computer device is received. If the power-on signal is received, operation 209 is performed, and if the power-on signal is not received, the flow ends.

[0032] The power-on signal can be a signal generated by the user pressing the power-on button or performing other operations, which is intended to make the associated computer device enter the boot state from the standby state.

[0033] In operation 209, the control chip 11 sends an enable signal of the system power supply 40 to control the completion of the power-on of the computer device, so that the computer device enters the boot state, and the flow ends.

[0034] In operation 211, the control chip 11 outputs an alarm signal from the second output port IO3 to the alarm circuit 13 to start the alarm circuit 13 to alarm and remind the user.

[0035] In operation 213, the control chip 11 judges whether a power-on signal input by a user to the computer device is received. If the power-on signal is received, operation 215 is performed. If the power-on signal is not received, the flow returns to operation 203.

[0036] In operation 215, the control chip 11 does not send an enable signal of the system power supply, so that the system power supply cannot supply power to the computer device, thereby terminating the power-on process of the computer device. The flow returns to operation 203.

[0037] In another embodiment, the power connector detection method can also not include operation 211. When it is judged in operation 203 that the power connector is not in place, the flow proceeds to operation 213.

[0038] In summary, the power connector detection circuit and the power connector detection method provided by the embodiments of the present application can automatically detect whether the power connector is in place and provide an alarm function, thereby avoiding overloading of other correctly inserted power connectors due to non-insertion or incorrect insertion of the power connector, and improving the reliability of the motherboard.

[0039] The above only describes the embodiments of the present application, and does not limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structure or equivalent flow conversion using the content of the specification and drawings, or direct or indirect application in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A power connector detection circuit, characterized in that, The method comprises: a control chip having an input port, a first output port and a second output port, the input port being electrically connected to a presence detection pin of a power connector slot and to standby power of a computer device through a pull-up resistor, the presence detection pin being a GND pin, other GND pins of the power connector slot being grounded, power pins of the power connector slot being connected to system power of the computer device, the power connector being used for plugging to electrically connect the power connector; and a switch circuit comprising: a control end electrically connected to the first output port, and two conducting ends, one of which is electrically connected to the standby power through the pull-up resistor, and the other of which is grounded; and an alarm circuit electrically connected to the second output port, wherein the control chip determines whether the power connector is present according to a detection signal input at the input port, outputs a control signal through the first output port to control the two conducting ends of the switch circuit to be conductive when it is determined that the power connector is present, and outputs a control signal through the second output port to control the alarm circuit to alarm when it is determined that the power connector is not present.

2. The power connector detection circuit of claim 1, wherein The alarm circuit comprises a buzzer and / or an alarm lamp.

3. The power connector detection circuit of claim 1, wherein The control chip terminates the power-on process of the computer device when it is determined that the power connector is not present and a power-on signal input by a user to the computer device is received.

4. The power connector detection circuit of claim 1, wherein The control chip outputs another control signal to control the two conducting ends of the switch circuit to be non-conductive when it is determined that the power connector is not present.

5. The power connector detection circuit of claim 4, wherein, The switch circuit comprises a first switch circuit and a second switch circuit, the first switch circuit comprising a first control end, a first conducting end and a second conducting end, the second switch circuit comprising a second control end, a third conducting end and a fourth conducting end, the first control end forming the control end of the switch circuit, the third conducting end and the fourth conducting end constituting the two conducting ends of the switch circuit, the third conducting end being electrically connected to the standby power through the pull-up resistor, the fourth conducting end and the second conducting end being grounded, and the second control end being electrically connected to the first conducting end and further electrically connected to the system power through another pull-up resistor.

6. The power connector detection circuit of claim 5, wherein, The first switch circuit comprises an NMOS transistor, and the second switch circuit comprises another NMOS transistor.

7. A power connector detection method applied to the power connector detection circuit of claim 1, characterized in that, The method comprises: the control chip initializing ports to form the input port, the first output port and the second output port; the control chip receiving a detection signal from the input port and determining whether the power connector is present according to the received detection signal; if it is determined that the power connector is present, the control chip controls the first output port to output a control signal to control the two conducting ends of the switch circuit to be conductive; and if it is determined that the power connector is not present, the control chip controls the second output port to output a control signal to alarm.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, Further comprising: If it is judged that the power connector is not in place and the power-on signal input by the user to the computer device is received, the control chip terminates the power-on process of the computer device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, Also include: If it is judged that the power connector is in place and the power-on signal input by the user to the computer device is received, the control chip controls the completion of the power-on of the computer device, so that the computer device enters the boot state.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The control chip is a complex programmable logic device or a baseboard management controller in the computer device, and the control chip enables or disables the system power supply to enable or disable the power-on of the computer device.

Images