Wearable electronic device, power supply device and operation method thereof

Abstract

The invention provides a wearable electronic device, a power supply device and an operation method thereof. The power supply device comprises a voltage conversion circuit and a power management circuit. The voltage conversion circuit receives a system power supply, and determines to boost or generate a supply power supply through the system power supply according to the voltage of the system power supply. The power management circuit is coupled to the voltage conversion circuit and generates at least one operation power supply to at least one application circuit based on the power supply.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a wearable electronic device, a power supply device, and a method of operating thereof, and more particularly to a wearable electronic device, a power supply device, and a method of operating thereof that can reduce acoustic noise. Background Technology

[0002] In wearable electronic devices, the power supply unit receives system power via power delivery lines. In known technical fields, the power supply unit generates the supply voltage through boost and buck voltage conversion operations. Both boost and buck voltage conversion operations require frequent switching, resulting in ripple voltage in the supply voltage. This ripple voltage can potentially resonate with passive components on the printed circuit board of the wearable electronic device, generating acoustic noise and affecting the user experience.

[0003] Furthermore, in known technical fields, power management circuits receive system power from the battery via power transmission lines. However, when wearable electronic devices operate under heavy loads, the power transmission lines carry a relatively large current, potentially causing a voltage drop in the system power supply. Under these conditions, the power management circuit may cease operation due to excessively low system power voltage, resulting in operational malfunctions in the wearable electronic device. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention relates to a wearable electronic device, a power supply device, and a method of operating thereof that can reduce acoustic noise.

[0005] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the power supply device includes a voltage conversion circuit and a power management circuit. The voltage conversion circuit receives system power and determines whether to boost the voltage or generate a supply power from the system power based on the voltage magnitude. The power management circuit is coupled to the voltage conversion circuit and generates at least one operating power supply to at least one application circuit based on the supply power.

[0006] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the operation method of the power supply device includes: providing a voltage conversion circuit to determine whether to boost or generate a supply power through the system power supply based on the voltage magnitude of the system power supply; and providing a power management circuit to generate at least one operating power supply to at least one application circuit based on the supply power supply.

[0007] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a wearable electronic device includes at least one application circuit and a power supply device as described above. The power supply device provides at least one operating power to the at least one application circuit.

[0008] Based on the above, the power supply device of the present invention determines the voltage of the system power supply and then either boosts or bypasses the system power supply to generate a supply power. In this way, the voltage conversion circuit of the power supply device can avoid the switching action required to perform a voltage reduction operation, effectively reducing the probability of noise generation. Attached Figure Description

[0009] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0010] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a wearable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0011] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of one embodiment of the voltage conversion circuit of the present invention is shown.

[0012] Figure 4A as well as Figure 4B This diagram illustrates the power ripple of the power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention under different operating conditions.

[0013] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a power supply device according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0014] Figure 6 A flowchart illustrating the operation method of a power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0015] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same element references are used in the drawings and description to denote the same or similar parts.

[0016] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The power supply device 100 includes a voltage conversion circuit 110 and a power management circuit 120. The voltage conversion circuit 110 receives a system power supply V_SYS. Based on the magnitude of the system power supply V_SYS, the voltage conversion circuit 110 determines whether to boost the voltage or generate a supply power supply V_BOB from the system power supply V_SYS. The power management circuit 120 is coupled to the voltage conversion circuit 110. The power management circuit 120 generates at least one operating power supply Vop to at least one application circuit (not shown) based on the supply power supply V_BOB.

[0017] In terms of operational details, the voltage conversion circuit 110 compares the voltage of the system power supply V_SYS with a preset threshold voltage and determines whether to perform a boost operation based on the comparison result. Specifically, when the voltage conversion circuit 110 determines that the voltage of the system power supply V_SYS is lower than the preset threshold voltage, the voltage conversion circuit 110 can perform a boost operation based on the system power supply V_SYS to generate a supply power supply V_BOB. The voltage of the supply power supply V_BOB can be higher than the voltage of the system power supply V_SYS.

[0018] On the other hand, when the voltage conversion circuit 110 determines that the voltage of the system power supply V_SYS is not lower than a preset threshold voltage, the voltage conversion circuit 110 can stop the boost operation and generate the supply power supply V_BOB by bypassing the system power supply V_SYS. Under such conditions, the system power supply V_SYS and the supply power supply V_BOB can have substantially the same voltage.

[0019] The power management circuit 120 can be a power management integrated circuit (PMIC). Instead of receiving the system power supply V_SYS, the power management circuit 120 receives the supply power supply V_BOB through a voltage conversion circuit 110, and generates one or more operating power supplies Vop based on the supply power supply V_BOB. The power management circuit 120 can provide the operating power supply Vop to one or more application circuits in the system.

[0020] It is worth noting that in this embodiment, the system power supply V_SYS can be provided by a power supply unit through a power transmission line. Based on the equivalent impedance of the power transmission line, when the power supply device 100 operates under a relatively light load, the system power supply V_SYS can have a relatively small output current, and through the equivalent impedance of the power transmission line, the voltage drop of the system power supply V_SYS can be relatively small. Conversely, when the power supply device 100 operates under a relatively heavy load, the system power supply V_SYS can have a relatively large output current, and through the equivalent impedance of the power transmission line, the voltage drop of the system power supply V_SYS can be relatively large.

[0021] According to the above description, under heavy load conditions, the voltage of the system power supply V_SYS may drop to a relatively low voltage value.

[0022] In this embodiment, since the power management circuit 120 does not directly receive the system power supply V_SYS, the normal operation of the power management circuit 120 will not be affected when the voltage of the system power supply V_SYS drops to a relatively low value. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the voltage of the system power supply V_SYS drops below a default threshold voltage, the voltage conversion circuit 110 can perform a boost operation to increase the voltage of the system power supply V_SYS to generate a supply power supply V_BOB, and provide the supply power supply V_BOB to the power management circuit 120, thus enabling the power management circuit 120 to maintain normal operation.

[0023] On the other hand, under non-heavy load conditions (light load or no load conditions), the voltage conversion circuit 110 may not perform voltage conversion operations and can bypass the system power supply V_SYS to serve as the supply power supply V_BOB. In this way, the switching operation of the voltage conversion circuit 110 under non-heavy load conditions can be avoided, reducing the acoustic noise that may be generated in the system.

[0024] Please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a wearable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The wearable electronic device 200 includes a battery 201, a power supply 210, a central processing unit (CPU) 221 serving as application circuitry, and peripheral circuitry 222. The battery 201 provides a power supply VBAT, which acts as a power supply unit, and transmits system power V_SYS to the power supply 210 via a power transmission line having an equivalent resistance RP. The power supply 210 includes a voltage conversion circuit 211 and a power management circuit 212. The voltage conversion circuit 211 receives the system power V_SYS via the equivalent resistance RP. The voltage conversion circuit 211 generates a supply power V_BOB based on the voltage of the system power V_SYS. The voltage conversion circuit 211 transmits the supply power V_BOB to the power management circuit 212. The power management circuit 212 operates according to the supply power V_BOB and provides operating power supplies Vop1 and Vop2 to the CPU 221 and peripheral circuitry 222, respectively.

[0025] The operation of the voltage conversion circuit 211 and the power management circuit 212 in the power supply device 210 is similar to that of the voltage conversion circuit 110 and the power management circuit 120 in the power supply device 100, and will not be repeated here.

[0026] Incidentally, in this embodiment, the threshold voltage can be set according to the operating voltage required for the power management circuit 212 to operate normally. The threshold voltage can be slightly larger than the minimum operating voltage of the power management circuit 212, so that the power supply V_BOB provided by the voltage conversion circuit 211 can ensure the normal operation of the power management circuit 212.

[0027] Incidentally, the peripheral circuit 222 in this embodiment can be any form of peripheral circuit, and the number is not limited to one. The peripheral circuit 222 can be configured based on the functional requirements of the wearable electronic device 200. The voltages of the operating power supplies Vop1 and Vop2 received by the central processing unit (CPU) 221 and the peripheral circuit 222 can be the same or different.

[0028] For implementation details of voltage conversion circuit 211, please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 3 The diagram shows a schematic representation of one embodiment of the voltage conversion circuit of the present invention. Figure 3 In this circuit, voltage conversion circuit 211 can be a DC to DC boost converter. Voltage conversion circuit 211 includes inductor L1, switches SW1 and SW2, and control signal generator 2111. One end of inductor L1 receives the system power supply V_SYS; the other end of inductor L1 is coupled to the first terminals of switches SW1 and SW2; the second terminal of switch SW2 generates the supply power supply V_BOB; the second terminal of switch SW1 is connected to the reference ground terminal VSS. Switches SW1 and SW2 are controlled by control signals PWM1 and PWM2, respectively. When the boost operation is executed, control signals PWM1 and PWM2 can be pulse width modulation signals, and the phases of control signals PWM1 and PWM2 are complementary.

[0029] The control signal generator 2111 can generate control signals PWM1 and PWM2 based on the system power supply V_SYS and the supply power supply V_BOB. When the voltage of the system power supply V_SYS is lower than the default threshold voltage, the control signal generator 2111 can generate control signals PWM1 and PWM2 as pulse width modulation signals, and use the control signals PWM1 and PWM2 to alternately turn switch SW1 on and off, and switch SW2 off and on, to perform a boost operation based on the system power supply V_SYS and generate the supply power supply V_BOB. In addition, when the voltage of the supply power supply V_BOB reaches the target voltage (equal to the threshold voltage), the control signal generator 2111 can set the control signal PWM2 to a fixed voltage and keep switch SW2 open to stop the boost operation.

[0030] On the other hand, when the voltage of the system power supply V_SYS is not lower than the default threshold voltage, the control signal generator 2111 can generate control signals PWM1 and PWM2 as constant voltages, thereby keeping switch SW1 open and switch SW2 on. Under these conditions, the voltage conversion circuit 211 can bypass the system power supply V_SYS through inductor L1 and the on switch SW2 to the second terminal of switch SW2, thereby generating the supply power supply V_BOB. At this time, the system power supply V_SYS and the supply power supply V_BOB can have substantially the same voltage value.

[0031] It is worth noting that Figure 3 The circuit diagram of voltage conversion circuit 211 is merely an illustrative example and does not imply that the voltage conversion circuit of the present invention must be implemented using such a circuit. It should be understood that there are many different implementations of DC-to-DC boost converter circuits. Any DC-to-DC boost converter circuit known to those skilled in the art can be applied to the embodiments of the present invention, without any certain limitation.

[0032] Please refer to Figure 4A as well as Figure 4B , Figure 4A as well as Figure 4B This diagram illustrates the power ripple of a power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention under different operating conditions. Figure 4A In the case where the voltage of the system power supply is not lower than the default threshold voltage (light load state), the voltage conversion circuit does not perform voltage conversion action, so the power supply on the power supply device (e.g., the power supply) does not have ripple phenomenon and therefore does not generate acoustic noise.

[0033] exist Figure 4B In the case of a system power supply voltage that is lower than the default threshold voltage (under heavy load), the voltage conversion circuit must perform a voltage conversion operation, which may result in ripple in the power supply device (e.g., the power supply itself).

[0034] Please refer to the following: Figure 5 , Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a power supply device according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown. In this diagram, a voltage conversion circuit 211 is coupled to a power management circuit 212 via a power transmission line PW, and transmits the power supply V_BOB via the power transmission line PW. To further reduce acoustic noise that the power supply device may generate, a capacitor C may be provided between the power transmission line PW and the reference ground terminal VSS. The capacitor C may, for example, be a noise-resistant multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC).

[0035] Please refer to the following: Figure 6 , Figure 6A flowchart illustrating an operation method of a power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided. In step S610, a voltage conversion circuit is provided to determine whether to boost the voltage or generate a supply power source from the system power source based on the voltage magnitude of the system power source. In step S620, a power management circuit is provided to generate at least one operating power source to at least one application circuit based on the supply power source.

[0036] The implementation details of steps S610 and S620 have been described in detail in the foregoing embodiments and implementation methods, and will not be repeated here.

[0037] In summary, in the power supply device of the present invention, the voltage conversion circuit determines the voltage level of the system power supply and then either boosts or bypasses the system power supply to generate the supply power. In this way, the power supply device ensures that the power management circuit receives a sufficiently high supply power and can maintain normal operation. The voltage conversion circuit of the power supply device eliminates the need for switching actions that require voltage reduction, effectively reducing the probability of noise generation.

[0038] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A power supply device, comprising: The voltage conversion circuit receives system power and, based on the voltage level of the system power, determines whether to boost the voltage or generate a supply power source using the system power. as well as A power management circuit, coupled to the voltage conversion circuit, generates at least one operating power supply to at least one application circuit based on the supply power.

2. The power supply device according to claim 1, wherein the voltage conversion circuit compares the voltage of the system power supply with a threshold voltage and determines, based on the comparison result, whether to boost the voltage or generate the supply power through the system power supply.

3. The power supply device according to claim 2, wherein when the voltage of the system power supply is not less than the threshold voltage, the voltage conversion circuit makes the system power supply equal to the supply power supply.

4. The power supply device according to claim 2, wherein when the voltage of the system power supply is less than the threshold voltage, the voltage conversion circuit performs a boost operation based on the system power supply to generate the supply power.

5. The power supply device according to claim 1, wherein the voltage conversion circuit comprises: A DC-DC boost converter performs a boost operation based on a pulse width modulation signal when the voltage of the system power supply is less than a threshold voltage, thereby generating the supply power based on the system power supply.

6. The power supply device according to claim 5, wherein the DC-to-DC boost converter stops performing the boost operation when the voltage of the system power supply is not less than the threshold voltage, and generates the supply power by bypassing the system power supply.

7. The power supply device according to claim 1, wherein the voltage conversion circuit transmits the supplied power to the power management circuit via a power transmission line, and the power supply device further comprises: A capacitor is coupled between the power transmission line and the reference voltage terminal.

8. A method for operating a power supply device, comprising: A voltage conversion circuit is provided to determine whether to boost the voltage or generate a supply power source from the system power source, depending on the voltage level of the system power source. as well as A power management circuit is provided to generate at least one operating power supply to at least one application circuit based on the supplied power supply.

9. The operating method according to claim 8, wherein the step of determining whether to boost the voltage or generate the supply power through the system power supply based on the voltage of the system power supply includes: The voltage of the system power supply is compared with a threshold voltage, and based on the comparison result, it is determined whether to boost the voltage or generate the supply power through the system power supply.

10. The operating method according to claim 9, further comprising: When the voltage of the system power supply is not less than the threshold voltage, the system power supply is made equal to the supply power supply. as well as When the voltage of the system power supply is less than the threshold voltage, a boost operation is performed based on the system power supply to generate the supply power.

11. A wearable electronic device, comprising: A power supply device and at least one application circuit, the power supply device providing at least one operating power supply to at least one application circuit. The power supply device includes: A voltage conversion circuit receives system power and, based on the voltage level of the system power supply, determines whether to boost the voltage or generate a supply power source using the system power supply; and A power management circuit, coupled to the voltage conversion circuit, generates the at least one operating power supply based on the supply power supply.

12. The wearable electronic device of claim 11, wherein the voltage conversion circuit compares the voltage of the system power supply with a threshold voltage and determines, based on the comparison result, whether to boost the voltage or generate the supply power through the system power supply.

13. The wearable electronic device of claim 12, wherein when the voltage of the system power supply is not less than the threshold voltage, the voltage conversion circuit makes the system power supply equal to the supply power supply; and when the voltage of the system power supply is less than the threshold voltage, the voltage conversion circuit performs a boost operation based on the system power supply to generate the supply power supply.

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