Electronic circuit and method for selectively supplying power to an electronic sub-circuit of an electronic circuit

Abstract

The invention relates to an electronic circuit (1) comprising means (13) for controlling at least one power supply (12) of at least one electronic sub-circuit (11), referred to as a sub-circuit, according to the execution of a predetermined functionality by the sub-circuit.

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION

[0002] TITLE: Electronic circuit and method for selectively supplying energy to an electronic sub-circuit of an electronic circuit.

[0003] 1. Technical field

[0004] The present invention relates to the field of environmental instrumentation, for example via the use of sensors or communicating electronic objects.

[0005] 2. Prior art

[0006] Environmental instrumentation through the use of sensors or communicating electronic objects is increasingly developed, particularly thanks to the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), connected objects and the miniaturization of electronics. Thus, many types of sensors and communicating objects exist to instrument, i.e. equip an environment to monitor it, protect it or to interact with this environment.

[0007] Furthermore, all connected objects, sensors, etc., require, in order to function, to be supplied with energy either by wire, or via an on-board power supply or via an energy supply linked to the capture of ambient energy.

[0008] In addition, for greater practicality, mainly linked to mobility, most current objects and equipment include batteries, which need to be changed or recharged regularly, thus requiring user interaction. Other objects operate with renewable energies (solar, wind, waves, vibrations, etc.) which, by nature, present a very strong variation in their capacity to provide energy to the object. With this type of energy, which is extremely fluctuating, controlling energy consumption over time is essential, to ensure, on the one hand, the proper functioning of the object, and on the other hand, a longer lifespan.

[0009] Furthermore, the more electronic components an object incorporates (such as sensors, measurement or internal management components, a communication, calculation, storage part, etc.) linked to functions to be executed / realized, the more energy this object requires to operate.

[0010] Thus, controlling the energy consumption of these different electronic objects is a real problem which it is becoming urgent to address, particularly in an approach of energy sobriety, or even frugality.

[0011] 3. Statement of the invention

[0012] The present invention addresses this problem of controlling the consumption of an electronic object by proposing a system for physically limiting the consumption of electronic objects, whether communicating or not, to the strict minimum necessary to carry out the tasks for which they are intended. To do this, the present invention proposes an electronic circuit comprising means for controlling at least one power supply of at least one electronic sub-circuit, called a sub-circuit, as a function of the execution of a predetermined functionality by the sub-circuit.

[0013] In this way, the electronic components of the subcircuit are not supplied with energy permanently but only depending on the execution of the functionality, thus greatly reducing the energy consumption of the electronic circuit.

[0014] To do this, the electronic circuit includes means for controlling the power supply of a part of these components, identified as a sub-circuit for the execution of a given functionality.

[0015] For example, such an electronic circuit is carried by an electronic object, such as a connected object, capable of implementing a plurality of functionalities such as turning on a radiator below a certain temperature or offering the user to turn on a lamp below a certain brightness threshold, or even detecting a presence... Thus, such a connected object may comprise several sensors intended for example to measure brightness, temperature, pollution, or even to detect a presence... To ensure the proper functioning of the electronic object, the electronic circuit comprises several sub-circuits, each of which can be dedicated to the execution of a specific functionality (such as taking a brightness measurement every 30 seconds, taking a temperature measurement every 10 seconds, etc.) and each of these sub-circuits can be supplied with energy selectively according to the principle of the invention.As a result, the control means are provided for controlling a plurality of power supplies relating to a plurality of sub-circuits, depending on the execution of a plurality of functionalities.

[0016] According to a particular aspect, the control means trigger the power supply to the sub-circuit when the execution of the predetermined functionality is required and cut off the power supply to the sub-circuit when the execution of the predetermined functionality is completed.

[0017] So, to be more precise, the subcircuit is powered in order to be able to execute a functionality and is no longer powered as soon as the execution of the functionality is completed, so as to only consume energy when it is used to perform a required function.

[0018] According to a particular characteristic, the control means control hardware means for selectively activating the power supply of the sub-circuit.

[0019] According to this embodiment, hardware means make it possible to activate or not the power supply of a sub-circuit, such as for example a switch, when they are controlled by the control means of the circuit. For example, the control means toggles the position of a switch so that it supplies or not a sub-circuit, at the time of execution of a given functionality. According to a variant, the control means correspond to centralized software means.

[0020] Thus, the control of all the power supplies of the different sub-circuits of the electronic circuit is implemented in a software and centralized manner, i.e. at a single location in the circuit. Thus, a single software system makes it possible, upon receipt of a request to execute a functionality, to directly trigger the power supply of the sub-circuit(s) concerned by the execution of this functionality, with or without the intermediary of hardware activation means such as switches.

[0021] According to another variant, the control means correspond to decentralized software means. Thus, the software control of all the power supplies of the different sub-circuits of the electronic circuit is implemented in a decentralized manner, i.e. distributed over several points of the circuit, with or without the intermediary of hardware activation means such as switches. For example, several software programs located at different locations of the circuit respectively control a plurality of switches corresponding respectively to the activation means for a sub-circuit.

[0022] The invention also relates to a method for selectively supplying energy to an electronic sub-circuit of an electronic circuit comprising:

[0023] - controlling hardware means for selectively activating at least one power supply of the sub-circuit to trigger the at least one power supply of the sub-circuit, depending on the execution by the sub-circuit of a predetermined functionality,

[0024] - execution of the functionality by the sub-circuit,

[0025] - the control of hardware means for selectively activating at least one power supply of the sub-circuit to cut off the at least one power supply of the sub-circuit.

[0026] The method according to the invention can be implemented in various ways, in particular in wired form or in software form.

[0027] 4. List of figures

[0028] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the following description of a particular embodiment, given as an illustrative and non-limiting example, and the appended drawings, among which: Figure 1 illustrates an example of an electronic circuit of an electronic object, according to the general principle of the invention; Figure 2 illustrates an example of an electronic circuit of an electronic object, according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 3a illustrates an example of hardware activation means according to a first variant of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 2; Figure 3b illustrates an example of hardware activation means according to a second variant of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 2; Figure 4 illustrates the main steps of the selective energy supply method according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0029] 5. Description of an embodiment of the invention

[0030] The general principle of the invention is based on the observation that the electronic circuits of an electronic object are mainly designed to be powered globally and permanently when the object is in operation.

[0031] Indeed, an electronic object, whether communicating or not, is classically composed of a plurality of electronic components and the following major functionalities:

[0032] - an energy supply, also called power supply,

[0033] - possible storage of this energy,

[0034] - a capacity to deliver this energy to power the object and its various components,

[0035] - a certain number of “user” functionalities, hereinafter referred to as functionalities, implemented by one or more electronic systems / subsystems, which are themselves composed of one or more electronic components powered by the aforementioned energy part.

[0036] Thus, the electronic components of such an object are permanently powered, whether or not they are used to carry out one or more of the object's functions when requested: data capture, data processing, storage, communication, display of information, etc.

[0037] However, this permanent power supply to all electronics is not necessary because not all the functions offered by electronics are used at the same time, and part of the energy consumption of an object is unnecessary and, if necessary, reduces the lifespan of some of its energy sources (battery, cell, etc.) by discharging them unnecessarily.

[0038] Thus, the invention proposes a solution based on the identification of subsystems, also called sub-circuits, in an electronic object and a differentiated, or selective, energy supply of these different sub-circuits, only when they must be powered to perform a required functionality, thus minimizing the overall energy consumption of the object.

[0039] As described above, each electronic object has parts of dedicated electronic circuits that are not used permanently to perform a functionality at a given time but to perform certain one-off or periodic operations, such as the implementation of presence, brightness, pollution, temperature, humidity, pressure sensors, or even internal current or voltage measurement sensors, for example. Similarly, the interactions of the object with its environment, such as turning on an LED, producing a sound via a speaker, controlling a camera, etc., correspond to one-off functionalities that do not require a permanent power supply.

[0040] The proposed technique is therefore based, initially, on the definition or identification of the sub-circuits of the electronic circuit of the object linked to a specific function, or a one-off or periodic operation of the electronic object.

[0041] Then, the architecture of the electronic circuit is designed taking into account these previously identified sub-circuits so that they can be powered selectively, individually, by as many power supply lines as the components forming each sub-circuit require. For example, certain components require, to operate, a power supply of 1.8 Volts, others of 3 Volts, ... or with different amperages. There can therefore be, for the same sub-circuit, several power supply lines, at different voltages or amperages, which can be controlled together thanks to the invention, so as to power all the components of the sub-circuit. The invention also makes it possible to control individually each of the power supplies necessary for each sub-circuit.

[0042] Depending on a particular characteristic, it may also be that one or more components are used by several subcircuits to perform distinct user functions. In this case, the architecture of the electronic circuit takes this into account, for example by isolating this / these components to form a subcircuit of its own and therefore to be able to power it at the same time as one or other of the subcircuits to which it is connected.

[0043] According to a particular characteristic allowing to further optimize the energy consumption of the electronic object, each sub-circuit, or even each electronic element, can be designed and chosen to consume the minimum possible itself (use of the most energy-efficient hardware components for example, while respecting the other electronic constraints necessary for the proper implementation of the user functionality).

[0044] A power supply line, or power line, is any means of supplying power to a component or sub-circuit, whether the power comes from a power source to which the electronic object is connected by a cable, from an internal power source in the object such as a battery, disposable or rechargeable, or from a renewable energy source captured by the electronic object. In concrete terms, a power line corresponds to a wire, on the electronic circuit, between the sub-circuit or component and the power source.

[0045] According to the invention, the different power supply lines provided for each sub-circuit are selectively controllable, so as to allow the execution, by each sub-circuit, of the functionalities for which it is designed, at the time when the execution of the functionalities is required. To do this, control means are provided and designed not only to be able to activate or not the power supply of one or more sub-circuits but also to obtain the information making it possible to activate or not these power supplies at the right time, so that the electronic object operates reliably. The control means must in particular be informed of the requests for execution of the functionalities of the object in correlation with the sub-circuits concerned for the proper execution of these functionalities.According to different embodiment variants, described below, the control means can be implemented in software and / or hardware, and can in particular be distinct from the overall software and / or hardware intelligence enabling the operation of the connected object, or integrated into this overall intelligence.

[0046] This general principle is illustrated in figure 1, for an electronic circuit 1 of an electronic object (not shown) comprising a sub-circuit 11, powered by a power supply source 12 controlled by control means 13, receiving as input an execution request Exec-FCT of a predetermined functionality.

[0047] In Figure 1, the power supply 12 is shown schematically and may correspond to an external wired power source (the power cable is not shown), an external renewable energy source (the energy sensor is not shown) or an internal energy source (the battery or cell is not shown). A possible component or set of components for storing this energy is also not shown.

[0048] For example, the electronic sub-circuit 11 corresponds to a temperature sensor and therefore comprises all the electronic components necessary to measure the temperature in the environment in which the connected object is located and transmit this temperature information to the overall intelligence of the electronic object. This temperature sensor is powered by a single power supply 12 and, depending on the use made of the electronic object, is for example requested every 30 seconds to carry out a temperature measurement. This sub-circuit therefore does not need to be powered permanently, but only every 30 seconds, the time of the temperature capture, which is possible with the present technique, thanks to the control means 13. Indeed, these control means 13 are able to activate the power supply 12 periodically for the temperature measurement and to deactivate this power supply after each temperature measurement.

[0049] To do this, and according to different variants of the proposed technique, the control of these energy supply lines, via these control means 13, can be implemented in software and / or hardware, and in a centralized or non-centralized manner.

[0050] For example, according to a first variant, the control is totally centralized, i.e. all the power supply lines for all the sub-circuits are controlled by a single software system installed on the electronic circuit, called "control software intelligence". According to a second variant, the control is provided in a mixed manner by software elements and hardware elements. Thus, the control software intelligence is centralized, as in the first variant, but communicates with distributed hardware control means, capable of activating / deactivating all the power supply lines for all the sub-circuits.

[0051] According to a third variant, the software control intelligence is itself distributed in several places on the electronic circuit of the object, for example with several software programs operating on several CPUs, or on several cores independently, and communicates with hardware control means which are also distributed, capable of activating / deactivating all of the power supply lines for all of the sub-circuits.

[0052] Finally, according to a fourth variant, the control software intelligence is capable of controlling one or more power supply management “subsystems”, themselves controlling one or more subcircuits. Such power management “subsystems” may be co-located on the same circuit, distributed, in parallel, in cascade, etc. The control software intelligence is also capable of directly activating / deactivating the power supply of such subsystems, thus triggering, depending on the configurations, the power supplies of the subcircuits controlled by these subsystems.

[0053] Concretely, the hardware means are means of selectively activating the power supply of a sub-circuit, such as switches, and are described in more detail below.

[0054] Figure 2 illustrates an example of an electronic circuit of an electronic object, according to an embodiment of the invention, in which two sub-circuits 11 and 21 are identified, respectively designed for the execution of the functionalities FCT1 and FCT2. For example, the sub-circuit 11 corresponds to a temperature sensor as in the example of Figure 1, and the sub-circuit 21 corresponds to a presence sensor, the components of which are powered by two types of power supply 221 and 222 (for example 1.8 Volts and 3 Volts). The control means 13 are capable of activating the respective power supplies 12 and 22 of the sub-circuits 11 and 21, depending on the execution of the respective functionalities FCT1 (for example temperature measurement every 30 seconds) and FCT2 (for example presence detection over predetermined time slots).

[0055] In this example of Figure 2, the two power supply lines 221 and 222 of the sub-circuit 21 are for example each connected to an electronic switch, commonly called a switch. This switch can be an electronic component specifically designed for this, making it possible to connect / disconnect an input / output, as illustrated in Figures 3a and 3b, or a set of components providing this activation / deactivation (ON / OFF) functionality of the power supply lines of the sub-circuit (not illustrated). Thus, Figure 3a shows that, according to a first variant, the control means 13 control two switches SW21 and SW22, respectively to activate / deactivate the power supply lines 221 and 222 making it possible to power all the components of the sub-circuit 21.According to a second variant, illustrated in figure 3b, the control means 13 control a single switch SW2, respectively to activate / deactivate, in a grouped manner, the supply lines 221 and 222 making it possible to supply all the components of the sub-circuit 21.

[0056] According to another embodiment, such an electronic switch can also correspond to a software function controlling an input / output which will activate / deactivate a power supply line.

[0057] Whatever the implementation of these switches, hardware means of selective activation or software means, they are controlled by the control means themselves implemented in the form of software or hardware intelligence (microcontroller or microprocessor).

[0058] Thus, when a specific or one-off “user” functionality is required, i.e. when the control means receive the request or the Exec-FCT1 information (for example the request for a temperature measurement via a dedicated sensor corresponding to the sub-circuit 11), the proposed technique operates in this way, according to the selective energy supply method illustrated in Figure 4: step 41: the control means 13 (integrated or separated from the overall intelligence of the electronic object or the electronic circuit 1) control the switch SW1 (illustrated in Figure 2) to activate the energy supply of the electronic sub-circuit 11 necessary for the execution of this FCT1 functionality, step 42: once the electronic sub-circuit 11 is properly powered thanks to the correct switching of the switch SW1,the overall software or hardware intelligence of the electronic circuit 1 carries out the required functionality (for example, recovering data corresponding to a temperature value via the sub-circuit 11), step 43: once the functionality has been executed / completed, the software or hardware intelligence again controls the switch SW1 so that it cuts off the power supply to the sub-circuit 11.,

[0059] Thus, the proposed technique allows only a minimal amount of energy to be used to perform the appropriate functionality, and only when the functionalities to be performed are required. The rest of the time, even if the electronic object is functional, the sub-circuits not involved in the execution of a current functionality are not physically powered.

[0060] Furthermore, thanks to the reduction in the energy consumed at any given moment, it is possible to minimize the "energy heel" necessary to operate the object in question at a minimum, which has the effect of allowing a different design of this object in terms of energy consumption. Thus, thanks to the implementation of the present invention, manufacturers of electronic objects (communicating or not) can turn to power sources drawing their energy from the ambient environment (solar panels, thermal gradient, movement, vibrations, etc.) rather than batteries to power their objects, which is currently difficult to envisage for electronic objects designed so that all of the electronics are powered permanently.Indeed, the energy sobriety and frugality of an electronic circuit designed according to the present invention makes it possible to consider the use of renewable energy sources without impacting the operation of the electronic object and therefore to design the electronic object in a completely different way.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. Electronic circuit (1), characterized in that it comprises means (13) for controlling at least one power supply (12) of at least one electronic sub-circuit (11), called sub-circuit, as a function of the execution of at least one predetermined functionality by said at least one sub-circuit and in that the control means (13) trigger the at least one power supply of the sub-circuit (11) when the execution of the predetermined functionality is required and cut off the at least one power supply of the sub-circuit (11) when the execution of the predetermined functionality is completed.

2. Electronic circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that the control means (13) control hardware means (SW1, SW2, SW21, SW22) for selective activation of the at least one power supply of the sub-circuit.

3. Electronic circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that the control means (13) correspond to centralized software means.

4. Electronic circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that the control means (13) correspond to decentralized software means.

5. Method for selectively supplying energy to an electronic sub-circuit of an electronic circuit, characterized in that it comprises: - controlling (41) hardware means for selectively activating at least one power supply of the sub-circuit to trigger the at least one power supply of the sub-circuit, when the execution of a predetermined functionality by the sub-circuit is required, - the execution (42) of the functionality by the sub-circuit, - controlling (43) hardware means for selectively activating at least one power supply of the sub-circuit to cut off the at least one power supply of the sub-circuit when the execution of the predetermined functionality is completed.

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