Host System Power Delivery Control for Bus Powered USB Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
In battery-powered systems, connected bus-powered devices or Hubs consume battery life when not actively required, as there is no known solution to proactively cut power to these devices during standby modes or when they do not require application or wake services.
Innovation Solution
A power saving apparatus and method that allows a host system to decide whether to power off bus-powered peripherals based on wake policies and low power state requirements, using USB 3.2, Thunderbolt 3, USB4, and DisplayPort protocols to manage power delivery and wake logic, enabling power saving even when the system is in standby or sleep states.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a bus-powered device or Hub is kept connected on the system ports, then data exchange and power delivery functionality is maintained, but system battery life is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system proactively determines whether a connected bus-powered device requires wake services before entering standby mode, and preemptively cuts power to the device if no wake services are needed. This preliminary assessment and action prevent unnecessary power consumption during standby, extending battery life while maintaining the ability to quickly restore power if wake services become necessary.
2Use of energy by moving object
If power is cut to bus-powered devices during standby mode, then battery life is extended, but wake services from devices cannot be received
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a feedback mechanism that monitors whether connected bus-powered devices require wake services. Based on this feedback, the system dynamically adjusts power delivery to devices during standby mode - cutting power when wake services are not needed, and restoring power when wake services are required. This feedback-driven approach resolves the contradiction by making power management decisions based on actual device needs.
Data Source
AI summary
A power saving apparatus and method for a host system to proactively decide to save power and increase battery life when bus powered peripheral devices are connected to the System's USB TYPE-C ports. The Host (or Host System) decides if a Bus Powered Device (BPD), hub or a peripheral device requires application services, or a device-initiated wake based on wake policies of a respective Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3.2, THUNDERBOLT 3 (TBT3), USB4, DISPLAYPORT (DP) Protocol. Thereafter, the Host decides based on S0, Low Power System standby entry—wake time latency requirement along with USB TYPE-C IO Protocol policies, to trigger the system power delivery (PD) Controller to remove power to the BPD. To save power, the Host System Wake logic power partition is also powered off.