Low-Power Wakeup Circuit Reusing Battery Connector Interconnects
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
As electronic systems become more complex, battery consumption increases due to circuits remaining active during a powered down state, leading to quicker battery drain, particularly in components like RF and NFC subsystems.
Innovation Solution
A wakeup circuit design that reuses existing connector interconnects between power and battery management devices, reducing active components and activating the system with a switch, thereby minimizing power consumption during the powered down mode.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If circuits remain active during powered down state to enable quick system reactivation, then system responsiveness is improved, but battery consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential wakeup functionality from the full system, implementing a minimal circuit that consumes negligible power while maintaining the ability to quickly reactivate the system. This extracted wakeup circuit includes only the necessary components (wakeup switch, buffer circuit, and connection to power management device) without including fully functional RF or NFC subsystems during powered down state.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is segmented into distinct operational states with different power consumption characteristics. The wakeup circuit operates in a low-power state during normal operation and only activates the full power management system when needed, creating separate functional segments that can be independently powered on or off.
2Reliability
If multiple separate wakeup circuits are implemented for different subsystems, then subsystem reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The power management device serves multiple functions: it manages power distribution to various subsystems, detects wakeup events from the wakeup switch, and coordinates system reactivation. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate dedicated wakeup circuits for each subsystem, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining reliable wakeup functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the wakeup detection function with the existing power management device, combining what would traditionally be separate circuits into a single integrated unit. The buffer circuit and wakeup switch are integrated with the power management device's existing I/O pins and control logic, reducing the total number of discrete components.
3Reliability
If additional dedicated interconnects are added for wakeup signals, then wakeup signal reliability is improved, but connector complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The existing data signal line between the battery management device and power management device is made multi-functional by using it for both data communication during powered up state and wakeup signal transmission during powered down state. This eliminates the need for separate dedicated interconnects for wakeup signals.
Solution Approach 2:
The existing data signal line serves dual purposes without requiring additional hardware infrastructure. The system leverages the already-present interconnect to perform the wakeup signal function, making the existing structure self-sufficient and eliminating the need for additional connector pins or wiring.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure describes a system with a power management device, a wakeup circuit, a battery management device, and a connector. During a powered down mode of operation, the battery management device can provide, via the connector, a bias voltage to the wakeup circuit. In response to a wakeup switch being activated, the battery management device can provide a power supply (e.g., from a battery) to the power management device. Benefits of the wakeup circuit include (1) a reduction of battery consumption—and thus improving battery lifetime—when the electronic system is in a powered down mode of operation because the wakeup circuit has lower number of active components compared to other designs and (2) a non-complex wakeup circuit design because one or more existing connector interconnects between the power management device and the battery management device can be re-used during electronic system's powered down mode of operation.