Power Control Circuit for Automotive Battery Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing power control circuits in automotive applications face challenges in managing low power consumption, particularly in mixed signal circuits, where standby current is influenced by both dynamic and static current, and is exacerbated at high temperatures, affecting battery life and increasing the risk of battery drainage.
Innovation Solution
A power control circuit with an internal power supply and an event manager circuit that detects activity signals to validate the need for a non-sleep power mode, using a control signal to activate or deactivate the power supply, ensuring efficient power management by transitioning between sleep and non-sleep modes based on valid system events.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If circuits are kept in active power mode to ensure immediate responsiveness, then system responsiveness is improved, but power consumption increases and battery life decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The power control circuit dynamically transitions between sleep and active modes based on detected events. The system monitors for activity signals and automatically wakes from sleep mode when needed, maintaining responsiveness while minimizing power consumption during idle periods. This dynamic state change resolves the contradiction by adapting power mode to actual system needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enters sleep mode in advance of actual power needs, preparing for potential future activity. Event detection circuits remain active or in a low-power monitoring state to detect wake-up signals before full system activation is required. This preliminary transition to sleep mode reduces power consumption while maintaining the ability to respond quickly when events occur.
2Use of energy by moving object
If circuits transition to sleep mode to reduce power consumption, then battery life is improved, but system responsiveness and event detection capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into different functional blocks with different power states. Event detection circuits and validation logic remain active or in a lightweight monitoring mode while main processing circuits sleep. This segmentation allows the system to maintain event detection capability with minimal power consumption, resolving the contradiction between sleep mode benefits and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
An event validation circuit acts as an intermediary between the sleep mode system and active processing. This validation circuit remains active to verify detected events, ensuring that wake-up events are legitimate before fully activating the system. This intermediary layer maintains reliability during sleep mode by filtering false events while consuming minimal power.
3Measurement precision
If event validation logic is always active to ensure accurate event detection, then detection accuracy is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Event validation operates periodically or on-demand rather than continuously. The system validates events at critical transition points (wake-up, mode changes) rather than maintaining constant validation overhead. This periodic validation approach maintains detection accuracy for critical events while reducing power consumption by eliminating continuous validation overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
The event validation circuit serves itself by using minimal resources to validate its own operation. The validation logic is designed to operate with ultra-low power consumption, validating only the essential parameters needed to distinguish real events from noise. This self-service approach maintains accuracy while minimizing the power burden of continuous validation.
Data Source
AI summary
As may be implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments, an event manager provides control of a battery-powered internal power supply. The power supply has a control port that receives a control signal for activating and deactivating the internal power supply, and one or more output ports for providing a power signal. The event manager includes a plurality of system-event circuits that detect activity signals corresponding to a respective one of a plurality of system events. An event validation circuit, which is powered by the power signal, provides a validation signal that is based upon an activity signal detected by the event manager circuit and that indicates that the internal power supply should provide the power signal in a non-sleep power-operation mode.