Shared-Voltage PMIC Mode Switching for Stable Multi-Device Power
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic devices face instability and reduced reliability due to unstable voltage or power provided by power management integrated circuits (PMICs), especially when multiple components operate simultaneously, leading to voltage drops and reliability issues.
Innovation Solution
A user system with a PMIC that generates a shared voltage, where a host device predicts overlapping operation periods of first and second devices and changes the PMIC's power mode from a light load (PFM) to a heavy load (PWM) mode before simultaneous operations, stabilizing the shared voltage and current supply.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the PMIC operates in a single power mode, then the device complexity is reduced, but the voltage stability and reliability deteriorate when multiple devices operate simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The host device predicts overlapping operation periods of multiple devices and changes the PMIC's power mode in advance before simultaneous operations occur. This preliminary action prevents voltage instability rather than reacting to it, allowing the system to maintain reliability without complex real-time monitoring mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses operation profiles to predict when multiple devices will operate simultaneously, creating a feedback loop where the host device monitors and anticipates power demands. This feedback mechanism enables proactive power mode adjustment, resolving the contradiction between simplicity and stability.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the PMIC uses light load mode (PFM) for energy efficiency, then power consumption is reduced, but voltage stability deteriorates during peak current demands
Solution Approach 1:
The host device predicts overlapping operation periods and switches the PMIC to heavy load mode (PWM) in advance before peak current demands occur. This allows the system to maintain voltage stability during critical periods while returning to energy-efficient PFM mode during normal operation, resolving the contradiction between power consumption and voltage stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The PMIC dynamically switches between light load mode (PFM) and heavy load mode (PWM) based on predicted power demands. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to optimize power consumption during normal operation while ensuring voltage stability during peak demands, eliminating the need to choose one mode permanently.
3Device complexity
If multiple devices share a common voltage supply, then device complexity is reduced, but voltage stability deteriorates when devices operate simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The host device predicts overlapping operation periods of multiple devices sharing the common voltage supply and proactively changes the PMIC's power mode before simultaneous operations begin. This preliminary intervention maintains voltage stability in the simplified shared architecture without requiring complex isolation or separate power supplies for each device.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a user system which includes a first device and a second device, which share a shared voltage, and a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) generating the shared voltage. An operation method of the user system includes performing a first operation of the first device, determining whether a second operation of the second device is to be performed while the first device performs the first operation, based on an operation profile, and when it is determined that the second operation of the second device is to be performed while the first device performs the first operation, changing a power mode of the PMIC from a first power mode to a second power mode, before the second device performs the second operation. The PMIC generates the shared voltage based on the first power mode or the second power mode.