Slave Processor Mediates I2C Communication for Powered-Off Driver Board
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Solution Overview
Problem
In electronic devices with touch panels, there is a challenge in ensuring normal communication between the master processor and the driver board when the device transitions between sleep and working modes, due to the driver board being powered off or on, which can lead to failed responses and abnormality detection.
Innovation Solution
A driving circuit is introduced, comprising a driver board and a slave processor that shares the same I2C address. The slave processor can respond to control commands from the master processor even when the driver board is in a power-off state, ensuring continuous communication by entering a sleep mode when the driver board is on and a working mode when it is off.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the driver board is powered off to save energy during sleep mode, then power consumption is reduced, but communication responsiveness deteriorates because the driver board cannot respond to master processor commands
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into two separate processing units: the driver board handling display functions and the slave processor handling communication functions. This segmentation allows the driver board to be powered off during sleep mode while the slave processor remains active to maintain I2C communication responsiveness, resolving the contradiction between power savings and communication reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The slave processor acts as an intermediary between the master processor and the driver board. When the driver board is powered off, the slave processor intercepts I2C commands from the master processor, generates appropriate response packets, and returns them to the master processor, thereby maintaining communication responsiveness without requiring the driver board to remain powered on.
2Reliability
If the driver board is powered on to ensure communication responsiveness, then communication reliability is maintained, but power consumption increases during sleep mode
Solution Approach 1:
By separating communication handling from display driving functions, the system allows selective powering off of the driver board while keeping the slave processor active for communication, thus maintaining reliability while reducing power consumption during sleep mode.
Solution Approach 2:
The slave processor serves as a communication intermediary that can handle I2C protocols independently of the driver board's power state, enabling the driver board to be powered off without compromising communication reliability.
3Reliability
If a slave device responds to I2C commands when powered off, then communication reliability is maintained, but address conflict occurs because multiple devices cannot share the same address
Solution Approach 1:
The slave processor acts as an intermediary that receives I2C commands addressed to the driver board's address, processes them, and generates appropriate responses. This mediator approach allows the system to maintain address uniqueness while enabling response functionality when the driver board is powered off.
Solution Approach 2:
The slave processor is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a communication handler and as a substitute responder for the driver board. It can operate independently to maintain I2C protocol compliance while the driver board is in different power states, resolving the address conflict issue.
Data Source
AI summary
A driving circuit includes a driver board and a slave processor. The driver board is configured to drive a touch panel of an electronic device. The slave processor is coupled to the driver board, and is configured to receive a control command including a first address when the driver board is in a power-off state, and send first response information in response to the control command. The driver board and the slave processor share the first address.