XR Power Grid Switching for Peak Current Without PCB Growth
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional power grids for augmented reality (AR) glasses face challenges in achieving a sleek form factor while maintaining high performance, as they require additional power supplies or throttling of core devices to manage peak current, which increases PCB area and affects user experience.
Innovation Solution
A dynamic power grid system that utilizes a power multiplexor (MUX) and machine learning to intelligently switch between under-utilized power supplies, allowing cores to operate at multiple voltage levels and allocate power efficiently without adding additional phases or throttling cores.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If additional power supplies are added to manage peak current, then power delivery capability is improved, but PCB area increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple power supply functions into a single integrated power supply unit. The power supply is configured to dynamically switch between different output voltages (e.g., 0.7V and 1.0V) to serve multiple voltage requirements, eliminating the need for separate power supply circuits for each voltage level and reducing overall PCB area.
Solution Approach 2:
The power supply employs dynamic voltage switching capability, allowing it to adapt its output voltage based on the operational mode of the device. The power supply can switch between different voltage levels in real-time to match the requirements of different operational states, optimizing power delivery without requiring multiple static power supply circuits.
2Use of energy by moving object
If core devices are throttled to manage peak current, then power consumption is reduced, but device performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements dynamic power management by switching between different voltage levels based on operational requirements. During high-performance modes, the power supply outputs higher voltage (1.0V) to enable full device performance. During low-power modes, it switches to lower voltage (0.7V) to reduce power consumption, avoiding the need to throttle device performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the voltage parameter dynamically to optimize the trade-off between power consumption and performance. By adjusting the output voltage of the power supply based on operational mode, the system achieves power savings without permanently degrading device performance, as the full performance capability remains available when higher voltage is supplied.
3Productivity
If multiple power supplies are used to maintain high performance, then device performance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple power supply functions into a single integrated unit that can output multiple voltage levels. This consolidation reduces the number of separate power supply components, simplifies the power grid architecture, and decreases overall device complexity while maintaining the capability to support high-performance operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The single power supply unit is designed with multi-functionality, capable of providing different voltage levels (0.7V, 1.0V, and potentially other levels) to various parts of the device as needed. This universal power supply replaces multiple specialized power supply units, reducing complexity while maintaining full performance support across different operational modes.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus includes multiple core devices, each core device configured to operate at multiple voltage levels. The apparatus also includes a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) comprising multiple power supplies, each power supply corresponding to one of the voltage levels. A first of the power supplies corresponds to a first voltage level selectively coupled to a first of the core devices configured to operate at the first voltage level. A second power supply of the power supplies corresponds to a second voltage level selectively coupled to the first of the core devices configured to operate at the second voltage level.