CN217060969U

CN217060969U - PD control circuit, communication circuit, chip and electronic equipment

Info

Publication number: CN217060969U
Application number: CN202220952172.9U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 赖奕佳; 胡用; 杨乐
Original assignee: Chipsea Technologies Shenzhen Co Ltd
Current assignee: Chipsea Technologies Shenzhen Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-04-22
Filing date: 2022-04-22
Publication date: 2022-07-26
Anticipated expiration: 2032-04-22

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a PD control circuit, a communication circuit, a chip and an electronic device, wherein the PD control circuit includes: the communication interface is used for connecting the embedded controller; a PD communication module; a PD communication interface for connecting a USB connector; and the conversion module is used for converting signals between the communication interface and the PD communication module. A communication circuit, comprising: embedded control circuit and PD control circuit, embedded control circuit includes: a bus interface for communicating with a processor; a second communication interface for connecting the first communication interface of the PD control circuit; the first conversion module is used for converting signals between the bus interface and the second communication interface; a PD control circuit, comprising: a first communication interface; a PD communication module; a PD communication interface for connecting a USB connector; and the second conversion module is used for converting signals between the first communication interface and the PD communication module. With one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, communication with an electronic device having PD communication circuitry may be achieved.

Description

PD control circuit, communication circuit, chip and electronic equipment

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of circuit technologies, and in particular, to a Power Delivery (PD) control circuit, a communication circuit, a chip, and an electronic device.

Background

Electronic devices such as personal computers, smart phones, tablet computers, smart home devices, and wearable devices generally perform wired communication through a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface. The upper computer software of the electronic device generally controls the USB interface and the like to transmit data. However, some electronic devices have a PD communication circuit to charge based on the PD protocol, and do not have an interface supported by upper computer software such as a USB communication circuit (also called a USB chip or a USB controller), and how to implement wired communication with an electronic device without a relevant interface, a solution with low cost and low complexity is not proposed at present.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

In view of this, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a PD control circuit, a communication circuit, a chip and an electronic device, so as to implement wired communication between the electronic device having the PD communication circuit and a communication mode corresponding circuit without host computer software at least in part.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a PD control circuit including: a communication interface for connecting an Embedded Controller (EC); a PD communication module; the PD communication interface is used for connecting the USB connector and is connected with the PD communication module; and the conversion module is used for converting signals between the communication interface and the PD communication module and is connected between the communication interface and the PD communication module.

In some embodiments, the PD communication interface includes pins that connect with Configuration Channel (CC) pins of the USB connector.

In some embodiments, the communication interface comprises at least one of: a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), a Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) Interface, an Integrated Circuit Bus (IIC) Interface, and a System Management Bus (SMBUS) Interface.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a chip is provided, which includes the PD control circuit of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a communication circuit including: embedded control circuit and PD control circuit, wherein, embedded control circuit includes: a bus interface for communicating with a processor; a second communication interface for connecting the first communication interface of the PD control circuit; the first conversion module is used for converting signals between the bus interface and the second communication interface; wherein, PD control circuit includes: a first communication interface; a PD communication module; the PD communication interface is used for connecting the USB connector and is connected with the PD communication module; and the second conversion module is used for converting signals between the first communication interface and the PD communication module and is connected between the first communication interface and the PD communication module.

In some embodiments, the PD communication interface includes pins that connect with CC pins of the USB connector.

In some embodiments, the first communication interface and the second communication interface comprise at least one of: SPI, UART interface, IIC interface, SMBUS interface.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a chip is provided, which includes the communication circuit of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an electronic device including: the communication circuit of the disclosed embodiment; the processor is connected with a bus interface of the embedded control circuit of the communication circuit; and the USB connector is connected with the communication circuit.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an electronic device including: a processor; the embedded controller is communicated with the processor through a bus interface; the chip of the embodiment of the disclosure is connected with the embedded controller; and the USB connector is connected with the chip.

According to one or more technical schemes provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure, a communication interface of a PD control circuit can be connected to an embedded controller, a conversion module can perform signal conversion between the communication interface and a PD communication module, and the PD communication module can perform PD communication through the PD communication interface, and further can communicate with an electronic device having a PD interface through the PD control circuit. The wired communication between the electronic equipment with the PD communication circuit and the electronic equipment without the communication mode corresponding circuit of the upper computer software can be realized under the condition that the upper computer software on the processor side is not modified.

Drawings

Further details, features and advantages of the disclosure are disclosed in the following description of exemplary embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 shows a schematic structural diagram of a PD control circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 shows another schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While certain embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it is to be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein, but rather are provided for a more thorough and complete understanding of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the drawings and the embodiments of the disclosure are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.

It should be understood that the various steps recited in method embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed in a different order, and/or performed in parallel. Moreover, method embodiments may include additional steps and/or omit performing the illustrated steps. The scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

The term "including" and variations thereof as used herein is intended to be open-ended, i.e., "including but not limited to". The term "according to" is "at least partially according to". The term "one embodiment" means "at least one embodiment"; the term "another embodiment" means "at least one additional embodiment"; the term "some embodiments" means "at least some embodiments". Relevant definitions for other terms will be given in the following description. It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", and the like in the present disclosure are only used for distinguishing different devices, modules or units, and are not used for limiting the order or interdependence relationship of the functions performed by the devices, modules or units.

It is noted that references to "a", "an", and "the" modifications in this disclosure are intended to be illustrative rather than limiting, and that those skilled in the art will recognize that "one or more" may be used unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The terms "connected," "connected," and "connected" as referred to in this disclosure mean directly or indirectly connected.

The embodiment of the disclosure provides a PD control circuit.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic structural diagram of a PD control circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and as shown in fig. 1, the PD control circuit 100 includes: a communication interface 110 for connecting an embedded controller; a PD communication module 120; a PD communication interface 130 for connecting a USB connector, the PD communication interface 130 being connected to the PD communication module 120; a conversion module 140 for converting signals between the communication interface 110 and the PD communication module 120 is connected between the communication interface 110 and the PD communication module 120.

Through the PD control circuit, the embedded controller can communicate with other electronic equipment connected to the USB connector in a PD communication mode, and the electronic equipment only needs to be provided with the PD communication circuit. In particular, communication with electronic devices supporting PD charging is facilitated without adding other circuits to the devices, which is beneficial to reduce the cost of the devices, such as electronic devices like lamps and sensors capable of PD charging. As an example, the PD control circuit can send the firmware upgrading data to the electronic devices in a PD mode, the devices do not need to be additionally provided with chips such as USB data conversion and the like, the product cost is reduced, a special upgrading tool is not needed, and the electronic devices can be upgraded on line after being connected by using a USB data line.

As one embodiment, the PD communication interface 130 includes pins that connect with CC pins of a USB connector. As an example, the CC pins include CC1 pin and CC2 pin.

As an embodiment, the communication interface 110 includes, but is not limited to, at least one of an SPI, a UART interface, an IIC interface (also referred to as an I2C interface), or an SMBUS interface, etc. It should be understood that the communication interface 110 may also include other well-known circuits and circuits, circuits and chips, and interfaces between chips, which are not described in detail in this embodiment.

In this embodiment, the embedded controller may include one or more bus interfaces that communicate with the processor. As an example, the bus interface may include: enhanced serial peripheral interface (eSPI), or Low Pin Count (LPC), etc. It should be understood that the bus interface may also include other known bus interfaces for communication between an embedded controller and a processor, and the present embodiment is not limited thereto.

In the present embodiment, the USB connector may include, but is not limited to, a USB type C connector (abbreviated as USB type-C connector). Typically, but not limited to, a USB type C socket. The USB type C connector may include the aforementioned CC pins. The USB type C connector may further include a power line (VBUS) pin, a DM pin, a DP pin, a Tx pin, an Rx pin, and the like.

In this embodiment, the PD control circuit 100 may further include one or more other circuits, modules, and functional units, for example, a power supply negotiation based on the PD protocol, which is not limited in this embodiment.

The disclosed embodiment provides a communication circuit.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and as shown in fig. 2, the communication circuit 200 includes: embedded control circuit 210 and PD control circuit 220.

As shown in fig. 2, the embedded control circuit 210 includes: a bus interface 211 for communicating with the processor; a second communication interface 212 for connecting the first communication interface 221 of the PD control circuit 220; a first conversion module 213 for signal conversion between the bus interface 211 and the second communication interface 212.

In this embodiment, the bus interface 111 may include: enhanced serial peripheral interface (eSPI), or Low Pin Count (LPC), etc. It should be understood that the bus interface 111 may also include other known bus interfaces for communicating between embedded control circuits and processors, and is not limited in this embodiment.

As shown in fig. 2, the PD control circuit 220 includes: a first communication interface 221; a PD communication module 222; a PD communication interface 223 for connecting a USB connector, the PD communication interface 223 being connected with the PD communication module 222; a second conversion module 224 for signal conversion between the first communication interface 221 and the PD communication module 222 is connected between the first communication interface 221 and the PD communication module 222.

As an embodiment, PD communication interface 223 includes pins that connect with CC pins of a USB connector. As an example, the CC pins include CC1 pin and CC2 pin.

As an embodiment, the first communication interface 221 and the second communication interface 212 include but are not limited to at least one of SPI, UART interface, IIC interface (also referred to as I2C interface), or SMBUS interface. It should be understood that the communication interface may also include other well-known circuits and circuits, circuits and chips, and interfaces between chips, which are not described in detail in this embodiment.

The embodiment also provides the electronic equipment.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and as shown in fig. 3, the electronic device 300 may include: a communication circuit 310; a processor 320 connected to a bus interface of the embedded control circuit of the communication circuit 310; the USB connector 330 is connected to the communication circuit 310.

In the present embodiment, the communication circuit 310 is shown in fig. 2, and is not described herein.

In the present embodiment, the USB connector 330 may include, but is not limited to, a USB type C connector (abbreviated as USB type-C connector). Typically, but not limited to, a USB type C socket. The USB type C connector may include the aforementioned CC pins. The USB type C connector may further include a power line (VBUS) pin, a DM pin, a DP pin, a Tx pin, an Rx pin, and the like.

In this embodiment, as an implementation manner, data of the upper computer program is issued to the embedded control circuit of the communication circuit 310 through the processor 320, the embedded control circuit issues the data to the PD control circuit, and the PD control circuit sends the data in a PD communication manner.

In this embodiment, as an implementation manner, the upper computer program sends signal data to the communication circuit 310 through the processor 320, the embedded control circuit of the communication circuit 310 receives a signal through a bus interface (e.g., ePSI, LPC, etc.) between the embedded control circuit and the processor 320, converts the signal and sends the signal to a first communication interface (e.g., SPI, UART interface, IIC interface, or SMBUS interface, etc.) of the PD control circuit through a second communication interface of the embedded control circuit, the PD control circuit receives the signal through the first communication interface (corresponding to the second communication interface), converts the received signal (converts data of the SPI, UART interface, IIC interface, or SMBUS interface into a signal for PD communication) and sends the signal to a PD communication module of the PD control circuit, and the PD communication module sends the signal through the PD communication interface so as to enable a PD communication module of another electronic device to receive the signal. As an example, the upper computer program transmits firmware data to another electronic device to upgrade the firmware of the electronic device. It should be understood that the data content transmitted is not limited by the present embodiment.

In this embodiment, as another implementation manner, the PD communication module of the communication circuit 310 may receive a signal through the PD communication interface, the PD communication module sends the signal to the second conversion module, the second conversion module converts the signal and sends the signal to the embedded control circuit through the first communication interface, the embedded control circuit receives the signal through the second communication interface, converts the signal and sends the signal to the processor through the bus interface, and the upper computer program processes the signal.

The embodiment of the disclosure also provides the electronic equipment.

Fig. 4 shows another schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and as shown in fig. 4, the electronic device 400 includes: a processor 410; an embedded controller 420 communicating with the processor 410 through a bus interface; a PD chip 430 connected to the embedded controller 420, wherein the PD chip 430 includes the aforementioned PD control circuit according to the embodiment of the disclosure; the USB connector 440 is connected to the PD chip 430.

In this embodiment, the bus interface between the processor 410 and the embedded controller 420 may include: enhanced serial peripheral interface (eSPI), or Low Pin Count (LPC), etc. It should be understood that the bus interface may also include other known bus interfaces for communication between an embedded controller and a processor, and the present embodiment is not limited thereto.

In the present embodiment, the communication interface between the embedded controller 420 and the PD chip 430 may include, but is not limited to, SPI, a UART interface, an IIC interface (also referred to as I2C interface), or an SMBUS interface, etc. It should be understood that the communication interface may also include other well-known circuits and circuits, circuits and chips, and interfaces between chips, which are not described in detail in this embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the USB connector 440 may include, but is not limited to, a USB type C connector (abbreviated as USB type-C connector). Typically, but not limited to, a USB type C socket. The USB type C connector may include the aforementioned CC pins. The USB type C connector may further include a power line (VBUS) pin, a DM pin, a DP pin, a Tx pin, an Rx pin, and the like.

In this embodiment, as an implementation manner, the upper computer program sends data to the processor 410, the processor 410 can send data to the embedded controller 420, the embedded controller 420 sends data to the PD chip 430, the PD chip 430 sends data out through the USB connector 440 in a PD communication manner, and the USB connector 440 transmits data to another electronic device through a USB cable connected thereto. As an example, the data may be firmware upgrade data that upgrades another electronic device.

The embodiment of the disclosure also provides a chip, which includes the PD control circuit of the embodiment of the disclosure.

The embodiment of the disclosure also provides a chip comprising the communication circuit of the embodiment of the disclosure.

The PD control circuit, the communication circuit, the chip and the electronic device provided in the present disclosure are introduced in detail, and specific examples are applied herein to explain the principles and embodiments of the present disclosure, and the descriptions of the above embodiments are only used to help understand the method and the core idea of the present disclosure; meanwhile, for a person skilled in the art, based on the idea of the present disclosure, there may be variations in the specific embodiments and the application scope, and in summary, the content of the present disclosure should not be construed as a limitation to the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A power transfer (PD) control circuit, comprising:

the communication interface is used for connecting the embedded controller;

a PD communication module;

the PD communication interface is used for connecting a USB connector and is connected with the PD communication module;

and the conversion module is used for converting signals between the communication interface and the PD communication module and is connected between the communication interface and the PD communication module.

2. The PD control circuit of claim 1, wherein the PD communication interface includes pins that connect with Configuration Channel (CC) pins of the USB connector.

3. The PD control circuit of claim 1 or 2, wherein the communication interface comprises at least one of: serial peripheral interface SPI, universal asynchronous receiver UART interface, integrated circuit bus IIC interface, system management bus SMBUS interface.

4. A chip comprising the power transfer PD control circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. A communication circuit, comprising: an embedded control circuit and a power transfer PD control circuit,

wherein, the embedded control circuit includes:

a bus interface for communicating with a processor;

a second communication interface for connecting to the first communication interface of the PD control circuit;

the first conversion module is used for signal conversion between the bus interface and the second communication interface;

wherein the PD control circuit includes:

the first communication interface;

a PD communication module;

and the second conversion module is used for converting signals between the first communication interface and the PD communication module and is connected between the first communication interface and the PD communication module.

6. The communication circuit of claim 5, wherein the PD communication interface comprises a pin that connects with a Configuration Channel (CC) pin of the USB connector.

7. The communication circuit of claim 5 or 6, wherein the first communication interface and the second communication interface comprise at least one of: serial peripheral interface SPI, universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter UART interface, integrated circuit bus IIC interface, and system management bus SMBUS interface.

8. A chip characterized in that it comprises a communication circuit according to any one of claims 5 to 7.

9. An electronic device, comprising:

the communication circuit of any one of claims 5 to 7;

the processor is connected with a bus interface of the embedded control circuit of the communication circuit;

and the USB connector is connected with the communication circuit.

10. An electronic device, comprising:

a processor;

the embedded controller is communicated with the processor through a bus interface;

the chip of claim 4, connected with the embedded controller;

and the USB connector is connected with the chip.