CN115085345B

CN115085345B - Charging method and electronic equipment

Info

Publication number: CN115085345B
Application number: CN202111661434.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 相超
Original assignee: Honor Device Co Ltd
Current assignee: Honor Device Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-12-30
Filing date: 2021-12-30
Publication date: 2023-05-16
Anticipated expiration: 2041-12-30
Also published as: CN115085345A

Abstract

The application discloses a charging method and electronic equipment, relates to the field of electronic equipment, and can further reduce charging energy consumption of a notebook computer adopting an NVDC architecture charging management chip when the notebook computer is powered off and full. The specific scheme is as follows: the embedded controller determines the architecture type of the charging management chip; when the electronic equipment is connected with the power adapter for charging and is in a shutdown state, and the electric quantity of the battery is equal to or higher than a preset threshold value, the embedded controller controls the power adapter according to the architecture type of the charging management chip so as to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter.

Description

Charging method and electronic equipment

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of electronic devices, and in particular, to a charging method and an electronic device.

Background

The notebook computer product is taken as a productivity tool, provides powerful functions for users, and the number of users currently in use is continuously increased.

With the vigorous development of the Type-C interface, most notebook computers currently adopt the Type-C interface as power input. The Type-C interface can meet data transmission and power input, has very good universality, and a power supply supporting a power transmission (PD) protocol can charge a notebook computer through the Type-C interface. Therefore, a charging management chip for charging the built-in battery of the notebook computer is promoted, and the notebook computer can be charged by supporting wide voltage input.

When the notebook computer is in a shutdown state and the power adapter is inserted and the battery is fully charged, in order to meet the Energy consumption of the whole machine and the authentication requirement of Energy-related Products (ERP), the consumption of the notebook computer on Energy is reduced, and the current strategy is to cut the voltage of the power adapter from 20V to 9V. However, for a charging management chip of a narrow voltage direct current (narrow voltage direct current, NVDC) architecture, the current strategy cannot be further optimized, so as to further reduce the charging energy consumption of a notebook computer adopting the charging management chip of the NVDC architecture when the notebook computer is powered off and full.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a charging method and electronic equipment, which can further reduce the charging energy consumption of a notebook computer adopting an NVDC architecture charging management chip when the notebook computer is powered off and full.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the present application adopts the following technical scheme:

in a first aspect, the present application provides a charging method, which is applicable to an electronic device. The electronic device comprises a battery and a charging management chip which are connected with each other, and an embedded controller which is respectively connected with the battery and the charging management chip. The method may include: the embedded controller determines the architecture type of the charging management chip; when the electronic equipment is connected with the power adapter for charging and is in a shutdown state, and the electric quantity of the battery is equal to or higher than a preset threshold value, the embedded controller controls the power adapter according to the architecture type of the charging management chip so as to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter.

By adopting the technical scheme, when the user connects the electronic equipment with the power adapter and charges the electronic equipment, if the electronic equipment is in a shutdown state and the battery of the electronic equipment (i.e. the built-in battery of the electronic equipment) is in a full-charge state (i.e. the battery electric quantity is full), the electronic equipment can reduce the voltage output by the power adapter to a corresponding value according to the architecture type of the charging management chip of the electronic equipment. The electronic equipment can respectively adjust and reduce the voltage output by the power adapter according to different architectures of the set charging management chips under the condition of shutdown and full charge, so that different charging management chips can be compatible, and the electronic equipment has the lowest energy consumption when the electronic equipment is shutdown and full charge.

In one possible implementation, the embedded controller controls the power adapter according to an architecture type of the charge management chip to reduce an output voltage value of the power adapter, including: when the architecture type of the charging management chip is a first architecture, the embedded controller controls the power adapter to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter to a first voltage value; when the architecture type of the charging management chip is the second architecture, the embedded controller controls the power adapter to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter to the second voltage value.

Because the minimum input current and the minimum input voltage which can be supported by the first architecture and the second architecture are different, the output voltage of the power adapter can be regulated according to different architecture types of the charge management chip, so that the voltage regulation of the power adapter can be more in line with the charge management chips of different architectures.

In another possible implementation, the architecture types of the charge management chip include a narrow voltage direct current, NVDC, architecture and a hybrid boost, HPB, architecture.

In another possible implementation, the first voltage value is less than the second voltage value.

Since the minimum input voltage supported by the NVDC architecture is smaller than the minimum input voltage supported by the HPB, setting the first voltage value smaller than the second voltage value can further reduce the energy consumption when the electronic device employing the charge management chip of the NVDC architecture is charged.

In another possible implementation, the first voltage value is 5V and the second voltage value is 9V.

Since the lowest input voltage supported by the charge management chip of the NVDC architecture is 5V and the lowest input voltage supported by the charge management chip of the hpb architecture is 9V, setting the first voltage value to 5V and the second voltage value to 9V enables the electronic device employing the charge management chip of the corresponding architecture to have the lowest energy consumption when the electronic device is powered off and full.

In another possible implementation, before the embedded controller controls the power adapter to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter to the first voltage value, the method further includes: the embedded controller determines that the current output voltage of the power adapter is greater than a first voltage value.

Thus, if the type of the architecture of the charge management chip is the first architecture, the output voltage of the power adapter can be reduced to the first voltage value only when the current output voltage of the power adapter is greater than the first voltage value. The power adapter is prevented from being regulated when the current voltage of the power adapter is already lower than or equal to the first voltage value.

In another possible implementation, before the embedded controller controls the power adapter to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter to the second voltage value, the method further includes: the embedded controller determines that the current output voltage of the power adapter is greater than the second voltage value.

Thus, if the type of the architecture of the charge management chip is the second architecture, the output voltage of the power adapter can be reduced to the second voltage value only when the current output voltage of the power adapter is greater than the second voltage value. Avoiding the power adapter from being regulated when the current voltage of the power adapter has been lower than or equal to the second voltage value.

In another possible implementation, the determining, by the embedded controller, the architecture type of the charge management chip includes: the embedded controller receives model information sent by the charging management chip, wherein the model information is used for representing the model of the charging management chip; and the embedded controller determines the architecture type of the charge management chip according to the model information.

Thus, the embedded controller can conveniently and quickly confirm the architecture type of the embedded controller.

In another possible implementation manner, the determining, by the embedded controller, the architecture type of the charge management chip according to the model information includes: the embedded controller determines the architecture type of the charging control chip according to the corresponding relation between the preset model information and the architecture type according to the model information.

The corresponding architecture type can be conveniently matched according to the model information through the corresponding relation between the preset model information and the architecture type, and the implementation is relatively convenient. The corresponding relation between the preset model information and the architecture type can be stored in a list form, and in some possible implementation manners, the list can be updated in a cloud pushing manner.

In another possible implementation, the model information includes a device identification and a manufacturer identification of the charge management chip.

The corresponding specific charging management chip can be conveniently and quickly positioned through the equipment identifier and the manufacturer identifier, so that the architecture type of the charging management chip can be conveniently and accurately judged.

In another possible implementation manner, before the embedded controller receives the model information sent by the charging management chip, the method further includes: the embedded controller sends a request for obtaining model information to the charging management chip.

Therefore, the embedded controller can actively acquire the model information, and the execution efficiency is improved.

In another possible implementation, before the embedded controller controls the power adapter according to the architecture type of the charge management chip to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter, the method further includes: the embedded controller determines that the electronic equipment is in a shutdown state; the embedded controller determines that the charge of the battery is equal to or higher than a preset threshold.

In another possible implementation, the electronic device further includes a processor coupled to the embedded controller; the embedded controller determines that the electronic device is in a shutdown state, including: the embedded controller determines that the electronic device is in a shutdown state according to the processor.

For example, when the electronic device is powered off, the processor may send the power off indication information to the embedded controller, so that when the embedded controller receives the power off indication information, it can determine that the electronic device is powered off. For another example, the embedded controller may periodically obtain an operating state from the processor, so as to determine whether the electronic device is powered off or not according to the operating state. The electronic equipment is judged to be in the shutdown state according to the processor, so that the method is relatively simple and convenient to implement.

In another possible implementation, the determining, by the embedded controller, that the electronic device is in a power-off state according to the processor includes: the embedded controller receives shutdown instruction information sent by the processor, wherein the shutdown instruction information is used for instructing the electronic equipment to shutdown; and the embedded controller determines that the electronic equipment is in a shutdown state according to the shutdown instruction information.

Therefore, when the computer is turned off, the processor can feed back the off state to the embedded controller, so that the embedded controller can conveniently determine that the electronic equipment is turned off in time.

In another possible implementation, the determining, by the embedded controller, that the charge level of the battery is equal to or higher than a preset threshold includes: the embedded controller receives electric quantity information periodically sent by the battery, and the electric quantity information is used for indicating the current electric quantity of the battery; the embedded controller determines that the electric quantity of the battery is equal to or higher than a preset threshold according to the electric quantity information.

Thus, the embedded controller can periodically judge the current electric quantity of the battery, so as to timely determine whether the battery is full.

In another possible implementation, before the embedded controller receives the power information periodically sent by the battery, the method further includes: the embedded controller periodically sends a request for acquiring electric quantity information to the battery.

Therefore, the embedded controller can actively acquire the battery electric quantity, and the execution efficiency is improved.

In another possible implementation, the electronic device further comprises a power transfer PD chip; the embedded controller controls the power adapter according to the architecture type of the charge management chip to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter, and the embedded controller comprises: the embedded controller controls the power adapter through the PD chip according to the architecture type of the charge management chip so as to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter.

In another possible implementation, before the embedded controller controls the power adapter according to the architecture type of the charge management chip to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter, the method further includes: the embedded controller receives power supply information of the power adapter sent by the PD chip, wherein the power supply information is used for indicating an output voltage value supported by the power adapter; the embedded controller determines that the output voltage of the power adapter is adjustable according to the power supply information.

Therefore, the embedded controller can judge whether the output voltage of the power adapter is adjustable, and when the output voltage of the power adapter is determined to be adjustable, the output voltage of the power adapter is adjusted when the condition is met, so that the control of the output voltage of the power adapter when the power adapter cannot be adjusted is avoided.

In a second aspect, the present application provides an electronic device comprising an embedded controller and a memory; the memory stores computer-executable instructions; the embedded controller is configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in a memory, such that the embedded controller implements the charging method as described in the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a computer readable storage medium having stored therein a computer program or instructions which, when executed, cause an electronic device to implement a charging method as described in the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising computer readable code which, when run in an electronic device, causes the electronic device to implement the charging method as claimed in the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a charging system, where the charging system includes an electronic device and a power adapter, and the electronic device is the electronic device in the second aspect; the power adapter is used for receiving control of the electronic equipment according to the architecture type of the charging management chip and reducing the output voltage value.

It should be appreciated that the advantages of the second to fifth aspects may be referred to in the description of the first aspect, and are not described herein.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a charging scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a USB port according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a charging method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of another charging method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart of another charging method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic hardware structure of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

In order to clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "first", "second", etc. are used to distinguish the same item or similar items having substantially the same function and effect. For example, the first chip and the second chip are merely for distinguishing different chips, and the order of the different chips is not limited. It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that the words "first," "second," and the like do not limit the amount and order of execution, and that the words "first," "second," and the like do not necessarily differ.

It should be noted that, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "such as" are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete fashion.

In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or", describes an association relationship of an association object, and indicates that there may be three relationships, for example, a and/or B, and may indicate: a alone, a and B together, and B alone, wherein a, B may be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the context-dependent object is an "or" relationship. "at least one of" or the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural items(s). For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or plural.

The main stream architecture of the charging management chip of the notebook computer at present comprises: hybrid boost (hybrid power boost, HPB) architecture and narrow voltage direct current (narrow voltage direct current, NVDC) architecture. The NVDC architecture can support charging the battery with 5V as an input voltage, namely, for a notebook computer adopting the NVDC architecture charging management chip, the power adapter can output 5V voltage to charge the battery. The minimum input voltage that can be supported by the HPB architecture is 9V. For a notebook computer using the HPB architecture charge management chip, when the power adapter outputs a voltage less than 9V (e.g., 5V), the charge management chip using the HPB architecture cannot recognize that the power adapter is inserted, so that the power adapter cannot charge the battery.

When the notebook computer is in a shutdown state, the power adapter is inserted and the battery is fully charged, in order to meet the Energy consumption of the whole machine to meet the authentication requirements of Energy-related Products (ERP), the consumption of the notebook computer on Energy is reduced, and the current strategy is to cut the voltage of the power adapter from 20V to 9V so as to reduce the charging Energy consumption of the notebook computer when the power adapter is fully charged in the shutdown state, and the power adapter is compatible with a charging management chip of an HPB architecture and a charging management chip of an NVDC architecture. However, the current strategy cannot further optimize the notebook computer adopting the charging management chip of the NVDC architecture, so as to further reduce the charging energy consumption of the notebook computer adopting the charging management chip of the NVDC architecture when the notebook computer is powered off and full. For example, if the charging management chip has both a notebook computer adopting the HPB architecture and a notebook computer adopting the NVDC architecture in the same-series notebook computers, according to the current policy, the voltage of the power adapter can only be reduced to 9V for the lowest compatibility, so that the voltage of the power adapter cannot be further reduced to 5V for the notebook computers adopting the charging management chip adopting the NVDC architecture to further reduce the energy consumption.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the embodiment of the present application provides a charging method, which can be applied to a scenario in which an electronic device is connected to a power adapter to perform charging. For example, taking an electronic device as a notebook computer as an example, as shown in fig. 1, a power adapter 101 that communicates with a power supply and a notebook computer 102 may be connected by a charging line. When the power adapter 101 connected to the power supply is connected to the notebook computer 102 via the charging cord, the notebook computer 102 can be charged via the power adapter 101. For example, the situation that the electronic device is connected to the power adapter to charge may be a situation that the user connects the power adapter to the electronic device to charge the electronic device after the electronic device is automatically powered off due to low battery power. And the method can also be a scene that a user connects the power adapter with the electronic equipment to charge the electronic equipment in the process of using the electronic equipment so as to ensure sufficient electric quantity of the electronic equipment, and the like.

The charging method can be as follows: when the electronic equipment is connected with the power adapter for charging, if the electronic equipment is in a shutdown state and the battery electric quantity is full, the electronic equipment can control the output voltage of the power adapter so as to reduce the voltage output by the power adapter to a corresponding value according to the architecture type of the charging management chip.

Optionally, the architecture type of the charge management chip may be a first architecture and a second architecture, and for example, reducing the voltage output by the power adapter to a corresponding value according to the architecture type of the charge management chip may be: the architecture type of the charging management chip is a first architecture, the voltage output by the power adapter is controlled to be reduced to a first voltage value, and the architecture type of the charging management chip is a second architecture, the voltage output by the power adapter is controlled to be reduced to a second voltage value. It should be noted that the first architecture and the second architecture are different architecture types, for example, the first architecture may be the aforementioned NVDC architecture, the second architecture may be the aforementioned HPB architecture, and the first architecture is the NVDC architecture, and the second architecture is the HPB architecture, which is not described in detail below.

Thus, when the user connects the electronic device with the power adapter and charges the electronic device, if the electronic device is in a shutdown state and the battery of the electronic device (i.e. the built-in battery of the electronic device) is in a full-charge state (i.e. the battery power is full), the electronic device can reduce the voltage output by the power adapter to a corresponding value according to the architecture type of the charge management chip. The electronic equipment can respectively adjust and reduce the voltage output by the power adapter according to different architectures of the set charging management chips under the condition of shutdown and full charge, so that different charging management chips can be compatible, and the electronic equipment has the lowest energy consumption when the electronic equipment is shutdown and full charge.

Hereinafter, a charging method provided in the embodiment of the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the embodiment of the application, the electronic device may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a handheld computer, a PC (such as a notebook computer), a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (personal digital assistant, PDA), a wearable device (such as a smart watch and a smart bracelet), a game console, and the like, which are provided with built-in batteries and rechargeable devices. The embodiment of the application does not particularly limit the specific device form of the electronic device.

Taking an electronic device as an example of a notebook computer, fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of the electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 2, the electronic device includes a processor, a charge management chip, a battery (or referred to as an embedded battery), an Embedded Controller (EC), a PD chip, and a universal serial bus (universal serial bus, USB) port. The processor may be connected to a charge management chip, the charge management chip is connected to the battery, the charge management chip is further connected to the PD chip, and the PD chip is further connected to the USB port. The embedded controller can be connected with the processor, the charge management chip, the PD chip and the battery respectively. The power adapter may be connected to a USB port of the electronic device through a charging cord so that the power adapter is connected to the electronic device. The current output by the power adapter can sequentially pass through the PD chip and the charge management chip to enter the battery to charge the battery. The embedded controller may obtain corresponding information from the processor, the battery, the charge management chip, and the like, respectively, to control the output voltage of the power adapter through the PD chip.

The USB port can be an USB Type-C port, and the actual structure of the USB port can be a manufactured USB Type-C socket. Correspondingly, the USB port can also be arranged on the power adapter, the USB port arranged on the power adapter can also be an USB Type-C port, and the actual structure of the USB Type-C socket can also be a manufactured USB Type-C socket. At this time, the charging wire shown in fig. 1 may be a double-ended USB Type-C charging wire, two ends of the charging wire are USB Type-C plugs with the same structure, and the USB Type-C plugs at two ends of the charging wire may be respectively connected with the USB Type-C socket of the electronic device and the USB Type-C socket of the power adapter in a pluggable manner, so that the power adapter and the electronic device are connected through the charging wire in a pluggable manner.

Illustratively, taking a USB port as an USB Type-C port as an example, as shown in fig. 3, the USB port of the electronic device may include a first pin group 301 and a second pin group 302 that are symmetrically distributed. The first pin group 301 includes GND pins, TX1+ pins, TX 1-pins, vbus pins, CC1 pins, D+ pins, D-pins, SBU1 pins, vbus pins, RX 2-pins, RX2+ pins, and GND pins distributed in this order. The second pin set 302 includes GND pins, RX1+ pins, RX 1-pins, vbus pins, SBU2 pins, D-pins, D+ pins, CC2 pins, vbus pins, TX 2-pins, TX2+ pins, and GND pins distributed in this order. GND pins refer to ground pins, CC pins refer to configuration channel (configuration channel, CC) pins, and SBU pins refer to Side Band Use (SBU) pins.

Wherein, D+ pin and D-pin: when the USB3.0 interface is not available, the D+ pin and the D-pin provide signal channels for USB2.0 signals; the Vbus pin and GND pin can provide power supply capability for the upstream data interface, or in some cases support point-to-point power supply; TX1/2 pin and RX1/2 pin: providing overspeed data links of at most 2 channels, and realizing bidirectional bandwidth as high as 20Gbps; CC1 pin and CC2 pin: for discovery, configuration and management of connected external devices. One of the CC1 pin and the CC2 pin is used as a configuration channel, and the other CC pin can be used for being connected with Vconn when the electronic equipment in which the other CC pin is positioned is a power supply device and is used for supplying power to an Emark chip in a charging wire; SBU1 pin and SUB2 pin: suitable for transmitting non-USB signals, for example for transmitting analog audio signals.

It will be appreciated that when the power adapter is also provided with a USB port, the pins included therein may be similar to those shown in fig. 3, and will not be repeated here.

Alternatively, the USB port provided by the electronic device may be another type of USB port, which is not limited herein, so long as the USB port can be used to connect to a power adapter to charge the electronic device.

Optionally, the electronic device may further include: radio Frequency (RF) circuitry, memory, input units, display units, sensors, audio circuitry, wireless fidelity (wireless fidelity, wiFi) modules, and bluetooth modules (not shown), without limitation.

It will be appreciated that the above illustration of fig. 2 is merely exemplary of the electronic device in the form of a notebook computer. If the electronic device is a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a handheld computer, a PDA, a wearable device (such as a smart watch, a smart bracelet), a smart home device, a game console, or other devices, the structure of the electronic device may include fewer structures than those shown in fig. 2, or may include more structures than those shown in fig. 2, which is not limited herein.

The methods in the following embodiments may be implemented in an electronic device having the above-described hardware structure.

Taking an electronic device as an example of a notebook computer, fig. 4 shows a schematic flow chart of a charging method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 4, after the embedded controller in the notebook computer is powered on, the embedded controller can obtain the model information of the charge management chip. Therefore, the embedded controller can judge whether the charging management chip belongs to the NVDC architecture according to the obtained model information of the charging management chip. If the NVDC architecture is adopted, the embedded controller can reduce the output voltage of the power adapter to a first voltage value when judging that the output voltage of the power adapter needs to be reduced. If the power adapter does not belong to the NVDC architecture, the embedded controller can reduce the output voltage of the power adapter to a second voltage value when judging that the output voltage of the power adapter needs to be reduced. Alternatively, since the minimum input voltage supportable by the charge management chip of the NVDC architecture is smaller than the minimum input voltage supportable by the charge management chip of the HPB architecture, the first voltage value may be smaller than the second voltage value, such as the first voltage value is 5V, the second voltage value is 9V, and so on (hereinafter, the first voltage value is 5V, and the second voltage value is 9V will be described as an example).

For example, the embedded controller may determine whether the charge management chip belongs to the NVDC architecture through a set list (e.g., referred to as a first list) containing correspondence between charge management chip model information and architecture types of the charge management chip. For example, model information of the charge management chip may include a Manufacturer identification (Manufacturer ID) of the charge management chip and a Device identification (Device ID). Accordingly, the list may include manufacturer identifications of different charge management chips and corresponding device identifications and architectures. For example, as shown in table 1, the list may be as follows.

TABLE 1

Manufacturer identification	Device identification	Architecture type
			xxx.x	x.x.01	HBP
xxx.x	x.x.xx.02	NVDC
			xx.xx	x.01	HBP
xx.xx	xx.02	NVDC

The embedded controller can query (or refer to as searching) the list to match the obtained model information (namely the manufacturer identifier and the equipment identifier) of the charge management chip, so as to determine the architecture type of the corresponding charge management chip, and further judge whether the charge management chip arranged in the notebook computer belongs to the NVDC architecture.

Alternatively, the list (i.e., the first list of the above examples) may be maintained in advance within the embedded controller in a preset form. In some possible embodiments, the list may also be updated by way of cloud pushing.

Optionally, after determining that the charge management chip belongs to the NVDC architecture, the embedded controller may set the charge management chip to a flag (flag) of the NVDC architecture. Accordingly, when the embedded controller determines that the charge management chip does not belong to the NVDC architecture, the flag of the charge management chip for the NVDC architecture may be cleared. Therefore, when the embedded controller judges that the output voltage of the power adapter needs to be reduced, the embedded controller can correspondingly control the power adapter according to whether the sign of the NVDC architecture of the charge management chip exists or not. If the embedded controller determines that the output voltage of the power adapter needs to be reduced when the flag of the NVDC architecture exists, the embedded controller can control the output voltage of the power adapter to be reduced to 5V. When the flag that the charge management chip is of the NVDC architecture does not exist, if the embedded controller judges that the output voltage of the power adapter needs to be reduced, the embedded controller can control the output voltage of the power adapter to be reduced to 9V.

For example, the manner in which the embedded controller determines whether the output voltage of the power adapter needs to be reduced may be: when the embedded controller determines that the notebook computer is in a shutdown state and the battery is full (i.e., the battery is in a full state), it determines that the output voltage of the power adapter needs to be reduced. For example, when the user connects the notebook computer with the power adapter for charging in the shutdown state of the notebook computer, if the battery level is full, the embedded controller may determine that the output voltage of the power adapter needs to be reduced at this time. For another example, when the user connects the notebook computer with the power adapter for charging in the on state of the notebook computer and the battery power is full, the embedded controller may determine that the output voltage of the power adapter needs to be reduced at this time after the user turns off the notebook computer. For another example, when the user connects the notebook computer with the power adapter for charging in the on state of the notebook computer, and the battery power is not fully charged, the user turns off the notebook computer, and if the battery power is fully charged after the power is turned off, the embedded controller can determine that the output voltage of the power adapter needs to be reduced at the moment.

Alternatively, whether the notebook computer is in the off state in the above example may be determined by the embedded controller acquiring relevant information (such as running state information) from the processor. Alternatively, when the notebook computer is powered off, the processor may send information for indicating that the notebook computer is powered off to the embedded controller, so that the embedded controller determines whether the notebook computer is in a powered off state, etc., without limitation. Whether the battery of the notebook computer is full in the above example can be determined by the embedded controller acquiring relevant information (such as battery power information) from the battery. Alternatively, when the battery of the notebook computer is full, the battery may send information indicating that the battery of the notebook computer is full to the embedded controller so that the embedded controller determines that the battery of the notebook computer is full, etc., without limitation.

Optionally, the embedded controller may also acquire power supply information (or referred to as power information) of the power adapter through the PD chip, so as to determine a gear in which the output voltage of the power adapter is adjustable, that is, determine whether the power adapter can be controlled to adjust the output voltage. Typically, the power adapter may have several output voltage steps of 20V,12V,9V, and 5V. The power supply information may be output voltage values supported by the power adapter, that is, 20V,12V,9V, 5V, and the like.

As an example, taking the electronic device as a notebook computer as an example, taking a scene that a user charges the notebook computer as an example, connecting the notebook computer with a power adapter for charging when the notebook computer is in a starting state, when the battery electric quantity is not fully charged, the user shuts down the notebook computer, and when the battery electric quantity is fully charged, the battery electric quantity is fully charged as an example.

Based on the schematic structural diagram of the electronic device shown in fig. 2, fig. 5 shows a schematic flow chart of another charging method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 5, the method includes the following S501-S509.

When a user connects the power adapter with the notebook computer for charging, the power adapter can output normal charging voltage to the notebook computer to charge the notebook computer. At this time, the embedded controller may detect that the power adapter is inputting current for charging through the PD chip. If the user turns off the notebook computer, the processor can indicate to the embedded controller. For example, the following S501 may be performed.

S501, the processor sends information for indicating the shutdown of the notebook computer to the embedded controller.

For example, the information for indicating the shutdown of the notebook computer may be shutdown indication information or the like, so that the embedded controller can determine that the notebook computer has been shutdown according to the information.

S502, the charging management chip sends model information of the charging management chip to the embedded controller.

For example, the model information of the charge management chip may include a manufacturer identification of the charge management chip and a device identification. Therefore, the subsequent embedded controller can conveniently determine the architecture type of the charging management chip according to the acquired manufacturer identification and equipment identification.

Alternatively, the charging management chip may send the model information of the charging management chip to the embedded controller, where the embedded controller obtains the model information from the charging management chip, for example, the embedded controller sends a request for obtaining the model information to the charging management chip, and the charging management chip sends the model information to the embedded controller according to the request.

Optionally, in some other possible embodiments, the charging management chip may also actively send the model information of the charging management chip to the embedded controller after the notebook computer is started.

S503, the embedded controller judges the architecture type of the charge management chip according to the model information of the charge management chip.

For example, the embedded controller may determine the architecture type of the charge management chip through a set list (e.g., referred to as a first list) containing the correspondence between the model information of the charge management chip and the architecture type of the charge management chip, and the detailed description in the foregoing examples may be referred to, which is not repeated herein.

Alternatively, in the embodiment of the present application, S502 and S503 may be performed when the user first charges, and the subsequent charging is not performed. Of course, S502 and S503 may also be executed each time with the method, so as to avoid the abnormal charging after the notebook computer replaces the charging management chip of other structures.

S504, the PD chip sends power supply information of the connected power adapter to the embedded controller.

Alternatively, the PD chip may acquire power supply information of the power adapter when the power adapter is connected to the electronic device. Thus, the PD chip can send power supply information of the power adapter to the embedded controller. In some possible embodiments, the embedded controller may also obtain power information of the power adapter from the PD chip, which is not limited herein. For example, the embedded controller transmits a request for acquiring power supply information of the power adapter to the PD chip, and the PD chip transmits the power supply information of the power adapter to the embedded controller according to the request.

For example, the power supply information of the power adapter may include an adjustable output voltage gear of the power adapter, an adjustable output power, an output voltage supported by the power adapter, and so on, so that the subsequent embedded controller may determine whether the output voltage of the power adapter is adjustable according to the power supply information of the power adapter. For example, the power supply information may be output voltage values supportable by the power adapter, such as 20V,12V,9V, 5V, and the like.

S505, the embedded controller determines that the output voltage of the power adapter can be adjusted according to the power supply information of the power adapter.

For example, the embedded controller judges whether the power adapter includes a target voltage value to be adjusted according to the output voltage value supported by the power adapter in the power supply information, and if so, the embedded controller can determine that the output voltage of the power adapter is adjustable.

S506, the battery sends the electric quantity information of the battery to the embedded controller.

The charge information may be a charge flag of the battery to characterize (indicate) the current charge of the battery.

For example, the battery may actively and periodically feed back the battery power information to the controller, and in some possible embodiments, the embedded controller may also periodically obtain the battery power information from the battery, for example, the embedded controller periodically sends a request for obtaining the battery power information to the battery, and the battery periodically sends the battery power information to the embedded controller according to the request. Thereby facilitating the subsequent determination by the embedded controller of whether the battery is full or not based on the charge information.

For example, in some other possible embodiments, the battery may also actively send an indication to the embedded controller when full, indicating that the battery is full, so that the embedded controller determines that the battery is full based on the indication.

Alternatively, in some possible embodiments, the embedded controller may also obtain the battery power information from the charge management chip, which is not limited herein, so long as the embedded controller can obtain the battery power information.

S507, the embedded controller determines that the battery is full according to the electric quantity information of the battery.

For example, the power information may be a power flag bit of the battery, and the embedded controller may determine the current power of the battery according to the power information, and when determining that the power is full, may determine that the battery is full. For example, a threshold value may be set at full charge, such that full charge is determined when the charge is equal to or greater than the threshold value. I.e., a preset threshold may be set, and it may be determined that the battery is full when it is determined that the power is equal to or greater than the preset threshold according to the power information. Alternatively, when the amount of electricity is expressed in percentage, the preset threshold may be 95%,98%, 100%, or the like, without limitation.

And S508, when the embedded controller determines that the architecture type of the charge management chip is NVDC architecture, the PD chip is instructed to reduce the output voltage of the power adapter to a first voltage value, and when the embedded controller determines that the architecture type of the charge management chip is HPB architecture, the PD chip is instructed to reduce the output voltage of the power adapter to a second voltage value.

For example, since the minimum input voltage supportable by the charge management chip of the NVDC architecture is smaller than the minimum input voltage supportable by the charge management chip of the HPB architecture, the first voltage value may be smaller than the second voltage value, for example, the first voltage value is 5V, the second voltage value is 9V, and so on. In S508, the first voltage value is 5V and the second voltage value is 9V.

Optionally, in some possible embodiments, prior to S508, the embedded controller may also obtain the current output voltage of the power adapter. Thus, when the architecture type of the charge management chip is the NVDC architecture, it may be determined whether the current output voltage of the power adapter is greater than 5V, and if so, S508 may be performed to reduce the output voltage of the power adapter to a first voltage value (e.g., 5V). Or may determine whether the current output voltage of the power adapter is greater than 9V when the architecture type of the charge management chip is the HPB architecture, and if so, S508 may be performed to reduce the power adapter output voltage to a second voltage value (e.g., 9V).

And S509, the PD chip controls the power adapter to reduce the output voltage to a corresponding value according to the instruction of the embedded controller.

Accordingly, the power adapter reduces the output voltage to a corresponding value according to the control of the PD chip.

It should be noted that, in the method, the execution sequence of S502-S507 is not limited, as long as the embedded controller can obtain the information indicating the shutdown of the notebook computer, the model information of the charging management chip, the power supply information of the power adapter and the electric quantity information of the battery respectively, and the embedded controller can determine the architecture type of the charging management chip according to the information respectively, the output voltage of the power adapter is adjustable, the notebook computer is shutdown and the battery is full, so that the embedded controller can determine that the notebook computer is in the shutdown and full-electric state to execute the subsequent execution S508 and S509. For example, in some possible implementations, S502, S504, and S506 may be performed first, and then S503, S505, and S507 may be performed, respectively. For another example, S502 may be that the charge management chip actively sends the model information of the charge management chip to the embedded controller after the notebook computer is started, so that S502 and S503 may be executed first, and then S501 and subsequent S504-S509 may be executed. For another example, S501 and S504 to S507 may be performed first, and then S502 and S503 and subsequent S508 and S509 may be performed. Of course, the above execution sequences of S502-S507 are only examples, and other execution sequences are also possible in the embodiments of the present application, which are not listed here.

In the above example, the case where the user charges the notebook computer in the on state and the battery is charged only after the user turns off is taken as an example. If the user charges the notebook computer in the shutdown state of the notebook computer, or based on the above example, the user unplugs the power adapter and reinserts the power adapter again after S509, then the embedded controller may acquire the current running state information from the processor after the notebook computer detects that the notebook computer is being charged, so that S502-S509 in the above example are executed again after determining that the notebook computer is currently in the shutdown state according to the running state information (if the running state of the processor cannot be acquired, the shutdown state of the notebook computer may be determined), and the execution sequence of S502-S507 is not limited herein.

Optionally, when the notebook computer is powered off, the processor may feed back an instruction of the notebook computer to the embedded controller, and accordingly, the embedded controller may determine that the notebook computer is powered off, and record the current running state as the powered off state. When the notebook computer is started, the processor can feed back an instruction of starting the notebook computer to the embedded controller, and accordingly, the embedded controller can determine that the notebook computer is started and record the current running state as a starting state. At this time, if the user charges the notebook computer in the shutdown state of the notebook computer, or based on the above example, after the user pulls out the power adapter and reinserts the power adapter again after S509, the embedded controller may determine that the notebook computer has been shutdown according to the current running state recorded by the embedded controller as the shutdown state after the notebook computer detects that the notebook computer is being charged. At this time, S502 to S509 in the above example may be continuously executed, and the execution order of S502 to S507 is not limited here either.

Alternatively, after S509 in the above example, if the notebook computer is restarted, the processor may send information for indicating that the notebook computer is started to the embedded controller. When the embedded controller determines that the notebook computer is started according to the information, the embedded controller can instruct the PD chip to control the output voltage of the power adapter to be adjusted back to the normal charging voltage so as to restore normal charging of the notebook computer.

In the present embodiment, based on the foregoing implementation manner, fig. 6 illustrates another charging method provided in the present embodiment. As shown in fig. 6, the method may include the following S601 and S602.

S601, the embedded controller determines the architecture type of the charge management chip.

S602, when the electronic equipment is connected with the power adapter for charging and is in a shutdown state, and the electric quantity of the battery is equal to or higher than a preset threshold value, the embedded controller controls the power adapter according to the architecture type of the charging management chip so as to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter.

The specific manner in which the embedded controller determines the architecture type of the charge management chip and how to control the power adapter according to the architecture type of the charge management chip to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter can refer to the foregoing embodiments, and details thereof will not be described herein.

By adopting the method in the above embodiment, when the user connects the electronic device with the power adapter and charges the electronic device, if the electronic device is in a shutdown state and the battery of the electronic device (i.e., the built-in battery of the electronic device) is in a full-charge state (i.e., the battery power is full), the electronic device can reduce the voltage output by the power adapter to a corresponding value according to the architecture type of the charge management chip. The electronic equipment can respectively adjust and reduce the voltage output by the power adapter according to different architectures of the set charging management chips under the condition of shutdown and full charge, so that different charging management chips can be compatible, and the electronic equipment has the lowest energy consumption when the electronic equipment is shutdown and full charge.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the methods and apparatus may be combined and referred to, and that the electronic device provided in the embodiments of the present application may perform the steps in the charging method described above. Fig. 7 is a schematic hardware structure of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Referring to fig. 7, the electronic device includes an embedded controller 701, a memory 702, and an interface circuit 703, wherein the memory 702, the embedded controller 701, and the interface circuit 703 may communicate, and exemplary, the memory 702, the embedded controller 701, and the interface circuit 703 may communicate over a communication bus.

The memory 702 may be read-only memory, static storage, dynamic storage or random access memory (random access memory, RAM). The memory 702 may store a computer program, which is controlled to be executed by the embedded controller 701, and which is executed by the interface circuit 703 to perform communication with other devices, thereby implementing the charging method provided by the above-described embodiments of the present application.

In a possible implementation manner, the computer-executed instructions in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as application program code, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. Optionally, the interface circuit 703 may also include a transmitter and/or a receiver.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium. The methods described in the above embodiments may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer readable media can include computer storage media and communication media and can include any medium that can transfer a computer program from one place to another. The storage media may be any target media that is accessible by a computer.

In one possible implementation, the computer readable medium may include RAM, ROM, compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium targeted for carrying or storing the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (digital subscriber line, DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes optical disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (digital versatile disc, DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

The present application also provides a computer program product comprising computer readable code which, when run in an electronic device, causes the electronic device to implement the charging method in the foregoing embodiments.

The application provides a charging system, which comprises electronic equipment and a power adapter, wherein the electronic equipment is the electronic equipment in the embodiment; the power adapter is used for receiving control of the electronic equipment according to the architecture type of the charging management chip and reducing the output voltage value.

Embodiments of the present application are described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the application. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processing unit of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processing unit of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The foregoing detailed description of the embodiments has further described the objects, technical solutions and advantageous effects of the present application, and it should be understood that the foregoing is only a detailed description of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application, and any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A charging method applied to an electronic device including a battery and a charge management chip connected to each other, and an embedded controller connected to the battery and the charge management chip, respectively, the method comprising:

the embedded controller determines the architecture type of the charge management chip;

when the electronic equipment is connected with the power adapter for charging and is in a shutdown state, and the electric quantity of the battery is equal to or higher than a preset threshold value, the embedded controller controls the power adapter according to the architecture type of the charging management chip so as to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter;

wherein, the embedded controller controls the power adapter according to the architecture type of the charge management chip to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter, and the embedded controller comprises:

When the architecture type of the charging management chip is a first architecture, the embedded controller controls the power adapter to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter to a first voltage value;

when the architecture type of the charge management chip is a second architecture, the embedded controller controls the power adapter to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter to a second voltage value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to the embedded controller controlling the power adapter to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter to a first voltage value, the method further comprises:

the embedded controller determines that the current output voltage of the power adapter is greater than the first voltage value.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to the embedded controller controlling the power adapter to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter to a second voltage value, the method further comprises:

the embedded controller determines that the current output voltage of the power adapter is greater than the second voltage value.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the embedded controller determining the architecture type of the charge management chip comprises:

The embedded controller receives model information sent by the charging management chip, wherein the model information is used for representing the model of the charging management chip;

and the embedded controller determines the architecture type of the charge management chip according to the model information.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining, by the embedded controller, the architecture type of the charge management chip according to the model information, comprises:

and the embedded controller determines the architecture type of the charge management chip according to the corresponding relation between the preset model information and the architecture type according to the model information.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the model information includes a device identification and a manufacturer identification of the charge management chip.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein before the embedded controller receives the model information sent by the charge management chip, the method further comprises:

and the embedded controller sends a request for acquiring the model information to the charging management chip.

8. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein before the embedded controller controls the power adapter to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter according to the architecture type of the charge management chip, the method further comprises:

The embedded controller determines that the electronic equipment is in a shutdown state;

the embedded controller determines that the power of the battery is equal to or higher than the preset threshold.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the electronic device further comprises a processor coupled to the embedded controller; the embedded controller determining that the electronic device is in a shutdown state includes:

the embedded controller receives shutdown instruction information sent by the processor, wherein the shutdown instruction information is used for instructing the electronic equipment to shutdown;

and the embedded controller determines that the electronic equipment is in a shutdown state according to the shutdown indication information.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the embedded controller determining that the charge of the battery is equal to or higher than the preset threshold comprises:

the embedded controller receives electric quantity information periodically sent by the battery, wherein the electric quantity information is used for indicating the current electric quantity of the battery;

and the embedded controller determines that the electric quantity of the battery is equal to or higher than the preset threshold according to the electric quantity information.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein before the embedded controller receives the power information periodically transmitted by the battery, the method further comprises:

The embedded controller periodically sends a request for acquiring the electric quantity information to the battery.

12. A method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the electronic device further comprises a power transfer PD chip; the embedded controller controls the power adapter according to the architecture type of the charge management chip to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter, and the embedded controller comprises:

the embedded controller controls the power adapter through the PD chip according to the architecture type of the charge management chip so as to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein prior to the embedded controller controlling the power adapter to reduce the output voltage value of the power adapter according to the architecture type of the charge management chip, the method further comprises:

the embedded controller receives power supply information of the power adapter, which is sent by the PD chip, wherein the power supply information is used for indicating an output voltage value supported by the power adapter;

and the embedded controller determines that the output voltage of the power adapter is adjustable according to the power supply information.

14. An electronic device, comprising an embedded controller and a memory;

the memory stores computer-executable instructions;

the embedded controller is configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, such that the embedded controller performs the charging method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A charging system comprising an electronic device and a power adapter, the electronic device being the electronic device of claim 14; the power adapter is used for receiving control of the electronic equipment according to the architecture type of the charging management chip and reducing the output voltage value.