KR20210043316A - Power isolator having oscillator and system including the power isolator - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a power isolator. The power isolator supplies a transmission signal to an NFC chip that completely insulates the first power including a first voltage and a second voltage outputted from a host system and the second power including a third voltage and a fourth voltage supplied to a sensor node, and comprises: an oscillator operating using the first power; a driver connected to an output terminal of the oscillator and operating using the first power; a filter connected to the output terminal of the driver; and a transmission circuit for generating the transmission signals based on the output signal of the filter and transmitting the transmission signals to the NFC chip.

Description

A power isolator including an oscillator and a system including the same {POWER ISOLATOR HAVING OSCILLATOR AND SYSTEM INCLUDING THE POWER ISOLATOR}

The present invention relates to a power isolator, and more particularly, to a power isolator connected to a near field communication (NFC) chip that isolates or completely insulates the power of a host system and the power of a sensor node, and a system including the same. will be.

Isolation is an electrical or magnetic separation between two circuits and is often used to separate two separate sections of a power supply. Isolation provides a barrier through which hazardous voltages cannot pass in the event of a failure or component failure. These barriers keep electrical equipment safe by preventing the risk of electric shock and fire. In addition, power supply isolation removes noise from the electrical system by breaking the ground loop.

US Patent Publication: Publication No. US 2010/0248653 (published on September 30, 2010) Registered Patent Publication: Registration No. 10-1420396 (2014.07.10)

A technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a power isolator including an oscillator and a power isolator connected to an NFC chip used to completely insulate the power of a host system and the power of a sensor node, and a system including the same.

According to the present invention, the power isolator completely insulates the first power including the first voltage and the second voltage output from the host system and the second power including the third voltage and the fourth voltage supplied to the sensor node. An oscillator that supplies transmission signals to a chip and operates using the first power, a driver connected to the output terminal of the oscillator and operating using the first power, a filter connected to the output terminal of the driver, And a transmission circuit for generating the transmission signals based on the output signal of the filter and transmitting the transmission signals to the NFC chip.

According to the present invention, the power isolator completely insulates the first power including the first voltage and the second voltage output from the host system and the second power including the third voltage and the fourth voltage supplied to the sensor node. A differential oscillation signal generator that supplies a first transmission signal and a second transmission signal to a chip and generates differential oscillation signals using the first power, and a first filter that filters any one of the differential oscillation signals. A filter; a first capacitor receiving an output signal of the first filter to generate the first transmission signal; a second filter filtering another one of the differential oscillation signals; and an output signal of the second filter And a second capacitor configured to receive and generate the second transmission signal.

The system according to the present invention includes a host system generating a first power including a first voltage and a second voltage, a sensor node using a second power including a third voltage and a fourth voltage as operating voltages, An NFC chip that generates the second power using transmission signals and completely insulates the first power of the host system and the second power of the sensor node, and is disposed between the host system and the NFC chip, and the And a power isolator that generates the transmission signals using a first power and transmits the transmission signals to the NFC chip, wherein the power isolator is connected to an oscillator operating using the first power and an output terminal of the oscillator, and is connected to the output terminal of the oscillator. And a driver operating using 1 power, a filter connected to an output terminal of the driver, and a transmission circuit for generating the transmission signals based on an output signal of the filter and transmitting the transmission signals to the NFC chip.

The system according to the present invention includes a host system generating a first power including a first voltage and a second voltage, a sensor node using a second power including a third voltage and a fourth voltage as operating voltages, An NFC chip that generates the second power using a first transmission signal and a second transmission signal and completely insulates the first power of the host system and the second power of the sensor node, and the host system and the NFC chip And a power isolator that is disposed between and generates the first transmission signal and the second transmission signal using the first power and transmits it to the NFC chip, and the power isolator is differentially oscillated using the first power. A differential oscillation signal generator to generate the differential oscillation signals, a first filter to filter any one of the differential oscillation signals, and a first capacitor to generate the first transmission signal by receiving the output signal of the first filter And a second filter that filters another one of the differential oscillation signals, and a second capacitor that receives the output signal of the second filter and generates the second transmission signal.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a power isolator including an oscillator has an effect of supplying signals generated based on an output signal of the oscillator to an NFC chip that completely insulates the power of the host system and the power of the sensor node.

In order to more fully understand the drawings cited in the detailed description of the present invention, a detailed description of each drawing is provided.
1 is a block diagram of a system including a power isolator including an oscillator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a circuit diagram according to an embodiment of the power isolator shown in FIG. 1.
3 is a circuit diagram according to another embodiment of the power isolator shown in FIG. 1.
4 is a block diagram of the NFC chip shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

1 is a block diagram of a system including a power isolator including an oscillator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the system 100 includes a host system 200, a power isolator 300, a signal isolator 400, an NFC chip 500, and sensors 601, 603, 605, and 607. do.

The host system 200 generically refers to a subject (eg, hardware or software) that requests transmission of a detection signal to at least one of the sensors 601, 603, 605, and 607. The host system 200 includes an output circuit (or voltage generation circuit) 205 capable of generating a first voltage VCC having a first level and a second voltage GND having a second level, and transmit/receive signals ( It includes a signal processing circuit 210 capable of processing TXh and RXh). Here, the first level may be 5.0V as a DC level, and the second level may be a ground level. Each voltage VCC and GND is output to the power isolator 300 through each terminal (pin or pad).

The power isolator 300 uses the first voltage VCC and the second voltage GND output from the host system 200 as operating voltages to provide a first output voltage (or a first transmission signal; OUT1) and a second voltage. An output voltage (or a second transmission signal; OUT2) is generated, and these (OUT1 and OUT2) are transmitted to the NFC chip 500.

The power isolator 300 includes a first input pad PD1 receiving a first voltage VCC and a second input pad PD2 receiving a second voltage GND. According to embodiments, the first output voltage OUT1 and the second output voltage OUT2 are differential signals.

The signal isolator 400 processes the first signal TXh output from the host system 200 using a first photo coupler and transmits the processed signal to the NFC chip 500, and the NFC chip ( The second signal output from 500) is processed using a second photo coupler, and the processed signal RXh is transmitted to the host system 200. A photo coupler is an example of an optical coupling device that has a light-emitting portion and a light-receiving portion, is electrically insulated, and transmits a signal by light.

The NFC chip 500 uses the first output voltage OUT1 and the second output voltage OUT2 to obtain a third output voltage VDD having a third level and a fourth output voltage VSS trapping the fourth level. Generate. For example, the third level may be 1.8V or 3.3V as a DC level, and the fourth level may be a ground level.

The NFC chip 500 includes a third input pad PD3 and a fourth input pad PD4, and the third input pad PD3 is a first output signal OUT1 of the power isolator 300. The first output pad OP1 is connected, and the fourth input pad PD4 is connected to the second output pad OP2 that outputs the second output signal OUT2 of the power isolator 300. Here, the pad is a part plated with a metal such as copper on a printed circuit board (PCB), and a part or a probe may be connected so that an external lead wire for connecting a circuit to another printed circuit board can be connected. It means an external terminal (or pin) by connecting an electric wire to a portion that is present or an electrode portion of a silicon wafer on which an integrated circuit (IC) is formed.

The NFC chip 500 includes a third output pad OP3 for outputting a third output voltage VDD and a fourth output pad OP4 for outputting a fourth output voltage VSS, and the third output voltage ( VDD and the fourth output voltage VSS may be used as operating voltages of the sensor node 600.

Here, the sensor node 600 is (i) means sensors 601, 603, 605, and 607, or (ii) includes sensors 601, 603, 605, and 607 and a sensor controller 580 It can mean composition. The sensor controller 580 may mean a control circuit formed in the NFC chip 500 and controlling the operation of each of the sensors 601, 603, 605, and 607. The sensor controller 580 has a function of transmitting a driving signal to each of the sensors 601, 603, 605, and 607, and a function of receiving and processing a detection signal output from each of the sensors 601, 603, 605, and 607. Perform.

The sensors 601, 603, 605, and 607 are an ultraviolet (UV) sensor 601, a light sensor 603, a gas sensor 605, and a rotary angle sensor 607. ), but is not limited thereto.

2 is a circuit diagram according to an embodiment of the power isolator shown in FIG. 1.

The power isolator 300A of FIG. 2 according to the embodiment of the power isolator 300 shown in FIG. 1 includes an oscillator 310, a driver 320, a filter 330, a matching circuit 340, and a transmission circuit 350. ).

The power isolator 300A includes a first power including a first voltage VCC and a second voltage GND output from the host system 200, a third voltage VDD supplied to the sensor node 600, and The transmission signals OUT1 and OUT2 are supplied to the NFC chip 500 that insulates or completely insulates the second power including the fourth voltage VSS.

The first voltage VCC received through the first input pad PD1 and the second voltage GND received through the second input pad PD2 are used as operating voltages of the oscillator 310 and the driver 320 do.

The oscillator 310 generates an oscillation signal having a specific frequency (eg, 13.56 MHz). The oscillator 310 may be a crystal oscillator.

The driver 320 drives by receiving the output signal of the oscillator 310. The driver 320 may be a CMOS driver generated (formed) through a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process.

The filter 330 filters a noise component included in the signal driven by the driver 320 and outputs a signal removed from the noise component. For example, the filter 330 may be an Electro Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) filter, but is not limited thereto.

For example, the filter 330 may include an inductor L and capacitors C1 and C2, the inductance of the inductor L may be 1 μH, and the capacitance of each capacitor C1 and C2 may be 68pF. Accordingly, the cutoff frequency of the filter 330 is determined by the inductance and capacitance of the filter 330.

The matching circuit 340 is used to match the impedance of the filter 330 with the impedance of the transmission circuit 350. The matching circuit 340 includes capacitors C3, C4, C5, and C6. The capacitance of each capacitor C5 and C6 may be 68pF.

The matching circuit 340, when connecting one output terminal (e.g., 330) and another input terminal (e.g., 350) to each other, reduces reflection due to the difference in impedance between the two different connection terminals (330 and 350). All of these methods are called impedance matching. A separate matching unit 340 is inserted between the two connection terminals 330 and 350 to correct the difference in impedance between the two connection terminals 330 and 350.

The transmission circuit 350 is used to transmit the output signal (eg, AC voltage) of the matching circuit 340 to the NFC chip 500.

The transmission circuit 350 performing the function of an antenna may be a balun circuit, a coupled inductor circuit, or a PCB coil pattern, but is not limited thereto.

Balun is short for balance and unbalance. The balun refers to a circuit or structure that converts a balanced signal into an unbalanced signal. Or vice versa, it is also called a balun.

Coupled inductors have more than one winding on a common core. Coupled inductors transfer energy from one winding to another through a common core. The PCB coil pattern refers to the coil pattern formed on the PCB.

The transmission circuit 350 increases or decreases a voltage (or current), transmits an impedance through the transmission circuit 350, and electrically insulates the corresponding two circuits (eg, 300 and 500) from each other. have.

The first output pad OP1 of the transmission circuit 350 that outputs the first output voltage OUT1 is connected to the third input pad PD3 of the NFC chip 500 and outputs the second output voltage OUT2. The second output pad OP2 of the transmitting circuit 350 is connected to the fourth input pad PD3 of the NFC chip 500. A capacitor C0 is connected between the third input pad PD3 and the fourth input pad PD4.

3 is a circuit diagram according to another embodiment of the power isolator shown in FIG. 1.

The power isolator 300B of FIG. 3 according to the embodiment of the power isolator 300 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes an oscillator 310, an inverter 315, a first driver 320, a second driver 322, and a first A filter 330, a second filter 332, a first transmission circuit 350A, and a second transmission circuit 350B are included.

The power isolator 300B includes a first power including a first voltage VCC and a second voltage GND output from the host system 200, a third voltage VDD supplied to the sensor node 600, and The first transmission signal OUT1 and the second transmission signal OUT2 are supplied to the NFC chip 500 that completely insulates the second power including the fourth voltage VSS.

The first voltage VCC received through the first input pad PD1 and the second voltage GND received through the second input pad PD2 are the oscillator 310, the inverter 315, and the first driver. 320), and the operating voltages of the second driver 322.

The oscillator 310 generates an oscillation signal having a specific frequency (eg, 13.56 MHz).

The inverter 315 receives the output signal of the oscillator 310, inverts it, and outputs an inverted oscillation signal.

The first driver 320 drives by receiving an output signal from the oscillator 310. The second driver 322 receives and drives the output signal of the inverter 315. Each of the drivers 320 and 322 may be a CMOS driver generated (formed) through a CMOS process. Each of the drivers 320 and 322 may perform a push-pull operation.

The oscillator 310, the inverter 315, the first driver 320, and the second driver 322 function as a differential oscillation signal generator generating differential oscillation signals.

The first filter 330 filters a noise component included in the output signal of the first driver 320 and outputs a signal removed from the noise component. The first filter 330 may be an EMC filter. For example, the first filter 330 may be implemented with a first inductor L1 and capacitors C11 and C12, the inductance of the first inductor L1 is 1 μH, and the capacitance of each capacitor C11 and C12 May be 68pF. Accordingly, the cut-off frequency of the first filter 330 is determined by the inductance and capacitance of the first filter 330.

The second filter 332 filters a noise component included in the output signal of the second driver 322 and outputs a signal removed from the noise component. The second filter 332 may be an EMC filter. For example, the second filter 330 may be implemented with a second inductor L2 and capacitors C14 and C15, the inductance of the second inductor L2 is 1 μH, and the capacitance of each capacitor C14 and C15 May be 68pF. Accordingly, the cut-off frequency of the second filter 332 is determined by the inductance and capacitance of the second filter 332.

The first transmission circuit 350A may be a capacitor that blocks a DC component signal included in the output signal of the first filter 330 and transmits an AC component signal, and the second transmission circuit 352 is a second filter. It may be a capacitor that blocks the signal of the DC component included in the output signal of 332 and transmits the signal of the AC component.

The transmission circuits 350A and 350B are used to transmit the output signals (eg, AC voltages) of the filters 330 and 332 to the NFC chip 500.

The first output pad OP1 of the first transmission circuit 350A that outputs the first output voltage OUT1 is connected to the third input pad PD3 of the NFC chip 500, and the second output voltage OUT2 The second output pad OP2 of the second transmission circuit 352 that outputs is connected to the fourth input pad PD3 of the NFC chip 500. A capacitor C0 is connected between the third input pad PD3 and the fourth input pad PD4.

For example, the third input pad PD3 may be connected to the first antenna terminal of the antenna, and the fourth input pad PD4 may be connected to the second antenna terminal of the antenna.

After the output voltages OUT1 and OUT2 are supplied to a rectifier inside the NFC chip 500 and rectified by the rectifier, the rectified voltage is supplied to the input of a low dropout (LDO) regulator inside the NFC chip 500. , The LDO regulator outputs a third voltage VDD. The LDO regulator is an example of a linear regulator.

As described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the present invention completely insulates the power (VCC and GND) of the host system 200 and the power (VDD and VSS) of the sensor node 600 using the NFC chip 500. There is an effect.

4 is a block diagram of the NFC chip shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. 1 to 4, the NFC chip 500 includes an RF interface 510, a power management circuit 520, a digital logic circuit 530, an I2C master/UART circuit 540, an ADC 545, and And a memory circuit 550.

The RF interface 510 is a rectifier 512 that rectifies the input signals OUT1 and OUT2, a modulation/modulation circuit that modulates signals to be transmitted to the signal isolator 400 and demodulates signals received from the signal isolator 400 514, and a POR circuit/clock signal for performing power on reset (POR) for the NFC chip 500 (eg, extracting a clock signal from a signal received from the outside of the NFC chip 500) ) And a clock extractor 516 for extracting.

The power management circuit 520 may include a low drop out (LDO) regulator receiving a voltage rectified by the rectifier 512, and the LDO regulator may generate a third voltage VDD.

The digital logic circuit 530 includes an NFC core 532 that controls NFC operation, and a microcontroller unit (MCU) 534 that controls the operation of the components 510, 520, 532, 540, 545, and/or 550. ).

The I2C master/UART circuit 540 refers to a circuit that controls the operation of each sensor 601, 603, 605, and 607 using the IC2 protocol, the UART protocol, and/or the SPI protocol. Therefore, each of the sensors 601, 603, 605, and 607 uses an IC2 (Inter Integrated Circuit) protocol, a UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) protocol, or a SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface Bus) protocol. ) And signals.

ADC (analog-to-digital converter; 545) converts the analog detection signal transmitted from at least one of the sensors (601, 603, 605, and 607) into a digital detection signal, and converts the digital detection signal to the MCU 534 Can be transferred to.

The memory circuit 550 includes an EEPROM 552 and an SRAM 554. The memory circuit 550 may store data required for the operation of the NFC core 532 or the MCU 534, and data generated by the NFC core 532 or the MCU 534.

For example, the sensor controller 580 includes an MCU 534, an I2C master/UART circuit 540, and an ADC 545 capable of controlling the operation of at least one of the sensors 601, 603, 605, and 607. It may include, but is not limited thereto.

The invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, but these are merely exemplary, and those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications and other equivalent embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the attached registration claims.

100: system
200: host system
300: power isolator
310: Oscillator
315: inverter
320: driver, first driver
322: second driver
330: filter, first filter
332: second filter
340: matching circuit
350: transmission circuit
350A; 1st transmission circuit
352: second transmission circuit
400: signal isolator
500: NFC chip
510: antenna

Claims (14)

Supply transmission signals to an NFC chip that completely insulates the first power including the first voltage and the second voltage output from the host system and the second power including the third voltage and the fourth voltage supplied to the sensor node,
An oscillator operating using the first power;
A driver connected to the output terminal of the oscillator and operating using the first power;
A filter connected to the output terminal of the driver; And
A power isolator comprising a transmission circuit that generates the transmission signals based on the output signal of the filter and transmits the transmission signals to the NFC chip. The method of claim 1,
Further comprising a matching circuit formed between the filter and the transmission circuit to match the impedance of the filter and the impedance of the transmission circuit,
The transmission circuit is a power isolator for generating the transmission signals based on the output signal of the matching circuit. The method of claim 2,
The transmission circuit is a power isolator which is a balun circuit. The method of claim 2,
The transmission circuit is a power isolator that is a coupled inductor circuit. The method of claim 2,
The transmission circuit is a power isolator that is a PCB coil pattern that performs an antenna function. An NFC chip that completely insulates the first power including the first voltage and the second voltage output from the host system and the second power including the third voltage and the fourth voltage supplied to the sensor node. 2 supply the transmission signal,
A differential oscillation signal generator generating differential oscillation signals using the first power;
A first filter filtering any one of the differential oscillation signals;
A first capacitor receiving the output signal of the first filter and generating the first transmission signal;
A second filter filtering the other one of the differential oscillation signals; And
A power isolator comprising a second capacitor receiving the output signal of the second filter and generating the second transmission signal. The method of claim 6, wherein the differential oscillation signal generator,
An oscillator operating using the first power;
A first driver connected to the output terminal of the oscillator and operating using the first power;
An inverter connected to the output terminal of the oscillator and operating using the first power; And
A power isolator comprising a second driver connected to the output terminal of the inverter and operating using the first power. A host system that generates a first power including a first voltage and a second voltage;
A sensor node using a second power including a third voltage and a fourth voltage as operating voltages;
An NFC chip that generates the second power using transmission signals and completely insulates the first power of the host system and the second power of the sensor node; And
A power isolator disposed between the host system and the NFC chip and generating the transmission signals using the first power and transmitting the generated transmission signals to the NFC chip,
The power isolator,
An oscillator operating using the first power;
A driver connected to the output terminal of the oscillator and operating using the first power;
A filter connected to the output terminal of the driver; And
And a transmission circuit that generates the transmission signals based on the output signal of the filter and transmits the transmission signals to the NFC chip. The method of claim 8,
Further comprising a matching circuit formed between the filter and the transmission circuit to match the impedance of the filter and the impedance of the transmission circuit,
The transmission circuit is a system for generating the transmission signals based on the output signal of the matching circuit. The method of claim 9,
The transmission circuit is a balun circuit, a coupled inductor circuit, or a PCB coil pattern that performs an antenna function. The method of claim 8,
The first voltage is higher than the third voltage,
The second voltage and the fourth voltage are ground levels,
The transmission signals are differential signals. The method of claim 8,
The sensor node,
Sensors; And
Including a sensor controller formed inside the NFC chip,
The sensor controller performs a function of transmitting a driving signal to each of the sensors, and a function of receiving and processing a detection signal output from each of the sensors. A host system that generates a first power including a first voltage and a second voltage;
A sensor node using a second power including a third voltage and a fourth voltage as operating voltages;
An NFC chip that generates the second power using a first transmission signal and a second transmission signal, and completely insulates the first power of the host system and the second power of the sensor node; And
A power isolator disposed between the host system and the NFC chip and generating the first transmission signal and the second transmission signal using the first power and transmitting the generated first transmission signal and the second transmission signal to the NFC chip,
The power isolator,
A differential oscillation signal generator generating differential oscillation signals using the first power;
A first filter filtering any one of the differential oscillation signals;
A first capacitor receiving the output signal of the first filter and generating the first transmission signal;
A second filter filtering the other one of the differential oscillation signals; And
And a second capacitor receiving the output signal of the second filter and generating the second transmission signal. The method of claim 13,
The first voltage is higher than the third voltage,
The second voltage and the fourth voltage are ground levels,
The first transmission signal and the second transmission signal are differential signals,
The sensor node,
Sensors; And
Including a sensor controller formed inside the NFC chip,
The sensor controller performs a function of transmitting a driving signal to each of the sensors, and a function of receiving and processing a detection signal output from each of the sensors.

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