TWI768655B - Electronic device with power-off partition and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an electronic device with power-off partition and method thereof. The electronic device with power-off partition includes a signal transmitting module, two repeater modules, and a working module. Each repeater module includes a first power domain, a second power domain, and a transceiver circuit which is in the first domain. A transmission path between the first power domain and the second power domain is maintained at a logic state while the second power domain is in a power off mode. The transceiver circuit of one of the two repeater modules sends a standby encoded signal by encoding a standby signal obtained from the signal transmitting module. The transceiver circuit of the other repeater module sends a standby decoded signal by decoding the standby encoded signal. The working module sends, according to the standby decoded signal, a power off signal to the transceiver circuit of the two repeater modules so that the second power domain, in response to the power off signal, is in the power off mode.

Description

Electronic device with power-off partition and method for power-off by partition

The present invention relates to a power-off technology for an electronic device, in particular to an electronic device with a power-off partition and a method for power-off of the partition.

In the operation of electronic devices, in order to reduce energy consumption, each electronic component (such as an integrated circuit) in the electronic device is usually divided into a plurality of power domains, and the unused parts in the electronic device are divided into multiple power domains. Part of the power domains are turned off, and only part of the power domains are left on to wake up the electronic device to work (for example, to wake up other turned off power domains in the electronic device, so that the previously turned off power domains can perform their corresponding work). So at the same point in time, there will be one power domain in powered mode (referred to herein as the first power domain) and another power domain in unpowered (power down) mode (referred to herein as the second power domain) .

However, when the second power domain is powered off, in order to prevent unknown signals (such as noise) from entering the first power domain from the second power domain and disturbing the internal logic operation of the first power domain, the first power An isolation cell is arranged between the domain and the second power domain to avoid mutual interference between different power domains of power supply and power off. In addition, in order to accurately prevent unknown signals from entering the first power domain from the second power domain, it is necessary to precisely design the time for enabling the isolation unit to isolate the signal transmission between the first power domain and the second power domain (for example, causing If it is enabled too early, the signals between the first power supply domain and the second power supply domain will not be able to communicate, and if enabled too late, unknown signals will interfere with the first power supply domain, causing the isolation unit to lose its function).

When new components are added in the electronic device, since the signal paths between the power domains used to wake the electronic device to work are changed, the enabling time of each isolation unit needs to be redesigned, that is, each time a new one is added. When components are added to the electronic device, the system design in the primary electronic device needs to be changed (for example, the signal path between the power domains used to wake up the electronic device and the enabling time of the isolation unit are redesigned), so that unknown signals can still be accurately avoided. From the power domain that is powered off to the power domain that is powered, the workload of the person designing the circuit is increased.

In view of the above, the present invention provides an electronic device with a power-off partition and a method for power-off of the partition, which can prevent unknown signals from entering the power supply domain from the power-off power domain without changing the original system design of the electronic device. power domain.

According to some embodiments, an electronic device with a power-off partition includes a signal sending module, two relay modules and a working module. The signal sending module sends a standby signal. Each relay module includes a first power domain, a second power domain and a transceiver circuit. When the second power domain is in a power-down mode, a transmission path between the first power domain and the second power domain is maintained at a logic level. The transceiver circuit is located in the first power domain. The transceiver circuit of one of the two relay modules encodes the standby signal obtained from the signal sending module to send a standby encoded signal, and the transceiver circuit of the other repeater module decodes the standby encoded signal and sends a standby decoded signal. The working module sends a power-off signal to the transceiver circuits of the two repeater modules according to the standby decoding signal, so that the second power domain of the two repeater modules responds to the power-off signal. is in power-down mode.

According to some embodiments, a partition power-off method for an electronic device, wherein the electronic device includes a signal sending module, two relay modules, and a working module, each relay module includes a first power domain, a first Two power domains and a transceiver circuit located in the first power domain. The partition power-off method of the electronic device includes encoding a standby signal from the signal sending module with the transceiver circuit of one of the two relay modules and sending a standby encoded signal; decoding with the transceiver circuit of the other relay module The standby encoding signal is used to send a standby decoding signal; and the working module sends a power-off signal to the transceiver circuits of the two relay modules according to the standby decoding signal, so that the second power domain of the two relay modules responds The power-off signal is in a power-off mode. When the second power domain of each relay module is in the power-off mode, a transmission path between the first power domain and the second power domain of each relay module is maintained at a logic level.

To sum up, according to the embodiments of the present invention, when a power domain in a relay module of an electronic device is powered off, the transmission path between the power domain and the unpowered power domain is stably maintained at a logic level On the other hand, to prevent the power domain from power failure, unknown signals (including noise) will enter into another power domain to interfere with its logic operation, so as to maintain the normal operation of the electronic device itself. Therefore, there is no need to use an isolation unit, so there is no need for a cumbersome isolation setting process, so that when an electronic device adds components, it does not need to change its system design, so that the functions of waking up the electronic device and standby electronic device can be achieved, thus greatly reducing the electronic device. Design cost and design schedule.

100: Electronics

110: Signal sending module

120A: The first relay module

121A: The first transceiver circuit

123A: First Power Domain

125A: Second Power Domain

127A: Transmission path

10: First connection pad

12: Second connection pad

14: Weak push circuit

120B: The second relay module

121B: Second transceiver circuit

123B: First Power Domain

125B: Second Power Domain

127B: Transmission path

130, 130’: Work mods

132, 132': third power domain

134,134’: Fourth Power Domain

200: Power

S202~S216: Steps

1 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic device with a power-off partition according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a partition power-off method for an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a partition power-off method for an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic device with a power-off partition according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a schematic block diagram of a first relay module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Certain terms are used herein to refer to specific elements. It should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that hardware manufacturers may refer to the same element by different nouns. The difference in function of the elements should be used as a criterion for distinguishing, and the difference in name should not be used as a way of distinguishing the elements. The "include" mentioned in this article is an open-ended term, so it should be interpreted as "including but not limited to". In addition, the word "coupled" herein includes any direct and indirect electrical connection means, thus, if a first device is described as being coupled to a second device, it means that the first device can be directly electrically connected to the second device device, or indirectly electrically connected to a second device through other devices or connecting means.

Referring to FIG. 1 , FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic device 100 having a power-off partition according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device 100 with a power-off partition includes a signal sending module 110 , two relay modules (hereinafter referred to as a first relay module 120A and a second relay module 120B) and a working module 130 . In this embodiment, two relay modules (the first relay module 120A and the second relay module 120B) are used as examples, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the electronic device 100 may also have more Number of relay modules. The first relay module 120A is coupled to the signal sending module 110 , and the second relay module 120B is coupled to the first relay module 120A and the working module 130 . The first relay module 120A and the second relay module 120B are used to assist the signal transmission between the signal sending module 110 and the working module 130 to extend the signal between the signal sending module 110 and the working module 130 path, so that the signal sending module 110 in the electronic device 100 works with the The modules 130 may be arranged in a manner that is relatively distant from each other. The signal sending module 110 is used for sending a signal and sending it to the working module 130 through the first relay module 120A and the second relay module 120B, so that the working module 130 analyzes the signal and executes a corresponding action. The electronic device 100 may be a separate TV. The signal sending module 110 is, for example, but not limited to, an infrared remote controller, a microphone, a wireless network remote control device (such as a mobile device supporting wireless network, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, etc.), a touch control remote control device and other input devices. The working module 130 is, for example, but not limited to, an embedded controller, a central processing unit, a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit, or an arithmetic circuit such as a system-on-chip. The first relay module 120A and the second relay module 120B are, for example, but not limited to, application-specific integrated circuits, bridges, and other circuits for extending signal paths.

Each relay module includes two power domains, which are referred to as the first power domain and the second power domain. For example, the first relay module 120A includes a first power domain 123A and a second power domain 125A; the second relay module 120B includes a first power domain 123B and a second power domain 125B. For some purposes (eg, power saving), the power states of the two power domains may be different, eg, one is powered off and the other is powered normally. Each relay module further includes a transceiver circuit located in the first power domain. For example, the first relay module 120A includes a first transceiver circuit 121A; the second relay module 120B includes a second transceiver circuit 121B. The first transceiver circuit 121A is used for externally receiving and outputting signals to the first relay module 120A; the second transceiver circuit 121B is used for externally receiving and outputting signals to the second relay module 120B. In this embodiment, it is taken as an example that each relay module has two power domains, but the invention is not limited to this, and each relay module can also have more power domains.

In some embodiments, the first power domain 123A, 123B and the second power domain 125A, 125B can be processing units, modules, circuits, parts of circuits, or any combination of different circuits. For example, if the first power domains 123A and 123B are circuits related to wake-up and standby of the electronic device 100, the first power domains 123A and 123B have transceiver circuits (a first transceiver circuit 121A and a second transceiver circuit 121B), and The processing units in the first transceiver circuit 121A and the second transceiver circuit 121B are used to process the related signals of waking up and standby the electronic device 100; and the second power domains 125A, 125B may be processing units including processing main functions. For some purpose (such as power saving), the power domain with higher data processing capability or more power consumption can be powered off, and the power domain with lower data processing capability or less power consumption can be powered normally, so that in some cases (For example, to wake up the electronic device 100 to switch from power saving to full load), power can be restored to the power domain with higher data processing capability or more power consumption that was previously powered off through the power domain that is normally powered. For example, the processing units in the first transceiving circuit 121A and the second transceiving circuit 121B that process the signals related to the wake-up and standby electronic device 100 may be processing units with relatively low data processing capabilities compared to the processing units that process the main functions. . For example, the processing units in the first transceiver circuit 121A and the second transceiver circuit 121B are small central processing units (eg, 8051 processor, or no central processing unit), while the processing units in the second power domains 125A and 125B that process main functions are Large central processing unit (eg ARM processor).

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a partition power-off method for an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The partition power-off method of the electronic device is applicable to the electronic device 100 having the power-off partition, which can prevent one power domain in the same relay module from interfering with another power domain when the power is off. In the following, the first power domains 123A, 123B are the circuits related to waking up and standby of the electronic device 100, and the second power domains 125A, 125B are the related circuits processing main functions. The first power domains 123A, 123B are in a power on mode (power on) mode), so that the circuits or components in the first power domains 123A, 123B are normally powered to operate, and the second power domains 125A, 125B can be in power supply mode or power off mode, so that the second power supply The domains 125A and 125B are normally powered to operate in the power supply mode, and the purpose of power saving can be achieved in the power-off mode without power supply.

Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 at the same time. First, use the transceiver circuit (the first transceiver circuit 121A) of one of the two repeater modules (here, the first repeater module 120A) to encode a standby signal from the signal sending module 110 to transmit a standby signal encode the signal (step S202). Specifically, when the energy of the electronic device 100 is to be saved or when the electronic device 100 is to be stopped (eg, the electronic device 100 is to be in standby), the signal sending module 110 sends a standby signal to the first relay module 120A. After the signal transceiver module in the first transceiver circuit 121A of the first relay module 120A receives the standby signal, the processing unit coupled to the signal transceiver module in the first transceiver circuit 121A processes the standby signal according to a preset encoding rule. After encoding, a standby encoding signal is generated, and the standby encoding signal is output through the signal transceiver module of the first transceiver circuit 121A. The encoding can be, for example, but not limited to, Non return to Zero (NRZ) encoding, Return to Zero (RZ) encoding, Manchester encoding, Differential Manchester encoding, Alternating Mark Inversion (AMI) encoding, Bi-binary encoding, Non return Zero inverted (NRZI) encoding, Bipolar return to zero encoding, etc. The standby signal may be, for example, but not limited to, a Wifi signal, a D-MAC signal, a keyboard scan signal, an infrared signal (Infrared Data Association, IRDA), and the like. In some embodiments, the signal transceiving module may be a wireless signal transceiving module or a wired signal transceiving module. The wireless signal transceiver module can be, for example, but not limited to, a Wifi transceiver module, a Bluetooth transceiver module, and the like. The wired signal transceiver module can be realized by a physical connection line.

Next, the transceiver circuit (the second transceiver circuit 121B) of another repeater module (here, the second repeater module 120B) decodes the standby encoded signal and sends a standby decoded signal (step S204). Specifically, the signal transceiving module of the second transceiving circuit 121B of the second relay module 120B receives the standby encoded signal from the first transceiving circuit 121A of the first relay module 120A. After receiving the standby encoded signal, the processing unit coupled to the signal transceiver module in the second transceiver circuit 121B decodes the standby encoded signal according to a preset decoding rule to generate a standby decoded signal (ie, restores the aforementioned standby signal), The standby decoding signal is output through the signal transceiver module of the second transceiver circuit 121B. In some embodiments, the preset decoding rules correspond to preset encoding rules. For example, the preset encoding rule is Manchester encoding, and the preset decoding rule is Manchester decoding.

After the standby decoding signal is generated, the working module 130 sends a power-off signal to the transceiver circuits (the first and second relay modules) of the two relay modules (the first relay module 120A and the second relay module 120B) according to the standby decoding signal. A transceiver circuit 121A and a second transceiver circuit 121B), so that the second power domains (second power domains 125A, 125B) of the two relay modules are in a power-off mode in response to the power-off signal (step S206). Specifically, the working module 130 analyzes the information contained in the standby decoded signal to obtain the information to make the electronic device 100 stand by (for example, the standby command for pressing the standby button of the infrared remote control device, the standby command for the wireless remote control device, Voice standby command of the microphone, etc.), and send a power-off signal to the first transceiver circuit 121A and the second transceiver circuit 121B, so that the second power domains 125A, 125B respond to the power-off signal and are in a power-off mode that does not supply power to save energy. The energy source of the electronic device 100 .

When the second power domains 125A, 125B are in the power-down mode, the transmission paths 127A, 127B between the first power domains 123A, 123B and the second power domains 125A, 125B are maintained at a logical level. Specifically, when the electronic device 100 is in a normal working state, the first power domains 123A, 123B and the second power domains 125A, 125B are all in the power supply mode, so that the first power domains 123A, 123B and the second power domains 125A, The circuits or components in 125B are normally powered and operate, and the second power domains 125A, 125B can transmit signals to the first power domains 123A, 123B through the transmission paths 127A, 127B. When the electronic device 100 is in a power saving state (eg, a standby state), the first power domains 123A, 123B remain in the power supply mode, and the second power domains 125A, 125B are in a power-off mode in which no power is supplied in response to the power-off signal. At this time, the transmission paths 127A and 127B can be stably maintained at a logic state through the circuit elements maintaining the logic level. Unknown signals (including noise) that may be generated by the power-off second power domains 125A, 125B cannot enter the first power domains 123A, 123B through the transmission paths 127A, 127B, so that the first power domains 123A, 123B are maintained The normal logic operation of itself will not be disturbed by the second power domains 125A, 125B that are powered off.

Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 3 at the same time. FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a partition power-off method for an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In some embodiments, after the second power domains 125A and 125B are in the power-off mode, when the electronic device 100 is to be woken up to work, one of the two relay modules (here, the first relay module is used) The transceiver circuit (the first transceiver circuit 121A) of the group 120A) encodes a wake-up signal from the signal sending module 110, and sends a wake-up encoded signal (step S210). Specifically, when the electronic device 100 is to be woken up to work, the signal sending module 110 sends a wake-up signal to the first relay module 120A. In order to wake up the electronic device 100, the first power domain 123A is still in the power supply mode when the electronic device 100 is in a power saving state (for example, the second power domain 125A is in the power-off mode), so the first relay module The first transceiver circuit 121A of 120A can still receive signals. After the signal transceiver module of the first transceiver circuit 121A of the first relay module 120A receives the wake-up signal, the processing unit of the first transceiver circuit 121A coupled to the signal transceiver module encodes the wake-up signal according to a preset encoding rule A wake-up code signal is generated, and the wake-up code signal is output through the signal transceiver module of the first transceiver circuit 121A.

In some embodiments, the wake-up signal can be the same type of signal as the standby signal. For example, if the standby signal is a Wifi signal, the wake-up signal is also a Wifi signal, but the present invention is not limited to this. The wake-up signal can be the same as the standby signal. Signals are different types of signals. In some embodiments, the default encoding rules used for wake-up signals may be different from the default encoding rules used for standby signals. For example, when encoding the wake-up signal, a header representing the wake-up information (such as a bit of data with a logic value of 0) can be added to the wake-up encoding signal; when encoding the standby signal, it can be A header representing standby information (eg, one-bit data with a logical value of 1) is added to the standby encoded signal. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the default encoding rule used for the wake-up signal may be the same as the default encoding rule used for the standby signal.

Then, the transceiver circuit (the second transceiver circuit 121B) of another relay module (here, the second relay module 120B) decodes the wake-up coded signal and sends a wake-up decoded signal (step S212). Specifically, in order to wake up the electronic device 100, the first power domain 123B is still in the power supply mode when the electronic device 100 is in a power saving state (for example, the second power domain 125B is in the power-off mode), so the second relay module 120B The second transceiver circuit 121B can still receive signals. The signal transceiving module of the second transceiving circuit 121B of the second relay module 120B receives the wake-up code signal from the first transceiving circuit 121A of the first relay module 120A. wakeup received After encoding the signal, the processing unit coupled to the signal transceiver module in the second transceiver circuit 121B decodes the wake-up encoded signal according to a preset decoding rule to generate a wake-up decoded signal (ie, restores the aforementioned wake-up signal), and passes the second The signal transceiver module of the transceiver circuit 121B outputs the wake-up decoding signal. The default decoding rule for decoding the wake-up encoded signal may correspond to the default encoding rule for encoding the wake-up signal.

After the wake-up decoding signal is generated, the working module 130 sends a power supply signal to the transceiver circuit (the first relay module 120A and the second relay module 120B) of the two relay modules (the first relay module 120A and the second relay module 120B) according to the wake-up decoding signal. The transceiver circuit 121A and the second transceiver circuit 121B), so that the second power domains (the second power domains 125A, 125B) of the two relay modules are in a power supply mode in response to the power supply signal (step S214). Specifically, the working module 130 analyzes the information contained in the wake-up decoding signal to obtain the information to wake the electronic device 100 to work (for example, the wake-up command of the wake-up button of the infrared remote control device being pressed, the wake-up of the wireless remote control device command, voice wake-up command of the microphone, etc.), and send a power supply signal to the first transceiver circuit 121A and the second transceiver circuit 121B, so that the second power domain 125A, 125B responds to the power supply signal. the power supply mode, so that the electronic device 100 enters the working state (step S216 ). After the electronic device 100 enters the working state, go back to step S202 to wait for the next standby signal to enter the power saving state again.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 . FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic device 100 having a power-off partition according to an embodiment of the present invention. In some embodiments, after the standby decoding signal is generated, the working module 130 enters the standby mode in response to the standby decoding signal (step S208 ). After the wake-up decoding signal is generated, the working module 130 enters the working mode in response to the wake-up decoding signal (step S216). Specifically, the working module 130 includes the third power domain 132 and the third power domain 132 . Four power domains 134 . The third power domain 132 is a circuit for executing the procedures of waking up the electronic device 100 and standby the electronic device 100 . For example, the third power domain 132 is a circuit for receiving the standby decoding signal and the wake-up decoding signal, and sending the power-off signal and the power-supply signal. Therefore, the third power domain 132 is in the power supply mode when the electronic device 100 is in the working state or the power saving state. The fourth power domain 134 is a circuit for performing main functions (eg, a circuit for controlling the operation of other components in the electronic device 100 ). The working module 130 cuts off the power supply to the fourth power domain 134 in response to the standby decoding signal (ie, the fourth power domain 134 is in the power-off mode) to enter the standby mode to achieve the power saving effect, and sends a power-off signal to The second power domains 125A, 125B are placed in power down mode. When the second power domains 125A and 125B are in the power-off mode, the working module 130 restores the power supply to the fourth power domain 134 in response to the wake-up decoding signal (ie, the fourth power domain 134 is in the power-on mode) to enter the working mode, Then, the processing functions of all data and signals are restored, and a power supply signal is sent to convert the second power signal from the power-off mode to the power-supply mode, so that the electronic device 100 restores all processing functions.

In some embodiments, the order of step S206 and step S208 may be reversed, or performed substantially simultaneously. The order of step S214 and step S216 may be reversed, or may be performed substantially simultaneously.

In some embodiments, another working module 130' is disposed between the signal sending module 110 and the first relay module 120A, and the power supply can be controlled by the working module 130. In other words, the power supply situation of the internal components in the electronic device 100 can be controlled by only one working module (eg, the working module 130 ). Specifically, the working module 130' enters the standby mode in response to the power-off signal sent by the working module 130, and enters the working mode in response to the power supply signal sent by the working module 130. For example, the working module 130' includes a third power domain 132' and a fourth Power Domain 134'. The third power domain 132' is a circuit for executing the procedures of waking up the electronic device 100 and standby the electronic device 100. For example, the circuit of the third power domain 132' is used to receive the standby decoding signal and the wake-up decoding signal from the signal sending module 110, send the standby decoding signal and the wake-up decoding signal to the first relay module 120A, and receive signals from the working mode Power-off signal and power-on signal of group 130. Therefore, the third power domain 132' is in the power supply mode when the electronic device 100 is in the working state or the power saving state. The fourth power domain 134' is a circuit for performing main functions (for example, a circuit performing main work in the work module 130'). The fourth power domain 134' is in the power-off mode in response to the power-off signal, and switches from the power-off mode to the power-on mode in response to the power-off signal, so as to achieve the purpose of power saving. In this embodiment, the working module 130 ′ can be a control device of the display device, the fourth power domain 134 ′ is a circuit processing image display, and the working module 130 can be a TV host control device to control the internal components of the electronic device 100 The fourth power domain 134 may be a circuit for processing the image and video signals output to the working module 130'. Through the relay modules (the first relay modules 120A, 120B) between the different work modules (the work modules 130, 130'), the signal paths between the different work modules can be extended, so that the different work modules can are arranged in such a way that they are far apart from each other.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4 , the first power domains 123A, 123B and the second power domains 125A, 125B are connected to a power source 200 to be supplied with power. In some embodiments, the third power domains 132, 132' and the fourth power domains 134, 134' may also be connected to the power source 200 to be supplied with power. The power supply 200 supplies power to the first power domains 123A, 123B and the third power domains 132, 132' when the electronic device 100 is in the working state or the power saving state. In some embodiments, a switch (not shown) may be arranged between the second power domains 125A, 125B and the fourth power domains 134, 134' and the power supply 200 to cut off or restore the power supply 200 to the second power domain 125A, 125B and the power supply of the fourth power domains 134, 134'. The switch is, for example, but not limited to, an electronic switch (eg, a switch implemented by a transistor).

In some embodiments, in step S206, the power supply 200 stops supplying power to the second power domains 125A, 125B in response to the power-off signal, so that the second power domains 125A, 125B are in a power-off mode. Specifically, the power supply 200 activates the switch in response to the power-off signal from the first transceiver circuit 121A and the second transceiver circuit 121B or the working module 130 to cut off the power supply to the second power supply domains 125A and 125B, so that the The two power domains 125A, 125B are in a power-down mode, and the circuits or components therein are not powered. The power-off signal can be a high-level signal or a low-level signal for actuating the switch. In some embodiments, the power supply 200 can also actuate a switch to stop supplying power to the fourth power domain 134' of the working module 130' in response to the power-off signal. The power supply 200 can also actuate a switch to stop supplying power to the fourth power domain 134 of the working module 130 in response to the standby decoding signal, so that the working module 130 enters the standby mode (step S208 ).

In some embodiments, in step S214, the power supply 200 switches from stopping power supply to restoring power supply to the second power domains 125A, 125B in response to the power supply signal, so that the second power domains 125A, 125B are in the power supply mode. Specifically, the power supply 200 activates the switch again in response to the power supply signal from the first transceiver circuit 121A and the second transceiver circuit 121B or the working module 130 to restore the power supply to the second power domains 125A and 125B, so that the first The two power domains 125A, 125B are in power mode, and the circuits or components within them are powered. The power supply signal may be a high level signal or a low level signal for re-actuating the switch. In some embodiments, the power supply 200 can also actuate the switch again in response to the power supply signal to restore power to the fourth power domain 134' of the working module 130'. The power supply 200 can also actuate the switch again in response to the wake-up decoding signal to restore power to the fourth power domain 134 of the working module 130, so that the working module 130 can enter into work mode (step S216).

In the foregoing embodiment, the power source 200 is disposed in the first relay module 120A and the second relay module 120B, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the power source 200 may be disposed in other internal components of the electronic device 100 inside (eg, the working module 130 ) or outside the electronic device 100 . The power source 200 is, for example, but not limited to, a battery, an external power supply (eg, a power adapter), and the like.

In the aforementioned embodiments, the power sources 200 connected to the first power domains 123A, 123B and the second power domains 125A, 125B are the same power source. In some embodiments, the power sources 200 connected to the first power domains 123A, 123B and the second power domains 125A, 125B may be different power sources. The connected power supply 200 and the connected power supplies 200 of the second power domains 125A, 125B can be controlled independently or from different power supply terminals, and these power supplies 200 can have output voltages of the same voltage level or have different voltage levels the output voltage. In some embodiments, the power sources 200 connected to the third power domains 132, 132' and the fourth power domains 134, 134' of the working modules 130, 130' may be the same power source or different power sources.

Referring to FIG. 5 , FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a first relay module 120A according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following, for the convenience of explaining the circuit block diagram inside each relay module, only one relay module (here, the first relay module 120A) is used as an example for description, in other words, the second relay module The circuit block diagram inside 120B may be the same or similar to the circuit block diagram inside the first relay module 120A.

In some embodiments, the first relay module 120A has the adjacent first power domain 123A and the second power domain 125A, but the invention is not limited to this, the first power domain 123A And the second power domain 125A may not be adjacent. The first relay module 120A further includes a weak push circuit 14 located in the first power domain 123A, and the signal is connected to the transmission path 127A. The weak push circuit 14 is used for generating a voltage level signal to stably maintain the logic level of the transmission path 127A.

In some embodiments, the first power domain 123A has a first connection pad 10 , the second power domain 125A has a second connection pad 12 , and the second connection pad 12 is electrically connected to the first connection pad 10 through connecting lines , to form the transmission path 127A. The weak push circuit 14 is also located in the first power domain 123A, and is electrically connected to the first connection pad 10 for signal connection to the transmission path 127A through the first connection pad 10 . When the electronic device 100 is in a normal working state, the first power domain 123A and the second power domain 125A are both in the power supply mode, and the second power domain 125A can pass through the second connection pad 12 , the transmission path 127A, The first connection pad 10 transmits the signal to the first power domain 123A. When the electronic device 100 is in a power saving state (eg, a standby state), the first power domain 123A remains in the power supply mode, and the second power domain 125A is in the power off mode in response to the power off signal. At this time, the weak push circuit 14 can output a voltage level signal through the first connection pad 10 to stably maintain the transmission path 127A at a logic level, so that the first connection pad 10 does not float. , and the unknown signal that may be generated by the power-off second power domain 125A cannot enter the first power domain 123A through the transmission path 127A, so that the first power domain 123A will not be disturbed by the power-off second power domain 125A .

In some embodiments, the weak push circuit 14 is a weakly pull-high circuit or a weakly pull-low circuit. Among them, when the weak push circuit 14 is a weak pull-down circuit, the voltage level generated by it The signal is a pull-down voltage signal, and maintains the logic level of the transmission path 127A at a low logic level, which is 0 (for example, a weak pull-down circuit generates a pull-down voltage through a pull-down resistor connected to the reference ground terminal. signal to maintain the logic level of the transmission path 127A at a low logic level); when the weak push circuit 14 is a weak pull-up circuit, the voltage level signal generated by it is a pull-up voltage signal, and the transmission path 127A is The logic level is maintained at a high logic level, which is 1 (for example, the weak pull-up circuit generates a pull-up voltage signal through a pull-up resistor connected to the operating voltage terminal to maintain the logic level of the transmission path 127A). bit at a high logic level). The operating voltage terminal may be the system voltage of the electronic device 100 or the first relay module 120A.

In some embodiments, the weak push circuit 14 may be implemented by a general-purpose input-output circuit (GPIO circuit). For example, since the transmission path 127A between the second power domain 125A and the first power domain 123A of the present invention is unidirectional, the present invention can set the general-purpose input and output circuits as the second power domain 125A respectively. The general purpose output (GPO) circuit used in the first power domain 123A and the general purpose input (GPI) circuit used in the first power domain 123A are used, and the general purpose input and output circuit in the first power domain 123A is used as the weak push circuit 14 . The general-purpose input-output circuit is an analog circuit, which is controlled by the internal digital logic of the first power domain 123A or the second power domain 125A.

Continued, when the electronic device 100 is in a normal working state (normal power supply), the output data to be output by the second power domain 125A will pass through the output buffer and the input/output pins in the general-purpose output circuit, and then be transmitted to the transmission path 127A. The first power domain 123A receives the aforementioned output data through the input and output pins and input buffers in the general-purpose input circuit as the input data of the first power domain 123A. on electricity When the sub-device 100 is in the power saving state, the first power domain 123A is still in the power supply mode, and the second power domain 125A is in the power-off mode. At this time, the general-purpose input circuit as the weak push circuit 14 in the first power domain 123A can weakly pull down (or weakly pull up) to generate a pull-down voltage signal (or pull-up voltage) signal), and the transmission path 127A is stably maintained at a low logic level (or a high logic level) through the input and output pins of the general-purpose input circuit. Therefore, when the electronic device 100 is in the power saving state, unknown signals can be prevented from entering the first power domain 123A from the second power domain 125A and disturbing the normal operation of the first power domain 123A.

In some embodiments, there is also a transmission path between the third power domain 132, 132' and the fourth power domain 134, 134' of the working modules 130, 130', and when the working modules 130, 130' enter the standby mode, the transmission path is maintained at a The logic level is used to prevent unknown signals from entering the third power domains 132, 132' from the fourth power domains 134, 134' to interfere with the normal operation of the third power domains 132, 132'. In some embodiments, the working modules 130, 130' may also include weak push circuits located in the third power domains 132, 132', so that the transmission path is maintained at a logic level through the voltage level signals generated by the weak push circuits.

To sum up, according to the embodiments of the present invention, when a power domain in a relay module of an electronic device is powered off, the transmission path between the power domain and the unpowered power domain is stably maintained at a logic level On the other hand, to prevent the power domain from power failure, unknown signals (including noise) will enter into another power domain to interfere with its logic operation, so as to maintain the normal operation of the electronic device itself. Therefore, there is no need to use an isolation unit, so there is no need for a cumbersome isolation setting process, so that when an electronic device adds components, it does not need to change its system design, so that the functions of waking up the electronic device and standby electronic device can be achieved, thus greatly reducing the electronic device. Design cost and design schedule.

100: Electronics

110: Signal sending module

120A: The first relay module

121A: The first transceiver circuit

123A: First Power Domain

125A: Second Power Domain

127A: Transmission path

120B: The second relay module

121B: Second transceiver circuit

123B: First Power Domain

125B: Second Power Domain

127B: Transmission path

130: Working Mods

Claims (10)

An electronic device with a power-off partition, comprising: a signal sending module to send a standby signal; Two relay modules, each of which includes: a first power domain; a second power domain, wherein when the second power domain is in a power-down mode, a transmission path between the first power domain and the second power domain is maintained at a logic level; and a transceiver circuit located in the first power domain, wherein the transceiver circuit of one of the two relay modules encodes the standby signal obtained from the signal transmission module to transmit a standby encoded signal, and the other The transceiver circuit of the relay module decodes the standby encoded signal to send a standby decoded signal; and A working module sends a power-off signal to the transceiver circuits of the two relay modules according to the standby decoding signal, so that the second power domain of the two relay modules is in the power-off signal in response to the power-off signal Power down mode. The electronic device having a power-off partition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first power domain is in a power supply mode. The electronic device with a power-off partition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first power domain and the second power domain are connected to a power supply, and the power supply stops supplying power to the second power domain in response to the power-off signal, so that the The second power domain is in the power down mode. The electronic device with a power-off partition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal sending module sends a wake-up signal, and the transceiver circuit of one of the two relay modules encodes the signal obtained from the signal sending module The wake-up signal sends a wake-up coded signal, the transceiver circuit of the other relay module decodes the wake-up coded signal and sends a wake-up decoding signal, and the working module sends a power supply signal to the two middles according to the wake-up decoding signal The transceiver circuit of the relay module enables the second power domain of the two relay modules to be in a power supply mode in response to the power supply signal. The electronic device with a power-off partition according to claim 4, wherein the working module enters a standby mode in response to the standby decoding signal, and enters a working mode in response to the wake-up decoding signal. The electronic device with a power-off partition as claimed in claim 4, wherein the first power domain and the second power domain are connected to a power supply, and the power supply changes from stopping power supply to restoring power supply to the second power supply in response to the power supply signal domain so that the second power domain is in the power supply mode. The electronic device having a power-off partition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first power domain has a first connection pad, the second power domain has a second connection pad, and the second connection pad is electrically connected to the the first connection pad to form the transmission path. The electronic device with a power-off partition as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the relay modules further includes a weak push circuit located in the first power domain, when the second power domain is in the power-off mode , the transmission path is maintained at the logic level through a voltage level signal generated by the weak push circuit. The electronic device with power-off partition as claimed in claim 8, wherein the weak push circuit is a weak pull-down circuit, the voltage level signal is a pull-down voltage signal, and the logic level is a low logic level. A partition power-off method for an electronic device, the electronic device includes a signal sending module, two relay modules and a working module, each of the relay modules includes a first power domain, a second power domain, and A transceiver circuit located in the first power domain, and the method for partitioning power off of the electronic device includes: encoding a standby signal from the signal sending module with the transceiver circuit of one of the two relay modules to send a standby encoded signal; using the transceiver circuit of another relay module to decode the standby encoded signal to send a standby decoded signal; and The working module sends a power-off signal to the transceiver circuits of the two relay modules according to the standby decoding signal, so that the second power domain of the two relay modules is in a state in response to the power-off signal power-down mode, wherein when the second power domain of each relay module is in the power-down mode, a transmission between the first power domain and the second power domain of each relay module The path is maintained at a logic level.

Images