Energy efficient method to wake host system for charging battery powered portable devices via bus powered external i/o ports

• US 8,037,331 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2008
• Issued: 10/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Cross, Kyle E., Fiebrich, Greg R., Messick, Douglas Evan
• Primary Examiner(s): Zaman; Faisal M
• Application Number:
  US12/110,766
• Publication Number:
  US 20090271644A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,261 Days
• Field of Search: 713/300, 713/320, 320/137
• US Class Current: 713/320
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/266 Arrangements to supply power to external peripherals either directly from the computer or under computer control, e.g. supply of power through the communication port, computer controlled power-strips
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/342 The other DC source being a battery actively interacting with the first one, i.e. battery to battery charging with circuits for polarity protection H02J7/0034

Abstract

Optimized bus powered peripheral battery charging includes a circuit to initiate a change in an advanced configuration and power interface (ACPI) state in a controller allowing charging of a peripheral device battery, the circuit including a signal converter coupled between an input port and the controller to sense when a the peripheral device battery is coupled to an input port and to restrict the controller from changing ACPI state multiple times for a given peripheral device battery coupling; and a ground loop detector coupled in parallel to the signal converter between the input port and the controller to allow the controller to know that the peripheral device battery has maintained being coupled to the input port.

Claims

1. A peripheral device battery charging circuit, comprising:

a signal converter that is coupled between an input port and a controller that is coupled to an IHS battery, wherein the signal converter is operable to sense the coupling of a peripheral device battery to the input port and, in response, send a signal to the controller, and wherein in response to the signal, the controller is operable to change an advanced configuration and power interface (ACPI) state of an information handling system (IHS) and allow power from the IHS battery in the IHS to be supplied to the input port to charge the peripheral device battery, and wherein the signal converter is also operable to restrict the controller from changing the ACPI state of the IHS multiple times for a given coupling of the peripheral device battery to the input port; and

a ground loop detector that is coupled in parallel with the signal converter between the input port and the controller and that is operable to allow the controller to determine that the peripheral device battery has maintained being coupled to the input port upon the IHS changing ACPI states and entering a run time ACPI state.

2. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the signal converter is coupled to a power switch input of the controller.

3. The circuit of claim 2, wherein the signal converter translates a falling edge at the input port into a limited duration pulse at the controller power switch input.

4. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the ground loop detector is coupled to a general purpose input of the controller.

5. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the signal converter further comprises:

a capacitor in series between the input port and the controller.

6. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the input port is a universal serial bus (USB) port.

7. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the change in the ACPI state of the IHS is a change from a G3 state to an S5 state.

8. An information handling system (IHS), comprising:

a processor;

an IHS battery coupled to the processor;

a controller coupled to the processor;

an input port coupled to the processor;

a signal converter that is coupled between the input port and the controller and that is operable to sense when a peripheral device battery is coupled to the input port and, in response, send a signal to the controller, wherein in response to the signal, the controller is operable to change an advanced configuration and power interface (ACPI) state of the IHS and allow power from the IHS battery to be supplied to the input port to charge the peripheral device battery, and wherein the signal converter is also operable to restrict the controller from changing the ACPI state of the IHS multiple times for a given coupling of the peripheral device battery to the input port; and

a ground loop detector that is coupled in parallel with the signal converter between the input port and the controller and that is operable to allow the controller to determine that the peripheral device battery has maintained being coupled to the input port upon the IHS changing ACPI states and entering a run time ACPI state.

9. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the signal converter is coupled to a power switch input of the controller.

10. The IHS of claim 9, wherein the signal converter translates a falling edge at the input port into a limited duration pulse at the controller power switch input.

11. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the ground loop detector is coupled to a general purpose input of the controller.

12. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the signal converter further comprises:

a capacitor in series between the input port and the controller.

13. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the input port is a universal serial bus (USB) port.

14. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the change in the ACPI state of the IHS is a change from a G3 state to an S5 state.

15. A peripheral device battery charging method, comprising:

providing an information handling system (IHS) including an IHS battery and an input port coupled to the IHS battery;

detecting the coupling of a peripheral device battery to an input port and, in response, changing an advanced configuration and power interface (ACPI) state of an information handling system (IHS) and allowing power from the IHS battery to be supplied to the input port to charge the peripheral device battery;

restricting the changing of the ACPI state of the IHS multiple times for a given coupling of the peripheral device battery to the input port; and

determining that the peripheral device battery has maintained being coupled to the input port upon an IHS changing ACPI states to a run time ACPI state.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the IHS includes a signal converter that is coupled between the input port and a power switch input of a controller, and wherein the signal converter performs the detecting of the coupling of the peripheral device battery to the input port.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the detecting by the signal converter including translating a falling edge at the input port into a limited duration pulse at the power switch input of the controller.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein a ground loop detector is coupled to a general purpose input of a controller, and wherein the ground loop detector allows the controller to perform the determining that the peripheral device battery has maintained being coupled to the input port at a run time ACPI of the IHS.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the signal converter includes a capacitor in series between the input port and the controller.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the change in the ACPI state of the IHS is a change from a G3 state to an S5 state.