MULTIPORT POWER CONVERTER WITH LOAD DETECTION CAPABILITIES
First Claim
1. A power converter that can provide power for electronic devices, comprising:
- a plurality of ports;
load detection circuitry that detects how many of the plurality of ports have active loads; and
control circuitry that computes a per-port available power level based on how many of the plurality of ports have active loads.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Power converters are provided that convert alternating current (AC) power to direct current (DC) power. A power converter may have multiple ports. Each port may have an associated connector with multiple power and data terminals. When an electronic device is connected to a given port, the electronic device draws DC power from the power converter. To ensure that the capacity of the power converter is not exceeded when multiple devices are connected to the ports of the power converter, the power converter may actively monitor its ports for active loads. Load detection circuitry can determine what number of ports are active. Control circuitry can compute a per-port available DC power level based on the number of active ports and can provide this information to connected devices.
140 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A power converter that can provide power for electronic devices, comprising:
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a plurality of ports; load detection circuitry that detects how many of the plurality of ports have active loads; and control circuitry that computes a per-port available power level based on how many of the plurality of ports have active loads. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) power converter, comprising:
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an input that receives AC power; an AC-to-DC power converter circuit that produces DC power from the AC power received at the input; a plurality of ports adapted to be connected to electronic devices to deliver the DC power; load detection circuitry that detects, for each port, whether a respective one of the electronic devices has been connected to the power converter at that port; and control circuitry that uses the load detection circuitry to gather information on what number of the electronic devices are connected to the power converter. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of operating an alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) power converter that has a plurality of ports each of which is adapted to be connected to an electronic device, comprising:
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monitoring load currents in the power converter to determine what number of ports have active loads; and determining a per-port available DC power level that is available to be drawn by electronic devices at the ports based on the number of ports that have active loads. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification