US 10,241,551 B2Granted

Control and synchronization mechanism for a complex distributed power management system

AssigneeDialog Semiconductor (UK) Limited

InventorsOlivier Girard, Daniele Giorgetti, Joao Paulo Trierveiler Martins, Philip Todd

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Abstract

A distributed power management system comprising at least two power management integrated circuits PMICs is presented. A master power management integrated circuit PMIC supplies power to a subsystem of an electronic device based on a current state of a master finite state machine FSM executed by the master PMIC. A slave power management integrated circuit PMIC executes a slave finite state machine FSM and supplies power to another subsystem based on the current state of the master FSM. For synchronizing the operation of both PMIC, the master PMIC transmits, to the slave PMIC, synchronization information indicative of at least one of an input signal of the master FSM, a state of the master FSM, a state transition of the master FSM, and an output signal generated by the master FSM. A distributed power management method is presented which is carried out by a master PMIC and a slave PMIC.

Claims28

Dependent claims

A distributed power management system comprising a master power management integrated circuit (PMIC) configured to supply power to a subsystem of an electronic device based on a present state of a master finite state machine (FSM) executed by the master PMIC;

and
a slave power management integrated circuit (PMIC) configured to execute a slave finite state machine (FSM), the slave FSM comprising anchor states where the slave FSM is synchronized with the master FSM;
wherein the master PMIC is configured to transmit, to the slave PMIC, synchronization information indicative of at least one of an input signal of the master FSM, a state of the master FSM, a state transition of the master FSM, and an output signal generated by the master FSM,
wherein the slave PMIC is configured to supply power to another subsystem of the electronic device based on the present state of the master FSM and if the present state of the slave FSM is an anchor state,
and wherein the slave PMIC is configured, in an initialization phase, to supply power to the another subsystem of the electronic device independent of the present state of the master FSM and upon reaching an anchor state, to perform synchronization procedures with the master PMIC.

2 more elements

A distributed power management method carried out by a master power management integrated circuit (PMIC) and a slave PMIC, comprising:

executing, by the master PMIC, a master finite state machine (FSM);
supplying, by the master PMIC, power to a subsystem of an electronic device based on a present state of the master FSM;
executing by the slave PMIC, a slave finite state machine (FSM), the slave FSM comprising anchor states where the slave FSM is synchronized with the master FSM;
transmitting, by the master PMIC, synchronization information indicative of at least one of an input signal of the master FSM, a state of the master FSM, a state transition of the master FSM, and an output signal generated by the master FSM to the slave PMIC;
in an initialization phase, supplying power to the another subsystem of the electronic device by the slave PMIC independent of the present state of the master FSM;
upon reaching an anchor state, performing synchronization procedures with the master PMIC;
and
supplying, by the slave PMIC, power to another subsystem of the electronic device based on the present state of the master FSM and if the present state of the slave FSM is an anchor state.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/284,608Filed 4 Oct 2016
Priority: DE 10 2015 223 78530 Nov 2015
Published: US 2017/0153680 A11 Jun 2017
Granted: 26 Mar 2019
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

G06F 1/266
Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof: arrangements to supply power to external peripherals either directly from the computer or under…
G06F 1/26
Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00: power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof
G06F 1/30
Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof: means for acting in the event of power-supply failure or interruption, e.g. power-supply fluctuations
G06F 1/3206
Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode: monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power…