US 2026/0112912 A1 · CABLE FAILURE PROTECTION AND BATTERY KICKSTART IN AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE

Abstract

Cable failure protection and battery kickstart in an electronic device is provided. When the electronic device is attached to an external power supply via a universal serial bus type-C (USB-C) cable, it is important to protect the electronic device from being damaged by a cable failure (e.g., overcurrent, overtemperature, and/or faulty cable). Additionally, when a battery in the electronic device is fully depleted, it is necessary to kickstart recharging of the depleted battery upon attaching to the USB-C cable. Herein, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) is provided in the electronic device and configured in accordance with the USB-C standard to protect the electronic device from the cable failure and kickstart recharging of the depleted battery. By integrating cable failure protection and battery kickstart functionalities into the PMIC, it is possible to reduce cost and footprint of the PMIC, thus making the PMIC suitable for small formfactor electronic devices.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A universal serial bus type-C (USB-C) charging system comprising:

a USB-C connector comprising:
a pair of configuration channel (CC) pins configured to indicate whether the USB-C connector is attached to an external power supply via a USB-C cable;
and
a bus voltage (VBUS) pin configured to receive a bus voltage from the external power supply when the pair of CC pins indicate that the USB-C connector is attached to the external power supply;
and
a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) coupled to the USB-C connector and comprising:
a battery charging circuit coupled to the VBUS pin and configured to charge an internal always-on voltage regulator based on the bus voltage to provide an always-on voltage (VAO);
and
a control circuit coupled to the pair of CC pins and configured to:
emulate a detachment condition to the external power supply via the pair of CC pins in response to detecting a failure condition of the USB-C cable to thereby cancel the bus voltage on the VBUS pin;
and
emulate an attachment condition to the external power supply via the pair of CC pins when the internal always-on voltage regulator is depleted to thereby kickstart the bus voltage on the VBUS pin to charge the internal always-on voltage regulator.

9 more elements

An electronic device comprising a universal serial bus type-C (USB-C) charging system, the USB-C charging system comprises:

a USB-C connector comprising:
a pair of configuration channel (CC) pins configured to indicate whether the USB-C connector is attached to an external power supply via a USB-C cable;
and
a bus voltage (VBUS) pin configured to receive a bus voltage from the external power supply when the pair of CC pins indicate that the USB-C connector is attached to the external power supply;
and
a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) coupled to the USB-C connector and comprising:
a battery charging circuit coupled to the VBUS pin and configured to charge an internal always-on voltage regulator based on the bus voltage to provide an always-on voltage (VAO);
and
a control circuit coupled to the pair of CC pins and configured to:
emulate a detachment condition to the external power supply via the pair of CC pins in response to detecting a failure condition of the USB-C cable to thereby cancel the bus voltage on the VBUS pin;
and
emulate an attachment condition to the external power supply via the pair of CC pins when the internal always-on voltage regulator is depleted to thereby kickstart the bus voltage on the VBUS pin to charge the internal always-on voltage regulator.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Cable failure protection and battery kickstart in an electronic device

Life of this patent

Cable failure protection and battery kickstart in an electronic device

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20