Power control unit that provides one of a plurality of voltages on a common power rail
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsKarthigan Srinivasan, Joseph P. Miller
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system comprises a bridge, a slot coupled to the bridge, and a power control unit coupled to the slot via a common power rail and coupled to the bridge. An add-in card having one of a plurality of types can be installed in the slot. Upon installing the add-in card, the bridge determines the type of add-in card and asserts a logic signal to the power control unit. Based on the logic signal, the power control unit provides one of a plurality of direct current (“DC”) voltages on the common power rail to the slot.
Claims19
A system, comprising:
- a bridge;
- a slot into which an add-in card having one of a plurality of types can be installed, said slot coupled to the bridge;
- and
- a power control unit coupled to the slot via a common power rail and coupled to the bridge;
- wherein, after installing the add-in card, the bridge determines the type of add-in card installed and asserts a logic signal to the power control unit and wherein, based on the logic signal, the power control unit provides one of a plurality of direct current (“DC”) voltages on the common power rail to the slot;
- and
- wherein the power control unit receives a power good (“PGOOD”) signal that indicates whether a power state of the system is functional and the power control unit delays the assertion of the PGOOD signal relative to the logic signal.
A power control unit adapted to be installed in a system and configurable to provide one of a plurality of voltages on a common power rail to a load, comprising:
- a time delay;
- a first power switch that is adapted to provide a first voltage to a load over a power rail;
- a second power switch that is adapted to provide a second voltage to the load on the power rail;
- and
- wherein the first power switch and the second power switch are responsive to a logic signal specifying whether the first power switch or the second power switch is to provide the first voltage or the second voltage, respectively, on the common power rail to the load;
- and
- wherein said time delay delays assertion of a power good signal that indicates whether a power state of the system is functional.
A system, comprising:
- a slot into which an add-in card that comports with one of a plurality of types can be installed, said slot coupled to the bridge;
- a bridge that is adapted to determine the type of add-in card installed in the slot;
- means for causing a voltage on a power rail to a load to be at a ground potential and for subsequently causing the voltage on the power rail to transition to one of a plurality of voltages depending on the type of add-in card installed in the slot;
- and
- means for delaying assertion of a power state signal relative to a logic signal that specifies to which of the plurality of voltages the voltage on the power rail is to transition.
A method, comprising:
- determining a type of card installed in a system;
- delaying assertion of a power good signal that indicates whether a power state of the system is functional;
- and
- following the delay of said power good signal, selectively providing one of a plurality of voltages on a single power rail to the card based on the type of card.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.