WO2001082456A2 - Voltage control - Google Patents
Voltage control Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2001082456A2 WO2001082456A2 PCT/GB2001/001840 GB0101840W WO0182456A2 WO 2001082456 A2 WO2001082456 A2 WO 2001082456A2 GB 0101840 W GB0101840 W GB 0101840W WO 0182456 A2 WO0182456 A2 WO 0182456A2
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- sub
- voltage
- systems
- supply
- computer usable
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
- G06F1/26—Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof
- G06F1/263—Arrangements for using multiple switchable power supplies, e.g. battery and AC
Definitions
- This invention relates to controlling the voltage supplied to sub-systems forming part of a system such as a digital processor on a PC card.
- the operating voltage of modern digital processors is being reduced in order to reduce the overall power consumption of such processors.
- the PCMCIA specification for PC cards specifies that the interface to a host system, such as a PC or a personal digital assistant (PDA), uses either 5N or 3.3N signals.
- a PC card For compatibility with as many as different types of host as possible, it is desirable for a PC card to use a 5N interface. Unfox-lxinately, this creates problems with using low voltage digital signal processing on the PC card as the operating voltage is reduced to meet modern power consumption requirements.
- the present invention provides a computer usable medium comprising a plurality of sub-systems, each of which is provided with a respective voltage regulator at its input side, each sub-system having a respective voltage supply requirement, wherein the voltage regulators are configured to match the voltage supplied thereto from a host supply to the respective voltage supply requirements of the sub-systems.
- a first of the sub-systems is an interface to a host system
- a second of the sub-systems is a digital processor
- the supply voltage requirement of the first sub-system is higher than that of the second sub-system.
- a a third of the sub-systems is an analogue conversion chip
- a fourth of the sub-systems is a radio sub-system, and the supply voltage requirements of the four sub-systems progressively decrease from the first sub-system to the fourth sub-system.
- a respective integrated circuit constitutes each of the sub-systems, and a respective integrated circuit constitutes each of the voltage regulators.
- each of the voltage regulators is an LDO voltage regulator.
- a PC card constitutes the computer usable medium.
- the invention also provides a method of controlling voltage supplied by a host system to a plurality of sub-systems associated with a computer usable medium, the method comprising the step of providing a respective voltage regulator between the voltage supply of the host system and the power input of each sub-system, the voltage regulators being configured to match the voltage supplied thereto by the voltage supply of the host system to respective voltage requirements of the sub-systems.
- Figure 1 is a schematic circuit diagram illustrating the operation of a PC card with a 5N host
- Figure 2 is a diagram similar to that of Figure 1, but illustrating operation of a PC card with a 3.3V host.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a PC card, indicated generally by the reference number 1, for operation with a host system, such as a PC or a PDA.
- the PC card 1 includes first and second sub-systems (integrated circuits) 2 and 3, the first of which is a PCMCIA Universal Asynchronous Receiver and Transmitter (UART), and the second of which is a digital processor.
- the UART 2 is the interface to the host system and uses 5N signal ' s.
- Each of the sub-systems 2 and 3 is provided with a pair of protection diodes 2a and 3a respectively, a respective diode being provided on each signal input 2a 1 , 2a 11 , 3a 1 and 3a 11 .
- the protection diodes 2a and 3a limit the maximum voltage that can be applied to the associated sub-systems 2 and 3 to the value of the supply voltage plus the voltage drop across the protection diodes.
- Each of the sub-systems 2 and 3 is connected to the supply voltage, indicated generally by the reference number 4, via a respective low drop out (LDO) voltage regulator 5a and 5b.
- the LDO regulators 5a and 5b are integrated circuits forming part of the PC card 1, the LDO regulator 5a being arranged to have a 4.8V output, and the LDO regulator 5b being arranged to have 3.5V output.
- An LDO voltage regulator is a particular form of voltage converter, whose input can drop to within a small margin above the required output voltage before the regulator loses regulation. Also, when the input voltage is below the required level, the output will follow the input voltage minus a small margin.
- logic signals pass between the PC card 1 and the host system. These logic signals include, for example, data bus signals, address bus signals and serial communications signals.
- the maximum voltage of a logic signal that can be applied to a digital input to an integrated circuit, such as the sub-systems 2 and 3, is limited to the supply voltage to that integrated circuit plus the voltage drop across its internal protection diodes 2a or 3a. Moreover, the minimum voltage for such a logic signal is typically 0.7 x the supply voltage.
- logic signals in the voltage range of 0 to 4.75 - 5.25V are applied to the digital input to the sub-system 2, these signals being up to the same voltage as the supply voltage - nominally 5V, but in practice lying in the range of 4.75 - 5.25V as the host has a tolerance of ⁇ 5%.
- Logic signals in the voltage range 0 to 4.8 V are applied to the digital input of the sub- system 3, as the supply voltage in this case is the supply voltage of the sub-system 2, that is to say the 4.8V output of the LDO voltage regulator 5a.
- the logic signals in the direction left-to-right are, therefore, never more than the supply voltage + 0.7N, and this prevents phantom powering of the sub-systems 2 and 3 via the internal protection diodes 2a and 3a.
- the logic signal voltages are chosen so that the signals in the direction right-to-left are never less than the minimum specification for a high level input - typically 70% of the supply voltage for CMOS devices.
- the logic signals passing from the sub-system 3 to the sub-system 2 lie within the range 0 - 3.5N
- the logic signals passing from the sub-system 2 to the host system lie within the range of 0 - 4.8N.
- signals from a lower voltage sub-system to a higher voltage sub-system are always at least 0.7 times the higher voltage sub-system supply, so that the specification for these devices is met.
- the circuit inside the PC card 1 consists of the two sub-systems 2 a d 3 connected in series, and the use of the LDO voltage regulators 5a and 5b ensures that the power supply voltage supplied to the sub-systems is a set of decreasing voltages, such that, at the input end, a suitable voltage (5V) is used for the external interface to the host system, and, at the other end, a suitable low voltage (3.5V) is used to power the digital processor constituting the sub-system 3. This ensures that power consumption is minimised.
- a suitable voltage 5V
- 3.5V suitable low voltage
- the PC card 1 would include two further sub-systems (not shown), namely an analogue conversion chip and a radio sub-system.
- the analogue conversion chip is configured to operate with a power supply voltage of 3.2V
- the radio sub-system is configured to operate with a supply voltage of 2.9V. Accordingly, the former is supplied with power via a 3.2V LDO voltage regulator, and the latter is supplied with power via a XV LDO voltage regulator.
- the power supply voltage to the four sub-systems is as a set of decreasing voltages.
- FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the PC card 1 for operation with a host system, such as the PC or a PDA, which uses 3.3V signals.
- the supply voltage although nominally 3.3V, lies in the range of 3.0 to 3.6V as the host has a tolerance of ⁇ 10%.
- the LDO voltage regulators 5a and 5b drop out of regulation, and supply a little less than the host supply to each sub-system 2 and 3. All the logic signals are then compatible, and it is not necessary to have a decreasing set of supply voltages.
- logic signals from the host system to the sub-system 2 are in the range of 0 to 3.0 - 3.6V.
- Logic signals from the sub-system 2 to the sub-system 3 are in the range 2.9 - 3.5V, and logic signals from the sub-system 3 to the sub-system 2 and from the sub-system 2 to the host system are in the range of 2.9 - 3.5V.
- the LDO voltage regulators 5a and 5b have little or no affect on the operation of the PC card 1, their provision on the PC card does enable that card to be used with host systems at both 5V and 3.3V.
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AU2001250514A AU2001250514A1 (en) | 2000-04-27 | 2001-04-25 | Voltage control |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB0010286A GB2361779B (en) | 2000-04-27 | 2000-04-27 | Voltage control |
GB0010286.3 | 2000-04-27 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO2001082456A2 true WO2001082456A2 (en) | 2001-11-01 |
WO2001082456A3 WO2001082456A3 (en) | 2002-03-28 |
Family
ID=9890626
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/GB2001/001840 WO2001082456A2 (en) | 2000-04-27 | 2001-04-25 | Voltage control |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
AU (1) | AU2001250514A1 (en) |
GB (1) | GB2361779B (en) |
WO (1) | WO2001082456A2 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP1874014A2 (en) * | 2006-06-30 | 2008-01-02 | Samsung Electronics Co.,Ltd. | Mobile commerce execution method and apparatus |
Families Citing this family (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB0324292D0 (en) * | 2003-10-17 | 2003-11-19 | Huggins Mark | Embedded power supplies particularly for large scale integrated circuits |
Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5818781A (en) * | 1995-11-13 | 1998-10-06 | Lexar | Automatic voltage detection in multiple voltage applications |
WO2000079370A1 (en) * | 1999-06-18 | 2000-12-28 | Api Networks, Inc. | Microprocessor module with integrated voltage regulators |
Family Cites Families (10)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
MY108974A (en) * | 1992-05-29 | 1996-11-30 | Thomson Consumer Electronics Inc | Tracking run/standby power supplies |
US5412308A (en) * | 1994-01-06 | 1995-05-02 | Hewlett-Packard Corporation | Dual voltage power supply |
FI96466C (en) * | 1994-06-10 | 1996-06-25 | Nokia Mobile Phones Ltd | A method for reducing the power consumption of an electronic device and a device according to the method |
US5787014A (en) * | 1996-03-29 | 1998-07-28 | Intel Corporation | Method and apparatus for automatically controlling integrated circuit supply voltages |
IT1285078B1 (en) * | 1996-05-03 | 1998-06-03 | Magneti Marelli Spa | POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM FOR A PLURALITY OF ELECTRONIC UNITS OR DEVICES ON BOARD A VEHICLE. |
US5831890A (en) * | 1996-12-16 | 1998-11-03 | Sun Microsystems, Inc. | Single in-line memory module having on-board regulation circuits |
US5757171A (en) * | 1996-12-31 | 1998-05-26 | Intel Corporation | On-board voltage regulators with automatic processor type detection |
KR100264897B1 (en) * | 1998-03-05 | 2000-09-01 | 윤종용 | Power providing method and device in mobile communication apparatus |
US6348744B1 (en) * | 1998-04-14 | 2002-02-19 | Conexant Systems, Inc. | Integrated power management module |
US6593668B2 (en) * | 1999-12-30 | 2003-07-15 | Intel Corporation | Method and apparatus for multifrequency power distribution |
-
2000
- 2000-04-27 GB GB0010286A patent/GB2361779B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
2001
- 2001-04-25 WO PCT/GB2001/001840 patent/WO2001082456A2/en active Application Filing
- 2001-04-25 AU AU2001250514A patent/AU2001250514A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5818781A (en) * | 1995-11-13 | 1998-10-06 | Lexar | Automatic voltage detection in multiple voltage applications |
WO2000079370A1 (en) * | 1999-06-18 | 2000-12-28 | Api Networks, Inc. | Microprocessor module with integrated voltage regulators |
Non-Patent Citations (1)
Title |
---|
DINSMORE & MARKELL: "Regulator circuit generates both 3.3V and 5V outputs from 3.3V or 5V to run computers and RS232" EDN ELECTRICAL DESIGN NEWS., vol. 38, no. 12, 10 June 1993 (1993-06-10), pages 163-164, XP000382990 CAHNERS PUBLISHING CO. NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS. 81963 1, US ISSN: 0012-7515 * |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP1874014A2 (en) * | 2006-06-30 | 2008-01-02 | Samsung Electronics Co.,Ltd. | Mobile commerce execution method and apparatus |
EP1874014A3 (en) * | 2006-06-30 | 2008-04-16 | Samsung Electronics Co.,Ltd. | Mobile commerce execution method and apparatus |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
GB0010286D0 (en) | 2000-06-14 |
AU2001250514A1 (en) | 2001-11-07 |
GB2361779A (en) | 2001-10-31 |
WO2001082456A3 (en) | 2002-03-28 |
GB2361779B (en) | 2004-03-10 |
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