KR101544466B1 - Power Control Method and Apparatus for Controlling Power Source Circuit of Portable Terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for controlling a power circuit in a portable terminal. More specifically, the apparatus for controlling a power circuit in a portable terminal is capable of lengthening a service life of a battery by defining an event which may occur in a portable terminal and separately designing a functional circuit required for carrying out the event so that the power is selectively supplied to the functional circuit required for processing the relevant event when the event has occurred, in order to increase the service life of the battery embedded in the portable terminal having ETCS.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a power control circuit for a portable terminal,

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for controlling a power circuit of a portable terminal, and more particularly, to a portable terminal including an ETCS, And more particularly, to an apparatus and method for controlling a power supply circuit of a portable terminal capable of increasing a use time of a battery by selectively supplying power to a function circuit necessary for processing an event when an event is generated.

As portable devices such as personal computers, smart phones, automobile terminals, and MP3s are becoming high performance and versatile, power consumption is increasing, and much research is being conducted to save power for long battery life. Particularly, when the power consumption of a portable device with limited power supply is increased, the battery life is shortened, which causes inconvenience of operation for recharging or replacing the battery, as well as heat generation, shortening the lifetime of the electronic device and decreasing performance and reliability. Power saving is becoming more important. Interest in reducing power consumption has been concentrated on design techniques that are designed to reduce power, while design techniques reduce the supply voltage, effective capacitance, and number of operation operations that affect power consumption. It is applied to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) of a component unit or a functional module and is performed in the component design stage. However, low-power technologies are applied at the level of the application circuit of the upper level rather than the low-level structure level or algorithm of the RTL (Register Transistor Logic) level in a field where the industry size is small or the technology is rapidly changing. Generally, CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) system is widely used in consideration of low supply voltage and power supply voltage fluctuation in analog circuit. Power consumption in digital circuit is proportional to operating frequency. However, recent portable devices are demanding miniaturization, high performance, and versatility, and a high frequency of operation is required to satisfy these requirements, thereby establishing a contradiction relation. Therefore, it is the most widely used technique at the upper level, and it is necessary to awake and activate only when necessary, and to not operate at the remaining time (dormant), or to supply power to the corresponding circuit to operate at the minimum frequency, The purpose of the low power is achieved by cutting off the power to the non-circuit. The ETCS (Electronic Toll Collection System) terminal, which is a car terminal in Korea, uses a car power source as a main power source and uses its own built-in battery as an auxiliary, so it is relatively flexible from power constraints, . However, in some national technical standards, the provision of a variety of services during operation is limited and only the essential minimum functions related to the situation, such as settlement, are carried out, thereby extending the built-in battery life and requiring the battery to be used for a long time.

In the ETCS technical standard of China, it is normalized to operate in the sleep mode in the normal time and to activate the Wake-Up signal at the moment of receiving from the base station. However, the human mode and the active mode are not organically coupled to the lower level and higher level, and only the power interrupting of the entire device is provided, which limits the power saving effect.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1103824 (Registered on Jan. 2, 2012, hereinafter referred to as 'Prior Art Document 1') has proposed a low power ETCS terminal device and its method. The above prior art document 1 relates to a wireless terminal device including an RF transceiver and an IR transceiver. The wireless terminal device communicates only through the IR in normal times, separately transmits RF communication point-in-time information as an IR signal, When the IR signal is received, the RF communication is activated to achieve the power saving target. This prior art document 1 provides an effect of reducing the amount of power consumption rather than the existing standby mode by activating the terminal device only when necessary, thereby providing power to the entire configuration of the terminal device during the period of activation of the terminal device , It does not reduce the power consumption during the terminal device activation time.

Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2004-0073305 (published on August 19, 2004; hereinafter referred to as 'Prior Art Document 2') proposes an ETC terminal. The foregoing prior art document 2 has a low power consumption sleep mode and includes a battery for supplying drive power and a start switch for returning the ETC terminal from the sleep mode. After completion of settlement of the toll and the start switch is pressed And then shifts to sleep mode at least one after a predetermined time elapses. This prior art document 2 also changes the entire ETC terminal to the sleep mode or the active mode as in the prior art document 1, so that power minimization due to partial activation has not been achieved.

Therefore, it is necessary to study a new power supply method that can reduce the power consumption by minimizing a part activated during driving.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1103824 (Registered on January 02, 2012) - Low power ETCS terminal device and its method Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2004-0073305 (published on Aug. 19, 2004) - ETC terminal

Accordingly, an apparatus and method for controlling a power supply circuit of a portable terminal,

It is a technology related to the power control of a portable terminal. It enables the ETCS wireless terminal, which is connected to a base station or another wirelessly, to operate for more than several years by one battery exchange. So that only essential functions required by the terminal can be provided for a minimum amount of time.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for selectively supplying power to a portable terminal such as ETCS by selectively activating a function circuit to perform a service corresponding to an event only when an event is generated .

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a power circuit control apparatus for a portable terminal,

A portable ETCS terminal, comprising: an event controller for generating or processing an event corresponding to the terminal external signal; A power controller for supplying or cutting off power to the function blocks necessary for the event processing; And a processor unit included in the power control unit to process data or information transmitted to and received from the base station or to control power supply to the power control unit and to block power supply to the power control unit. The power supply is switched to the active mode, and when the processing by the event is completed, the power supply to the functional block is interrupted to switch from the active mode to the sleep mode, An A event signal generator generating an A (awake) event signal by a WU (Wake-Up) signal; A B event signal generator for generating a B (Button) event signal by an input means such as a button or a screen of the terminal; A C event signal generator for generating a C (Card) event signal when the card of the terminal leaves or inserts; And a D event signal generator for generating a D (Detach) event signal by a terminal detachment switch attached to the terminal of the terminal.

In addition, it may include a function of maintaining the event signal level for a time period during which the function block necessary for the event processing can be activated, and switching the event signal level back to the original state after being activated.

In addition, the control for supplying or blocking the power supply may be performed by independently controlling power supply and interruption to any one or more of an event control unit including a function block for processing an event, a processor unit, and a power control unit, The processor unit, and the power control unit, and control to supply and cut off power to each of the subdivided functional blocks may be performed.

In addition, the power control unit includes functional blocks of a transmission / reception control unit, a display unit, a card interface unit, and a key / audio unit for transmitting / receiving data to / from a base station or other equipment; The function blocks may be configured to perform control such that power is supplied or cut off by combining any one or more of the functional blocks.

The power control unit may include a secondary battery including a primary battery and a supercapacitor connected to the solar charging unit to charge the sunlight to extend the service life of the battery.

When the WU (Wake-Up) signal is received for a predetermined time in a predetermined frequency or preamble form, the A event signal generator of the event controller may wait until the awake processor unit is awakened to the normal state And a function of maintaining the activation state may be further included.

In addition, the processor unit may perform processing corresponding to the event signal requested by the generation of the event signal, then terminate the process, enter the deactivation mode, and perform processing based on another event signal.

According to another aspect of the present invention,

A power supply circuit control method for a portable ETCS terminal, comprising the steps of: separating a low power carrier / preamble sensing circuit before an RF circuit so as to receive constant power without being controlled by a processor unit; A detecting step of detecting a WU (Wake-Up) signal which is a preamble of a carrier or a specific pattern; Generating an A event signal including a signal level change and a holding time adjustment function when a predetermined number or more of WU signals are continuously input; A power connection step of connecting power to a processor unit and a function block of a power control unit including a transmission / reception control unit, a display unit, a card interface unit, and a key / audio unit; Performing an A event signal service including transmission / reception processing, processor processing, display processing, and card information processing; And a power interruption step of interrupting the power supplied to the processor unit and the function block including the transmission / reception control unit, the display unit, and the card interface unit, and generating and processing the A event signal.

Further, a button or card signal detection step; Generating a B event signal or a C event signal including a signal level change and a holding time adjustment function after sensing the above button or card signal; A power connection step of connecting power to the functional block of the power control unit including the display unit and the card interface unit and the processor unit; Performing a B event signal or a C event signal service including a display process and a card information process; And a power cutoff step of cutting off power supplied to the processor unit and a function block including a display unit and a card interface unit, and generating and processing a B event signal or a C event signal.

Further, a device detachment signal detection step; Generating a D event signal including a signal level change and a holding time adjustment function after detecting the device detachment signal; A power connection step for connecting power to the processor unit; The processor unit performing a D event signal service step of recording contents of the device detachment; And a power cutoff step of cutting off the power supplied to the processor unit, and generating and processing the D event signal.

An apparatus and method for controlling a power supply circuit of a portable terminal according to the present invention,

In the normal case, power is supplied only to the A event signal detection circuit, and the event signal generated by the remaining physical force has a sleep state in which power is not applied. Only the configuration for processing the event signal is activated to perform signal processing, thereby minimizing driving power consumption due to event signal detection and signal processing, thereby significantly extending the service life of the battery.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a control state for event processing generated by an event signal according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a block diagram illustrating components in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of generating an A event signal according to the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of generating a B event signal according to the present invention.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of generating a C event signal according to the present invention.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of generating a D event signal according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only the contents and scope of technology of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention based on these examples. In addition, the functional blocks shown in the drawings are divided into embodiments for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, functional blocks may be expanded or similar functional blocks may be combined with each other, And can be combined with events, functional blocks expanded or further removed in portable devices used in power limitted.

In addition, although the present invention proposes ETCS based on wireless connection with a base station, the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to a wireless communication portable terminal connected to a base station, the present invention is also applicable to portable terminals operated in a power limitted environment.

The capacity of the battery is indicated by 1mAH as the amount of charge that the current of 1mA flows for one hour. Since many devices operate in order to support the multifunctional and high performance service in the device, when a large current is required, the use time is shortened, It causes shortening.

In particular, it is essential to design hardware by selecting devices or parts with low power consumption in order to reduce power consumption in an extremely limited environment operated by a battery with a built-in power supply such as the ETCS terminal to be proposed In addition, it is designed so that the power is supplied only to the necessary circuit by configuring the function block so that the power supply can be supplied independently by separately designing the hardware so as to operate independently for each function.

More specifically, the functional blocks may be separately designed and selectively supplied to or blocked from the functional blocks required to perform an event when an event is generated. In addition, functional blocks necessary for performing an event may be designated as a group, .

1 is a diagram illustrating a group control state for event processing generated according to B, C, and D event signals generated in an ETCS according to an embodiment of the present invention.

When the terminal is detached from the fixed position, a terminal D (Detach) event signal is generated. In order to perform the terminal detachment service, only the processor unit 112 of the function block 110 is changed from the sleep mode to the active mode, And the processor unit 112 returns to the sleep mode again.

When the button is pressed, a button event signal is generated, a function block 120 corresponding to the B event signal is activated, the processor unit 122 is switched to the active mode, and a service corresponding to the pressed button is activated After doing it, it goes into human mode again. At this time, if a display is required, the display unit 124 enters the active mode and displays the result. Of course, if the service is not required here, the display unit 124 is not driven, and if another function is required, it is obvious that the corresponding configuration is activated.

When the card is inserted into the terminal, a C (Card) event signal is generated, and the function block 130 corresponding to the C event signal is activated, and the processor unit 132, the card interface unit 134, the display unit 136 ) Is activated and displays the card balance, card information, etc., and enters the sleep mode. In this case, it is obvious that the functional part of the necessary sub may be added or omitted.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing general components of a portable terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.

An event control unit 210, a processor unit 220, and a power control unit 230. Each unit is further subdivided into functional blocks to perform functions corresponding to events.

The event control unit 220 includes an Awake event signal generator 212, a B event signal generator 214, a C (Card) event signal generator 216, a D (detach) And a signal generator 218. The A event signal generator 212 generates an A event signal when a predetermined number of carriers or a predetermined pattern of preambles are input. Since the carrier sense circuit should always be operated, it is desirable to operate the low power carrier / preamble detection circuit separately before the RF circuit in order to reduce the power consumption.

When a button attached to the outside of the terminal is pressed, a B event signal is generated in the B event signal generation unit 214. When it is determined that a card is available in the terminal, a C event signal is generated in the C event signal generation unit 216 A D event signal is generated in the D event signal generator 218 when the terminal is deviated from a specific position where the terminal is installed. The B, C, and D event signals are continuous signals, which are maintained for a relatively long period of time, and must be maintained for a period of time sufficient to activate a corresponding circuit corresponding to an event. The A event signal is activated You must maintain an active level. As a method of maintaining the event signal for a predetermined period of time, the timer circuit or the delay circuit may be used to hold the event signal for a predetermined time, and various other methods may be applied. Also, when the event service, which is an event signal process corresponding to an event, ends, it returns to the previous state to process the next event signal, and control of termination can be performed by a timer or processor intervention.

The power control unit 230 including the separately designed functional blocks can independently supply power and cut off the power. In the embodiment of the present invention, the transmission / reception control unit 232 related to transmission / reception of the RF transmission / reception unit, the modem unit and the like; A display portion 234 including a display element such as an OLED or an LED; A card interface unit 236 including NFC, PSAM, and the like; And a key / audio unit 238 including a key or other input / output device including a speaker, and is controlled by the processor unit 220.

In addition, the power control unit includes a battery, and selectively supplies power when necessary. The power control unit may be constituted only by a battery that is a primary battery, or may be configured by mixing a battery and a secondary battery capable of charging and discharging. In particular, the mixed configuration can extend the service life of the primary battery, by connecting a supercapacitor, which can be classified as a secondary battery or a secondary battery, to the solar charger to charge the battery by the sunlight.

Generated by the A event signal generating unit 212, the B event signal generating unit 214, the C event signal generating unit 216 and the D event signal generating unit 218, which are subfunctional blocks of the event control unit 210, The event signal is input to the processor unit 220 to convert the processor into an active mode, and the processor unit starts a service corresponding to the event signal.

A power supply circuit control method of a portable terminal of the present invention includes: generating and processing an A event signal; generating and processing a B event signal; generating and processing a C event signal; and generating and processing a D event signal Or more.

The process of generating and processing the A event signal will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG.

Until the ETCS terminal comes near the base station, the function block except the Wake-Up signal detection circuit operates in the human mode. When the terminal approaches the base station, the terminal receives a wake-up signal transmitted from the base station. When the terminal continuously receives a signal of a predetermined number or more, an A event signal is generated. At this time, the A event signal includes a signal level change and a holding time adjusting function to maintain this level for a sufficient time to wake up the processor unit, and to switch each functional block of the sleeping mode processor unit or the power control unit to the active mode. That is, according to the A event signal, the processor unit 220 is switched to the active mode, and the processor unit selects a necessary functional block of the power controller 230 to supply and activate the power source.

For example, in order to exchange information with the base station, the transmission / reception control unit 232 is activated, the display unit 234 is activated to display the result, and the card interface unit 236 must be supplied with power for charging. The processor unit 220 cuts off all the power of the transmission / reception control unit 232, the display unit 234 and the card interface unit 236 after the service such as charging by the A event signal is completed, Only the event signal generator enters the active mode.

The B event signal generation and processing will be described with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 4,

When a button is pressed to inquire the balance of the card, a B event signal is generated and the timer is activated to maintain the signal level for a sufficient time so that the processor unit 220 in the sleep mode can be changed to the active mode and then turned off.

When the processor unit 220 is switched to the active mode by the B event signal, the processor unit 220 includes a card interface unit 236 for inquiring the balance of the card and a functional block such as the display unit 234, the key / audio unit 238, To activate the power supply.

Upon completion of providing the card balance inquiry service by the B event signal after activation of each functional block, the power of the processor unit 220, the card interface unit 236, and the display unit 234 are all turned off, do.

The button can provide various information in addition to the card balance inquiry, and can constitute one button for each information or sequentially receive various information by pressing one button.

The C event signal generation and processing will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 5. FIG.

When a card is inserted to check the card balance, a C event signal is generated by the card, and the signal level is maintained for a sufficient time so that the processor unit 220 in the sleep mode can be changed to the active mode.

When the processor unit is switched to the active mode by the C event signal, the processor unit selectively supplies power to a function block of the power control unit, which is necessary for providing the balance or various information, to switch to the active mode. That is, power is supplied to the card interface unit and the display unit to switch to the active mode, and if necessary, power can be supplied to the key / audio unit to provide a voice result.

C event signal, the power of the processor unit 220, the card interface unit 236, and the display unit 234 are all turned off, and the apparatus enters the sleep mode.

The generation and processing of the D event signal will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 6. FIG.

A D event signal is generated if the terminal is out of a specific area.

The generated D event signal causes the processor unit to switch from the sleep mode to the active mode.

The processor unit of the active mode records the fact that the terminal is out of a specific area and immediately turns off the power to enter the sleep mode.

100: terminal
210: Event control unit
212: A event signal generator
214: B event signal generator
216: C event signal generator
218: D event signal generator
220:
230:
232: Transmitting /
234:
236: Card interface unit
238: Key / Audio section

Claims (10)

In a portable ETCS terminal,
An event controller for generating or processing an event corresponding to the terminal external signal; A power controller for supplying or cutting off power to the function blocks necessary for the event processing; And a processor unit included in the power control unit to process data or information transmitted to and received from the base station or to control power supply to the power control unit and to block power supply to the power control unit. Power is supplied to switch to the active mode, and when the processing by the event is completed, the power supply to the functional block is blocked so that the active mode is switched to the sleep mode,
The event control unit,
Preamble detection circuit is separated at the front end of the RF circuit so as to be always powered without being controlled by the processor unit and a WU (Wake-Up) signal transmitted from the base station or the counterpart communication equipment through the separated low-power carrier / preamble detection circuit ) Signal to generate an A (Awake) event signal;
A B event signal generator for generating a B (event) event signal by an input means such as a button or a screen of the terminal;
A C event signal generator for generating a C (Card) event signal when the card of the terminal leaves or inserts; And
And a D event signal generator for generating a D (Detach) event signal by a terminal detachment switch attached to the terminal of the mobile terminal. The method according to claim 1,
The event control unit,
And a function of maintaining the event signal level for a time period during which the function block necessary for the event processing can be activated, and activating the event signal and then switching the state of the event signal back to the original state. The method according to claim 1,
The control to supply or cut off the power supply,
It is possible to independently control power supply and interruption to one or more of an event control unit, a processor unit, and a power control unit including a function block for processing an event,
Wherein the control unit is provided with functional blocks divided into an event control unit, a processor unit, and a power control unit, and controls to supply and cut off power to each of the subdivided functional blocks. The method according to claim 1,
The power control unit includes a transmission / reception control unit for transmitting / receiving data to / from a base station or other equipment, a display unit, a card interface unit, and a function block of a key / audio unit;
Wherein the controller is configured to control the power supply to be supplied or cut off by combining any one or more of the functional blocks. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the power control unit comprises a secondary battery including a battery, which is a primary battery, and a supercapacitor, to which the solar charger is connected to charge the battery. 3. The method of claim 2,
When the WU (Wake-Up) signal is received for a predetermined time in a predetermined frequency or preamble form, the A event signal generating unit of the event control unit waits until the processor unit in the sleep state wakes up to assure normal operation, To the power supply circuit of the portable terminal. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the processor unit performs a process corresponding to the event signal requested by the generation of the event signal, and then terminates the process, enters the deactivation mode again, and processes the event signal according to another event signal. A power supply circuit control method for a portable ETCS terminal,
Preamble detection circuits are separated by a low-power carrier / preamble detection circuit at the front end of the RF circuit so that the power is always supplied to the WU (Wake- Up signal from the signal;
Generating an A event signal including a signal level change and a holding time adjustment function when a WU signal is input continuously over a predetermined number of (time);
A power connection step of connecting power to a processor unit and a function block of a power control unit including a transmission / reception control unit, a display unit, a card interface unit, and a key / audio unit;
Performing an A event signal service including transmission / reception processing, processor processing, display processing, and card information processing;
And a power interruption step of interrupting the power supplied to the processor unit and the function block including the transmission / reception control unit, the display unit, and the card interface unit, and generating and processing the A event signal. Circuit control method. 9. The method of claim 8,
Button or card signal detection step;
Generating a B event signal or a C event signal including a signal level change and a holding time adjustment function after sensing the above button or card signal;
A power connection step of connecting power to the functional block of the power control unit including the display unit and the card interface unit and the processor unit;
Performing a B event signal or a C event signal service including a display process and a card information process;
And a power interruption step of interrupting a power supply to the processor unit and a functional block including a display unit and a card interface unit, and generating and processing a B event signal or a C event signal, A method of controlling a power circuit of a terminal. 9. The method of claim 8,
A device detachment signal detection step;
Generating a D event signal including a signal level change and a holding time adjustment function after detecting the device detachment signal;
A power connection step for connecting power to the processor unit;
The processor unit performing a D event signal service step of recording contents of the device detachment;
And a power shutdown step of shutting down the power supplied to the processor unit when the power is turned off.

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