Apparatuses, methods, and systems for enabling higher current charging of Universal Serial Bus (USB) specification revision 2.0 (USB 2.0) portable electronic devices from USB 3.X hosts

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10199848-B2
Application number	US-201414444443-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 28, 2014
Priority date	Jul 28, 2014
Publication date	Feb 5, 2019
Grant date	Feb 5, 2019

Abstract

Apparatuses, methods, and systems for enabling higher current charging of Universal Serial Bus (USB) Specification Revision 2.0 (USB 2.0) portable electronic devices from USB 3.x hosts are disclosed. In one aspect, a USB 2.0 controller is provided in a USB 2.0 portable device. A USB 3.x controller is provided in a USB 3.x host. The USB 2.0 controller is configured to draw a higher charging current than specified in USB 2.0 for the USB 2.0 portable device over a USB 2.0 cable. In order to draw the higher charging current without violating USB 2.0, the USB 2.0 controller is configured to use one or more reserved elements in an existing USB 2.0 descriptor(s) or bitmap(s) to indicate a higher charging current request from the USB 2.0 controller.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A Universal Serial Bus Specification Revision 2.0 (USB 2.0) portable device comprising a USB 2.0 controller, wherein:
the USB 2.0 controller comprises a modified USB 2.0 driver configured to request and draw a higher charging current than a maximum charging current specified in USB 2.0 for a USB 2.0 portable device over a USB 2.0 cable configured to sustain the higher charging current; and
the USB 2.0 controller is configured to:
detect a connected USB controller in a USB host over the USB 2.0 cable;
send a request to the USB host over the USB 2.0 cable, wherein the request comprises:
a first USB 2.0 data structure configured to request to draw the maximum charging current specified in the USB 2.0 for the USB 2.0 portable device over the USB 2.0 cable; and
a second USB 2.0 data structure configured to request in at least one reserved element to draw the higher charging current than the maximum charging current specified in the USB 2.0 for the USB 2.0 portable device over the USB 2.0 cable;

receive a response from the USB host indicating the request to draw the higher charging current is permitted; and
draw the higher charging current over the USB 2.0 cable from the USB host in response to receiving the response from the USB host indicating that the request to draw the higher charging current is permitted.

2. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 1 , wherein the USB 2.0 controller is further configured to draw up to the maximum charging current over the USB 2.0 cable from the USB host in response to receiving the response from the USB host indicating that the request to draw the higher charging current is not permitted.

3. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 1 , wherein the USB 2.0 controller is further configured to send the request to draw the higher charging current in a USB 2.0 Configuration Descriptor control message in response to receiving a USB 2.0 GET_DESCRIPTOR/CONFIG control message.

4. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 3 , wherein the USB 2.0 controller is configured to:
set a bNumConfigurations field in a USB 2.0 DEVICE Descriptor control message to indicate that a first USB 2.0 CONFIGURATION descriptor and at least one second USB 2.0 CONFIGURATION descriptor are enclosed in the USB 2.0 Configuration Descriptor control message;
include the first USB 2.0 CONFIGURATION descriptor as the first USB 2.0 data structure in the USB 2.0 Configuration Descriptor control message to request to draw the maximum charging current specified in the USB 2.0 for the USB 2.0 portable device over the USB 2.0 cable; and
include the at least one second USB 2.0 CONFIGURATION descriptor as the second USB 2.0 data structure in the USB 2.0 Configuration Descriptor control message to request to draw the higher charging current than the maximum charging current specified in the USB 2.0 for the USB 2.0 portable device over the USB 2.0 cable.

5. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 4 , wherein the USB 2.0 controller is configured to:
include the first USB 2.0 CONFIGURATION descriptor in the USB 2.0 Configuration Descriptor control message by being further configured to include the maximum charging current specified in the USB 2.0 in a bMaxPower field in the first USB 2.0 CONFIGURATION descriptor; and
include the at least one second USB 2.0 CONFIGURATION descriptor in the USB 2.0 Configuration Descriptor control message by being further configured to include the higher charging current than the maximum charging current specified in the USB 2.0 in a bMaxPower field in the at least one second USB 2.0 CONFIGURATION descriptor.

6. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 5 , wherein the USB 2.0 controller is further configured to indicate 500 milliamps (mA) in the bMaxPower field in the first USB 2.0 CONFIGURATION descriptor.

7. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 5 , wherein the higher charging current than the maximum charging current specified in the USB 2.0 is above 500 milliamps (mA) and equal to or less than 1500 mA.

8. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 5 , wherein the USB 2.0 controller is configured to include the higher charging current in the bMaxPower field in the at least one second USB 2.0 CONFIGURATION descriptor by being further configured to set the bMaxPower field to at least one reserved value between 251 (0xFB) and 255 (0xFF) indicative of the higher charging current than the maximum charging current specified in the USB 2.0.

9. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 8 , wherein the USB 2.0 controller is further configured to set the bMaxPower field to the at least one reserved value between 251 (0xFB) and 255 (0xFF) indicative of the higher charging current than the maximum charging current specified in the USB 2.0 that is above 500 milliamps (mA) and equal to or less than 1500 mA.

10. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 1 , wherein the USB 2.0 controller is further configured to receive the response from the USB host by being configured to receive a USB 2.0 SET_CONFIGURATION control message from the USB host indicating whether the request to draw the higher charging current is permitted in a reserved value.

11. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 1 , wherein the USB 2.0 controller is further configured to send the request in a USB 2.0 GET_STATUS Response control message in response to receiving a USB 2.0 GET_STATUS Request control message.

12. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 11 , wherein the USB 2.0 controller is further configured to send the request by being configured to set at least one reserved bit in a USB 2.0 information returned by a GetStatus( ) Request to a device data structure in the USB 2.0 GET_STATUS Response control message.

13. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 12 , wherein the higher charging current is above 500 milliamps (mA) and equal to or less than 1500 mA.

14. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 12 , wherein the USB 2.0 controller is further configured to set the at least one reserved bit between D 2 and D 15 in the USB 2.0 information returned by the GetStatus( ) Request to the device data structure indicative of the higher charging current than the maximum charging current specified in the USB 2.0 that is above 500 milliamps (mA) and equal to or less than 1500 mA.

15. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 11 , wherein the USB 2.0 controller is further configured to receive a grant in the at least one reserved element of the second USB 2.0 data structure in a USB 2.0 SET_FEATURE control message.

16. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 15 , wherein the USB 2.0 controller is further configured to receive the grant in the at least one reserved element comprising a HIGH_CURRENT_CHARGING_MODE feature selector.

17. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 11 , wherein the USB 2.0 controller is further configured to send a USB 2.0 control message to the USB host indicating a grant to draw the higher charging current is accepted.

18. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 17 , wherein the USB 2.0 controller is further configured to send a USB 2.0 ZLP control message to the USB host when the grant to draw the higher charging current is accepted.

19. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 17 , wherein the USB 2.0 controller is further configured to send a USB 2.0 STALL control message to the USB host when the grant to draw the higher charging current is not accepted.

20. The USB 2.0 portable device of claim 1 integrated into a device selected from the group consisting of a set top box, an entertainment unit, a navigation device, a communications device, a fixed location da

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Patnaik Devdutt
• Choi Jay Yu Jae
• Remple Terrence Brian

Classifications

• H02J7/485

  with provisions for charging different types of batteries · CPC title

• H02J7/90

  Regulation of charging or discharging current or voltage · CPC title

• H02J7/44

  between battery management systems and power sources · CPC title

• H02J7/00

  Circuit arrangements for charging or discharging batteries or for supplying loads from batteries · CPC title

• G06F2213/0042

  Universal serial bus [USB] · CPC title