Bypass pathway for providing auxiliary power from a docking station

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11150698-B2
Application number	US-201916400167-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 1, 2019
Priority date	May 1, 2019
Publication date	Oct 19, 2021
Grant date	Oct 19, 2021

Abstract

A docking station according to embodiments provides power to an Information Handling System (IHS) coupled to the docking station. The docking station includes a first power circuit supporting a first power output according to a power delivery protocol limited to a first power level. The docking station also includes a second power circuit supporting a second power output for providing the input power of the docking station to the IHS. A controller of the docking station determines whether the IHS requires power using the power delivery protocol and selects the operation of the first or second power circuit. The docking station may support dual of such selectable power pathways using a docking cable joined from two individual cables, where each cable provides a separate power and/or data coupling. The docking station thus supports powering devices according to a power delivery protocol or using the input power to the docking station.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A docking station configured for providing power, the docking station comprising:
a DC power connector that receives a power input from an AC power adapter, wherein the DC power connector is coupled to a first power circuit and a second power circuit;
the first power circuit receiving power from the DC power connector and providing a first power output to a laptop computer coupled to the docking station;
the second power circuit receiving power from the DC power connector and providing a second power output to the coupled laptop computer; and
a main controller configured to deliver power using the first power circuit and the second power circuit; wherein the laptop computer is coupled to the docking station via a first and second docking cables and wherein the docking station routes power from the first power circuit to the laptop computer via the first docking cable and routes power from the second power circuit to the laptop computer via the second docking cable and wherein first docking cable and the second docking cable are received by adjacent ports of the laptop computer.

2. The docking station of claim 1 , wherein the laptop computer is simultaneously coupled to the docking station via the first docking cable and the second docking cable.

3. The docking station of claim 2 , wherein the simultaneous delivery of power by the first power circuit via the first docking cable and by the second power circuit via the second docking cable provides greater than 100 W of power to the coupled laptop computer.

4. The docking station of claim 1 , wherein the main controller is further configured to determine whether the coupled laptop computer supports dual pathway power delivery and further configured to use the first power circuit and the second power circuit for providing power to the laptop computer.

5. The docking station of claim 1 , wherein a plug of the first docking cable and a plug of the second docking cable are coupled to form a single docking plug.

6. The docking station of claim 5 , wherein the single docking plug comprises a first connector and a second connector that s are received by the adjacent ports of the laptop computer.

7. A method for providing power by a docking station, the method comprising:
receiving, via a DC power connector of the docking station, a power input from an AC power adapter, wherein the DC power connector is coupled to a first power circuit and to a second power circuit;
providing, by the first power circuit, a first power output to the coupled laptop computer;
providing, by the second power circuit, a second power output to the coupled laptop computer; and
selecting, by a controller of the docking station, power delivery by the docking station using the first power circuit and the second power circuit, wherein the laptop computer is coupled to the docking station via a first and second docking cables and wherein the docking station routes power from the first power circuit to the laptop computer via the first docking cable and routes power from the second power circuit to the laptop computer via the second docking cable, and wherein first docking cable and the second docking cable are received by adjacent ports of the laptop computer.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the laptop computer is simultaneously coupled to the docking station via the first docking cable and the second docking cable.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the simultaneous delivery of power by the first power circuit via the first docking cable and by the second power circuit via the second docking cable provides greater than 100 W of power to the coupled laptop computer.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
interfacing, by the controller, with the laptop computer to determine whether the laptop computer supports dual-pathway power delivery; and
when the laptop computer supports dual-pathway power delivery, selecting, by the controller, the first power circuit and the second power circuit for providing the power to the laptop computer.

11. A system comprising:
a first IHS (Information Handling System) comprising a display, a memory, a storage drive, a processor and a docking interface; and
a docking station configured for providing power to the first IHS, wherein the docking station comprises:
a DC power connector that receives a power input from an AC power adapter, wherein the DC power connector is coupled to a first power circuit and to a second power circuit;
the first power circuit receiving power from the DC power connector and providing a first power output to the first IHS;
the second power circuit receiving power from the DC power connector and providing a second power output to the first IHS; and
a controller configured to determine whether to deliver power to the first IHS using the first power circuit and the second power circuit, wherein the laptop computer is coupled to the docking station via a first and second docking cables and wherein the docking station routes power from the first power circuit to the laptop computer via the first docking cable and routes power from the second power circuit to the laptop computer via the second docking cable, and wherein first docking cable and the second docking cable are received by adjacent ports of the laptop computer.

12. A system of claim 11 , the first docking cable and the second docking cable are simultaneously coupled to the first IHS.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the simultaneous delivery of power by the first power circuit via the first docking cable and by the second power circuit via the second docking cable provides greater than 100 W of power output to the first IHS.

Assignees

• Dell Products Lp

Inventors

• Wood Iii Merle Jackson
• Nowak Marcin M

Classifications

• G06F1/263

  Arrangements for using multiple switchable power supplies, e.g. battery and AC (G06F1/30 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F1/1632 Primary

  External expansion units, e.g. docking stations · CPC title

• G06F13/385 Primary

  for adaptation of a particular data processing system to different peripheral devices · CPC title

• Y02D10/00

  Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management · CPC title