Directing a power signal from a port power controller to one of multiple physical ports

摘要

A technique is able to direct a power signal from a port power controller to one of multiple physical ports. The technique involves activating a set of port power controllers. Each port power controller is constructed and arranged to deliver power to a device through at most one physical port at a time. The technique further involves performing a set of discovery operations to discover device presence, the set of discovery operations providing discovery data. The technique further involves providing, based on the discovery data provided by the set of discovery operations, a set of switching signals to switching circuitry which is coupled to a set of physical ports. The switching circuitry is constructed and arranged to steer power signals from the activated set of port power controllers through the set of physical ports to deliver power to a set of devices.

主权项

1. A method, comprising:
performing, by control circuitry, a set of discovery operations to discover device presence, the set of discovery operations providing discovery data indicating whether an external powered device (PD) connects to a particular port of a set of ports; outputting, by the control circuitry, a first switching signal to a first switch based on the discovery data, the first switch being disposed between a first power controller and the particular port; and outputting, by the control circuitry, a second switching signal to a second switch based on the discovery data, the second switch being disposed between a second power controller and the particular port, the first power controller and the second power controller being configured to only use the particular port at a time, wherein the first power controller and the second power controller each configured to operate in at least one of a discovery mode to periodically sense for a presence of the external PD or a power mode to perform a periodic power negotiation with the external PD and to determine an amount of power provided by each of the first and second power controllers to the external PD through the particular port based on the periodic power negotiation.