US Patent 10001799 Pull-down circuitry for an apparatus

Apparatus embodiments of the invention are disclosed for requesting power via a wired interface. In example embodiments, a pull-down circuit in the apparatus acting as a power consumer when there is no energy in the apparatus, is connected via a configuration line over a cable to a power provider device. The apparatus may be in a power down mode, it may have an empty battery, or it may have no battery. The pull-down circuit is configured to use energy from the configuration line to pull down a voltage on the configuration line, to signal the power provider device to provide power over another line of the cable to the apparatus.