GB2493554A

GB2493554A - The safe shutdown of digitally controlled entertainment equipment using a secondary power source.

Info

Publication number: GB2493554A
Application number: GB201113854A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Graham Ronald Bolderson
Original assignee: JAYBOX Ltd
Current assignee: JAYBOX Ltd
Priority date: 2011-08-11
Filing date: 2011-08-11
Publication date: 2013-02-13
Also published as: GB201113854D0

Abstract

Disclosed is a method and system the equipment that can safely shutdown digital equipment. The system includes means to detect when the primary power from a mains supply (1) is lost, for example a voltage detector (6), and a secondary power source, such as a rechargeable battery (4) which has enough power to shut down the digital control of the equipment in safe fashion. Following that shutdown, the battery (4) is disconnected, for example by way of a relay (5). The system may have a voltage detector to monitor the condition of the battery, and report the condition, which may stored in memory and used to generate advice for the user to change the battery when required. The digital equipment may be coin operated leisure equipment, controlled by a computer with a hard drive and speakers.

Description

Digitally Controlled Entertainment Equipment This invention relates to digitally controlled entertainment equipment, for example amusement machines, jukeboxes, other sound systems and arcade game equipment.

Such equipment is often used in an environment which is not machine-friendly, for example in venues providing a selection of coin operated leisure equipment. While it is possible to secure the more sensitive parts of equipment physically, it is much more difficult to preserve them from damage of an internal nature. A particular problem often encountered in such environments is that in contrast with a personal computer installations, where the user knows to shut down the computer in an orderly fashion, such equipment is often simply "switched off" by switching off the mains power supply, for example at a wall socket. Indeed, particularly in the case of coin-operated equipment, it is usually the case that the user of the equipment cannot simply turn it off'. The owner of the equipment may be able to control it using some form of user interface which is accessible only with a key, but that is burdensome, so even if the feature is present, it tends not to be used.

The common practice, at the end of a operating session for such equipment, is accordingly simply for the operator to turn off the power to the equipment.

The immediate power loss encountered by equipment can and often does cause damage to the equipment. In particular, hard disk drives which may be in the process of writing data, are particularly sensitive -they sometimes write to areas not defined by the controlling computer, and randomly corrupt files.

A separate example is where the equipment comprises or controls high output audio devices, such as power amplifiers and loudspeakers: if power amplifiers are switched off in an uncontrolled way, they cause power spikes, which can destroy loudspeakers, blow fuses, or destroy connected circuitry.

In accordance with the invention digitally controlled entertainment equipment is enhanced by the addition of means to detect the loss of the primary power source, a secondary power source, means to initiate a shutdown of the digital control of the equipment in safe fashion, and means to disconnect the secondary power source following such shutdown. The disconnection means is preferably a relay energised by the entertainment system, so that when that is shut down, the relay opens and the secondary power source is disconnected.

By ensuring that the equipment is shut down in an orderly fashion, as with standalone personal computers, the reliability of the equipment can be greatly enhanced and damage to it avoided. The invention differs from the standard use of uninterruptible power supplies for digital equipment, which are normally deployed to ensure that a system keeps running, not arranged so that they automatically close down computer equipment in safe fashion. Using the invention in digitally controlled entertainment systems enables both the analogue and digital components of the system to be protected from damage which might arise from a temporary or permanent loss of power.

In the following example of an entertainment system according to the invention a battery is used to provide sufficient power to bring about an orderly shutdown. Once the shutdown has been completed, the secondary power source is immediately removed from the circuit using a relay, thus preventing the system from restarting until the primary power source is re-established. In the shut down state, the battery is not depleted, because the relay is disengaged.

The invention is illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanying drawing which shows diagrammatically how the invention may be applied to an entertainment system such as an electronic jukebox.

The power system consists of the following components: a primary power source 1 acting as both a supply to the entertainment system and battery charger; a battery charging and switchover circuit 2; a power converter which provides the various voltage power outputs to various components 3; a rechargeable battery 4; a relay 5 which connects the battery to the charger circuit 2 when powered by the power converter 4; a charger voltage detector circuit 6 with a data link to the entertainment system; a entertainment system 7 consisting of a computer, hard drive and other peripherals 8; a set of power amplifiers 9 with an enable connection from the voltage detector 6; loudspeakers 11.

While running from the mains, current flows from the primary power source 1 into the switchover circuit 2, and from there into the battery 4 to charge it and into the entertainment system 7 and peripherals. The voltage detector 6 sends a signal to the entertainment system 7 periodically so that the entertainment system 7 can detect if the primary power source 1 is still powered. If it isn't, then the entertainment system 7 concludes that its running from the battery 4, which means its only got a limited time before the battery 4 runs flat and forces it to turn off. Therefore the entertainment system 7 shuts itself down, which causes the hard drive 8 to finish any writes, park, and go idle, after which the entertainment system 7 signals to the power converter 3 that it is in fact turned oft. The power converter 3 cuts the power to all the peripherals, including the idle hard drive 8, the voltage detector 6, and the relay 5. The relay 5 then disconnects the battery 4 from everything else, which prevents it from discharging. At this point the entire system uses no power.

When power is restored, the primary power source 1 powers everything up, and the entertainment system 7 boots itself.

In addition, the voltage detector 6 enable connection can turn the amplifiers 9 on and off using an electronic circuit in the amplifiers, which disconnects the outputs if disabled. The enable connection is turned on if the voltage detector is specifically commanded to do so, which proves that the entertainment system 7 is running properly and powered from the primary power source 1. If the primary power source 1 is not powered, the voltage detector circuit 6 immediately disables the amplifiers 9, which disconnects the outputs and prevents power surges into the loudspeakers 11 and other equipment. The voltage detector circuit 6 does not re-enable the amplifiers 9 until the rest of the entertainment system decides its safe to do so and sends the right command.

If required the voltage detector circuit 6 can also detect the battery voltage.

This allows the system to gauge the battery condition, and report if the battery is capable of storing enough energy or not. It waits until the power is removed for whatever reason, and the switchover circuit 2 runs the system from the battery. The system continues to run whilst checking the battery voltage at regular intervals, and allows the battery 4 to run down to a set point while running a timer. Then the system reports on how long it took to run the battery down to the known point, which allows the user to tell if the battery is good or not. The battery voltage check can also indicate if the battery is charging properly while the system is running from the primary power source.

The system can periodically store battery condition data on to a memory (eprom). This data may be used to provide users with battery status information and advise when the battery needs to be replaced

Claims

<claim-text>CLAIMS1. Digitally controlled entertainment equipment, the equipment including means to detect loss of primary power from a primary power source, a secondary power source, means to initiate a shutdown of the digital control of the equipment in safe fashion, and means to disconnect the secondary power source following such shutdown.</claim-text> <claim-text>2. Equipment according to Claim 1 wherein the disconnection means is a relay energised by the entertainment system so that when that is shut down, the relay opens and the secondary power source is disconnected.</claim-text> <claim-text>3. Equipment according to Claim 1 or 2 and including as the secondary power source a battery of sufficient power to bring about an orderly shutdown following a loss of primary power.</claim-text> <claim-text>4. Equipment according to Claim 3 and including a voltage detector U) circuit to detect the battery voltage and thus gauge the battery condition, and means to report if the battery is capable of storing enough energy or not.</claim-text> <claim-text>5. Equipment according to Claim 4 and including means for periodically storing battery condition data on to a memory to provide battery status information and enable an advice to be generated when the battery needs to be replaced.</claim-text>