JP2011142741A - Power unit and power supply method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To switch an operating PSU at an appropriate timing in a power unit equipped with PSUs that operate in accordance with power consumed in a device to be supplied with power. <P>SOLUTION: The power unit 100 includes one or more power supply units 111, 121, 131 that are controlled to operate in accordance with power consumed in a device to be supplied with power. A current detecting means 160 calculates the total current output from each power supply unit. A timer control circuit 160 calculates a cycle for switching the operating power supply units based on the total current calculated by the current detecting means 160. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a power supply device and a power supply method.

  2. Description of the Related Art PSUs (Power Supply Units) that supply power to loads such as computer CPUs (Central Processing Units) are widely used. A PSU having a power conversion function such as an AC / DC converter for supplying DC power to a load is known.

  In general, a device such as a server machine can be equipped with a plurality of PSUs. When the number of PSUs that operate according to the power consumption of the load is limited, the server machine determines whether to operate each PSU according to the physical mounting position of the PSU in the server machine. Here, the change in the number of PSU operations is generally performed at a limited timing such as when the system is started or stopped.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a power device capable of operating an optimal number of PSUs according to the power consumption of a load. The power device described in Patent Document 1 includes a control unit that measures power consumption of a load and issues an operation command to each PSU according to the power consumption. By controlling the active PSU by the control unit, it is possible to operate an appropriate number of PSUs according to the load.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a power supply device that operates a number of power supply units corresponding to the power consumption of a load. In the power supply apparatus, the number of power supply units to be operated is calculated based on the power consumption of the load and the rated current value of each power supply unit, and the required number of power supply units is operated. Further, the power supply units to be operated are periodically switched so that the operation rates of all the power supply units are averaged.

JP 2009-171711 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-201090

  However, the above technique has the following problems. In the power device described in Patent Document 1, the number of PSUs corresponding to the power consumption of the load can be operated, but there is no description about which PSU is operated. For this reason, the operating rate of a specific PSU is increased, and the failure frequency of the PSU may be increased.

  In the power supply device described in Patent Literature 2, it is possible to average the operation rate of each power supply unit while operating a number of power supply units corresponding to the power consumption of the load. However, the power supply apparatus also has the following problems. In a situation where the power consumed by the load can be provided by the amount of power supplied by a small number of power supply units, if the frequency of switching the operating power supply units is low, there is a problem that the operation rate of a specific power supply unit becomes high. In addition, when the power consumption of the power supply units is high due to the high power consumption of the load, the operation rate of the power supply units is almost averaged when the switching frequency of the operating power supply units is high. The operating power supply unit is frequently switched. Since frequent switching of the operating power supply unit involves stopping the operating power supply unit and restarting the stopped power supply unit, the power supply to the load may become unstable. This may lead to failure of the system using the power supply device.

  That is, in the technique described in Patent Document 2, if the switching cycle of the power supply units is not appropriate, the load on some power supply units may increase, or there may be a system failure due to frequent switching of the power supply units. Further, Patent Document 2 does not describe a cycle for switching the operating power supply unit.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a power supply device capable of switching an operating PSU at an appropriate timing.

  One aspect of the power supply device according to the present invention is based on a plurality of power supply units, current detection means for detecting a total current amount output from the plurality of power supply units, and a total current amount detected by the current detection means. A timer control circuit for calculating a cycle for switching the operating power supply unit, and a switching means for switching the power supply unit operating for each cycle calculated by the timer control circuit.

  One aspect of the power supply method according to the present invention includes an operation step of operating a plurality of power supply units, a detection step of detecting a total current amount output from the plurality of power supply units, and a total detected by the current detection means. A cycle calculating step for calculating a cycle for switching the operating power supply unit based on the amount of current, and a switching step for switching the power supply unit operating for each cycle calculated by the timer control circuit are provided.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the power supply device which can switch PSU which operate | moves with an appropriate timing can be provided.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a power supply device according to a first exemplary embodiment; FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing details of a PSU according to the first exemplary embodiment. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the output voltage set to each PSU concerning Embodiment 1, and the operation number of PSU. It is a figure which shows notionally the timing which switches PSU which operate | moves in the power supply device concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a power supply device according to a first exemplary embodiment;

Embodiment 1
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of a computer system including a power supply apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The computer system 1 includes a power supply device 100 and a load 200 and is configured to be supplied with AC power from an external AC power supply 300.

  The power supply apparatus 100 includes a DC power supply unit 110, a DC power supply unit 120, a DC power supply unit 130, a DC power supply unit 140, a DC power supply unit 150, a current value detection circuit 160, and an output voltage setting. A circuit 170, a timer control circuit 180, and a resistance value setting circuit 190 are provided.

  The DC power supply unit 110 includes a PSU (Power Supply Unit) 111, a diode 113, and a variable resistor 114. Similarly, the DC power supply unit 120 includes a PSU (Power Supply Unit) 121, a diode 123, and a variable resistor 124. The DC power supply unit 130 includes a PSU (Power Supply Unit) 131, a diode 133, and a variable resistor 134. The DC power supply unit 140 includes a PSU (Power Supply Unit) 141, a diode 143, and a variable resistor 144. The DC power supply unit 150 includes a PSU (Power Supply Unit) 151, a diode 153, and a variable resistor 154. The DC power supply units 110 to 150 all have the same configuration. Note that the power supply apparatus 100 is configured to be provided with an arbitrary number of DC power supply units.

  The PSU 111 is a processing unit for supplying power to the load 200. The PSU 111 converts the input AC power into DC power and outputs DC power. The PSU 111 includes a voltage setting circuit 112 inside. The internal details of the PSU 111 are shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the PSU 111 includes an AC / DC conversion circuit 1111, an output voltage variable circuit 1112, and a voltage setting holding circuit 112. The AC / DC conversion circuit 1111 converts AC power input from the AC power supply 300 into DC power, and outputs the DC power to the voltage variable circuit 1112. The voltage setting holding circuit 112 holds the set voltage value input from the output voltage setting circuit 170 and outputs the set voltage value to the output voltage variable circuit 1112. The output voltage variable circuit 1112 adjusts the DC power to the set voltage input from the voltage setting holding circuit 112, and outputs the adjusted DC power.

  The diode 113 is a rectifying element that supplies current when the potential of V11 and the potential of V12 are the same value or when the potential of V12 is large. The diode 113 has an anode connected to the PSU 112 side and a cathode connected to the variable resistor 114 side.

  The variable resistor 114 is an electric resistor whose resistance value can be changed based on the output from the resistance value setting circuit 190.

  The current value detection circuit 160 is a circuit for detecting the current value of the direct current supplied to the load 200. Here, the current value detected by the power value detection circuit 160 increases as the number of operating PSUs (PSU 111 to PSU 1n1, n is a natural number, and n = 5 in the example of FIG. 1) increases. The current value detection circuit 160 outputs the detected current value to the timer control circuit 180. The current value detection circuit 160 may always output the detected current value to the timer control circuit 180 or may output it to the timer control circuit 180 at regular intervals.

  The output voltage setting circuit 170 outputs an instruction signal indicating the rated voltage to be output to each PSU (PSU 111 to PSU 1 n 1) at the timing input from the timer control circuit 180. The output voltage setting circuit 170 operates as switching means for switching the operating PSU by instructing the rated voltage to each PSU.

  The timer control circuit 180 is a circuit that calculates a cycle for switching the operating power supply unit (PSU) based on the total amount of current output from the current detection circuit 160. The timer control circuit 180 receives the current value detected from the current value detection circuit 160. The timer control circuit 180 calculates the timing for issuing an instruction signal to the output voltage setting circuit 170 and the resistance value setting circuit 190 based on the input current value. That is, the timing at which the output voltage setting circuit 170 outputs an instruction signal for instructing each PSU to change the rated voltage, and the resistance value setting circuit 190 is each variable resistor (114 to 1n4, where n is a natural number. In this case, n = 5), and the timing for outputting the instruction signal instructing the change of the resistance value is calculated. The timing calculation method will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The resistance value setting circuit 190 instructs the setting of the resistance value of each variable resistor (114 to 1n4). The resistance value setting circuit 190 is instructed by the timer control circuit 180 to set the resistance value.

  The load 200 is a processing unit that operates by receiving DC power supplied from the power supply apparatus 100, and includes, for example, a processor 210 and a memory 220. The AC power supply 300 is a commercial power supply for supplying AC power to the computer system 1 from the outside.

  An operation of supplying power to the load 200 by the power supply device 100 in the computer system having the above configuration will be described. The output voltage setting circuit 170 instructs the output voltage output from each PSU to the voltage setting holding circuit 1n2 in each PSU at the timing instructed by the timer control circuit 180. Here, the output voltage setting circuit 170 performs setting such that a difference occurs in the output voltage of each PSU. When the output voltage set for each PSU (111 to 151) is Vn (n is a natural number), for example, the output voltage is set such that V1> V2> V3> V4> V5.

  The output voltage setting circuit 170 changes the above-described output voltage ratio at the timing instructed by the timer control circuit 180. For example, if the output voltage of V1> V2> V3> V4> V5 is set, the setting is changed so that the output voltage of V2> V3> V4> V5> V1 is obtained at the timing instructed by the timer control circuit 180. To do.

  When the power consumption of the load 200 is sufficiently small, only the PSU with the highest output voltage supplies power to the load 200. For example, when the PSU with the highest output voltage is the PSU 111, only the PSU 111 supplies power to the load 200. Details of the power supply when the output voltage is set in the relationship of V1> V2> V3> V4> V5 will be described below. Note that, by the operation of the voltage setting holding circuit 112 described above, the potential V11 on the anode side of the variable resistor 114 becomes equal to V1. Similarly, the potential V21 is equal to V2. The potential V31 is equal to V3. The potential V41 is equal to V4. The potential V51 is equal to V5.

When the power consumption of the load 200 is sufficiently small, the output current value (I1) output from the PSU 111 is also small. Therefore, the influence of the voltage drop due to the variable resistor 114 is reduced. Here, the potential of V21 <the potential of V12 (the potential of V11−I1 · R1)
In this case, the diode 123 is in a state of interrupting current. Therefore, power supply from the PSU 121 is not performed. Similarly, power is not supplied from the PSU 131, PSU 141, or PSU 151.

When the power consumption of the load 200 increases gradually, the output current value (I1) output from the PSU 111 also increases. Here, the potential of V21> = the potential of V12 (the potential of V11−I1 · R1)
In this state, the diode 123 is in a state of supplying current. Therefore, power supply from the PSU 121 is also started. Thereafter, each time the power consumption of the load 200 increases, the diode 1n3 enters a state of supplying current, and power supply from each PSU is started sequentially.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the output voltage set for each PSU and the number of operating PSUs. As shown in FIG. 3, as the power consumption of the load 200 increases, power is supplied to the load 200 in order from the PSU whose output voltage is set to a large value.

  Next, the switching operation of the output power instruction for each PSU by the timer control circuit 180 will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the current value detected by the current value detection circuit 160 and the output voltage instruction for each PSU.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the current value detected by the current value detection circuit 160 is large, the cycle for changing the instruction of the output voltage of each PSU is lengthened. That is, the relationship between the set output voltages of the respective PSUs (for example, V1> V2> V3> V4> V5) is not frequently changed. On the other hand, when the current value detected by the current value detection circuit 160 is small, the cycle for changing the output voltage of each PSU is shortened. That is, the relationship between the output voltages of each PSU (for example, V1> V2> V3> V4> V5) is frequently changed. Here, the current value detected by the current value detection circuit 160 increases according to the number of operating PSUs. In the example of FIG. 1, when five PSUs are operating, the current value detected by the current value detection circuit 160 is large. For this reason, the higher the operating rate of the PSU, the longer the cycle of changing the output voltage to each PSU by the timer control circuit 180. On the other hand, as the PSU operating rate is lower, the cycle of the output voltage change instruction for each PSU by the timer control circuit 180 becomes shorter.

  The calculation of the cycle of the instruction to change the output voltage for each PSU can be calculated by, for example, specifically determining the relationship between the current value detected by the current value detection circuit 160 and the instruction cycle. For example, it can be calculated by defining a relationship such as “when the current value is x amperes, the switching cycle is 2 x seconds”.

  The timer control circuit 180 notifies the output voltage setting circuit 170 of the calculated cycle. The output voltage setting circuit 170 changes the relationship of the output voltage of each PSU according to the period input from the timer control circuit 180. Here, it is desirable to change the output voltage of each PSU by the output voltage setting circuit 170 in order from the PSU that increases the output voltage. For example, when the relationship of the output voltage of each PSU is changed from V1> V2> V3> V4> V5 to V2> V3> V4> V5> V1, the output voltage setting circuit 170 outputs V2, V3, V4, and V5. It is desirable to instruct a decrease in the output voltage of V1 after instructing an increase in voltage. By first instructing an increase in the output voltage of the PSU, each diode connected to the PSU having the increased output voltage is controlled to shift to a state in which a current is supplied or to maintain a state in which the current is cut off. By such diode control, the power supply to the load 200 becomes excessive. That is, the possibility that the power supply to the load 200 becomes insufficient and the system including the load 200 becomes unstable is reduced.

  Then, the effect of the power supply device concerning this Embodiment is demonstrated. As described above, the power supply apparatus 100 detects the total amount of current output from the operating PSU 1n1. The timer control circuit 180 calculates a cycle for switching the operating PSU 1n1 based on the total current amount. In other words, the timer control circuit 180 sets a cycle for switching the power supply unit in which the timer control circuit operates when the total power amount is large, and the timer control circuit switches the power supply unit in operation when the total power amount is small. Set the cycle short. As a result, the operating PSU can be switched at an appropriate timing, and the risk of the load on some power supply units becoming high and the risk of system failure due to frequent switching of the power supply units are reduced.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a minimum configuration of the power supply device according to the present embodiment. Each PSU (power supply unit) 1n1 is controlled so as to operate by the number corresponding to the power consumption of the power supply destination. The current detection circuit 160 calculates the total of the current values output from each PSU and notifies the timer control circuit 180 of the total current amount. The timer control circuit 180 changes the cycle for switching the operating PSU according to the total amount of current. Thereby, the operating PSU can be switched at an appropriate timing.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the power supply apparatus according to the first embodiment may supply power not only to the computer system but also to an arbitrary apparatus.

1 Computer system 100 Power supply 110, 120, 130, 140, 150 DC power supply unit 111, 121, 131, 141, 151 PSU
112, 122, 132, 142, 152 Voltage setting holding circuit 113, 123, 133, 143, 153 Diode 114, 124, 134, 144, 154 Variable resistance 160 Current value detection circuit 170 Output voltage setting circuit 180 Timer control circuit 190 Resistance Value setting circuit 200 Load 210 Processor 220 Memory 300 AC power supply

Claims (6)

Multiple power supply units,
Current detection means for detecting the total amount of current output from the plurality of power supply units;
A timer control circuit for calculating a cycle for switching the operating power supply unit based on the total amount of current detected by the current detection means;
And a switching unit that switches the power supply unit that operates at each cycle calculated by the timer control circuit. When the total amount of current detected by the power source detection means is large, the timer control circuit sets a longer cycle for switching the operating power unit,
2. The power supply device according to claim 1, wherein when the total amount of current detected by the power supply detection unit is small, the timer control circuit sets a cycle for switching an operating power supply unit to be short.   The switching means performs the switching by suspending the second power supply unit that has been operating after operating the first power supply unit that has been inactive. Item 3. The power supply device according to Item 2. An operation step for operating a plurality of power supply units;
A detection step of detecting a total amount of current output from the plurality of power supply units;
A period calculating step for calculating a period for switching the operating power supply unit based on the total amount of current detected by the current detecting means;
A switching step of switching the power supply unit that operates at each cycle calculated by the timer control circuit. If the total amount of current detected in the detection step is large, set the cycle for switching the operating power supply unit long,
5. The power supply method according to claim 4, wherein when the total amount of current detected in the detection step is small, a cycle for switching the operating power supply unit is set short.   6. The power supply according to claim 4, wherein, in the switching step, the second power supply unit that has been operating is suspended after the first power supply unit that has been deactivated is operated. Supply method.

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