JP2012043006A - Power supply control system for hot-swap - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restrict a drop in power-supply voltage due to inrush current at the time of hot-swap of a system that is connected to multiple internal devices.SOLUTION: A power supply control system for hot-swap comprises: multiple package devices that are hot-swappable independently; and a power-supply device for supplying power to the package devices in common. The power-supply device can supply operational power 209 and pre-charging power 210. Each of the package devices comprises a control unit for controlling the package device and a gate provided between the control unit and the operational power 209. The control unit starts up each package device by closing the gate at the time of hot-swap and by not using the operational power 209 but using the pre-charging power 210, and when a power-supply voltage of the package device reaches a predetermined voltage, it starts using the operational power 209 by opening the gate.

Description

  The present invention relates to a hot-swap power supply control system for suppressing inrush current during hot-swap.

  In systems that cannot basically stop operation, such as communication devices and data management devices, the package board is inserted into and removed from the backboard (for example, a motherboard) with the power turned on due to a request for maintenance or expansion. Sometimes. When a package substrate (hereinafter referred to as a package device or an internal device as appropriate) is hot-plugged, an inrush current is generated.

  As a countermeasure against inrush current at the time of hot plugging / unplugging, a method has been proposed in which a long pin is provided in the connector part or a precharge circuit is provided in the internal device (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). This causes an increase in startup time.

JP-A-6-161606 JP-A-11-54967

  When an internal device is connected to an operating system, the capacity component of the internal device is charged, and the capacity of the operating system power supply is temporarily insufficient. As a result, the power supply voltage drops. As a result, a situation occurs in which other internal devices already connected in the system cannot maintain a sufficient power supply voltage. The power supply voltage drop may cause the following adverse effects.

  For example, if the voltage drops to the reset voltage of the internal device, the device will restart. In addition, when the level of the signal to be transmitted / received is insufficient, it becomes impossible to exchange data accurately.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for suppressing a power supply voltage drop caused by an inrush current when a system connected to a plurality of internal devices is hot-plugged.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a power supply control system for hot-swap operation according to an aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of package devices that can be hot-swapped independently and a power source that supplies power to the plurality of package devices in common. An apparatus. The power supply device can supply an operation power supply and a precharge power supply, and the package device includes a control unit that controls the package device and a gate provided between the control unit and the operation power supply. The control unit closes the gate at the time of hot plugging, starts the package device using the precharge power supply without using the operating power supply, and turns on the gate when the power supply voltage of the package device reaches a predetermined voltage. Open and start using operational power.

  According to this aspect, it is possible to suppress a power supply voltage drop due to an inrush current during hot-line insertion / extraction.

  The precharge power supply voltage may be set lower than the operating power supply voltage. According to this, power consumption of the power supply device can be reduced.

  The gate may be a semiconductor switch, and the control unit may turn on the semiconductor switch when the power supply voltage of the package device reaches a predetermined voltage. According to this, the gate control function can be realized by an analog device.

  The control unit may include a counter. The counter may start counting after the power supply voltage of the package device starts to rise, and the control unit may open the gate when the count number of the counter reaches a predetermined count number. According to this, the gate control function can be realized by a digital device.

  The package device may further include another gate provided between the control unit and the precharge power source. When the control power supply gate is opened, the control unit may close the precharge power supply gate. According to this, the operation by the precharge power supply and the operation by the operation power supply can be handled completely separately.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the power supply voltage drop by the rush current at the time of hot plugging / removing of the system to which a some internal apparatus is connected can be suppressed.

It is a block diagram of a system in which a plurality of internal devices can be inserted and removed using a general power supply system. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a process in which electric charges are accumulated in the capacitive component from a state where the capacitive component of the internal device is zero. It is a figure which shows the change of the electric current which flows into the said capacity | capacitance component from the zero state of the capacity | capacitance component of an internal device. It is a figure which shows the example of a change of the electric current and voltage of the power supply supplied to a system when an internal apparatus is attached. It is a block diagram of the system which can insert / extract several internal apparatus based on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example 1 of an internal device. It is a figure which shows the timing chart at the time of hot-line insertion / extraction based on the structural example 1 of the internal apparatus A. It is a figure which shows progress when a charge is accumulate | stored in the said capacity | capacitance component from the state where the capacity | capacitance component of an internal apparatus is zero, when the voltage of the power supply for precharge is set lower than the voltage of an operation power supply. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a timing chart at the time of hot-swapping according to Configuration Example 1 of the internal device A when the voltage of the precharge power supply is set lower than the voltage of the operation power supply. It is a figure which shows the structural example 2 of an internal device. It is a figure which shows the timing chart at the time of hot-line insertion / extraction based on the structural example 2 of the internal apparatus A.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a system 101 in which a plurality of internal devices can be inserted and removed using a general power supply method. The system 101 includes a plurality of internal devices A102 to E106, a backboard 107, and a power supply device 108. The plurality of internal devices A102 to E106 are supplied with power from the power supply device 108 through the backboard 107. If any internal device is removed from the backboard 107 from this state, the removed internal device is discharged, and its capacitance component becomes empty. When the internal device is attached again and charging is performed on the capacity component, a large current flows in the initial stage of charging. A so-called inrush current flows.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a process in which the charge Q is accumulated in the capacitive component from the state where the capacitive component of the internal device is zero. When the internal device is attached to the backboard 107, the charge Q is accumulated in the capacitance component as shown in the following formula 1.
Q (t) = CE (1-exp (−t / RC)) (Formula 1)
t is time, C is a capacitance value, E is a voltage value, and R is a resistance value.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a change in the current I flowing through the capacitance component starting from the state where the capacitance component of the internal device is zero. When the internal device is attached to the backboard 107, a current I flows through the capacitance component as shown in Equation 2 below.
I (t) = E / R (exp (−t / RC)) (Formula 2)

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a change example of the current I and the voltage V of the power supplied to the system 100 when the internal device is attached. As shown in FIG. 4, when the internal device is attached, the current I jumps according to the principle shown in FIG. 3, and the voltage V suddenly drops correspondingly.

  FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a system 201 into which a plurality of internal devices can be inserted and removed according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system 201 includes a plurality of internal devices A202 to E206, a backboard 207, and a power supply device 208. The plurality of internal devices A202 to E206 can be hot-swapped independently from the backboard 207. The power supply device 208 supplies power in common to the plurality of internal devices A202 to E206 through the backboard 207. In the present embodiment, the power supply device 208 includes two systems of power supplies (that is, the operational power supply 209 and the precharge power supply 210), and can supply each of the internal devices A202 to E206.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example 1 of the internal device. FIG. 6 shows a configuration example 1 of the internal device A202. The other internal devices have the same configuration. The internal device A202a includes a control unit 221a, a gate 222a, a first diode D1, a second diode D2, and a resistor R1.

  The control unit 221a controls the entire internal device A202. The gate 222a is provided between the control unit 221a and the operation power supply 209. The first diode D1 is provided between the gate 222a and the control unit 221a. More specifically, the anode terminal of the first diode D1 is connected to the gate 222a, and the cathode terminal is connected to the control unit 221a.

  The second diode D2 is provided between the control unit 221a and the precharge power supply 210. More specifically, the anode terminal of the second diode D2 is connected to the precharge power source 210, and the cathode terminal is connected to the control unit 221a. The resistor R1 is connected between the power supply line after the respective power supply systems of the operation power supply 209 and the precharge power supply 210 merge and the ground line.

  The controller 221a closes the gate 222a at the time of hot plugging and starts the internal device A202a using the precharge power supply 210 without using the operation power supply 209, and the power supply voltage of the internal device A202 is set to a predetermined voltage. , The gate 222a is opened and the operation power supply 209 is started. The predetermined voltage may be a specified power supply voltage of the internal device A202.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a timing chart at the time of hot-swapping according to the configuration example 1 of the internal device A 202a. In a period before the internal device A 202a is connected, the voltage Pre V of the precharge power supply 210 and the voltage Main V of the operation power supply 209 change at a high level constant voltage, and the current Pre I of the precharge power supply 210 and the operation The current Main I of the power supply 209 changes with a constant current having a small value.

  When the internal device A 202a is connected to the backboard 207, the power supply voltage of the internal device A 202a starts to rise. Immediately after the internal apparatus A 202a is powered on, the gate 222a is closed and only the precharge power supply 210 is used. The control unit 221a detects whether or not all the devices in the internal device A 202a are operating stably. When they start operating stably, the gate enable signal is changed from non-significant (low level in FIG. 7). Transition is made significant (high level in FIG. 7). When the gate enable signal makes a significant transition, the gate 222a is opened. As a result, the operation power supply 209 is supplied to the control unit 221a.

  While the internal device A 202a is connected to the backboard 207 and until the internal device A 202a operates stably, the current Pre I of the precharging power supply 210 increases and the voltage Pre V of the precharging power supply 210 decreases. The current Main I of the operating power supply 209 maintains a constant current, and the voltage Main V of the operating power supply 209 also maintains a constant voltage. This is because the operating power supply 209 is not loaded because the gate 222a is closed when the internal device A202a is hot-plugged. Therefore, the power supply voltage of other internal devices also maintains a constant voltage.

  After the internal device A 202a operates stably, the voltage Pre V of the precharging power supply 210 returns to the constant voltage of the original level. The current Pre I of the precharge power supply 210 is lower than the current at the time of inrush, but changes at a constant current having a value higher than the value before the connection of the internal device A 202a. The voltage Main V of the operation power supply 209 maintains the constant voltage until then. The current Main I of the operating power supply 209 slightly increases and changes at a constant current after the increase. The power supply voltage of the internal device A 202a changes at a constant voltage of a predetermined level. The power supply voltage of other internal devices maintains the constant voltage.

  Thus, by changing the ratio of the precharge power supply 210 and the operation power supply 209, the voltage drop of the operation power supply 209 can be eliminated or reduced. When the precharge power supply 210 and the operation power supply 209 have the same voltage, the internal device A 202a that has started operation receives most of the current from the operation power supply 209 having a large capacity by reducing the capacity of the precharge power supply 210 as much as possible. The power supply voltage drop of other internal devices does not occur or is reduced.

  Further, the voltage of the precharge power supply 210 may be set lower than the voltage of the operation power supply 209. Also in this case, compared with the case where the precharge power supply 210 is not provided, the voltage drop of the operation power supply 209 at the time of hot plugging / unplugging can be reduced.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a process in which charges are accumulated in the internal capacitance component from a state where the internal device has a capacitance component of zero when the voltage of the precharge power supply 210 is set lower than the voltage of the operation power supply 209. . As shown in FIG. 8, a large inrush current at the initial stage of hot-plugging is passed by the precharge power supply 210, and charges are accumulated in the capacitance component with the current of the precharge power supply 210 until a predetermined voltage is reached. When a certain voltage is reached, the gate 222a for the operating power supply 209 is opened, and the remaining inrush current is passed by the operating power supply 209, and charges are accumulated in the remainder of the capacitance component. Thereby, the voltage drop of the operation power supply 209 can be reduced. Since the internal device A 202a that has started operation receives current from the operation power supply 209 having a higher voltage than the precharge power supply 210, the voltage drop of the precharge power supply 210 does not occur in the power supplies of other internal devices.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a timing chart at the time of hot-swapping according to the configuration example 1 of the internal device A 202a when the voltage of the precharge power supply 210 is set lower than the voltage of the operation power supply 209. The transition until the internal device A 202a is connected to the backboard 207 in the timing chart shown in FIG. 9 is the same as the transition in the timing chart shown in FIG.

  Thereafter, as in the timing chart of FIG. 7, the capacity of the internal device A 202a is determined by the current Pre I of the precharge power supply 210 after the internal device A 202a is connected to the backboard 207 until the internal device A 202a operates stably. The component is charged. However, in the timing chart shown in FIG. 9, since the voltage Pre V of the precharge power supply 210 is set lower than the Main V of the operation power supply 209, the voltage PreV of the precharge power supply 210 defines the internal device A202a. The power supply voltage is not reached. Therefore, after the stable operation, the capacity component of the internal device A 202a is charged by the current Main I of the operation power source 209.

  As a result, the current Main I of the operation power supply 209 slightly increases, the voltage Main V of the operation power supply 209 slightly decreases, and the power supply voltages of other internal devices also slightly decrease, but does not change greatly.

  Returning to FIG. 6, the gate 222a may be formed of a semiconductor switch (eg, MOSFET) that is an analog device. When the power supply voltage of the internal device A 202a reaches a predetermined voltage, the control unit 221a turns on the semiconductor switch.

  The control unit 221a may include a counter. The counter starts counting after the power supply voltage of the internal device A 202a starts to rise. When the count number of the counter reaches a predetermined count number, the control unit 221a opens the gate 222a. The count number may be set to a count number from when it is detected that the internal device A 202a is connected to the backboard 207 until it reaches a specified power supply voltage. The count number may be a value determined through an experiment or simulation by a designer. The count may be arranged outside the control unit 221a.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example 2 of the internal device. The internal device A 202b according to the configuration example 2 is an example in which a gate is provided between the control unit 221b and the precharge power supply 210 as compared with the internal device A 202a according to the configuration example 1. In FIG. 10, the gate between the control unit 221b and the operation power source 209 and the gate between the control unit 221b and the precharge power source 210 are drawn in the same block (gate 222b). May be provided.

  When the control unit 221b opens the gate for the operation power supply 209, the control unit 221b closes the gate for the precharge power supply 210. In the configuration example 1, the ratio of the voltage drop of the operation power supply varies depending on the relationship between the precharge power supply 210 and the operation power supply 209. On the other hand, in the configuration example 2, the start-up is started with the precharge power supply 210, and after the start-up, the operation power supply 209 is switched to be disconnected and the precharge power supply 210 is disconnected. Can be eliminated.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a timing chart at the time of hot-swapping according to the configuration example 2 of the internal device A202b. The timing chart shown in FIG. 7 is charged with the current Pre I of the precharging power supply 210 up to the prescribed power supply voltage of the internal device A 202a, and then operates almost only with the current Main I of the operating power supply 209. In the configuration example 1, in order to operate as described above, the switching timing of the gate 222a and the capacitance component of the precharge power supply 210 are designed. Therefore, the timing chart shown in FIG. 11 and the timing chart shown in FIG. 7 have substantially the same transition.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, by providing the precharge power supply 210, it is possible to suppress the influence of the power supply voltage drop due to the inrush current at the time of hot plugging. Therefore, a low-voltage power supply can be supplied from the outside of the internal devices A202 to E206. Further, the power consumption of the power supply device 208 can be reduced by setting the voltage of the precharge power supply 210 lower than the voltage of the operation power supply 209. The gate control can be performed in an analog configuration or a digital configuration.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to combinations of the respective constituent elements and processing processes, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. is there.

  For example, the precharge power source 210 may be a power source that has a constant current generation function and can supply the constant current. At that time, the constant current may be supplied at a constant voltage. As a result, the precharge power source 210 can have a current limiting function, and it is not necessary to provide a current limiting resistor or the like in the internal device, and an increase in the circuit scale of the internal device can be suppressed.

  101 system, 108 power supply device, 201 system, 208 power supply device, 209 operation power supply, 210 precharge power supply, 221a, 221b control unit, 222a, 222b gate.

Claims (6)

A plurality of packaging devices each capable of hot-line insertion and removal independently,
A power supply device that commonly supplies power to the plurality of package devices,
The power supply device can supply operation power and precharge power,
The packaging device includes:
A control unit for controlling the packaging device;
A gate provided between the control unit and the operation power supply,
The control unit closes the gate at the time of hot plugging and starts the package device using the precharge power source without using the operating power source, and the power source voltage of the package device is a predetermined voltage. The power supply control system for hot-swapping is characterized by opening the gate and starting to use the operation power supply when reaching the point.   2. The hot-swap power supply control system according to claim 1, wherein a voltage of the precharge power supply is set lower than a voltage of the operation power supply. The gate is a semiconductor switch;
3. The hot-swap power supply control system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit turns on the semiconductor switch when a power supply voltage of the package device reaches a predetermined voltage. 4. The control unit includes a counter;
The counter starts counting after the power supply voltage of the package device starts to rise,
3. The hot-swap power supply control system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit opens the gate when the count number of the counter reaches a predetermined count number. 4. The package device further includes another gate provided between the control unit and the precharge power source,
2. The hot-swap power supply control system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit closes the precharge power supply gate when the operation power supply gate is opened.   The hot-plug power supply control system according to claim 1, wherein the precharge power supply has a constant current generation function.

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