JP2012123734A - Switcher and method for power management of switcher - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a switcher which can continue operation with the minimum configuration when the power failure occurs and the power capacity becomes insufficient, and can inform status information of the power, and a method for power management of a switcher.SOLUTION: A switcher 10 for controlling a plurality of video processing devices 13to 13for receiving electric power from a plurality of power supply devices 11to 11includes a control device 12 for managing priority of the video processing devices 13to 13. The control device is firstly started when the switcher is started, acquires status information of the power supply devices 11to 11from the power supply devices 11to 11, determines the number of the effective power supply device from the status information, selects the video processing device that can be started based on the priority and the number of the effective power supply device, and starts only the video processing device that can be started.

Description

  The present invention relates to a switcher having a plurality of power supplies and a power management method for the switchers.

  The switcher for commercial broadcasting equipment is composed of a plurality of units and a plurality of power supplies. The power supply is generally configured in an N + 1 redundant configuration, but the number of effective power supplies may be reduced and power supply capacity may be insufficient due to malfunction of some power supplies or disconnection of an AC cable. If all units are activated when the power capacity is insufficient, the power supplied to each unit becomes unstable and each unit cannot operate normally. For this reason, the switcher completely cuts off the output, or the external interface cannot communicate the abnormal state of the power supply.

  As a power supply control method, there is a method in which priority is assigned to a plurality of information processing apparatuses, and AC power is supplied from an uninterruptible power supply in order from an information processing apparatus having a higher priority in the event of a power failure (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .) In addition, in an apparatus including a plurality of processing devices, when a priority is assigned to each processing device, and the voltage of the power source supplied from the storage battery falls below a certain value, the processing device with a lower priority There is a method of stopping power supply (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2002-189538 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-209529

  In the method described in Patent Document 1, power is supplied to an information processing apparatus having a low priority even when the power capacity of the uninterruptible power supply is insufficient. Moreover, in the method described in Patent Document 2, since only a decrease in the power supply voltage of the storage battery is detected, it is impossible to notify the user of a power supply abnormality such as whether or not a storage battery abnormality has occurred.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a switcher capable of continuing the operation with a minimum configuration when the power supply is malfunctioned and the power capacity is insufficient, and capable of notifying the power supply status information, and the power management of the switcher It aims to provide a method.

  The switcher according to the present invention is a switcher that controls a plurality of video processing devices that are supplied with power from a plurality of power supply devices, and includes a control device that manages the priority order of the video processing devices. A video processing apparatus that is activated first, acquires status information of the power supply from the power supply, determines the number of valid power supplies from the status information, and can be activated based on the priority order and the number of valid power supplies And a control device that activates only the image processing device that can be activated.

  A power management method for a switcher according to the present invention is a power management method for a switcher that controls a plurality of video processing devices that receive power supply from a plurality of power supply devices, manages the priority order of the video processing devices, and activates the switcher. A video processing apparatus that is activated first, acquires status information of the power supply from the power supply, determines the number of valid power supplies from the status information, and can be activated based on the priority order and the number of valid power supplies And only the startable video processing apparatus is started.

  A power management method for a switcher according to the present invention is a power management method for a switcher that controls a plurality of video processing devices that are supplied with power from a plurality of power supply devices, manages the priority of the video processing devices, and activates the switcher When the power supply voltage supplied from the power supply device falls below a preset threshold, the lowest priority is set for the video processing device that is not used for the final output of the switcher and is used for the final output of the switcher. A priority based on the priority order is set in the video processing apparatus, and the circuit is stopped in order from the video processing apparatus having the lowest priority.

  According to the present invention, when the power supply is malfunctioning and the power supply capacity is insufficient, it is possible to operate with a minimum configuration. Further, since it can operate with a minimum configuration, it is possible to notify power supply alarm information and prevent the switcher from completely shutting off the output.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of 1st Embodiment of the switcher to which this invention is applied. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a switcher 100. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the flow of a signal when making the output of MK143 into the last output. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part of the switcher by this invention.

Embodiment 1. FIG.
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a first embodiment of a switcher to which the present invention is applied. The switcher 100 includes power supply units 111 to 113, a control unit 120, and a unit 200. In FIG. 1, three power supply units 111 to 113 are illustrated, but any number of power supply units may be provided. There may be a plurality of units 200.

  The power supply units 111 to 113 are power supplies that convert an AC current into a DC current and supply the DC current to the unit 200. The power supply units 111 to 113 are configured in an N + 1 redundant configuration. The N + 1 redundant configuration is a configuration in which, for example, one of the plurality of power supply units is used as a standby system and the rest is used as an operating system. The power supply units 111 to 113 may be configured other than the N + 1 redundant configuration.

  The power supply units 111 to 113 are connected to the control unit 120 via a communication interface 161.

  The power supply units 111 to 113 notify the control unit 120 of the status information of the power supply unit via the communication interface 161. The status information of the power supply unit includes alarm information of each of the power supply units 111 to 113, power ON / OFF information, and the like.

  The control unit 120 includes a control circuit 121 and an effective power supply number check circuit 122 DC-DC converter 123. The control unit 120 can be connected to a terminal (hereinafter referred to as an operation terminal) installed outside the switcher 100 via an external interface 153 such as Ethernet (registered trademark). The control unit 120 is connected to the unit 200 through a control interface 162.

  The valid power supply number check circuit 122 communicates with the power supply units 111 to 113 via the communication interface 161 to check whether or not the power supply units 111 to 113 are connected to the switcher 100, and the status from the connected power supply unit is confirmed. Get information. The valid power supply number check circuit 122 determines the number of valid power supplies from the connection state of the power supply units and the acquired status information. In addition, the valid power supply number check circuit 122 outputs status information of the power supply unit to the control circuit 121.

  The control circuit 121 outputs the status information input from the valid power supply unit number check circuit 122 to the operation terminal via the external interface 163. Further, the priority order of the unit 200 input from the operation terminal is held. The priority order is information for determining which unit to stop the operation when there are a plurality of units 200 and the power supply unit malfunctions and the power supply capacity is insufficient.

  The control circuit 121 communicates with the unit 200 via the control interface 162 and controls the unit 200.

  Unit 200 includes a power supply control circuit 210 and a main circuit 220. The unit 200 is a unit controlled by the control unit 120, and is a unit such as MTX (Matrix Switcher), MK (Mixer and Keyer), or DVE (Digital Video Effect).

  The power supply control circuit 210 includes a control / DC power supply monitoring circuit 211 and a DC-DC converter 212.

  The control / DC power supply monitoring circuit 211 communicates with the control unit 120 via the control interface 162. Further, the control / DC power supply monitoring circuit 211 controls the DC-DC converters 222 a to 222 c of the main circuit 220.

  The DC-DC converter 212 is a circuit that converts a DC voltage supplied from a DC power source into an appropriate voltage value and supplies the voltage value to the control / DC power source monitoring circuit 211.

  The main circuit 220 includes sub circuits 221a to 221c and DC-DC converters 222a to 222c.

  The sub-circuits 221a to 221c are circuits constituting the main circuit 220, and provide functions according to the type of the unit 200. 2 illustrates three sub circuits 221a to 221c, the number of sub circuits is not limited to three.

  The DC-DC converters 222a to 222c are circuits that convert a DC voltage supplied from a DC power source into an appropriate voltage value and supply the converted voltage value to the sub circuits 221a to 221c. The DC-DC converters 222a to 222c switch on / off the power supply to the sub-circuit based on an instruction from the control / DC power supply monitoring circuit 211.

  The control / DC power supply monitoring circuit 211 holds the priority input from the control unit 120. The control / DC power supply monitoring circuit 211 monitors the power supply voltage of the DC power input from the power supply units 111 to 113. If the power supply voltage of the DC power supply falls below a preset threshold value, the power supply unit is abnormal. Judge that there was. If the priority is low when it is determined that the power supply unit is abnormal, the ON / OFF of the DC-DC circuits 222a to 222c is controlled according to the operation state of the unit.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the switcher 100.

  The switcher 100 includes power supply units 111 to 113 and a control unit 120. Further, the power supply units 111 to 113 are configured in a 2 + 1 redundant configuration. The control unit 120 is connected to the operation terminal 300.

  The switcher 100 includes units of MTX 130, MK 141 to 143, and DVE 151 to 152. In FIG. 2, three MKs 141 to 143 are illustrated, but any number of MKs may be present. In FIG. 2, two DVEs 151 to 152 are illustrated, but there may be any number of DVEs. Each unit has the configuration of the unit 200.

  The MTX 130 is a unit that performs input / output signal switching processing. The MTX 130 receives an SDI signal and outputs a video signal and an audio signal included in the SDI signal to each of the MKs 141 to 143 and the DVEs 151 to 152. Further, the output signals of MK 141 to 143 and DVE 151 to 152 are input as input signals. Further, the MTX 130 can freely switch to which of the MK 141 to 143 and the DVE 151 to 152 the input signal is output. Input / output signal switching can be set in the MTX 130 via the control unit 120 from the operation terminal.

  MKs 141 to 143 are units for synthesizing video or audio or character super.

  The DVEs 151 to 152 are units that perform enlargement / reduction of images, parallel movement, rotational movement, deformation, and the like.

  Next, an operation at the time of starting the switcher 100 when the output of the MK 143 is the final output will be described.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the signal flow when the output of the MK 143 is the final output.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the output of the MK 143 is set as the final output, the control unit 120, the MTX 130, and the MK 143 are necessarily required to output the final output. In this case, since MTX 130 and MK 143 are units that need to be always activated, MTX and MK that do not have the configuration shown by unit 200 may be used. Here, a case where MTX 143 and MK 143 do not have the configuration indicated by unit 200 will be described.

  When the switcher 100 is turned on and the power supply units 111 to 113 are activated to stabilize the DC power supply, the control unit 120, MTX 130, and MK143 are activated. In addition, the power control circuits 210 of the MKs 141 to 142 and the DVEs 151 to 152 are activated.

  Next, the effective power supply number check circuit 122 of the control unit 120 checks whether each of the power supply units 111 to 113 is connected to the switcher 100. The valid power supply number check circuit 122 acquires status information from the connected power supply units, and determines the number of valid power supply units (hereinafter referred to as valid power supply number). The valid power supply number check circuit 122 outputs status information and valid power supply number information to the control circuit 121. The control circuit 121 outputs the input status information to the external interface 163.

  The control circuit 121 determines a unit that can be activated based on the number of effective power supplies and the priority of each unit of the MKs 141 to 142 and the DVEs 151 to 152, and the main circuit 220 for the power control circuit 210 of the units that can be activated. The DC-DC circuits 222a to 222c are instructed to be turned on.

  Next, an operation after starting the switcher 100 when the output of the MK 143 is set as the final output will be described.

  The control circuit 121 of the control unit 120 determines whether or not the output of each unit is used as the final output, that is, whether or not the outputs of the MK 141 to 142 and the DVE 151 to 152 are selected as the input of the MK 143 (hereinafter referred to as “MK 143”). , The output setting information) is acquired from the MTX 130 via the control interface 162.

  The control circuit 121 determines a unit whose output is not used for the final output based on the output setting information, and controls the control / DC power supply monitoring circuit 211 of the unit that determines that the output is not used for the final output. Set a low priority.

  The control / DC power supply monitoring circuit 211 of the unit whose output is not used for the final output is when the power supply voltage of the DC power supply is below a preset threshold value and the priority set by the control unit 120 is low. In order to reduce the power load of the power supply unit, the DC-DC circuits 222a to 222c of the sub-circuits 221a to 221c are turned off to stop the operation of the unit. At this time, the control / DC power supply monitoring circuit 211 notifies the operation terminal 300 via the control unit 120 that the operation of the unit has been stopped due to a power supply abnormality. Further, the control unit 120 prevents the operation for the stopped unit from being accepted from the operation terminal 300 thereafter.

  In the case where the voltage of the DC power source does not recover even when the operation of the unit whose output is not used for the final output is stopped, the control circuit 121 determines that the unit whose output is used for the final output based on the priority order of the units. Among them, a lower priority is set for the control / DC power supply monitoring circuit 211 of the unit having the lowest priority.

  The control / DC power supply monitoring circuit 211 of the unit whose output is used as the final output is when the power supply voltage of the DC power supply is below a preset threshold value and the priority set by the control unit 120 is low. In order to reduce the power load of the power supply unit, the DC-DC circuits 222a to 222c of the sub-circuits 221a to 221c are turned off to stop the operation of the unit. At this time, it is desirable that the unit whose output is used for the final output is continuously operated in main processing (video composition processing, output processing, etc.). For this reason, the control / DC power supply monitoring circuit 211 stops the operation by turning off the DC-DC circuit of the sub circuit having a low priority.

  For example, when the sub circuit 221a is a circuit that performs main processing of the unit and the sub circuits 221b and 221c are circuits that perform processing other than main processing such as status notification and preview processing, the sub circuit 221b, The priority of 221c is low. Therefore, the control / DC power supply monitoring circuit 211 stops the sub-circuits 221b and 221c first, and continues the operation of the sub-circuit 221a. If the voltage of the DC power source does not recover even when the operations of the sub circuits 221b and 221c are stopped, the operation of the sub circuit 221a is stopped. At this time, the operation of the sub circuit 221a may be continued without being stopped.

  The control / DC power supply monitoring circuit 211 notifies the operation terminal 300 via the control unit 120 that the operation of the sub circuit of the main circuit 220 has been stopped due to power failure. Further, the control unit 120 prevents the operation of the stopped unit from being operated on the sub-circuit from the operation terminal 300 thereafter.

  If the DC power supply voltage does not recover even when the operation of the unit with the lowest priority among the units whose output is used as the final output is stopped, the same processing is performed for the unit with the next lowest priority. repeat.

  As described above, when some or all of the power supply units out of order when the switcher 100 is started or during startup, the power supply capacity is insufficient, the output is not completely cut off. The operation can be continued with a minimum configuration. Further, since the control unit 120 is always activated, it is possible to notify the operation terminal 300 of the status information of the power supply unit.

  Further, since the priority order can be arbitrarily set from the operation terminal 300, when the switcher 100 is powered on, the minimum necessary units can be activated, and the devices other than the DVEs 151 to 152 can be activated.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the main part of the switcher according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of video processing devices 13 _{1 to} 13 _n (embodiments are provided with power supplies from a plurality of power supply devices 11 _{1 to} 11 _n (implemented in the embodiment with power supply units 111 to 113)). Then, the switcher 10 (which is realized by the switcher 100 in the embodiment) that controls the priority of the video processing devices 13 _{1 to} 13 _n is realized. in embodiments, comprise a.) which is realized by the control unit 120, the controller at the start of the switcher, obtain status information of the power supply device ₁₁ 1 to 11 _n from the first start power supply ₁₁ 1 to 11 _n The number of valid power supply units is determined from the status information, and a video processing device that can be activated is selected based on the priority order and the number of valid power supply units. Characterized by comprising a control device for starting only image processing apparatus capable.

  In the above embodiment, the following switcher is also disclosed.

(1) After the switcher 10 is activated, the control device 12 has an image that is not used for the final output of the switcher 10 when the power supply voltage supplied from the power supply devices 11 _{1 to} 11 _n falls below a preset threshold value. A switcher that sets the lowest priority to the processing device, sets the priority based on the priority of the video processing device used for the final output of the switcher, and stops the circuit in order from the video processing device with the lowest priority.

(2) video processing device ₁₃ 1 to 13 _n (in the embodiment, is realized by the sub-circuit 221A～221c.) A plurality of circuits including a power supply voltage supplied from the power supply device ₁₁ 1 to 11 _n in advance When the priority set from the control device 12 is low when it falls below a set threshold value, the switcher sets the priority to the circuit according to the operation state and stops the power supply of the circuit with the low priority.

(3) control unit 12 acquires the status information of the power supply device ₁₁ 1 to 11 _n from the power supply ₁₁ 1 to 11 _n, (in the embodiment, is realized by the external interface 163.) External Interface Operation via The status information of the power supply apparatuses 11 _{1 to} 11 _n is transmitted to the terminal (implemented in the operation terminal 300 in the embodiment).

10, 100 switchers 11 _{1 to} 11 _n power supply devices 12 control devices 13 _{1 to} 13 _n video processing devices 111, 112, 113 power supply units 120 control units 121 control circuits 122 effective power supply number check circuits 123, 212, 222a, 222b, 222c DC-DC converter 130 MTX
141, 142, 143 MK
151, 152 DVE
161 communication interface 162 control interface 163 external interface 200 unit 210 power supply control circuit 211 control / DC power supply monitoring circuit 220 main circuit 221a, 221b, 221c sub circuit 300 operation terminal

Claims (6)

A switcher for controlling a plurality of video processing devices receiving power supply from a plurality of power supply devices,
A control device for managing the priority of the video processing device;
When the switcher is activated, the control device is activated first, acquires the status information of the power supply device from the power supply device, determines the number of valid power supply devices from the status information, and determines the priority and the effective A switcher comprising: a control device that selects a startable video processing device based on the number of power supply devices and starts only the startable video processing device. When the power supply voltage supplied from the power supply device falls below a preset threshold after the switcher is activated, the control device sets the lowest priority to the video processing device that is not used for the final output of the switcher. 2. The switcher according to claim 1, wherein a priority is set for the video processing device used for the final output of the switcher based on the priority order, and the circuit is stopped in order from the video processing device with the lowest priority. The video processing device includes a plurality of circuits, and when the power supply voltage supplied from the power supply device falls below a preset threshold value and the priority set by the control device is low, the video processing device The switcher according to claim 1, wherein priority is set for the circuit, and power supply to the circuit with low priority is stopped. The switcher according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the control device acquires the status information of the power supply device from the power supply device, the control device transmits the status information of the power supply device to the operation terminal via an external interface. . A power management method for a switcher for controlling a plurality of video processing devices receiving power supply from a plurality of power devices,
The priority order of the video processing devices is managed, and when the switcher is started, the power supply device is first activated to obtain the status information of the power supply device, and the number of valid power supply devices is determined from the status information. A switcher power management method comprising: selecting a video processing device that can be activated based on the number of effective power supply devices and starting only the video processing device that can be activated. A power management method for a switcher for controlling a plurality of video processing devices receiving power supply from a plurality of power devices,
Manages the priority of video processing devices, and is the lowest for video processing devices that are not used for the final output of the switcher when the power supply voltage supplied from the power supply device falls below a preset threshold after the switcher is started A priority is set, a priority based on the priority is set for a video processing device used for the final output of the switcher, and the circuit is stopped in order from the video processing device with the lowest priority. Power management method.

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