JP2017107340A - Power source controller, and information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power source controller used in an apparatus, which has a plurality of boosting/step-down power sources, capable of preventing the plurality of boosting/step-down power sources from simultaneously switching the operation mode of the boosting/step-down operation.SOLUTION: Disclosed information processor includes a plurality of boosting/step-down power sources. The power source controller is configured so that each of the boosting/step-down power sources has a voltage value different from each other to prevent increase of influences such as IR drop caused from that the boosting/step-down power sources simultaneously switch the operation mode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a power supply control device and an information processing device.

  Conventionally, in an information processing apparatus, a linear regulator or a switching regulator such as a DCDC converter is used as a power supply circuit that outputs a constant voltage. In recent years, a switching regulator such as a DCDC converter is often used to efficiently generate power from a power source. In particular, when the input voltage fluctuates, a step-up / step-down DCDC converter is used to switch between step-up and step-down operations and output a constant voltage. For example, in Patent Document 1, in a device using a secondary battery as an input, when the secondary battery is fully charged, the step-up / step-down DCDC converter performs a step-down operation, and the voltage decreases as the secondary battery is discharged. Has been proposed to perform a step-up operation to output a constant voltage.

  Also, a HDD mirroring technique such as RAID 1 is known in an HDD (Hard Disc Drive) used in an information processing apparatus. HDD mirroring is used to protect data at the time of HDD failure by simultaneously writing the same data to two HDDs. In an information processing apparatus that employs such an HDD mirroring configuration, when the input voltage is about 5 V, which is the same as the standard voltage of the HDD, the input voltage drops when a load other than the HDD is turned on. At that time, the step-up / step-down DCDC may be provided in each HDD so as not to exceed the range of 5.0 V ± 5% which is the standard voltage of 2.5-inch HDD. In this case, when the other load is turned on, the step-up / step-down DCDC is switched from step-down to step-up.

JP 2008-157837 A

  However, the above prior art has the following problems. When the step-up / step-down power supply changes from the step-up operation to the step-down operation as in the above-described conventional technology, the input voltage of the power supply may be affected by fluctuations in the input voltage such as IR drop and ripple noise. The voltage fluctuation will be described with reference to FIG.

  Reference numeral 501 in FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the fluctuation of the input voltage when one HDD is provided in the apparatus. Time is shown in the horizontal direction, and voltage is shown in the vertical direction. At time = T1, another load is applied to the input voltage, and the input voltage decreases. When the input voltage becomes equal to or lower than the output voltage of the buck-boost power supply at time = T2, the buck-boost power supply switches the operation mode from the step-down operation to the boost operation. When the operation mode of the buck-boost power supply is switched, the current load on the input of the buck-boost power supply increases, so that IR drop increases, and the input voltage drops as indicated by 510.

  At time = T3, when the input voltage returns due to the load response of the power source and becomes equal to or higher than the output voltage of the step-up / step-down power source, the step-up / step-down power source switches the operation mode from step-up operation to step-down operation.

  Further, when two step-up / step-down power supplies are used in parallel, there is a problem that drops and ripple noise overlap, and the influence of voltage fluctuations is doubled on the input. Reference numeral 502 in FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing fluctuations in input voltage when two HDDs are provided in the apparatus. The time = T1, T3 is the same as 501 in FIG. When the input voltage becomes equal to or lower than the output voltage of the step-up / step-down power supply at time = T2, the two step-up / step-down power supplies simultaneously switch the operation mode from the step-down operation to the step-up operation. When the operation mode of the buck-boost power supply is switched, the IR drop for the buck-boost power supply is generated by the overlap of the two buck-boost power supplies with respect to the input voltage. Will also grow.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a mechanism for preventing a plurality of step-up / step-down power supplies from simultaneously switching the operation mode of the step-up / step-down operation in an apparatus having a plurality of step-up / step-down power supplies. For the purpose.

  The present invention is a power supply control device that controls an input voltage from a power supply unit and supplies power to a plurality of storage units, and the input voltage applied from the power supply unit to a first storage unit is set to a first A first step-up / step-down power supply means for controlling the voltage to one voltage, and an input voltage applied to the second storage means from the power supply unit is a second voltage that is set and is different from the first voltage. And a second step-up / step-down power supply means for controlling.

  According to the present invention, in a device having a plurality of step-up / step-down power supplies, it is possible to prevent the plurality of step-up / step-down power supplies from simultaneously switching the operation mode of the step-up / step-down operation.

System Configuration. The system control block diagram. The system power supply schematic diagram. The timing chart which concerns on this embodiment. The timing chart which shows the voltage fluctuation which generate | occur | produces when changing to the pressure | voltage fall operation from the pressure | voltage rise operation in the buck-boost power supply used as a comparative example.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the present invention according to the claims, and all combinations of features described in the present embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution means of the present invention. .

<Configuration of information processing apparatus>
First, an example of a system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This system includes an image printing unit, a finishing unit 102, and a reading device 103, a print server 105, and client PCs 106 and 107 that constitute an image forming system. Each device is connected to be communicable with each other via a LAN (Local Area Network: hereinafter abbreviated as “LAN”) 104 which is a network.

  An image printing unit 101 serving as an image forming apparatus processes various input data and prints an image on a recording sheet (sheet). The finishing unit 102 is a finishing unit (post-processing device) that sorts, staples, folds, and the like according to a desired output form. The reading device 103 reads a document and acquires a document image.

  The print server 105 receives a print request from the client PC 106 connected via the LAN 104 and transmits a print job to the image printing unit 101. The image printing unit 101 is connected to a print server 105, a client PC 106, and the like via a LAN 104.

  In the client PC 106, the user creates a print job for printing an image and executes a printing process. As a result, the print job is provided to the image printing unit 101 via the print server 105 and the LAN 104.

<Control block>
Next, control blocks for controlling the image printing unit 101 and the finishing unit 102 will be described with reference to FIG.

  Reference numeral 201 denotes an image forming controller included in the image printing unit 101. The image forming controller 201 includes a network control unit 203, an operation unit 205, a CPU unit 206, a memory unit 207, a print image processing unit 208, a mechanism process control unit 209, a power supply control unit 210, and HDDs 312 and 313.

  The network control unit 203 controls LAN communication with the LAN 104. That is, image data (for example, PDL data) received and input from the LAN 104 is received, and various image data and device information in the system are transmitted via the LAN 104. The operation unit 205 is a user interface including an operation panel for a user to perform various operations and a display for displaying operation information.

  The CPU unit 206 is a processing unit that comprehensively controls each unit of the image forming controller 201. Further, the CPU unit 206 decodes image data (for example, PDL data) received and input from the LAN 104 and develops it into bitmap data. According to the present embodiment, the memory unit 207 is a storage device that can be accessed by the CPU unit 206 and also includes a program memory that stores programs for performing various controls. The memory unit 207 is also used for storing images during image formation. The memory unit 207 includes, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like.

  The HDDs 312 and 313 are hard disk drives (HDDs) that are magnetic disk drives and store various data such as image data. Also, the reason for the two-unit configuration is that a mirroring configuration in which data is stored in both HDDs can be performed so that data is not lost in the event of an HDD failure. That is, when the image forming controller 201 performs HDD mirroring, the HDD is composed of two HDDs 312, 313. When the image forming controller 201 does not perform HDD mirroring, the HDD is composed of only one HDD 312. The HDDs 312 and 313 are, for example, 2.5-inch HDDs, and the voltage range at that time is +5.0 V ± 5%. According to the present embodiment, the HDD (first storage means) 312 is provided as a normally used HDD, and the HDD (second storage means) 313 is an optional HDD used for backup in order to realize mirroring. It is provided as.

  A print image processing unit 208 performs image processing for printing screen processing or the like on the bitmap data developed by the CPU unit 206, and converts the image data into print data. The mechanism process control unit 209 controls the image printing unit 101 and the finishing unit 102 when printing an image on a sheet such as a sheet so that printing and recording paper are conveyed. In the printing process in the image printing unit 101 and the recording paper discharge process in the finishing unit 102, the printing control on the sheet and the sheet transport mechanism control are all controlled by the mechanism process control unit 209. The power control unit 210 is configured by, for example, a CPU, a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or the like.

  When the CPU 206 is not energized, the power controller 210 controls the power ON / OFF (not shown in FIG. 1). Further, when the CPU unit 206 is energized, the power source control unit 210 controls the power source control unit 210 to control power ON / OFF for each unit.

  Further, the power control unit 210 may control each power source by executing a program in the CPU unit 206. In addition, each power source may be controlled by operating a state machine with hard logic such as PLD (Programmable Logic Device).

<Configuration of power supply block>
Next, the configuration of the power supply block of the image forming system shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 301 is a commercial power source. The image forming system receives power from a commercial power supply 301 and supplies power to each unit such as the image printing unit 101 and the finishing unit 102 inside.

  The first power supply unit 302 is connected to the commercial power supply 301 and is always energized as long as it is connected to the commercial power supply 301 via a power cable. In addition, the first power supply unit 302 performs AC-DC conversion from the power received from the commercial power supply 301 to generate a relatively low DC power supply (for example, + 5.14V ± 3%) such as 5V and is connected. Supply power to each unit.

  The switch 303 is a main power switch that is accessible (operable) by the user. The switch 303 is connected to the power control unit 210, and the power control unit 210 detects whether the user has turned the switch 303 ON or OFF. The switch 304 is a switch for continuing to supply power to the power supply control unit 210 when the switch 303 is turned off by the user. When the switch 303 is turned off by the user, the CPU unit 206 detects that the switch 303 is turned off via the power control unit 210, and the software operating on the CPU unit 206 starts the shutdown process. After the software operating on the CPU unit 206 finishes the shutdown process, the power supply control unit 210 turns off the switch 304. As a result, both the switch 303 and the switch 304 are turned OFF and the power supply from the first power supply unit 302 is cut off.

  The second power supply unit 306 is connected to the commercial power supply 301 via the switch 305. The power supply control unit 210 energizes the second power supply unit 306 by turning on and off the switch 305 in accordance with control of software operating on the CPU unit 206. The second power supply unit 306 performs AC-DC conversion from the power received from the commercial power supply 301 to generate a relatively high DC power (eg, +12.3 V ± 4%) such as 12 V or 24 V, and is connected. Supply power to each unit.

  The power control unit 210 is further connected to the switch 304, the switch 305, the switch 311, and the switch 319 to control ON / OFF of each switch. The power supply from the first power supply unit 302 and the second power supply unit 306 Control the power supply of The power controller 210 is connected to a step-down power supply (DCDC) 315, a step-down power supply (DCDC) 316, a step-up / step-down power supply (DCDC) 317, and a step-up / step-down power supply (DCDC) 318 to turn on / off each power supply (DCDC). Control is performed to control power supply to each control unit. The step-up / down power source 317 is an example of a first step-up / step-down power source unit, and the step-up / down power source 318 is an example of a second step-up / step-down power source unit.

  The first power supply monitoring unit 308 monitors the power supply of the first power supply unit 302, and the second power supply monitoring unit 309 monitors the output voltage of the second power supply unit 306. Further, when the first power supply monitoring unit 308 and the second power supply monitoring unit 309 detect that the monitored output voltage is applied beyond a certain threshold, the first power supply monitoring unit 308 asserts a power good signal to the power supply control unit 210. . Further, when the voltage falls below the threshold from the state where the voltage is applied, the power good signal is deasserted.

  A RAM 307 is a random access memory, and is a memory for temporarily storing data when the CPU unit 206 performs a control operation. A ROM 310 is a read-only memory, and stores a boot program and setting parameters for starting the image forming controller 201.

  The step-down power supply 314, the step-down power supply 315, and the step-down power supply 316 are composed of one or more step-down linear regulators and a switching regulator such as a step-down DCDC converter. The step-down power supply 314 generates a voltage (for example, 3.3V, 1.8V, 1.35V, 1.2V, 0.675V, etc.) for operating a part of the CPU 206 and the RAM 307. The step-down power supply 315 generates a voltage (for example, 3.3V, 1.8V, 1.2V, etc.) for operating the network control unit 203. The step-down power supply 316 generates a voltage (for example, 3.3V, 1.8V, 1.2V, 1.0V, etc.) for operating the CPU 206 and the ROM 310.

  The step-up / down power source 317 and the step-up / down power source 318 are switching regulators such as a step-up / step-down DCDC converter, and are provided in parallel to the first power source unit 302. The step-up / step-down power supply 317 and the step-up / step-down power supply 318 can perform a step-up operation and a step-down operation with respect to the input voltage, and perform the step-up operation and the step-down operation according to the set voltage (first voltage or second voltage), respectively. Switch. The step-up / down power supply 317 generates a voltage for operating the HDD 312 and is set to a voltage that is slightly lower than the voltage output from the first power supply unit 302. For example, when the first power supply unit 302 outputs 5V, the step-up / step-down power supply 317 is set to a voltage of 4.9V (first voltage). The step-up / down power supply 318 generates a voltage for operating the HDD 313 and is set to output a voltage (second voltage) that is slightly higher than the voltage output from the first power supply unit 302. For example, when the first power supply unit 302 outputs 5V, the voltage of the buck-boost power supply 318 is set to 5.1V.

  Further, since the buck-boost power source 317 is set to a lower output voltage than the buck-boost power source 318, the buck-boost power source 317 is arranged and wired with priority over the buck-boost power source 318 so that the influence of IR drop is reduced. Specifically, the power supply output wiring of the step-up / down power supply 317 is wired to be thick and short. Further, the power supply output wiring of the step-up / down power supply 318 is wired so as to be at least the same, narrower or shorter than the power supply output wiring of the step-up / down power supply 317.

  Here, the flow from the power-off state of the image forming system to the power-on state will be described. When the user turns on the switch 303, power is supplied from the first power supply unit 302 to the power supply control unit 210, a part of the CPU unit 206, and a part of the memory unit 207 via the switch 303. Thereafter, when the first power supply monitoring unit 308 detects that the power supply is stable, a power good signal is output from the first power supply monitoring unit 308 to the power supply control unit 210.

  In response to the power good signal from the first power supply monitoring unit 308, the power supply control unit 210 turns on the switch 304, the step-down power supply 315, the step-down power supply 316, and the switch 319. As a result, power is supplied from the first power supply unit 302 to the network control unit 203, the CPU unit 206, the ROM 310, the HDD 312, the HDD 313, and a part of the operation unit 205.

  Next, the power control unit 210 turns on the switch 305. Accordingly, power is supplied from the second power supply unit 306 to the operation unit 205 and the print image processing unit 208. Thereafter, when the second power supply monitoring unit 309 detects that the power supply is stable, a power good signal is output from the second power supply monitoring unit 309 to the power supply control unit 210.

  The power control unit 210 receives the power good signal from the second power monitoring unit 309 and turns on the switch 311. As a result, power is supplied from the second power supply unit 306 to the mechanism process control unit 209 via the switch 311. Through the above operation, power is supplied to the image forming system and the power is turned on.

  The image forming system shifts to various power saving modes when a print job or the like is not performed for a certain period of time. The CPU unit 206 controls the power source control unit 210 to turn off the switch 305, the switch 319, the step-down power source 315, the step-down power source 316, the step-up / step-down power source 317, and the step-up / step-down power source 318, and shift to various power saving modes.

  The mechanism process control unit 209 is connected to the second power supply unit 306 via the switch 311. The power control unit 210 is controlled by the CPU unit 206 and can control the switch 311 independently. When printing is not being performed, the CPU unit 206 turns off the mechanism process control unit 209, so that the power supply control unit 210 turns off the switch 311 to reduce extra power consumption. In this way, each switch can be controlled independently to reduce extra power consumption.

<Timing chart>
Next, how the operations of the step-up / step-down power supply 317 and the step-up / step-down power supply 318 transition when the output voltage fluctuates due to some factor of the first power supply unit will be described with reference to FIG. Time is shown in the horizontal direction, and voltage is shown in the vertical direction.

  First, when the operation of the image forming controller 201 is started at time = T1, and the operating current of the CPU unit 206 increases, the output current of the step-down power supply 316 also increases. Then, the output current of the first power supply unit 302 that is the input of the step-down power supply 316 also increases, and the voltage output operation of the first power supply unit 302 cannot follow and the output voltage of the first power supply unit 302 is affected by the IR drop. Also begins to descend temporarily. At time = T1, the step-up / step-down power supply 317 performs a step-down operation, and the step-up / step-down power supply 318 performs a step-up operation.

  When the output voltage of the first power supply unit falls below the output set value of the step-up / step-down power supply 317 at time = T2, the step-up / step-down power supply 317 switches the operation from the step-down operation to the step-up operation. Between time = T2 and time = T3, the first power supply unit detects a decrease in the output voltage, performs an operation to return to 5V which is the output voltage of the first power supply unit, and the voltage starts to increase.

  When the output voltage of the first power supply unit exceeds the output set value of the step-up / step-down power supply 317 at time = T3, the step-up / step-down power supply 317 switches the operation from the step-up operation to the step-down operation. Between time = T3 and time = T4, when the operation of the image forming controller 201 ends and the operating current of the CPU unit 206 decreases, the output current of the step-down power supply 316 also decreases. Then, the output current of the first power supply unit 302 that is the input of the step-down power supply 316 also decreases, and the voltage output operation of the first power supply unit 302 cannot follow and the output voltage of the first power supply unit 302 is affected by the swing back. Also begins to rise temporarily.

  When the output voltage of the first power supply unit exceeds the output set value of the step-up / step-down power supply 318 at time = T4, the step-up / step-down power supply 318 switches the operation from the step-up operation to the step-down operation. Between time = T4 and time = T5, the first power supply unit detects an increase in the output voltage, operates to return to 5V, which is the output voltage of the first power supply unit, and starts to decrease. When the output voltage of the first power supply unit falls below the output set value of the step-up / step-down power supply 318 at time = T5, the step-up / step-down power supply 318 switches the operation from the step-down operation to the step-up operation.

  As described above, the present invention is configured in a power supply control device including a plurality of step-up / step-down power supplies so that voltage values set in the respective step-up / step-down power supplies are made different. As a result, the switching between the step-up operation and the step-down operation of the two step-up / step-down power supplies does not overlap at the same time, and it is possible to prevent the ripple noise and the IR drop generated at the time of switching between the step-up operation and the step-down operation from overlapping.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program This process can be realized. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

  210: Power supply control unit, 300: Power supply control device, 301: Commercial power supply, 302: First power supply unit, 312: HDD, 313: HDD, 317: Buck-boost power supply, 318: Buck-boost power supply

Claims (9)

A power supply control device that controls input voltage from a power supply unit and supplies power to a plurality of storage means,
First step-up / step-down power supply means for controlling the input voltage applied from the power supply unit to the first storage means to a set first voltage;
A second step-up / step-down power supply unit configured to control an input voltage applied to the second storage unit from the power supply unit to the second voltage that is a set second voltage and different from the first voltage; A power supply control device.   The first voltage and the second voltage are switched at different timings between the step-down operation and the step-up operation by the first step-up / step-down power supply unit and the step-down operation and step-up operation by the second step-up / step-down power supply unit. The power supply control device according to claim 1, wherein the power supply control device is set so as to be generated. The first voltage is set to a value lower than an input voltage from the power supply unit,
The power supply control device according to claim 1, wherein the second voltage is set to a value higher than an input voltage from the power supply unit.   4. The power supply control device according to claim 3, wherein the first step-up / step-down power supply unit is disposed closer to the power supply unit than the second step-up / step-down power supply unit. 5.   The first step-up / step-down power supply means is connected to the power supply section using a power supply output wiring that is thicker than a power supply output wiring used for the second step-up / step-down power supply means. Power supply control device.   6. The power supply control device according to claim 1, wherein the first step-up / step-down power supply unit and the second step-up / step-down power supply unit are provided in parallel to the power supply unit. An information processing apparatus,
A power supply,
First storage means and second storage means;
First step-up / step-down power supply means for controlling the input voltage applied from the power supply unit to the first storage means to a set first voltage;
A second step-up / step-down power supply unit configured to control an input voltage applied to the second storage unit from the power supply unit to a second voltage that is a set second voltage and different from the first voltage; An information processing apparatus characterized by that. The first storage means is a normally used storage means,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the second storage unit is an optional storage unit used for backup of the first storage unit.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the information processing apparatus is an image processing apparatus.

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