KR100193833B1 - Power control device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

1. TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Power control device and method

2. The technical problem to be solved by the invention

A plurality of power supply units are provided and power supply is controlled according to modes to minimize power consumption.

3. Summary of the Solution of the Invention

A power supply unit for generating a first operating power supply and a photovoltaic cell for generating a second operating power supply, the first operating power supply of the power supply unit to the operating power of each part of the system in the operation mode, the first operation in the standby mode The power supply is cut off, and the second operation power is supplied to the system control unit.

4. Important uses of the invention

A plurality of power sources are provided and power supply is controlled according to an operation mode or a standby mode to minimize power consumption.

Description

Power control device and method

1 is a conventional power control device.

2 is a power control configuration diagram of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a power control circuit of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a timing diagram for explaining the operation of FIG.

The present invention relates to a power supply control apparatus and method, and more particularly, to a power supply control apparatus and method for minimizing power consumption.

Typically, in a system such as an inkjet printer, the power supply control method is controlled by the first and second switching operations.

The conventional power supply control device is composed of a power switch 102, a power supply unit 104, a digital switch 106 and a control unit 108 as shown in FIG.

The operation of the conventional power supply control apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The conventional power supply control device supplies power to the control unit 108 through the first and second switching operations by the power switch 102 and the digital switch 106. The primary switching operation is performed by the power switch 102. The power switch 102 is connected between the AC power source and the power supply unit 104 and is switched by external control to control the AC power supply to the power supply unit 104. Therefore, the power switch 102 supplies AC power to the power supply unit 104 when it is on, and cuts off AC power to the power supply unit 104 when it is off. The power supply unit 104 connects the power switch 102 and the digital switch 106 to convert the AC power into DC power and outputs the DC power. The direct current power source is a direct current power source for driving the control unit 108. The secondary switching operation starts when the power switch 102 is turned on and AC power is supplied to the power supply unit 104. The secondary switching operation is performed by the digital switch 106. The digital switch 106 is connected between the power supply unit 104 and the control unit 108 and controls the driving DC power supply to the control unit 108 by a power control signal. When the on control signal is applied to the digital switch 106, the driving DC power is supplied to the controller 108. The control unit 108 supplied with the driving DC power executes a program stored in the ROM to control the driving of the system. When the off switch signal is applied to the digital switch 106, the control unit 108 cuts off the driving DC power supply to the control unit 108 after performing a necessary action by a program stored in the ROM. For example, in the case of an inkjet printer After the home capping operation of the ink cartridge is finished by a program stored in the control unit, the drive DC power is cut off to the control unit. The home capping operation is performed to prevent the nozzles from being clogged in the case of an inkjet printer.

However, in the conventional power supply control method as described above, AC power is continuously supplied to the power supply unit even after the operation of the system is performed, and power is wasted. Therefore, the conventional power control method requires the use of a separate battery to preserve the contents of the real time clock (hereinafter referred to as RTC) and static RAM (hereinafter referred to as SRAM) when power is not supplied. However, even if the battery is used, there is a problem in that the contents of the RTC and the SRAM cannot be preserved when the battery is completely discharged.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a power supply control apparatus and method for reducing power consumption by controlling a switching operation of a power supply.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a power control apparatus and method capable of preserving the contents of the RTC and SRAM even without a separate battery when no power is supplied using a photocell.

The present invention for achieving the above object is a power supply for generating a first operating power required in the operation mode of the system by receiving a predetermined power supply to the overall system, and a system required in the standby mode of the system receiving the power A photocell for generating operating power and supplying only to a part of the system, a switching unit for switching driving of the power supply unit by a predetermined control signal, and a built-in RTC and SRAM to control the control signal according to the operation mode and the standby mode. Characterized in that it comprises a control unit for generating and controlling the switching unit. The operation mode mentioned in the present invention is a mode in which power should be supplied to the entire system, and the standby mode is a mode in which power is supplied only to the controller of the system.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a block diagram of an inkjet printer power control apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and includes a rectifier 202, a power supply unit 204, a switching unit 206, a control unit 208, and a photovoltaic cell 210.

Referring to FIG. 2, the rectifier 202 rectifies the input AC power, converts the input AC power into DC power Vin, and outputs the same. At this time, the DC power Vin output from the rectifier 202 is supplied to the power supply unit 204 and the photovoltaic cell 210. In addition, the rectifier 202 may use a bridge rectifier circuit. The power supply unit 204 operates according to the switching of the switching unit 206, and converts the supplied DC power supply Vin into operation power supply Vcc necessary for the operation of the entire printer, thereby controlling the control unit 208 and the driving unit (in the drawing). Not specifically shown). The switching unit 206 switches the power output of the power supply unit 204 by the first control signal and the second control signal. In the normal operation mode, power is supplied to the entire printer such as the control unit 208 and the driving unit, and the printer operates normally. The operating power Vcc is a first operating power provided to the entire printer in the normal operation mode. The control unit 208 has a built-in RTC and SRAM, controls the overall operation of the printer, and applies a second control signal for controlling the operation of the switching unit 206 to the switching unit 206. In addition, the controller 208 receives the operating power Vcc in the normal operation mode, receives the photovoltaic voltage Vp from the photocell 210 in the standby mode, and performs a control operation according to each mode. The photovoltaic cell 210 converts the supplied DC power Vin into a photovoltaic voltage Vp and outputs it. The photovoltaic voltage Vp is supplied to the logic circuit of the switching unit 206 and the RTC and SRAM of the control unit 208. The photovoltaic voltage Vp is a second operating power supplied only to the RTC and the SRAM of the controller 208 in the standby mode. The standby mode is a state in which no power is supplied to the power supply unit 204.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a specific embodiment of the switching unit 204 and the battery 210 in FIG. The photovoltaic cell 210 is composed of a light emitting element and a photoelectric element. The light emitting device receives the rectified DC power supply Vin and outputs the light energy. The photovoltaic device converts light energy output by the light emitting device into electrical energy to output a photovoltaic voltage Vp. The photovoltaic voltage Vp is used as a voltage for driving the logic circuit of the switching unit 206 and is supplied to the controller 208 as a power source. The switching unit 206 includes a D flip-flop 302, a negative logic (NAND) gate 304, and a photocoupler 306. The D flip-flop 302 receives a first control signal as a clock. D flip-flop 302 has an inverted output ( ) Is returned to the input D of the D flip-flop 302, and the photovoltaic voltage Vp is input to the preset and clear terminals. The second control signal and the output Q of the D flip-flop 302 are input to the negative logic gate 304. The second control signal is a signal indicating a state in which power is supplied to the controller 208. Output Y of negative logic gate 304 is delivered to photocoupler 306. The photobuffer 306 is composed of a light emitting diode and a phototransistor. The photocoupler 306 converts an electrical signal into an optical signal by a light emitting diode when the output Y of the negative logic gate 304 is high, and the phototransistor restores the optical signal to an electrical signal. The photocoupler 306 electrically insulates the switching unit 206 from the power supply unit 204. The electrical signal of the photocoupler 306 is supplied to the power supply unit 204 as a power enable signal.

4 is a timing diagram for describing the operation of FIG. 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention. When the rectified DC voltage Vin is input to the photocell 210 to generate the photovoltaic voltage Vp, the power control circuit of FIG. 3 is driven. The photovoltaic voltage Vp is a voltage generated by the operation of the photovoltaic cell 210. Two outputs of D flip-flop 302 (Q, Are reversed from each other. The first control signal is a control signal indicating an operation mode or a standby mode by an on / off control signal from a computer or an on / off operation of the switch SW1. The first control signal is an active low pulse and is input to the clock of the D flip-flop 302. The output Y of the negative logic gate 304 is a result obtained by passing the output Q signal and the second control signal of the D flip-flop 302 through the negative logic gate 304. The power enable signal is a signal for controlling the power supply to the power supply unit 204. The power enable signal is determined by the operation of the photocoupler 306 according to the state of the output Y of the negative logic gate 304. The second control signal is determined according to whether the controller 208 is supplied with power. When power is supplied to the controller 208, the second control signal is in a low state, and when power is not supplied to the controller 208, the second control signal is in a high state.

The operation of the signals will be described by dividing them into T1, T2, T3 and T4 time points. The time point T1 is a power supply time point at which a DC power source Vin such as 412 starts to be supplied to the power supply unit 204 and the photovoltaic cell 201. Therefore, the photovoltaic cell 210 is supplied with a DC power source Vin such as 412 to generate a photovoltaic voltage Vp such as 414. Accordingly, the D flip-flop 302 receives the photovoltaic voltage Vp from the photocell 210 to the preset terminal and the cree terminal. The D flip-flop 302 receives a first control signal such as 420 as a clock and outputs output signals such as 416 and 418. The output Y of the negative logic gate 304 is equal to 422 and the power enable signal is equal to 424.

Looking at the time T2, the first control signal is input to the clock of the D flip-flop 302 as an active low pulse, as shown at 420. As a result, when the clock of the D flip-flop 302 is positive edge triggered, the inverted output of the D flip-flop 302 ( ) Is fed back to the input D of the D flip-flop 302 so that the output of the D flip-flop 302 is reversed, such as 416 and 418. The second control signal is generated with a first time delay td1 as shown at 426. The first time delay td1 is a time delay in a process in which power supplied to the power supply unit 204 is converted into an operating voltage Vcc and transmitted to the control unit 208. The output Y of the negative logic gate 304 is inverted by the logic of the negative logic equal to 422, and the output Y of the negative logic gate 304 is transferred by the photocoupler 306. The power enable signal is also inverted, such as 424. The power supply unit 204 supplies the operating power Vcc to the controller 208 by the power enable signal. When the operation power source Vcc is supplied to the controller 208 after the first time delay td1, the second control signal is equal to 426.

Looking at the time point T3, an active low pulse is generated again to the first control signal as shown at 420 and applied to the clock of the D flip-flop 302. The output of the D flip-flop 302, which is input back to the clock of the D flip-flop 302, is inverted as shown by (416) and (418). The second control signal has a second time delay td2 as shown in 426, and the output Y of the negative logic gate 304 during the second time delay td2 is equal to 422. The power enable signal is equal to 424. Power is still supplied to the power supply unit 204 by the power enable signal. After the second time delay td2, the second control signal is inverted as shown at 426 so that the output Y of the negative logic gate 304 is inverted as shown at 422. The power enable signal is inverted, such as 424, so that the power supply unit 204 shuts off the power to the control unit 208. The second time delay td2 is, for example, a time taken to cut off the power supply of the controller after the home capping operation of the ink cartridge is completed by a program stored in the controller in the case of an inkjet printer.

Looking at the time T4, the DC power supply Vin is blocked from being supplied to the power supply unit 204 and the photovoltaic cell 210. As a result, since the photo voltage Vp is not generated as shown in 414, the power control device is not driven, and thus the remaining outputs and signals are the same as those of the outputs 416 to 426.

The present invention is not limited to the power control apparatus and method of the inkjet printer according to the embodiment of the present invention, and the power control apparatus and method which can be applied to all products requiring a power supply.

As described above, the present invention has the advantage of minimizing the power consumption by less than 2W of power consumption of 5W to 10W according to the conventional products by controlling the power supplied to the system. In addition, the present invention has the advantage that it is possible to properly preserve the important data by supplying the RTC and SRAM at all times in the standby mode in the system.

Claims (3)

An apparatus for controlling power supplied to a system, the apparatus comprising: a rectifier for receiving and rectifying AC power, and generating a first operating power required in an operation mode of the system by receiving the rectified power from the rectifier and supplying it to the entire system. A power supply unit, a light emitting device that receives the rectified power from the rectifier and outputs the light energy, and receives the light energy output from the light emitting device, converts the light energy into electrical energy, and includes a photoelectric device for the standby mode of the system. A photovoltaic cell generating a second operation power supply and supplying only to a part of the system, a switching unit receiving a driving voltage from the photovoltaic cell and switching driving of the power supply unit according to a predetermined control signal, an RTC and an SRAM, Generating the control signal according to a mode and the standby mode to control the switching unit. A power supply control device characterized in that the control unit. 3. The control apparatus of claim 2, wherein the switching unit comprises: a flip-flop for receiving a first control signal indicating the operation mode or the standby mode as a clock, an output of the flip-flop, and whether the controller is powered on; And a photocoupler configured to control a driving of the power supply unit by switching between a negative logic gate receiving a signal and an output of the negative logic gate. A power supply control method for a system having at least a power supply unit for generating a first operating power source, a photovoltaic cell for generating a second operating power source, and a switching unit for switching the driving of the power supply unit. And supplying the whole of the first operating power in the standby mode, and supplying the second operating power to only part of the system.