KR101452007B1 - Power supply control device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a power supply control apparatus that can be attached to a plurality of electrical apparatus (s) such as a computer or an audiovisual (AV) apparatus. The power supply control device determines and monitors the standby power consumption level of the device (s) to remove power from the device (s) when the control device detects that the connected electrical device (s) is not in use .

Computer, power, power supply, peripherals, plug, control

Description

POWER SUPPLY CONTROL DEVICE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to control of electrical power supply to a plug-in electrical apparatus, and more particularly to a method of controlling power supply to a group of electrical apparatuses To the control of the power supply to the power supply.

Generally, the installation of a desktop computer is associated with a number of peripherals and other associated electrical devices, each of which is electrically isolated and powered. Peripherals may include printers, scanners, modems, or related devices such as desk lamps or room heaters.

Electrical devices associated with these peripherals are generally not used when the computer is not in use. However, since they are powered separately from each other, the user must also turn off the power of each of the peripherals and related devices when the computer is turned off. This is not only a time consuming process, but the placement of the power switch for so many electrical devices, which is actually followed thereby, can be quite inconvenient.

A widely used computer operating system may also be a constant "home ", such as in a position to receive a terminate command and substantially turn off the power or shut off the power supply to the computer, Sometimes it takes a considerable amount of time to perform a task. During this required time, the computer system does not tolerate power removal from the peripheral device.

Therefore, many users simply leave the additional devices powered on after the computer is turned off.

This is not ideal for many reasons. The first reason is that the devices continue to consume power, which is not only costly but also a waste of resources. This is particularly problematic because many modern devices use a small plug-in transformer to provide the small operating voltage they require. These plug-in transformers continue to consume power while they are connected to the main power supply, even if the power supply of the device they are powered on to is turned off. Newer power supplies use solid state switching devices, but still consume about 0.5W.

In addition, all electrical devices have a limited lifetime in operation, which can be extended to a longer period of time if the device is turned off when not in use.

It is also desirable that the main power source be removed from the devices when it is not required to reduce the possibility of exposure to surge damage in the mains power supply.

In the prior art, an attempt was made to solve this problem by providing a relay that cuts off power to peripheral devices when no current flows to the main unit, which is the desktop computer itself.

Most current desktop computers, however, have the ability to enter one or more low-power consumption states treated as so-called queues and to some extent control power usage. Users may ignore most of the advantages of the device according to the prior art and allow the device to send an extended period in this standby state.

The 'master divice' used in the present invention means at least one electric device, which may be a single electric device or a plurality of electric devices each requiring a power supply. The term 'master device' is used to mean a combination of devices such as a computer, a sound device, a video device, and the like attached to a power supply device.

In addition, the term "true RMS power " used in the present invention indicates a power average amount in a predetermined time period irrespective of a waveform.

There is provided a power supply control apparatus for allowing supply of power to a plurality of electric apparatuses from a single main power supply electric outlet, comprising: a plurality of controlled electric outlets; A single electrical input adapted to be connected to the main supply electrical output; A power supply sensor provided to detect power use of the master electric device and generate a power use signal; A computer processor for processing the power usage signal to determine at least two power states of the master electrical device and detecting power source variations in the power source supplied to the main electrical device via a power usage signal; And switching means provided for connecting the electrical supply from the supply electrical outlet to the respective controlled electrical outlet controlled by the computer processor and being controlled by the determined power state and connected to the electrical supply, .

The 'power sensor' measures the true RMS power source, which is included in the form of an analog electrical circuit that multiplies the instantaneous voltage and current signals to derive a true RMS power signal, or digitizes the voltage and current signals to provide a true RMS power source The True RMS power is measured by the use of a microcontroller that multiplies the values of the samples to compute the values and adds and averages them.

At least two functional states of the master device include a standby state (STANDBY) and a fully on state (FULLY ON).

The master device is a third functional state and includes an OFF state (OFF).

The computer processor receives digital information from a master device indicating actual or intended functional status.

The computer processor is adapted to monitor the status of any port of the master device to determine the status of the master device.

The port is a serial port.

The port is a parallel port.

The port is a USB port.

One or more of a plurality of possible means can be used to search for the state of the master device. These may include direct receipt of digital information from the master device indicating the actual or intended functional state.

It may also include a connection to one or more of the output ports of the master device, including serial or parallel communication ports, USB ports, and any other port.

Modern desktop computers are typically a series of activities that take place immediately when the computer is first turned on and have a complex and relatively time-consuming 'power up sequence'. This sequence involves locating peripheral devices connected to the computer and establishing communications with these peripheral devices. One of the advantages of the standby mode is that it is not necessary for the computer to perform a power-on sequence when changing from a standby mode to a fully powered mode.

However, some types of peripherals may not be able to be turned off while the computer is in standby mode, or that the computer will lose the ability to communicate with such devices until a full power on sequence is performed I have a problem.

The controlled electrical outlet is thus controlled such that the at least one controlled electrical outlet continuously provides the electrical power supply while the status sensor indicates that the master electrical device is in an atmospheric condition.

The at least one controlled electrical outlet continuously provides power supply while the master electrical device is in an off state.

The at least one controlled electrical outlet continuously provides power supply while the master electrical device is in a standby state.

The at least one controlled electrical outlet is controlled to provide an electrical supply when the master electrical apparatus is in an on state without providing an electrical supply when the master electrical apparatus is in a standby state.

Second switching means controlled by the computer processor to remove main power from the power supply control apparatus and to supply power to the power supply control apparatus in order to restore power to the power supply control apparatus when required by the user or external apparatus There may be sufficient power storage means to enable the power supply.

For example, a modem or external disk drive may be connected in such a way that power is not withdrawn when the computer is in standby mode, but the printer or desk lamp may be connected to receive power when the computer is in the full-on mode.

Depending on the individual computer and its special hardware configuration, the current or power applied by the computer when in standby mode can be changed.

The present invention will be described with reference to the following drawings.

1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram illustrating major functional blocks according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a circuit diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention,

Figure 4 is a circuit diagram according to a further embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a block diagram illustrating the apparatus of the present invention included within the case of a personal computer in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a power usage state diagram of a computer to which the apparatus according to the present invention can be applied.

7 is a detail view according to an embodiment of the present invention in an off mode in which the main power source is drawn to zero.

8 is a flow diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention relating to use with an audiovisual device.

9 is a flow diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention relating to use with a computer device.

1 is a perspective view of a power supply control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, there is a box 100 including a driving circuit of the above apparatus. There is a power cord 101 connected to the general purpose electrical outlet. A power outlet 102 is provided for permanent electrical connection to the main power supply for the device. In this case, the personal computer 111 is connected to the power outlet. The main device may be another electrical device that determines the power demand for the other associated device in its state.

There is a power outlet 104 that can be connected to an electrical load that requests power only when the main computer is in full power mode. A power board or power strip 107 is connected to the outlet to allow power to multiple devices in this manner. As an example of this case, the printer 112 and the desk lamp 113 are shown.

There is additionally provided an electrical outlet 103 which is connected to a load which does not request power when the computer is in the FULLY ON or standby mode and when the main computer is turned off. A power board or power strip 108 is additionally connected to the outlet to allow multiple devices to be powered in this manner. Modem 109 is an example of this type of device.

Here, a connection port 105 for connection to the device and a serial communication cable is additionally provided. A switch 106, called a "wake up / modify" switch, is provided for activation of the device when the power is turned off by itself.

As shown in Figure 2, the main functional blocks of the device are shown in block diagram form. The main power inlet 201 supplies power to the low voltage power supply 202. This power supply supplies power to the electrical components of the device. The main power is also supplied to the PC power module 203, which provides a non-swithched output 204 to power the main electrical device, which is typically a desktop computer. A surge suppressor 202 protects the circuit from the main power surge.

The main power supply also provides controlled outputs (205, 206) via switch means (207, 208). The power supply to the non-switched outlet 204 is monitored by the state sensor 209. The status sensor provides a signal proportional to the current and voltage applied by the desktop computer to the inputs 210 and 211 of the microcontroller 212.

Therefore, the microcontroller can recognize the power use level of the computer and can determine the operation state.

A power supply of zero (0) or very low off (OFF) indicates that the computer is off or does not operate. This state also means that the device is completely turned off or functionally turned off, but still means that a small amount of power is applied or "hibernate"

The standby state is a state in which the computer uses significantly more power than the off state but uses significantly less power than the full operation mode. This is because the computer enters the standby mode, so some functions (such as hard disk) are not possible and use low power, but you can respond quickly to the user's input. In addition, although the user does not use the computer for the expansion time, since the standby delay time is set or simply the standby state is not possible, the computer may not be in the standby mode or may not enter the standby mode have.

In another embodiment, a standby state by a user's inactivity can be distinguished from a standby state by the computer entering the standby mode. This will be referred to as the User Inaction Stanby State.

Other operating states with distinct power usage levels can also be identified.

The ON state indicates a state in which the computer is performing an operation.

The microcontroller identifies these three or more states by continually monitoring the power usage of the computer. Referring to FIG. 6, the amount of power usage measured by the apparatus is shown with respect to time as 601. FIG.

During time period 610, the computer is in use. The microcontroller monitors the power usage to dynamically determine the reference power usage indicated at 602 in FIG. 6 to have frequent deviations with larger values. This reference value having the deviation corresponds to the ON state and is recognized by the power supply controller.

The value dynamically determining the reference power supply can be used with other types of devices without having to know in advance the correct power supply corresponding to the ON state. This also means that changes in components of the system, such as mounting a hard drive with better power efficiency, do not result in the power saver misdiagnosing that the computer has entered standby mode.

During time period 611, the computer is still on, but not in use. This is probably not because you entered standby mode, but because you do not enable this feature. This can be seen as the reference power usage is unchanged, but deviations from the reference are rare. If there are significantly fewer deviations over a sufficiently long period of time, the microcontroller will recognize this condition as corresponding to the wait state. In a further embodiment, this will be recognized separately from the User Inaction Standby state.

During cycle 612, the computer enters standby mode. Power consumption is significantly reduced. This is immediately recognized by the microcontroller as indicating a standby state.

During cycle 613, the computer is turned off or enters sleep mode. The power consumption is very low or drops to zero level once again remarkably. The power saving device recognizes this as an OFF state.

The microcontroller 212 processes the signal and generates the output signal 213 to turn on the first controlled switch 207 only when the ON state is in operation. The output signal 214 is generated by the microcontroller to turn on the second controlled switch 208 when the standby state or the user non-use standby state is in operation.

Thus, the first controlled switch 207 is ON only when the computer is in a fully ON state, and the second controlled switch 208 is ON only when the computer is ON or in a standby state.

Also provided is a communication module 215 that allows direct data communication between the desktop computer and the power controller device. This may be accomplished by updating the firmware of the microcontroller to change or setting any variables contained within the microcontroller or by directly performing the functions of the voltage and current detectors 209 and 210 and by directly controlling the switches 207 and 208 Can be used.

In a further embodiment of the invention, which is shown in block diagram form in Figure 5, the functional elements of the power saving device are contained within the case of the computer 501. [

In this case, the main power inlet 502 is connected to the power saving circuit 503. The controlled power outlets 504 and 505 are located outside the case. The PC power supply 506 is powered via the switch 507 controlled by the microcontroller or directly from the power saving device.

The power saving device and the PC power supply may be physically located in the same removable auxiliary housing within the computer case to accommodate all the high voltage components together.

In this case, the computer main circuit or motherboard may have a data output 508 that allows direct communication with the power-saving device circuitry.

The wake up / modify switch 509 may be located external or remote to the computer case. The switch may be an infrared sensor adapted to sense a signal from an infrared remote control device.

3 shows a circuit diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention. The main power supply plug 1 supplies power to the power supply, and is switched by the power supply to supply power to the periphery of the computer installation and related devices.

The low voltage power supply is shown as block 7. This low voltage power supply comprises a fuse (2), a transformer (3) with a main voltage main coil and two 9V secondary coils. The DC rectification is provided by the bridge rectifier 4 and the linear voltage regulator 6. It has a fixed 5V DC power supply, Vcc 90, a + 12V supply 91, and a -12V supply 92.

The surge suppression circuit 30 is connected in parallel to the power supply. This provides surge suppression using three metal oxide varistors 29 connected in a delta configuration to limit the maximum voltage between any two lines to the breakdown rating of the varistor.

The power supply to the desktop computer, which is supplied via the apparatus of the present invention but is not switched by the apparatus, is provided by the power outlet 9. The intermediate connection to this plug includes a current sense resistor 8. There is a current signal for setting the conditions of the differential input amplifier 10. [ This transfers a reference for the current signal from mid to ground. If this is not done, the intermediate connector will need to be connected to the common terminal of the power supply. Through some serial port connection, this can be connected to the middle of the computer's internal power supply or to the earth conductor, which can lead to unnecessary tripping of the residual current device protecting the circuit.

The value of the resistor 8 can be chosen very low to reduce the power dissipated in the resistor. Therefore, the current signal amplifier 11 is required to provide a reference signal of sufficient size. The gain of this amplifier can be varied by controlling the analog switch 12 under the control of the microcontroller 24 to place more than one resistor 13 in or out of the circuit.

The current signal is additionally conditioned by the signal condition circuit 31. [ While the amplifier and the two diodes provide current limiting and voltage clamping so that the amplified current signal is within a fixed range for the reference voltage VAref with a voltage of 60, the capillary removes any DC offset from the output of the amplifier . The signal range is VAref + 0.3V at -0.3V. At this time, the current detection signal is applied to the analog-to-digital converter input 51 of the microcontroller 24.

The input activity and neutral are connected to the resistor divider 14 for detection of the voltage applied to the desk computer. The differential amplifier 15 moves the reference value for the voltage signal from the middle to the ground, in the same way as was done by the differential input amplifier 10 for the current signal.

At this time, the voltage signal is applied to the current limiting resistor and the regulating circuit including the clamping diode which limits the signal from -0.3V to VAref + 0.3V. The signal is applied to an input 52 of a microcontroller 24 formed as a second channel of the analog-to-digital converter.

The zero crossing detector 17 provides a signal to the microcontroller 24 when the voltage value is zero. This allows the microcontroller 24 to assure that the measurements of the voltage and current signals are synchronized. The voltage reference is provided by an active precision voltage reference (23). This reference voltage is applied by the microcontroller to fix the upper limit of the analog-to-digital converter.

The serial communication circuit 22 allows the connection of an RS-232 serial port. A solute state relay 27 controls the power supply to the switched power outlets 25 and 26. The signal for switching the solid state relays 27 is provided from the microcontroller 24 via the transistor buffer 28. [ The switch 33 is provided for connecting the interrupt input 53 of the microcontroller 24 to ground when the switch is activated. The software of the microcontroller monitors the current / power consumed by the desktop computer and controls the power outlets 25, 26.

As described with reference to FIG. 2, the microcontroller detects and sets a power supply level corresponding to a full operation mode, a standby mode, and a full off mode of the desktop computer.

A start value for the power threshold corresponding to each of the identifiable operating states of the computer is stored in the E-PROM. This value is used by the microcontroller at startup, but the new value is continuously calculated based on the detected power usage of the computer.

When the microcontroller program determines that the standby state is in progress, power is applied to output 26 and power is applied to both outputs 25 and 26 when the ON state is recognized.

The power consumption of the desktop computer is calculated by obtaining the voltage and current signals applied to the inputs 51 and 52 of the microcontroller, multiplying the corresponding samples, and applying appropriate calculations to calculate the power source. This power measurement provides an accurate indication of the power consumption of the desktop computer, rather than a simple current measurement, because it considers arbitrary phase shifts between current and voltage as well as waveforms.

Figure 4 shows a further embodiment of the invention. This circuit operates in the same manner as in Fig. 3, the variations of which are described below.

In some circumstances, when the computer is turned off, the user may require power to be removed from the computer as well as the peripheral device. This is because a computer with a modern computer power supply switching to software will continue to use a small amount of power even when directed to turn off the computer. Also, some users find it simple and more convenient for the computer to be isolated from the mains power supply.

In an embodiment of the invention, the unswitched power outlet 9 is replaced by a power outlet 511, which supplies power to the power outlet 511 via the contactless relay 512 And is controlled by the microprocessor 24. This operates so that power is removed from the outlet 511 as well as the outlets 25 and 26 when the microprocessor detects that the computer is stopped.

When this occurs, the computer ON / OFF switch has no effect since there is no power to the power outlet 511 to which the computer is connected. To turn on the PC, an interrupt switch 33 is pressed to allow power to be supplied to the power outlet 511 for a short period (10 seconds in this case). If the PC is turned on during this time, the current starts to be applied through the outlet 511, the power source control device is also operated, and the power is supplied smoothly to the outlets 511, 25 and 26.

The PC on / off 'soft' power switch may be removed by an interrupt switch 33, or may be replaced or added with an interrupt switch 33. This is due to the fact that the PC BIOS can be set up on the PC for 'power up' as soon as the main power is applied, without having to press the power on / off switch.

The user may not want all of these powers to be terminated. Thus, firmware is provided to allow for two modes of operation. In one mode, the switch 512 operates as described above. In the second mode, the switch 512 is always on if the device operates in the same manner as the circuit of Fig. The firmware for the microprocessor 24 allows the interrupt switch 33 to communicate with any applied mode. An interrupt expansion socket 517 is provided to allow the interrupt switch to be remotely located from the main power control device.

If the main device is not a computer, for example an audiovisual device, or a video cassette recorder or a microwave oven, a real time clock that can be mounted thereon, a time indicator, or an infrared remote sensor, a very small amount of power is constantly needed.

A very small amount of power can generally be applied from the main devices. This requires the power supply to be continuously powered. The minimum power usage of the power supplies that supply these loads is about 0.5W. This is probably 50 times the actual power required to maintain the ability of the power supply to be unable to withdraw from them.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4, a small amount of the standby power requirement can be supplied from an energy storage device such as a rechargeable battery or storage capillary. The storage device also provides power for the trigger to cause the power saver device to restore power to the main device. This allows the power saving device to operate in the mode described above when power is removed from the main device when the off mode is detected, and when the main power source is withdrawn from the power saver itself. The withdrawal of power from the device is performed by the main power controller 700. This may be a simple manual switch or a control circuit under the control of the microcontroller 24 as shown in FIG. It may also be a relay under the control of the main power supply or independent control circuitry.

The details of additional circuitry for the main power controller 700 are shown in FIG. The battery active function block 710 detects if the main power source is available. If available, allows the battery voltage to be applied to point 709, otherwise the battery is not connected. This ensures that the battery power is not consumed several times when main power is not available, thereby avoiding the possibility of the main unit being called up and used.

The main power source provides sufficient current for operating the transistor 703 via the capillary 702 and this time activates the p-type MOSFET 704 when the transistor 703 is activated. The power from the battery 705 is now available at point 709.

When the control line 781 is lowered, the transistor 708 is driven. This causes the battery voltage to be at Vcc (90) and causes the power-saving circuit to be activated.

The function block 711 now supplies temporary power for the power-saving device circuitry. Relay 718 is activated. The battery is supplied directly to the relay 718 via the transistor 708. [ An RC network with a resistor 713, a resistor 717 and a capillary 714 drives a transistor 712 that connects earth to a relay 718. The relay 718 is activated to connect the incoming main active to the active terminal 701 of the power supply transformer 3 shown in Fig.

Vcc 90 is supplied with power from the main power source as described above. A small amount of charge of the battery 705 is provided via a resistor 707 and a diode 706. [

The presence of Vcc keeps transistor 712 on and keeps relay 718 on and allows power to be continuously supplied to the power-saving device.

The control line 780 is connected to the microcontroller 24 via a protection diode 716. When the microcontroller program determines that the main power source should be withdrawn from the power saving device, the control line 780 is lowered. The transistor 712 is turned on and thereby the relay 718 is also turned on. The power supply is withdrawn from the power saving device, and the inactive power usage is reduced to zero.

For activation of the power saving device, the control line 781 must be low. This is done by external activities such as general user initialization.

There is a manual switch shown as 752 in the simplest way. The momentary activation of this switch will initialize the described sequence and supply power to the power-saving circuit.

This switch can be an independent switch on the power saving device or can be integrated with the on / off switch of the controlled device.

In addition, a momentary low signal on control line 781 may be provided in the case of remote control receiver 753. This remote control device can receive power from the battery 705 whenever the main power source is available. The remote control receiver 753 detects the user's initial use of the infrared or wireless remote control and provides a momentarily low signal on the control line 781.

This is particularly useful when the main controlled device is an acoustic imaging device such as a television. These devices are normally turned on by remote control. The remote control detector need not decode the message from the remote control transmitter. This is sufficient to indicate that the user requests that the remote control transmitter be able to supply power to the main device. This addresses one of the major problems of remotely controlled devices with standby power requirements such as televisions. Users generally do not prefer to manually turn on and turn off the devices manually after use. In this case, the device is turned off without using standby power, but the device is turned on instantly by remote control without requiring any additional action from the user. The general operation of the power saving device removes power when the main device is not in use and performs a turn-off step that the user does not want to perform the same.

When the main device has its own power supply and internal battery, such as a laptop computer, the circuitry of functional block 754 can be used. The positive supply of the laptop computer is connected to the terminal 755, and the common supply is connected to the terminal 757. The control line connected to the terminal 756 and activated when the laptop computer is turned on is controlled by the laptop computer. When the control line is activated, the transistor 760 is turned on to lower the control line 781 and activate the power saving device.

As shown in the circuit of Fig. 4, the current sense resistor 8 may be replaced by a current transformer 510. Fig. This has the advantage that the current sense signal is electrically isolated from the mains voltage. This eliminates the need for a current signal conditioning amplifier.

The differential amplifier 15 may also be removed by providing a mains voltage sensor 516 connected to the power supply transformer 3. This main voltage sensor supplies the main voltage signal to the conditioning circuit 16, as described in the embodiment of Fig.

The output of microprocessor 24 is used to drive LED 502 to indicate the operating state of the device. A buzzer 504 is also provided under the control of the microprocessor 24 so that a status message is transmitted to the operator.

The switch 503 is provided with a signal from a microprocessor entering the program mode to allow reception of an upgrade of the firmware.

A signal from the current transformer 510 is applied to the current signal amplifier 513. The gain of this amplifier is controlled by the microprocessor 24 by the use of the control line 514 such that the selected resistor 515 is connected to the ground path of the amplifier.

The power supply control device continuously monitors the main voltage on the network and provides the result to the microcontroller. The microcontroller is configured such that if the main power source is out of a predetermined range for a current time period, then the switch 26, 27 is in a state in which the power supply is in a full state until the voltage is again stable within a pre- To be removed from the controlled outlet. This protects against over-voltage and under-voltage of the main supply voltage. The power supply controller samples the main voltage and calculates the true RMS voltage at this time. This means that the value will be accurately measured regardless of the distortion of the supply waveform. This method will work correctly for non-sinusoidal voltages as produced by some solid state inverters.

The present invention can be used in conjunction with devices that observe and measure only two states, such as on and off or air. Such typical electrical devices include electro-acoustic devices and audio-visual display devices. This means that the present invention performs the function of observing and measuring at least two functional states for a group of devices or devices as needed.

For example, an audio-visual (AV) set may consist of a plurality of separate configurations, such as a TV screen, an amplifier and a DVD player, each of which may be required to ensure that the device operates properly. The present invention can be used to determine the various states and power requirements of the devices through monitoring the true RMS power supply so that different configurations can be flexibly applied to varying power supply requirements when attached to the power supply control device Can respond.

In this way, the power supply control device can adapt to the changing demands of the attached electric device. For example, if a user first attaches a television power cord to a power supply control device, then at least two functional states of the television will automatically be determined. The determination of the status of a single television unit is as described in connection with a computer device, but the user can additionally install an electrical device such as an amplifier that can be later connected to the television.

Assume standby mode when the amplifier is first turned on. When main power is applied, the power consumption is measured in a 'fast' ratio, and standby power for a collection of devices or devices is extracted from the data. The algorithm used in the power supply controller analyzes absolute power measurements and power fluctuations to determine which device is driven and exited from standby mode. In the absence of fluctuations in power usage, the lowest power measurements are stored as total standby power for television and amplifiers. This variable is then incremented by a certain amount to signify that any power reading below that value is in the standby mode for both the television and the amplifier.

This new value is referred to as the 'Modified Standby Power Level'. This allows any 'noise' or inaccuracy in the measurement. If the power measurement for the device or set of devices falls below the modified standby level for a period of time, e.g., 30 seconds, the power supply control device will remove the main power from the AV system.

While confirming that there is no power fluctuation, the standby power level is checked again when the power supply control device re-supplies power to all the devices within the off standby state.

A reduction in the power to a power source that is constant and below the calculated standby mode value means that the number of collective devices is reduced while the power source is continuously increased even though there is no variation in power consumption, Which means that the number of electrical devices in the set connected to the control device increases.

In this case, the power source is not immediately removed from the television system, but the power source is removed from the AV system in the absence of any remote control activity for a period of 3 hours. At this time, the power source is reapplied to calculate the standby power level for this new configuration. Figure 8 is a flow diagram of the method compared to the method shown in Figure 9 for a computer electrical device.

8, a first step 600, in accordance with the method of the present invention, is to apply an off-standby power level, which is the level of power used by the device or devices attached thereto, or the cumulative level of power, This is when the device found it. The power supply control unit then waits (step 610) to receive a signal from the remote unit, such as an infrared (IR) or radio frequency signal, from the remote unit, and once the received power is supplied to all the attached units.

At this time, the power usage of the apparatus is continuously monitored through real-time monitoring, and if the power fluctuation is detected in step 620, the system determines in step 625 that the apparatus is activated and operates and the power of the apparatus is maintained. If there is no observed power fluctuation, the power supply control unit determines whether the power supply level corresponds to a predetermined off-standby level in step 630.

If the power measurement value corresponds to a predetermined off standby level, the power to the device is turned off and the system returns to step 610 to monitor the IR or radio frequency. If it is determined that the devices are not at the off-standby level, such as when a constant power level is observed without power fluctuation, the system finds any remote IR or radio frequency signal that is indicative of use at step 640. If such a signal has been observed, the device remains powered on at step 625, and if no signal is observed by the system for a predetermined period of time, e.g., 4 hours, at step 650, If not, the system determines that the observed power usage is at the new standby power level, and all devices are turned off. At this point, the system re-powers the devices and monitors the power usage of the devices. If a steady state is observed without power fluctuations, the system will determine that it is at the new standby power level. The system then removes power from the devices and continues with step 610 of monitoring IR and radio frequency signals.

In this way, it is possible to add an additional electrical device to the power supply control device or remove the electrical device from the power supply control device, where the system can continuously monitor the cumulative power requirements of the devices, Off Standby Power Level (Off Standby Power Level) can be set as required. This allows the system to be dynamic and self-learning, eliminating the need for users to constantly change settings and monitor power usage.

Therefore, the power supply control apparatus can be applied to the change of the power use for the following reason.

1. In standby mode, there is very little or no change in the power level of the device.

2. The power consumption of the device in operation has a significant power level variation.

3. The power supply controller is able to sample and measure true RMS power in a very short time, thus monitoring power fluctuations indicating that the device is operating and not in standby mode.

True RMS power monitoring allows the power supply controller to determine the operating status of the electrical device or devices to which it is attached. The RMS power source is an average measurement of power over a determined time period. The minimum spacing of power measurements useful for determining power consumption in a main electrical power measurement is half a cycle (0.5) cycles of the main power source frequency, e.g., 50 Hz to 10 ms. Thus, the instantaneous measurement of the RMS power source in this application can be an average over 10 ms to 5 s, typically less than 0.5 s.

While the invention has been shown and described herein in what is regarded as the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the details shown, It will be appreciated that departures may be made within the scope of the present invention as allowed for all aspects of the claims.

Claims (20)

A single electrical input adapted to be connected to the main power supply electrical outlet; At least one controlled electrical outlet; At least one monitored electrical outlet adapted to be connected to at least one electrical device, At least one power source sensor for detecting a power source drawn through the monitored electric outlet to detect power use of the electric device and measuring a voltage and a current of the electric device; A computer processor for processing the output of the power sensor to determine at least two power states of the electrical device; And And switch means controlled by the computer processor to connect the controlled electrical outlet to the electrical input according to a determined power state and to connect the electrical input to the controlled electrical outlet. Power supply control unit. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the functional state of the electrical device is selected from functional states of an OFF state, a STANDBY state, a USER INACTION STANDBY state, and a FULLY ON state. Supply control device. The method according to claim 1, The switch means is provided to remove the main power from the power supply control device, Further comprising power source storage means sufficient to enable powering the circuitry to restore power to the power supply control device when required by a user or an external device. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, At least one electrical outlet is connected to the master electrical device, Wherein the power supply sensor senses power usage of the master electric device. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, Wherein the at least one controlled electrical outlet is a monitored electrical outlet. 5. The method of claim 4, Wherein the computer processor receives digital information from the master electrical device to indicate the actual or intended functional state of the master electrical device. 5. The method of claim 4, Wherein the computer processor monitors the status of any port of the master device to determine the status of the master device. 5. The method of claim 4, Wherein at least one controlled electrical outlet continuously provides power supply while the master electrical device is in the off state. 5. The method of claim 4, Wherein at least one controlled electrical outlet continuously provides power supply while the master electrical device is in a standby state. 5. The method of claim 4, Wherein the at least one controlled electrical outlet is controlled to provide an electrical supply when the master electrical apparatus is in an on state without providing an electrical supply when the master electrical apparatus is in a standby state. . 5. The method of claim 4, Wherein an output of the power supply sensor is a power supply amount for a predetermined time. 12. The method of claim 11, Wherein the predetermined time has a time interval between 5 ms (milliseconds) and 5 s (seconds). 12. The method of claim 11, Wherein the predetermined time has a time interval between 10 ms (milliseconds) and 1 s (second). A power supply control method for at least one electric apparatus using the power supply control apparatus according to claim 1, a. Connecting at least one electrical device to a power supply control device; b. Monitoring power usage when power is applied to at least one attached electrical device, detecting power source variations, and maintaining power supply to at least one attached electrical device when a power source change is detected; c. And removing the power source from the at least one attached electrical device if power source variation is not detected. 15. The method of claim 14, a. Monitoring an activity of a remote control device operatively associated with the electrical device; b. And terminating the power supply to the electric device if the activity is not detected during a time period longer than a predetermined time period. delete delete delete delete delete

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