Electrical transmission or interconnection systems – Plural supply circuits or sources – Substitute or emergency source
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-15
2001-07-03
Fleming, Fritz (Department: 2836)
Electrical transmission or interconnection systems
Plural supply circuits or sources
Substitute or emergency source
C307S064000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06255744
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a back-up power device and its application. More particularly, the present invention relates to a built-in back-up power device and its application.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Computers have become so inexpensive that their use is widespread. Many computers are used, for example, in controlling production lines, calculation, and entertainment. A good back-up power source is thus becoming more important to prevent data loss in a power outage, interruption or glitch. The typical back-up power source is an uninterrupted power supply (UPS), which is designed to provide the computer with a stable power source to continue normal operations for a relatively long period of time after a power outage has occurred. For example, a work station is typically equipped with an UPS to allow uninterrupted operation. To provide such a stable power source over a relatively long period of time, a UPS is complex and expensive beyond the reach of the average user.
FIG. 1
is a block diagram showing a personal computer
11
equipped with conventional UPS
12
. Internal power supply
13
of personal computer
11
includes electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter and power factor controller (PFC)
131
, AC/DC converter
132
, DC/DC converter
133
, and feedback circuit
134
. EMI filter and PFC
131
eliminate noise in the AC input power. The filtered AC input power is converted to high-voltage DC power by AC/DC converter
132
. Then, the high-voltage DC power is converted to low-voltage DC power by DC/DC converter
133
to provide an operating voltage to personal computer
11
, which includes, for example, a mainboard, a floppy disk drive, a hard disk drive (HDD), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) reader. Feedback circuit
134
adjusts the filtered AC input power in response to the high-voltage DC power output. Thus, since there is no power-storing unit in internal power supply
13
, the low-voltage DC power output is interrupted immediately after the AC input power is interrupted. When such a power interruption occurs, personal computer
11
is improperly shut down. In computers running high-level operating system such as Windows 95/98, Windows NT, or UNIX, a power interruption can leave the operating system in an inconsistent state, leading to loss of data and time and labor expenses in restoring the operating system to a consistent state.
UPS
12
avoids data loss from a power interruption by providing stable AC input power. As shown in
FIG. 1
, UPS
12
includes EMI filter and PFC
121
, AC/DC converter
122
, DC/AC converter
123
, charger
124
, and battery
125
. When the AC input power from the utility power source is operating, the filtered AC input power provides a converted AC power through the AC/DC converter
122
and DC/AC converter
123
. The converted AC power is supplied to internal power supply
13
and is used to charge battery
125
through charger
124
. When a power interruption occurs, battery
125
discharges to maintain a DC output to DC/AC converter
123
which, in turn, maintains the converted AC power. Hence, UPS
12
provides internal power supply
13
with stable AC input power during a power interruption for as long as battery
125
can continue to supply the DC output to DC/AC converter
123
.
UPS
12
suffers, however, from some disadvantages. First, UPS
12
is complex and expensive. For home or simple office use, the cost of an expensive UPS outweighs its benefits of preventing data loss. Since only 3 to 5 minutes of uninterrupted power is required to shut down a computer properly during a power interruption, a simpler and less expensive back-up power unit which provides a personal computer power only for such a short period is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a built-in backup power device which can provide a high-power apparatus with back-up power for a short period to respond to a power interruption.
The present invention also provides a personal computer with built-in back-up power device to prevent data loss and inconsistent operating system state during a power interruption.
In accordance with the present invention, the back-up power device includes a power-storing unit (e.g., a battery) connected to a charger. Under normal operation, the charger charges the battery. During power interruption, the battery discharges to provide a personal computer with back-up power, for 2 to 10 minutes.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the back-up power device preferably includes an output circuit, such as a pumping circuit or a DC/DC converter, for converting the back-up power to a power suitable for operating various units of the personal computer. The back-up power device includes a controller operatively coupled to the charger and the output circuit. Under normal operating conditions, the controller controls the charger's charging of the battery. During a power interruption, the controller controls the output circuit to output suitable power for operating the personal computer.
In accordance with the another aspect of the present invention, the back-up power device preferably includes a power detector and an indicator. The power detector detects whether or not utility power is normal and the indicator indicates whether normal operating conditions prevail. During a power interruption, the indicator indicates power interruption to alert a user, so that a pre-determined shut-down procedure can be followed to thereby avoid data loss and inconsistent operating system state. In one embodiment, the back-up power device includes an auxiliary power source which operates the charger.
In accordance with the present invention, a computer with a back-up power device is provided. Under normal operating conditions, the back-up power device stores back-up power. During a power interruption, the back-up power device provides the computer with the stored back-up power for a short period ranging from 2 to 10 minutes. The computer includes electronic units such as a mainboard, a floppy disk drive, hard disk drive, and a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) reader. The computer further includes an internal power supply for converting utility power or the back-up power to low-voltage DC power to operate memory units. The internal power supply further includes an AC/DC converter for converting the utility power to a high-voltage DC power, and a DC/DC converter for converting the high-voltage DC power to low-voltage DC power (e.g., at the operating voltage of the computer).
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, in one embodiment, the battery and the charger are electrically connected to an input terminal of the DC/DC converter and to an output terminal of the AC/DC converter respectively. In another embodiment, the battery and the charger are electrically connected to the electronic units and to an output terminal of the DC/DC converter respectively. The built-in back-up power device can be removably mounted, and is coupled to the personal computer by using connectors.
The present invention is better understood upon consideration of the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4860185 (1989-08-01), Brewer et al.
patent: 5289045 (1994-02-01), Lavin et al.
patent: 5631814 (1997-05-01), Zak
patent: 5748972 (1998-05-01), Clark et al.
patent: 5777398 (1998-07-01), Valkeakari et al.
patent: WO 98/34314 (1998-01-01), None
Hsieh Chia-Hung
Hsu Yen-Chung
Lioux Bernard
Shih Fu Yuan
Delta Electronics , Inc.
Fleming Fritz
Kwok Edward C.
Skjerven Morrill & MacPherson LLP
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