Electric power conversion systems – Current conversion – With condition responsive means to control the output...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-31
2001-12-11
Patel, Rajnikant B. (Department: 2838)
Electric power conversion systems
Current conversion
With condition responsive means to control the output...
Reexamination Certificate
active
06330175
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to power supply apparatuses for electronic units, and more particularly, to a power supply apparatus effective for an electronic unit, having a main power-supply section for driving the electronic unit and a standby power-supply section enabled when the electronic unit is not operating.
2. Description of the Related Art
Each of many electronic units available these days is provided with a receiving section for receiving light modulated, for example, by an infrared ray, is provided with a remote-control function for operating the power supply of the electronic unit by receiving the infrared ray emitted from a remote-control transmitter, and is provided with a power supply for holding data, such as the ON/OFF state of the power supply of the electronic unit, a timer of the electronic unit, and last-operation information, as a standby power supply.
Various standby power supplies are available as follows;
1) Those which use a transformer in a main circuit and output a standby power at a secondary side
2) Those which use a compact standby transformer
In standby power supplies
1
) and
2
), since transformers are always energized, much electric power is consumed at standby.
3) Those which accumulate electric power for operating a standby circuit, in a power-supply circuit and achieve charging when the accumulated electric power is running out. Standby power supplies
3
) have less power consumption than power supplies
1
) and
2
), but require electric power for charging.
4) Those which accumulate electric power for operating a standby circuit, in a power-supply circuit in the same way as those described in
3
), do not achieve charging when the accumulated electric power is running out, and become an operation-impossible state. Standby power supplies
4
) do not require electric power at standby, but whether they are on standby cannot be externally determined.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to reduce the consumption of a standby electric power for an electronic unit as much as possible and to allow the user to easily determine whether a standby power supply for the electronic unit is on.
To eliminate the foregoing drawbacks, a first form of the present invention provides a power-supply apparatus for an electronic unit, including a power-supply section to which a commercially-available alternating power source (hereinafter just called AC) is supplied through contacts of an electromagnetic relay and a power-supply switch provided with a button section which reports a status change by moving in a predetermined direction and which opens and closes contacts and a driving section for returning the button section moved in the predetermined direction; an electricity accumulating section charged by the power-supply section, for supplying accumulated electric power; and a control section for controlling the electromagnetic relay to stop the supply of the AC to the power-supply section when the control section decodes a control signal and determines that the signal indicates a power-supply-stop instruction, for receiving electric power from the electricity accumulating section to enter a standby state, and for controlling the driving section of the power-supply switch to return the button section when a voltage sent from the electricity accumulating section decreases.
A second form of the present invention provides a power-supply apparatus for an electronic unit, including a power-supply section connected to the AC through contacts of an electromagnetic relay and a power-supply switch provided with a button section which reports a status change by moving in a predetermined direction and a driving section for returning the moved button section; an electricity accumulating section charged by the power-supply section; an A-D conversion section for converting a voltage sent from the electricity accumulating section to a digital value: and a control section for controlling the electromagnetic relay to stop the supply of electric power from the power-supply section when the control section decodes a remote-control signal and determines that the signal indicates a power-supply-stop instruction, for receiving electric power from the electricity accumulating section to enter a standby state, and for controlling the driving section of the switch to move the button section in the opposite direction when a sent voltage decreases.
With the foregoing structures in the first and second forms of the present invention, when a standby electric power runs out, since the control section returns the button of the power-supply switch, the user can determine whether the electronic unit is remote-controllable.
A third form of the present invention provides a power-supply apparatus for an electronic unit, including a first instantaneous-operation switch connected in parallel to the contacts of the electromagnetic relay, for closing contacts only for a predetermined time period in an interlocking manner when the power-supply switch is turned on, to supply the AC to the power-supply section; and a second instantaneous-operation switch for closing contacts only for a predetermined time period in an interlocking manner when the power-supply switch is turned on, to send a voltage to the control section.
A fourth form of the present invention provides a power-supply apparatus for an electronic unit, including a storage section for storing and holding the control state of the control section, written when the voltage of the electricity accumulating section becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, and a first instantaneous-operation switch connected in parallel to the contacts of the electromagnetic relay, for closing contacts only for a predetermined time period in an interlocking manner when the power-supply switch is turned on, to supply the AC to the power-supply section. With the foregoing structures in the third and fourth forms of the present invention, even after the electricity accumulating section is discharged, since the AC is supplied to the power-supply section in an interlocking manner when the power-supply switch is turned on, the electromagnetic relay is driven.
In addition, in the present invention, electric power accumulated in the electricity accumulating section is used to allow standby, and the electricity accumulating section is intermittently charged by the AC supplied to the sub power-supply section, when the accumulated electric power is running out. If the voltage of the electricity accumulating section further decreases because intermittent charging cannot be achieved, since the control section controls the driving section of the power-supply switch to return the button section, the user can determine whether the electronic unit is remote-controllable.
A fifth form of the present invention provides a power-supply apparatus for an electronic unit, including a main power-supply section to which the AC is supplied through contacts of a first relay and a power-supply switch provided with a button section which reports a status change by moving in a predetermined direction and a driving section for returning the button section; a sub power-supply section to which the AC is supplied through contacts of a second relay; an electricity accumulating section charged by the main power-supply section; a voltage detecting section for determining that the voltage sent from the electricity accumulating section has decreased; and a control section for controlling the first relay to stop the supply of the AC when the control section decodes a remote-control signal and determines that the signal indicates a power-supply-stop instruction, and for controlling the second relay to supply the AC to the sub power-supply section to intermittently charge the electricity accumulating section from the sub power-supply section when the voltage of the electricity accumulating section decreases.
A sixth form of the present invention provides a power-supply apparatus for an electronic unit, including a
Kimoto Tetsuya
Shirato Keiji
Maioli Jay H.
Patel Rajnikant B.
Sony Corporation
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