Electricity: measuring and testing – Impedance – admittance or other quantities representative of... – Lumped type parameters
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-04
2001-05-22
Metjahic, Safet (Department: 2858)
Electricity: measuring and testing
Impedance, admittance or other quantities representative of...
Lumped type parameters
Reexamination Certificate
active
06236226
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the invention
The present invention generally relates to an uninterruptible power supply system composed of an uninterruptible power supply and equipment to be supplied with power such as a computer system, and in particular to test method and system for the uninterruptible power supply.
2. Description of the Related Art
An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) unit has been mandatory equipment if a blackout will cause the loss of crucial data. A UPS unit is equipped with a battery and a sensor for sensing a loss of power. When the sensor detects a loss of power, it immediately switches over to the battery so that continuous power is supplied to a computer system and the user has time to save crucial data and shut off the computer. The battery is usually charged while the computer is switched on.
There has been proposed a power supply system equipped with a backup-battery check circuit in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 4-147076. More specifically, when powered on, the backup-battery check circuit checks the output voltage of the backup battery in such a state that a battery charger is disconnected from the backup battery. Therefore, a precise and reliable voltage check can be achieved. After the check has been completed, the battery charger starts charging the backup battery and supplying power to a system that is to be backed up.
According to the conventional system, however, since the backup-battery check operation is performed only at power-on, failure of backup battery cannot be checked without an operator.
Further, the backup-battery check circuit is connected to a backup power supply line at a predetermined position and checks whether failure of backup battery occurs. Since the backup-battery check circuit is also connected to the system that is to be backed up, it can check only a part of the backup power supply line. In other words, the backup-battery check circuit cannot check the overall backup power supply line.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a test method and system which can provide self-test function to automatically detect failure of a backup power supply
Another object of the present invention is to provide a test method and system which can test the overall backup power supply line from a backup power supply to equipment to be supplied with power.
According to the present invention, an uninterruptible power supply includes a backup power supply for supplying continuous power to equipment when an external power is interrupted. Further the uninterruptible power supply includes a test switch connected between the backup power supply and the external power source and a switch controller for turning the test switch off in response to a test start signal and turning it on after a lapse of a first predetermined time period.
The equipment includes a memory for storing a test flag that is maintained when the uninterruptible power supply does not supply the power to the equipment. The equipment is further composed of a test controller performing test control.
More specifically, the test start signal is output to the switch controller when the test flag is set to a first state. If the power is normally supplied from the uninterruptible power supply during a second predetermined time period shorter than the first predetermined time period, then the test flag is reset to a second state. When the test flag is in the first state with the power supplied from the uninterruptible power supply after a lapse of the first predetermined time period, the test controller determines that the backup power supply is in abnormal conditions.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5886503 (1999-03-01), McAndrews et al.
patent: 5977750 (1999-11-01), Ng et al.
patent: 4-147076 (1992-05-01), None
Kerveros J.
Metjahic Safet
NEC Corporation
Scully Scott Murphy & Presser
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