Uninterruptible power supply

Details Uninterruptible power supply Uninterruptible power supply

2002-02-05

2003-01-14

Tso, Edward H. (Department: 2838)

Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging

One cell or battery charges another

Reexamination Certificate

active

06507168

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an uninterruptible power supply unit which has a battery, and which normally supplies an electric power of an AC power source to a backed-up apparatus, and, when the AC power source is interrupted, supplies an electric power from the battery to the backed-up apparatus.
BACKGROUND ART
FIG. 4
is a view showing the configuration of a conventional uninterruptible power supply unit. In the figure,
40
denotes an AC power source,
41
a
denotes an uninterruptible power supply unit, and
42
denotes a backed-up apparatus such as a computer system which, when the AC power source
40
is interrupted, is to be backed up by the uninterruptible power supply unit
41
a
. Furthermore,
50
denotes a battery which is incorporated in the uninterruptible power supply unit
41
a
,
51
denotes a charge and discharge circuit which, when the AC power source
40
is in the normal state, causes the battery
50
to be charged by the AC power source
40
, and which, when the AC power source
40
is in an abnormal state such as power interruption or momentary power interruption, causes the battery
50
to be discharged, thereby supplying an electric power to the backed-up apparatus
42
, and
52
denotes a connector trough which the battery
50
and the charge and discharge circuit
51
are connected to each other. Furthermore,
53
a
denotes a case of the uninterruptible power supply unit
41
a
housing the battery
50
,
54
denotes an opening which is used for replacement of the battery
50
,
55
a
denotes a cover for closing the opening
54
,
56
denotes a cover-opening detecting device which detects an opened/closed state of the cover
55
a
by using an optical switch or the like, and
57
denotes a charge and discharge circuit disconnecting switch which disconnects the charge and discharge circuit
52
from the AC power source
40
.
When the AC power source
40
is normal, the uninterruptible power supply unit
41
a
supplies an electric power from the AC power source
40
to the backed-up apparatus
42
, and closes the charge and discharge circuit disconnecting switch
57
to connect the AC power source
40
to the charge and discharge circuit
51
to charge the battery
50
. When the AC power source
40
is in an abnormal state such as power interruption or momentary power interruption, the uninterruptible power supply unit
41
a
serves as a backup power source to discharge the battery
50
to supply an electric power to the backed-up apparatus
42
. The battery
50
is repeatedly rechargable, but its power suppliable time is shortened as a result of aging. Therefore, the battery is usually replaced with a fresh one at two- or three-year intervals.
The uninterruptible power supply unit
41
a
detects the opened/closed state of the cover
55
a
by means of the cover-opening detecting device
56
. When the cover
55
a
is opened, the unit judges that replacement of the battery
50
is to be performed, and then opens the charge and discharge circuit disconnecting switch
57
to disconnect the charge and discharge circuit
51
from the AC power source
40
. As a result, it is possible to prevent replacement of the battery
50
from being performed during a charging process in which a charging current flows through the battery
50
.
FIG. 5
is a view showing the configuration of a conventional uninterruptible power supply unit. A battery which is to be separately placed is additionally disposed. In the figure,
40
,
42
,
50
to
52
,
54
, and
57
denote the identical components as those of
FIG. 4
, and their description is omitted. Furthermore,
41
b
denotes an uninterruptible power supply unit,
53
b
denotes a case of the uninterruptible power supply unit
41
b
housing the battery
50
,
55
b
denotes a cover for closing the opening
54
,
58
denotes a battery replacement instruction switch which closes and opens the charge and discharge circuit disconnecting switch
57
,
60
denotes a battery unit which is placed separately from the uninterruptible power supply unit
41
b
,
61
denotes an auxiliary battery which is incorporated in the battery unit
60
, and which is connected in parallel to the battery
50
, and
62
denotes a connector to which the auxiliary battery
61
is connected.
The uninterruptible power supply unit
41
a
of
FIG. 4
is an example in which only the battery
50
incorporated in the uninterruptible power supply unit
41
a
is used as a battery. The uninterruptible power supply unit
41
b
of
FIG. 5
is an example in which, in order to prolong the backup time, the battery unit
60
in which the auxiliary battery
61
is incorporated is additionally disposed so that a battery is configured by the battery
50
and the auxiliary battery
61
.
When the AC power source
40
is normal, the uninterruptible power supply unit
41
b
supplies an electric power from the AC power source
40
to the backed-up apparatus
42
, and closes the charge and discharge circuit disconnecting switch
57
to connect the AC power source
40
to the charge and discharge circuit
51
to charge the batteries (the battery
50
and the auxiliary battery
61
). When the AC power source
40
is in an abnormal state such as power interruption or momentary power interruption, the uninterruptible power supply unit
41
b
serves as a backup power source to discharge the batteries (the battery
50
and the auxiliary battery
61
) to supply an electric power to the backed-up apparatus
42
.
In replacement of the batteries (the battery
50
and the auxiliary battery
61
) in the uninterruptible power supply unit
41
b
, when the battery
50
incorporated in the uninterruptible power supply unit
41
b
is to be replaced, the cover
55
b
is opened. By contrast, when the auxiliary battery
61
incorporated in the battery unit
60
which is placed separately from the uninterruptible power supply unit
41
b
is to be replaced, the cover
55
b
is not opened. Therefore, the battery replacement instruction switch
58
is disposed so that, when the batteries (the battery
50
and the auxiliary battery
61
) are to be replaced, the battery replacement instruction switch
58
is operated. When the battery replacement instruction switch
58
is operated, it is judged that instructions for the battery replacement has been given, and the charge and discharge circuit disconnecting switch
57
is then opened to disconnect the charge and discharge circuit
51
from the AC power source
40
.
In replacement of the battery of the uninterruptible power supply unit, as described above, the charge and discharge circuit disconnecting switch
57
is opened in response to an operation of the cover-opening detecting device
56
or the battery replacement instruction switch
58
, so that the battery replacement is prevented from being performed during a charging process. However, there is a problem in that, when power interruption or momentary power interruption occurs during a process of replacing the battery, it is impossible to exert the original function of an uninterruptible power supply unit that, in the case of power interruption, the unit supplies an electric power to a backed-up apparatus.
The invention has been conducted in order to solve the above-discussed problem. It is an object of the invention to obtain an uninterruptible power supply unit which, even when power interruption or momentary power interruption occurs during a process of replacing a battery, can supply an electric power to a backed-up apparatus.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The uninterruptible power supply unit of the invention is an uninterruptible power supply unit which has a battery and a charge and discharge circuit, and in which, when an AC power source is in a normal state, the AC power source is used as a power source to supply an electric power to a backed-up apparatus, and the battery is charged by the charge and discharge circuit, and, when the AC power source is in an abnormal state such as power interruption, the battery is discharged by the charge and discharge circuit to supply an e

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