Patent Application
20200412166
This application claims priority to Taiwan Patent Application No. 108122925 filed on Jun. 28, 2019, the entire disclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates generally to circuit structures, and more particularly to a circuit structure in which a switch unit can be switched between different states in order to convert a plurality of power supply units into a series-connected or parallel-connected configuration.
The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
The rapid development of power electronics and the advancement of high-tech industries have brought about increasingly versatile electronic products with more and more affordable prices, and these products have been extensively used by companies as well as individual users, either for work or for play. However, electronic products tend to pose the following two problems in use. First, an electronic product cannot work when its operating power frequency is different from the frequency of mains electricity. Second, when a power outage takes place unexpectedly, an electronic product in operation may be shut down improperly without saving the data in use. Either of the above can be a serious issue for the product user, be it an individual or a manufacturer. To solve the problems effectively, power supply units and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) were developed.
A power supply unit serves mainly to provide stable electricity, which includes an appropriate voltage, current, and power. Generally, an electronic product that is required to work over a long time (e.g., an industrial computer or server) needs a high-power power supply system or a power supply system with a standby power source. As power supply requirements vary from one electronic product to another, it is important to produce power supply units with different output specifications so that consumers have plenty of options to choose from. This, however, not only adds to the difficulty of production and warehousing, but also forces one who has replaced an existing electronic product with a different model or a model with different specifications to discard the existing power supply unit and purchase a new one, incurring additional expense and a waste of resources.
While some users may try to connect several individual power supply units in series or parallel, the connecting process is complicated, and the users must be able to identify the source power or the specifications of the direct-current power source involved in order to ensure normal operation of the power supply units. It is therefore difficult for an ordinary user to complete the required operation. Moreover, if it is desired to make a power supply unit output electricity of different power source specifications, a complex internal circuit structure is often required to enable adjustment of the power source specifications. Such a circuit structure, however, is difficult to design and manufacture and may cause inconvenience in maintenance and debugging.
In addition, the applicant has found that the problems stated above are shared by the existing electronic products (e.g., motor devices and electric vehicles). As the driver and power source unit of an electronic product are generally designed according to the operation requirements of the product, a change of product specifications is likely to render the existing driver and power source unit useless; in other words, the driver and the power source unit may have to be replaced or redesigned, which is extremely inconvenient. If it is desired to adapt the existing driver and power source unit to different power source specifications, more complicated circuit structures will be required to effect the intended change of power source specifications. The issue to be addressed by the present disclosure is to design a circuit structure that allows the power output specifications to be changed with ease, thereby solving the foregoing problems effectively.
Certain aspects of the disclosure direct to a circuit structure for switching a plurality of power supply units between a series-connected configuration and a parallel-connected configuration. The circuit structure is applicable to the driver of an electronic product and at least includes a first power supply unit, a second power supply unit, and a switch unit. The first power supply unit includes a first front diode, a first rear diode, and a first electricity element. The anode of the first front diode is connected to a positive electrode of the first electricity element while the cathode of the first front diode is electrically connected to a first end of an electricity output portion of the circuit structure. The cathode of the first rear diode is connected to a negative electrode of the first electricity element while the anode of the first rear diode is electrically connected to a second end of the electricity output portion. The second power supply unit includes a second front diode, a second rear diode, and a second electricity element. The anode of the second front diode is connected to a positive electrode of the second electricity element while the cathode of the second front diode is electrically connected to the first end of the electricity output portion. The cathode of the second rear diode is connected to a negative electrode of the second electricity element while the anode of the second rear diode is electrically connected to the second end of the electricity output portion. The switch unit has a first end connected to the anode of the first front diode and a second end connected to the cathode of the second rear diode. When the switch unit is in the closed-circuit state, the first power supply unit and the second power supply unit are in a series-connected configuration for outputting electricity to the electricity output portion. When the switch unit is in the open-circuit state, the first power supply unit and the second power supply unit are in a parallel-connected configuration for outputting electricity to the electricity output portion.
These and other aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the following drawings and their captions, although variations and modifications therein may be affected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.
The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The present disclosure is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Various embodiments of the disclosure are now described in detail. Referring to the drawings, like numbers, if any, indicate like components throughout the views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Moreover, titles or subtitles may be used in the specification for the convenience of a reader, which shall have no influence on the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, some terms used in this specification are more specifically defined below.
The terms used in this specification generally have their ordinary meanings in the art, within the context of the disclosure, and in the specific context where each term is used. Certain terms that are used to describe the disclosure are discussed below, or elsewhere in the specification, to provide additional guidance to the practitioner regarding the description of the disclosure. For convenience, certain terms may be highlighted, for example using italics and/or quotation marks. The use of highlighting has no influence on the scope and meaning of a term; the scope and meaning of a term is the same, in the same context, whether or not it is highlighted. It will be appreciated that same thing can be said in more than one way. Consequently, alternative language and synonyms may be used for any one or more of the terms discussed herein. No special significance is to be placed upon whether or not a term is elaborated or discussed herein. Synonyms for certain terms are provided. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification including examples of any terms discussed herein is illustrative only, and in no way limits the scope and meaning of the disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given in this specification.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. In the case of conflict, the present document, including definitions will control.
As used herein, “around”. “about” or “approximately” shall generally mean within 20 percent, preferably within 10 percent, and more preferably within 5 percent of a given value or range. Numerical quantities given herein are approximate, meaning that the term “around”, “about” or “approximately” can be inferred if not expressly stated.
As used herein, “plurality” means two or more.
As used herein, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to.
As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A or B or C), using a non-exclusive logical OR. It should be understood that one or more steps within a method may be executed in different order (or concurrently) without altering the principles of the present disclosure.
The present disclosure relates to a circuit structure applied to the driver of an electronic product (e.g., a driver for driving an electric vehicle or motor). The driver may also be referred to as an inverter, controller, frequency converter, or the like, and serves mainly to output electricity. The circuit structure is for switching a plurality of power supply units between a series-connected configuration and a parallel-connected configuration. Referring to
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The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.
The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the disclosure and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the disclosure and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from its spirit and scope. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and the exemplary embodiments described therein.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 108122925 | Jun 2019 | TW | national |
