Patent Application
20050052085
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved uninterruptible power supply circuit having a hot swappable battery module, which is connected with internal connectors of a UPS power supply circuit via external connectors of the power supply circuit. The UPS power supply circuit can be separated from the battery system, and several UPS power supply circuits can be connected in parallel, thereby increasing UPS capacity. When the UPS power supply circuit malfunctions, the other UPS power supply circuits continuously operate in order to increase reliability of the computer system.
When the commercial AC power is inputted, the UPS power supply circuit activates the AC detecting and charging circuit by means of the UPS controlling and circuit managing system, when the supply of the commercial AC power is normal, the battery detecting circuit transmits a signal to the charging circuit, thereby charging the backup battery, when the charging operation is completed, the charging circuit automatically interrupts the operation of the charging circuit, thereby avoiding damage of the backup battery due to saturation of the backup battery; the UPS controlling and circuit managing system transmits a signal to the AC detecting and charging circuit, the AC detecting and charging circuit is connected to the power supply circuit via the internal connector, thereby detecting anytime whether the supply of the commercial AC power is normal, when the supply of the commercial AC power is abnormal, by means of the DC TO DC boosting circuit, the UPS power supply circuit instantly uses the power of the backup battery to provide a stable current to the power supply circuit via the internal connector, thereby instantly providing power to maintain normal operation of the computer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Nowadays, the prevalence of a computer provides convenient lifestyles and rapid data transmission for us. However, due to a very long power line and a complex power network for supplying the commercial AC power to the computer, the commercial AC power is very sensitive to many variations such as under-voltage, over-voltage, inruch, noise, distorted waveform, frequency variation, etc, which severely impair the power stability and quality. In particular, for a computer which requests high stability, sudden variations may lead to damage, crash or even breakdown of the computer. The service cost thereof is unexpectedly high accordingly. On the other hand, although the failure of hardware can be overcome by means of maintenance or replacement of components, the lost data stored therein are invaluable and hard to be refreshed.
The so-called uninterruptible power supply, referred hereinafter to UPS, becomes essential equipment for a computer. The commercially available UPS apparatuses are divided into on-line and off-line configurations. Although the on-line UPS apparatus can be installed on the housing of the computer so as to make use of space, it is difficult to be disassembled/assembled. When the battery for providing power of the UPS apparatus malfunctions, the housing of the computer needs to be opened in order to change the battery therein. Furthermore, an example of an off-line UPS apparatus is a removable UPS apparatus described in Taiwanese Patent Application No. 483626. Although such off-line UPS apparatus is easily disassembled/assembled for changing batteries, the power needs to be switched off and the UPS power and battery module thereof are not hot swappable, which is not user-friendly.
Thus, when the power of the battery malfunctions, either the on-line or the off-line configuration should interrupt power supply of the computer in order to replace battery. After the battery is replaced, the computer can be restarted, which adversely affects power stability and quality.
Accordingly, the above-described prior art product is not a perfect design and has still many disadvantages to be solved. In views of the above-described disadvantages resulted from the conventional rotary safety cutter, the applicant keeps on carving unflaggingly to develop an improved uninterruptible power supply circuit having a hot swappable battery module according to the present invention through wholehearted experience and research.
An object of the invention is to provide an improved uninterruptible power supply circuit having a hot swappable battery module, which can be connected with several UPS power supply circuits in parallel so as to maintain normal operation of the computer in case of long-term power failure.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved uninterruptible power supply circuit having a hot swappable battery module, which can be connected with at least one removable battery box so as to maintain normal operation of the computer in case of long-term power failure.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved uninterruptible power supply circuit having a hot swappable battery module, in which the UPS power supply circuit can instantly realize supply conditions of the commercial AC power via connectors so as to provide power of the backup battery.
A still another object of the invention is to provide an improved uninterruptible power supply circuit having a hot swappable battery module, in which by means of hot swappable batteries, the batteries can be replaced without switching off the computer.
The present invention relates to an improved uninterruptible power supply circuit having a hot swappable battery module, which comprises a UPS power supply circuit for providing power of a backup battery to a load via connectors, wherein the backup battery provides power to the load by parallel connection of removable battery boxes.
The drawings disclose an illustrative embodiment of the present invention which serves to exemplify the various advantages and objects hereof, and are as follows:
a voltage regulator circuit 81, comprising at least a rectifier circuit 82 for accepting power, filtering and converting the power into a direct current to be outputted;
a DC TO DC converting circuit 84;
an external power 83;
a standby power 85;
a computer power switch 86; and
an external connector 11, connected to power supply signals, load signals, computer power switch 86 signals and relay switch signals, respectively, and connected with the internal connector 1 of the UPS power supply circuit A (
an internal connector 1, connected with the external connector 11 of the power supply circuit B;
an AC detecting and charging circuit 2, for detecting whether the supply of the commercial AC power is normal and charges to the backup battery 7 via the external connector 11;
a battery detecting circuit 5, for detecting whether the power of the backup battery 7 is sufficient, wherein when the power of the backup battery 7 is full, the charging circuit of the AC detecting and charging circuit 2 is switched off;
a backup battery 7, provided in a removable battery box 7A, wherein the backup battery 7 is charged by the AC detecting and charging circuit 2;
a monitoring signal 6, for displaying a control signal;
a DC TO DC boosting circuit 3, connected to the external connector 11 of the power supply circuit B via the internal connector 1, and instantly providing power to the voltage regulator circuit 81 when the supply of the commercial AC power is abnormal, thereby maintaining normal operation of the voltage regulator circuit 81;
a UPS controlling and circuit managing system 4, for controlling signals from the power supply circuit B, the UPS power supply circuit A and the removable battery box 7A;
wherein when the commercial AC power is inputted, the UPS power supply circuit A activates the AC detecting and charging circuit 2 by means of the UPS controlling and circuit managing system 4, when the supply of the commercial AC power is normal, the battery detecting circuit 5 transmits a signal to the AC detecting and charging circuit 2, thereby detecting and charging the backup battery 7, when the charging operation is completed, the AC detecting and charging circuit 2 automatically interrupts the operation of the charging circuit, thereby avoiding damage of the backup battery 7 due to saturation of the backup battery 7; the UPS controlling and circuit managing system 4 transmits a signal to the AC detecting and charging circuit 2, and the AC detecting and charging circuit 2 is connected to the external connector 11 of the power supply circuit B via the internal connector 1, thereby detecting anytime whether the supply of the commercial AC power is normal, when the supply of the commercial AC power is abnormal, by means of the DC TO DC boosting circuit 3, the UPS power supply circuit A instantly uses the power of the backup battery 7 to provide a stable current to the power supply circuit B via the internal connector 1, thereby instantly providing power to maintain normal operation of the computer.
The improved uninterruptible power supply circuit having a hot swappable battery module, when comparing with other previous conventional technologies, has following advantages:
1. The present invention uses connectors to connect the UPS power supply circuit and the power supply circuit, and uses the AC detecting and charging circuit to realize AC power conditions and instantly provides the power of the backup battery in case of abnormal power condition.
2. The present invention uses connectors to connect the power supply circuit with one or more UPS power supply circuits so as to maintain normal operation in case of long-term power failure.
3. By means of parallel connection and fault tolerance, the UPS power supply circuit is connected with at least one backup battery in parallel, and via power lines of the removable battery box in serial/parallel connection so as to expand shelf life thereof.
4. By means of the parallel connection, the UPS power supply circuit and the removable battery box can be drawn out/installed without switching off the computer.
While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.
Many changes and modifications in the above described embodiment of the invention can, of course, be carried out without departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and the useful arts, the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.
