Power supply control apparatus and power supply control system having the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9660483-B2
Application number	US-201213484439-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 31, 2012
Priority date	Jun 21, 2011
Publication date	May 23, 2017
Grant date	May 23, 2017

Abstract

A power supply control apparatus is connected to an electric device to control supply of power to the electric device. The apparatus includes a main power switch to apply or interrupt main power to the electric device, the main power being external input commercial AC power, an auxiliary power storage unit supplied and charged with the main power as auxiliary power, a charging/discharging unit including a charging circuit to convert the main power into DC power and charge the converted DC power in the auxiliary power storage unit, and a discharging circuit to convert the DC power in the auxiliary power storage unit into AC power and discharge the converted AC power to the electric device, and a controller to control the main power switch, and control the charging/discharging unit to selectively drive the charging circuit or the discharging circuit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A power supply control apparatus configured to be connected to an electric device to control supply of power to the electric device, the power supply control apparatus comprising:
a main power switch to apply or interrupt main power to the electric device, the main power being input alternating current (AC) power;
an auxiliary power storage unit that is charged with the main power and that stores power;
a communication unit to receive a plurality of power prices or a plurality of price levels corresponding to price fluctuations of power;
a charging/discharging unit comprising a charging circuit to convert the main power into direct current (DC) power and to supply the converted DC power to the auxiliary power storage unit for charging, and
a discharging circuit to convert the power stored in the auxiliary power storage unit into AC auxiliary power and to supply the converted AC auxiliary power to the electric device; and
a controller to control the main power switch, in a normal mode to control the charging circuit of the charging/discharging unit to supply the converted DC power to the auxiliary storage unit, and in a standby mode to control the discharging circuit of the charging/discharging unit to supply the converted AC auxiliary power from the auxiliary storage unit to the electric device, wherein the controller controls the main power switch to switch between the normal mode and the standby mode based on the plurality of power prices or the plurality of price levels which correspond to the price fluctuation of power received through the communication unit,
wherein the charging circuit of the charging discharging unit comprises a rectifier to convert the main power into DC power, and a first DC/DC converter to lower a voltage level of the converted DC power to a certain level such that the converted DC power is charged in the auxiliary power storage unit, and
wherein the discharging circuit of the charging/discharging unit comprises:
a second DC/DC converter to raise a voltage level of the power stored in the auxiliary power storage unit to a certain level such that an inverter converts the raised voltage level of the power stored in the auxiliary power storage unit to the AC auxiliary power.

2. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the rectifier comprises a bridge diode disposed at an input side of the rectifier, and a capacitor disposed at an output side of the rectifier.

3. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the first DC/DC converter comprises a transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding, a diode, a plurality of capacitors, and an inductor.

4. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the primary winding and the secondary winding have a turn ratio set in proportion to the voltage level of the AC auxiliary power and/or the main power.

5. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the second DC/DC converter circuit is a step-up DC/DC converter, the step-up DC/DC converter comprising an inductor, a diode, and a capacitor.

6. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the inverter comprises a plurality of insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), each of the IGBTs being switched to convert the power stored in the auxiliary power storage unit to the AC auxiliary power.

7. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a current detector to detect an amount of current output to the electric device; and
an auxiliary power detector to detect the voltage level of the power stored in the auxiliary power storage unit.

8. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the controller compares a current amount detected by the current detector with reference power consumption information to determine a current operation mode of the electric device, determines whether to charge or discharge the auxiliary power, based on the detected voltage level of the power stored in the auxiliary power supply unit, and controls the main power switch and the charging/discharging unit according to a result of the determination.

9. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the communication unit communicates with the electric device to receive information about a type of the electric device currently connected with the power supply control apparatus and to receive information about power consumption information based on the operation mode of the electric device.

10. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the communication unit transmits information about the current amount detected by the current detector to the electric device.

11. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the communication unit comprises a Zigbee or Wi-Fi wireless transmission circuit.

12. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the reference power consumption information comprises a power consumption table based on operation modes by electric devices, or power consumption information by operation modes of the electric device currently connected with the power supply control apparatus received through the communication unit.

13. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the controller retrieves power consumption information corresponding to the type of the electric device received through the communication unit from the power consumption table.

14. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the controller determines that the current operation mode of the electric device is the normal mode, when the detected current amount corresponds to a power level of the normal mode in the retrieved power consumption information, and determines that the current operation mode of the electric device is a standby mode, when the detected current amount corresponds to a power level of the standby mode in the retrieved power consumption information.

15. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the controller determines that the auxiliary power needs to be charged, when the auxiliary power voltage level is lower than or equal to a predetermined reference voltage level.

16. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the controller turns on the main power switch and controls the charging/discharging unit to drive the charging circuit, when the current operation mode of the electric device is the normal mode and the auxiliary power is determined to need to be charged.

17. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the controller turns off the main power switch to stop supplying the main power to the electric device and controls the charging/discharging unit to drive the discharging circuit, when the current operation mode of the electric device is the standby mode and the auxiliary power voltage level is higher than the reference voltage level.

18. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the controller turns on the main power switch and controls the charging/discharging unit to drive the charging circuit, when the current operation mode of the electric device is the standby mode and the auxiliary power is determined to need to be charged.

19. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an external switch to receive a user's operating command instructing the electric device to stay in an off mode, the off mode being a s

Assignees

• Kim In Joo
• Kang Seok Gin
• Lee Yong Woon
• Ha Dong
• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kim In Joo
• Kang Seok Gin
• Lee Yong Woon
• Ha Dong

Classifications

• H02J9/005 Primary

  using a power saving mode (for copiers G03G15/5004) · CPC title

• Y10T307/625

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• H02J7/00

  Circuit arrangements for charging or discharging batteries or for supplying loads from batteries · CPC title

• H02M3/28

  using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode to produce the intermediate AC · CPC title

• H02J9/04 Primary

  in which the distribution system is disconnected from the normal source and connected to a standby source · CPC title