ELECTRIC POWER SUPPLY DEVICE, ELECTRIC POWER RECEIVING DEVICE, ELECTRIC POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM, AND FAILURE RECOVERY METHOD

• US 20110112700A1
• Filed: 09/27/2010
• Published: 05/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: TAJIMA, Shigeru
• Application Number:
  US12/891,010
• Publication Number:
  US 20110112700A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/293
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/26 Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof for memories G11C
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00026 involving a local wireless network, e.g. Wi-Fi, ZigBee or Bluetooth
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/0073 for providing alternative feeding paths between load and source when the main path fails, e.g. transformers, busbars
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40045 Details regarding the feeding of energy to the node from the bus
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06

Abstract

An electric power supply device is provided that includes an electric power supply portion, an information communication portion, a control portion, and an impedance measurement portion. The electric power supply portion supplies, to another device with which an agreement has been established to supply electric power, the electric power that the agreement specifies, by supplying the electric power to a bus line during predetermined electric power supply intervals that recur cyclically. The information communication portion wirelessly transmits and receives, to and from the other device to which the electric power supply portion supplies the electric power, information signals that express information. The control portion controls the electric power that the electric power supply portion supplies and the information signals that the information communication portion transmits. The impedance measurement portion measures the impedance of the bus line on a specified cycle.

Claims

1. An electric power supply device, comprising:

an electric power supply portion that supplies, to another device with which an agreement has been established to supply electric power, the electric power that the agreement specifies, by supplying the electric power to a bus line during predetermined electric power supply intervals that recur cyclically;

an information communication portion that wirelessly transmits and receives, to and from the other device to which the electric power supply portion supplies the electric power, information signals that express information;

a control portion that controls the electric power that the electric power supply portion supplies and the information signals that the information communication portion transmits; and

an impedance measurement portion that measures the impedance of the bus line on a specified cycle.

2. The electric power supply device according to claim 1,

the control portion issues a command to start self-diagnostic processing to the other device that is receiving the electric power supply from the electric power supply portion, in a case where the impedance of the bus line that is measured by the impedance measurement portion is outside a predetermined range of normal values.

3. The electric power supply device according to claim 1,

the control portion issues a command to itself to start self-diagnostic processing, in a case where the impedance of the bus line that is measured by the impedance measurement portion is outside a predetermined range of normal values.

4. The electric power supply device according to claim 3,

the control portion stops the electric power supply from the electric power supply portion in a case where the self-diagnostic processing determines that a malfunction has occurred in the control portion.

5. An electric power receiving device, comprising:

an electric power receiving portion that receives, from another device with which an agreement has been established to supply electric power, the electric power that the agreement specifies, from a bus line during predetermined electric power supply intervals that recur cyclically;

an information communication portion that wirelessly transmits and receives, to and from the other device from which the electric power receiving portion receives the electric power, information signals that express information;

a control portion that controls the information signals that the information communication portion transmits; and

an impedance measurement portion that measures the impedance of the bus line on a specified cycle.

6. The electric power receiving device according to claim 5,

the control portion issues a command to the information communication portion to transmit a notification to the effect that the impedance is abnormal to the other device that is supplying the electric power, in a case where the impedance of the bus line that is measured by the impedance measurement portion is outside a predetermined range of normal values.

7. The electric power receiving device according to claim 5,

the control portion issues a command to itself to start self-diagnostic processing, in a case where the impedance of the bus line that is measured by the impedance measurement portion is outside a predetermined range of normal values.

8. The electric power receiving device according to claim 7,

the control portion issues a command to the information communication portion to transmit a notification to the effect that the receiving of the electric power will stop, in a case where the self-diagnostic processing determines that a malfunction has occurred in the control portion.

9. An electric power supply system, comprising:

an electric power supply server that outputs electric power to a bus line at a specified timing; and

a client that receives, through the bus line, the electric power that the electric power supply server outputs,

wherein

the electric power supply server includes

an electric power supply portion that supplies, to another device with which an agreement has been established to supply electric power, the electric power that the agreement specifies, during predetermined electric power supply intervals that recur cyclically,

an information communication portion that wirelessly transmits and receives, to and from the other device to which the electric power supply portion supplies the electric power, information signals that express information,

a control portion that controls the electric power that the electric power supply portion supplies and the information signals that the information communication portion transmits, and

an impedance measurement portion that measures the impedance of the bus line on a specified cycle,

and

the client includes

an electric power receiving portion that receives, from another device with which an agreement has been established to supply electric power, the electric power that the agreement specifies, during predetermined electric power supply intervals that recur cyclically,

an information communication portion that wirelessly transmits and receives, to and from the other device from which the electric power receiving portion receives the electric power, information signals that express information,

a control portion that controls the information signals that the information communication portion transmits, and

an impedance measurement portion that measures the impedance of the bus line on a specified cycle.

10. A failure recovery method, comprising the steps of:

supplying, to another device with which an agreement has been established to supply electric power, the electric power that the agreement specifies, by supplying the electric power to a bus line during predetermined electric power supply intervals that recur cyclically;

transmitting and receiving wirelessly, to and from the other device to which the electric power is supplied, information signals that express information;

controlling the electric power that is supplied and the information signals that are transmitted; and

measuring the impedance of the bus line on a specified cycle.