Processing unit and system including plurality of the processing units

• US 5,317,366 A
• Filed: 05/19/1993
• Issued: 05/31/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Kaiju, Yoshihiko, Koshi, Makoto
• Primary Examiner(s): MOSES, RICHARD L
• Application Number:
  US08/063,049
• Time in Patent Office: 377 Days
• Field of Search: 355/202, 355/200, 355/282, 307/31-34, 307/38, 307/39, 361/87
• US Class Current: 399/1
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5004 Power supply control, e.g. power-saving mode, automatic power turn-off
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/80 Details relating to power supplies, circuits boards, electrical connections
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/60 Limiting power consumption in the network or in one section of the network, e.g. load shedding or peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/14 by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/222 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving

Abstract

A system including a plurality of processing units wherein one power source is connected to the plurality of processing units, is constituted such that when a total of maximum rated currents of the processing units exceeds an allowable current of the power source, an allowance or nonallowance of the power supplied to the processing units is determined from a state of the power source and the power supply is controlled thereby, and whereby the power source does not become overloaded. Thus, the system avoids overloading the power source if a sum of the maximum rated currents of respective connected processing units exceeds the allowable current of a power source.

Claims

1. A system having a plurality of processing units and a common power source connected thereto for supplying power to the plurality of processing units, comprising:

a plurality of switching means, respectively corresponding to and incorporated in the plurality of processing units and interconnecting the respective plurality of processing units with the common power source, for receiving respective control inputs thereto and selectively being switched thereby to ON and OFF conditions for respectively and selectively supplying power therethrough, or discontinuing the supply of power therethrough, to the respective processing units from the common power source;

a plurality of request means, respectively associated with and incorporated in said plurality of processing units, each operable for determining the requirement for, and correspondingly generating a request for, the selective supply of power from the common power source to the respective processing unit; and

a plurality of individual controllers respectively associated with and incorporated in the plurality of processing units, each thereof detecting the power supply condition of the common power source, comparing the detected condition with a predetermined power supply condition and determining, based on the comparison result, an allowable condition permitting the supply of further power from the common power source and a non-allowable such condition, each individual controller further being responsive to a request received from the associated request means of the respective processing unit and in accordance with determining the allowable condition of the common power source, selectively generating and supplying a corresponding control input to the associated switching means for selectively switching said associated switching means to the ON condition thereby to supply power through the associated, selectively switched switching means to the respective processing unit.

2. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein each individual controller selectively generates and supplies a first control input to the associated switching means for switching same to the ON condition for a predetermined time interval and, upon the conclusion of the predetermined time interval, selectively generates and supplies a second control input to the associated switching means to switch same to the OFF condition and thereby to terminate the supply of power therethrough to the respective processing unit.

3. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the power supply condition is the voltage level of the power supply output of the common power supply and the predetermined condition is a predetermined voltage level, each individual controller determining an allowable condition of the common power supply in accordance with the detected voltage level of the common power supply having a value at least as great as the predetermined voltage level.

4. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the detected power supply condition is the output current level of the common power supply and the predetermined condition is a predetermined current level, each individual controller comparing the detected, output current level controller predetermined current level and determining an allowable condition in accordance with the detected output current level being less than the predetermined current level.

5. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein each processing unit comprises plural power consuming devices of which one device consumes the greatest amount of power relative to the respective amounts of power consumed by the remaining devices in each processing unit, and wherein:

the plurality of switching means interconnect the common power supply only with the respective, greatest power consuming devices of the plurality of processing units;

the common power supply is connected directly to each of the processing units for supplying electrical power to the remaining devices of each unit; and

each individual controller determines an allowable condition and selectively generates and supplies a corresponding control input to the associated switching means for switching same to an ON condition, for supplying power through the associated switching means to the highest power consuming device, only, of the respective processing unit.

6. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein, in response to and following the determination of a non-allowable condition, each individual controller periodically compares the detected power supply condition of the common power supply with the predetermined power supply condition until an allowable condition is detected.

7. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein each individual controller detects the power supply condition of the common power source at constant timing intervals and determines for each received request, individually the corresponding allowable or non-allowable condition of the common power supply, and, upon detecting a non-allowable condition, delays the generation of a control input, corresponding to each such request, to the associated switching means until an allowable condition of the common power supply is determined.

8. A system comprising:

plural processing units, each unit having a maximum rated electrical power requirement and comprising a device which consumes a first portion of the maximum rated electrical power and other components which collectively consume a second portion of the maximum rated electrical power, the first portion comprising almost all of, and the second portion comprising the remainder of, the maximum rated electrical power requirement of the processing units, the device requiring a supply of power on a periodic and thus non-continuous basis and the other components requiring a substantially continuous and non-interrupted supply of power;

an electrical power source having a maximum electrical power output which is less than the total of the respective maximum rated electrical power requirements of the plural processing units but is greater than the total of the respective second portions of the respective maximum rated electrical power requirements of the plural processing units;

the respective, other components of the plural processing units being connected directly to the power source; and

each of the plural processing units further having individually and respectively associated therewith;

switching means, connected between the power source and the device, for receiving a control input thereto and selectively being switched thereby to ON and OFF conditions for, respectively, supplying power from the power source to the device and terminating the supply of power form the power source to the device,

request means for determining the requirement for, and correspondingly generating a request for, the supply of power from the power source to the device, and

controller means for detecting the power supply condition of the power source, comparing the detected condition with a predetermined power supply condition and determining, based on the comparison result, an allowable condition permitting the supply of power from the power source and a non-allowable such condition, the controller means further being responsive to a request received from the request means, and in accordance with determining the allowable condition of the common power source, for selectively generating and supplying a control input to the switching means for selectively switching said switching means to the ON condition thereby to supply power therethrough to the device.

9. A system as recited in claim 8 wherein the controller means detects the voltage level output of the power source and compares the detected voltage level with a predetermined voltage level for determining whether an allowable or a non-allowable condition exists.

10. A system as recited in claim 9 wherein each controller means further comprises:

means for periodically detecting the power supply condition of the power source; and

means, respective to the determination of a non-allowable power source condition, for delaying, by a predetermined time delay relative to the receipt of a request, the corresponding generation and supply of a control input to the switching means for selectively switching said switching means to the ON condition.

11. A system as recited in claim 8 wherein each processing unit comprises an electronic phototype printer having a corresponding heat roller and the respective device thereof is the corresponding heat roller thereof.