Switching power supply unit and disk array system

• US 7,705,562 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2006
• Issued: 04/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Information & Telecommunication Engineering, Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Computer Peripherals Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Kuniyoshi, Takahashi, Yoshihide, Hamaogi, Masahiro, Kanouda, Akihiko, Takahashi, Fumikazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso; Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): Berhanu; Samuel
• Application Number:
  US11/512,111
• Publication Number:
  US 20070047100A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,336 Days
• Field of Search: 320/128, 320/166, 307/46, 307/63, 307/664
• US Class Current: 320/128
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 9/061 for DC powered loads

Abstract

An object of the invention is to provide a small and low-cost switching power supply unit with a backup function in which a proper circuit construction can be selected by simple method when it is necessary to compensate for the instantaneous drop or power failure and a disk array system having the switching power supply unit. To accomplish the object, a backup unit which can insert and pull out its hot line into a switching power supply unit casing and has a secondary battery and its state monitoring/control unit is built in the unit, and proper charge/discharge management of the secondary battery can be made. When the backup unit is unnecessary, a backup unit formed by a plurality of capacitors whose hot lines can be similarly inserted and pulled out can be built in an enclosing space of the backup unit.

Claims

1. A switching power supply unit which has a charge accumulating unit and can supply an electric power to a load in case of emergency, wherein:

an electric power converting circuit and a state monitoring and control unit having a state monitoring unit of the charge accumulating unit and a control unit for controlling the electric power converting circuit, are connected to the charge accumulating unit;

the electric power converting circuit is connected to a direct-current line in the switching power supply unit so that a charge and a discharge of the charge accumulating unit can be performed; and

a first backup unit of a first energy type bank for power failure compensation having the charge accumulating unit and the state monitoring and control unit therein and a second backup unit of a second energy type bank for an instantaneous drop compensation having the charge accumulating unit and the state monitoring and control unit therein, are configured to be replaced with each other and to be detachably provided in the same insertion slot of a casing of the switching power supply unit; and

wherein the first back up unit of the energy bank for power failure compensation and the second back up unit of the energy bank for instantaneous drop compensation are connected to direct-current lines of different electric potentials in the switching power supply unit through a connector in the switching power supply unit.

2. The unit according to claim 1, wherein the first and the second back up units can insert and pull out a hot line into/from the casing of the switching power supply unit.

3. The unit according to claim 1, wherein the charge accumulating unit of the first back up unit of the first energy type bank for power failure compensation is constructed by a nickel-metal hydrogen or lithium ion secondary battery.

4. The unit according to claim 1, wherein the charge accumulating unit of the second back up unit of the second energy type bank for instantaneous drop compensation is constructed by an aluminum electrolytic capacitor or an electric double layer capacitor.

5. The unit according to claim 1, wherein the electric power converting circuit is detachably provided in the switching power supply unit casing in a manner similar to the first and the second back up units, and its hot line can be inserted and pulled out into/from the switching power supply unit casing together with the backup unit.

12. The unit according to claim 1, wherein the electric power converting circuit is connected to an input or an output of a secondary rectifying circuit in the switching power supply unit for backup by discharging from the charge accumulating unit.

6. A switching power supply unit which has a charge accumulating unit and supplies an electric power to a load in case of emergency, wherein

a state monitoring and control unit having a state monitoring unit of the charge accumulating unit and a control unit for controlling the electric power converting circuit is connected to an electric power converting circuit and the charge accumulating unit;

and

a first backup unit having a secondary battery and a state monitoring and control unit of the secondary battery therein, and a second backup unit having a capacitor and a state monitoring and control unit of the capacitor therein, is detachably provided in the same insertion slot of a casing of the switching power supply unit;

wherein the first and the second backup units are connected to direct-current lines of a different electric potentials in the switching power supply unit through a connector in the switching power supply unit.

7. The unit according to claim 6, wherein the first backup unit or the second backup unit can insert and pull out hot lines into/from the connector in the casing of the switching power supply unit.

8. A disk array system having a switching power supply unit which has a charge accumulating unit and supplies an electric power to a load in case of emergency, wherein:

an electric power converting circuit and a state monitoring and control unit having a state monitoring unit of the charge accumulating unit and a control unit for controlling the electric power converting circuit, are connected to the charge accumulating unit;

the electric power converting circuit is connected to a direct-current line in the switching power supply unit so that a charge and a discharge of the charge accumulating unit can be performed; and

a first backup unit of a first energy type bank for power failure compensation having the charge accumulating unit and the state monitoring and control unit therein and a second back up unit of a second energy type bank for an instantaneous drop compensation having the charge accumulating unit and the state monitoring and control unit therein, are configured to be replaced with each other and to be detachably provided in the same insertion slot of a casing of the switching power supply unit, and

wherein the first back up unit of the energy bank for power failure compensation and the second back up unit of the energy bank for instantaneous drop compensation are connected to direct-current lines of different electric potentials in the switching power supply unit through a connector in the switching power supply unit, and wherein

said switching power supply unit is arranged in a rack casing of said disk array system, and

said switching power supply unit can insert and pull out a hot line into/from said disk array system.

9. A system according to claim 8, wherein a plurality of the switching power supply units are arranged in a lower portion of the rack casing of the disk array system.

10. A disk array system which has charge accumulating unit and can supply an electric power through a switch power supply unit to a load in case of emergency, wherein

a state monitoring and control unit having a state monitoring unit of the charge accumulating unit and a control unit for controlling the electric power converting circuit, is connected to an electric power converting circuit and the charge accumulating unit;

and

a first backup unit having a secondary battery and a state monitoring and control unit of the secondary battery therein, and a second backup unit having a capacitor and a state monitoring and control unit of the capacitor therein, is detachably provided in the same insertion slot of a casing of the switching power supply unit;

wherein the first and the second backup units are connected to direct-current lines of a different electric potentials in the switching power supply unit through a connector in the switching power supply unit.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the first and the second backup units can insert and pull out hot lines into/from the disk array system.