Power controller, server, and power control method

• US 7,761,718 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2006
• Issued: 07/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Mori, Atsushi, Yasuo, Akihiro, Ikeda, Yoshiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Brown; Michael J
• Application Number:
  US11/442,986
• Publication Number:
  US 20070186120A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,511 Days
• Field of Search: 713/300, 713/320, 713/330, 713/340, 307/43, 307/46, 307/64
• US Class Current: 713/300
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/263 Arrangements for using multiple switchable power supplies, e.g. battery and AC G06F1/30 takes precedence

Abstract

In a blade of a blade server, power is supplied from a power distributing unit to an internal circuit, and also supplied to a capacitor to charge the capacitor. If power consumption of the blade server is high and a process load on a blade is also high, power is supplied to the internal circuit from both the power distributing unit and the capacitor. If the process load on the blade is low, power is supplied to the internal circuit only from the power distributing unit.

Claims

1. A power controller that controls supply of power from an external source to a process circuit, the power controller comprising:

an accumulating unit that accumulates power that is supplied from the external source; and

a controller that causes, when the power of the external source is insufficient to drive the process circuit, the accumulating unit to supply accumulated power to the process circuit, wherein the controller includes;

a switching unit that is connected to the external source and the process circuit and switches to enable or to disable the power supply from the external source to the process circuit; and

a constant potential circuit that is connected to the accumulating unit and the process circuit such that the constant potential circuit fixedly maintains, regardless of whether the switching unit switches to enable or to disable the power supply, a potential necessary for the process circuit, and

wherein the constant potential circuit includes;

a comparing unit that compares, when only the power from the external source is being supplied to the process circuit, a threshold value, which is substantially same as a potential necessary to operate the process circuit, with an actual potential of the process circuit; and

a power distribution controller that distributes, upon a result of comparison by the comparing unit indicating that the actual potential is greater than the threshold value, power from the accumulating unit to the process circuit.

2. The power controller according to claim 1, wherein the accumulating unit accumulates power from the external source when power supply from the external source to the process circuit is sufficient.

3. The power controller according to claim 2, wherein the accumulating unit includes

a capacitor that is charged when supplied with power;

and

a switch element that switches to enable or to disable power supply from the external source to the capacitor.

4. The power controller according to claim 1, wherein the controller monitors a remaining power in the accumulating unit and supplies, when the remaining power is greater than a predetermined threshold value, the accumulated power to the process circuit.

5. A server that includes multiple process units each including a process circuit, the server comprising:

an accumulating unit that accumulates, when power supplied from an external source to a process unit from among the process units is more than power that is required to operate a process circuit in that process unit, excess power that is supplied to the process unit; and

a controller that causes, when the power supplied to the process unit is less than the power that is required to operate the process circuit in that process unit, the accumulating unit to supply accumulated power to the process unit, wherein the controller includes;

a switching unit that is connected to the external source and each of the process circuits and switches to enable or to disable the power supply from the external source to each of the process circuits; and

a constant potential circuit that is connected to the accumulating unit and each of the process circuits such that the constant potential circuit fixedly maintains, regardless of whether the switching unit switches to enable or to disable the power supply, a potential necessary for each of the process circuits, and

wherein the constant potential circuit includes;

a comparing unit that compares, when only the power from the external source is being supplied to the process circuit, a threshold value, which is substantially same as a potential necessary to operate the process circuit, with an actual potential of the process circuit; and

a power distribution controller that distributes, upon a result of comparison by the comparing unit indicating that the actual potential is greater than the threshold value, power from the accumulating unit to the process circuit.

6. A power control method of controlling supply of power from an external source to a process circuit, the power control method comprising:

accumulating power that is supplied from the external source;

switching to enable or to disable the power supply from the external source to the process circuit; and

maintaining a potential necessary for the process circuit by using the accumulated power, regardless of whether the power supply is enabled or disabled, to supply the accumulated power to the process circuit when the power supply is disabled, wherein the maintaining includes;

comparing, when only the power from the external source is being supplied to the process circuit, a threshold value, which is substantially same as a potential necessary to operate the process circuit, with an actual potential of the process of the process circuit; and

distributing, upon a result of comparison in the comparing indicating that the actual potential is greater than the threshold value, accumulated power to the process circuit.

7. A power control method realized in a server that includes multiple process units each including a process circuit, the power control method comprising:

accumulating excess power that is supplied to the process unit when power supplied from an external source to a process unit from among the process units is more than power that is required to operate a process circuit in that process unit;

switching to enable or to disable the power supply from the external source to the process circuit; and

maintaining a potential necessary for the process circuit by using the accumulated power, regardless of whether the power supply is enabled or disabled, to supply the accumulated power to the process unit when the power supply is disabled, wherein the maintaining includes;

comparing, when only the power from the external source is being supplied to the process circuit, a threshold value, which is substantially same as a potential necessary to operate the process circuit, with an actual potential of the process of the process circuit; and

distributing, upon a result of comparison in the comparing indicating that the actual potential is greater than the threshold value, accumulated power to the process circuit.