Providing resilient power to a system

• US 8,450,980 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2004
• Issued: 05/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Kumar, Pavan M., Alexander, Donald R., Dunstan, Robert A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Berhanu, Samuel
• Application Number:
  US10/879,612
• Publication Number:
  US 20050285570A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,255 Days
• Field of Search: 320/103, 320/112, 320/116, 320/124, 320/128, 320/138, 320/160, 307/64, 307/66
• US Class Current: 320/138
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 9/061 for DC powered loads

Abstract

In one embodiment, the present invention includes a resilient power supply having a charger to charge a battery with a low voltage and to provide back-up battery power to a system; and a main power supply to provide a plurality of voltages for operation of the system. The resilient power supply may be used to discharge the battery into the main power supply upon loss of alternating current (AC) power in the system.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

charging a back-up battery using a standby low voltage from a standby rail of a main power supply of a system; and

using the standby low voltage from the standby rail of the main power supply to charge the back-up battery when the main power supply and the system are off and alternating current (AC) mains are attached and active, and using a non-standby low voltage of the main power supply to charge the back-up battery when the main power supply and the system are on, wherein the system has standby capability.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the standby low voltage is less than approximately 30 volts.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising using a charger of a resilient power supply to charge the back-up battery.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising sending an alternating current (AC) status signal from the main power supply to the resilient power supply.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising forwarding the AC status signal to a circuit board of the system.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising controlling operation of the back-up battery using software of the system based on the AC status signal.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising discharging the back-up battery through a high voltage tap to the main power supply to power the system upon loss of alternating current (AC) power.

8. An apparatus comprising:

a resilient power supply to provide back-up battery power to a system having standby capability, the resilient power supply having a charger to charge a battery with a first low voltage received from a standby rail of a main power supply, wherein the resilient power supply is to receive the first low voltage when the main power supply is off and alternating current (AC) mains are attached and active, otherwise the charger is to charge the battery with a second low voltage received from the main power supply when the main power supply is on, and wherein the main power supply is to provide a plurality of voltages for operation of the system.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a circuit board coupled to receive the plurality of voltages.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a status signal coupled between the resilient power supply and the circuit board.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first low voltage comprises a standby voltage.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the battery is coupled to receive a low voltage charge signal from the charger.

15. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first low voltage and the second low voltage are less than approximately 30 volts.

13. An apparatus comprising:

a first power supply to receive an incoming alternating current signal and having a first converter including a plurality of outputs to provide a plurality of low voltages to a circuit board of a system powered by the first power supply, the first power supply having a node coupled between a rectifier and the first converter, and the first power supply to couple a plurality of status and control signals between the first power supply and the circuit board; and

a second power supply coupled to receive a first low voltage and a second low voltage of the plurality of low voltages from the first power supply, the second power supply including a charger to charge a battery and a second converter to receive a low voltage signal from the battery and provide a high voltage signal to the node of the first power supply, wherein the second power supply is to charge the battery with the first low voltage when the first power supply is on and to charge the battery with the second low voltage from a standby rail of the first power supply when the first power supply and the system are off and the alternating current signal is attached and active.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first power supply comprises a main power supply and the second power supply comprises a resilient power supply.