Hot swap control in uninterruptible power supply
First Claim
1. An uninterruptible power supply unit comprising:
- a battery pack;
a pair of MOSFET switches, including a first MOSFET switch and a second MOSFET switch, connected in series to the battery pack;
a power connector having three pins, two pins of the three pins being longer than the third pin, the two longer pins being configured to deliver current from a power source to the uninterruptible power supply unit;
a short pin detector in communication with the third pin, the short pin detector being configured to detect whether the third pin is connected to the power source; and
a protection circuit in communication with the short pin detector such that only when the short pin detector detects that the third pin is connected to the power source does the protection circuit allow the first MOSFET switch to be activated in order to limit the inrush current from the power source through the first MOSFET switch.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Aspects relate generally to hot swap control in uninterruptible power supply units for systems requiring backup power. A unit may include a pair of MOSFET switches configured as a bidirectional switch for battery charging and discharging current control. This configuration allows the unit to limit inrush current when the unit is connected to a DC power bus of a power system and also allows the unit to eliminate any current flow when it is disconnected. Upon insertion and extraction of the unit, the MOSFET switches are disabled to prevent any disturbances on the DC power bus. Hot swapping in the unit ensures that the overall power system, including the unit and the DC bus, operates reliably.
-
Citations
17 Claims
-
1. An uninterruptible power supply unit comprising:
-
a battery pack; a pair of MOSFET switches, including a first MOSFET switch and a second MOSFET switch, connected in series to the battery pack; a power connector having three pins, two pins of the three pins being longer than the third pin, the two longer pins being configured to deliver current from a power source to the uninterruptible power supply unit; a short pin detector in communication with the third pin, the short pin detector being configured to detect whether the third pin is connected to the power source; and a protection circuit in communication with the short pin detector such that only when the short pin detector detects that the third pin is connected to the power source does the protection circuit allow the first MOSFET switch to be activated in order to limit the inrush current from the power source through the first MOSFET switch. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A method of charging a battery pack, the method comprising:
-
connecting two pins of a power connector having three pins to a power supply, the two pins being longer than the third pin, the two longer pins being configured to deliver current from a power supply to the battery pack; detecting, by a short pin detector, whether the third pin is connected to the power source; when the third pin is connected to the power source, transmitting a signal through a transistor to a switch in order to switch the switch from an off condition to an activated condition in order to provide the charging current from the power source through the two longer pins to charge the battery pack; and limiting the charging current through the switch when the switch is in the activated condition. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A system comprising:
-
a power source for supplying current; and an uninterruptible power supply unit comprising; a battery pack, a MOSFET switch connected in series to the battery pack; a power connector having three pins, two pins of the three pins being longer than the third pin, the two longer pins being configured to deliver current from the power source to the uninterruptible power supply unit; a short pin detector in communication with the third pin, the short pin detector being configured to detect whether the third pin is connected to the power source; and a protection circuit in communication with the short pin detector such that only after the short pin detector detects that the third pin is connected to the power source does the protection circuit allow the uninterruptible power supply unit switch the MOSFET switch to an activated condition and to limit charging current from the power source through the MOSFET switch in order to charge the battery pack. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
Specification