Power supply devices and control method thereof

• US 9,170,621 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2012
• Issued: 10/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wistron Corporation
• Original Assignee: Wistron Corporation
• Inventors: Chen, Po-Chuan
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): BOATENG, ALEXIS ASIEDUA
• Application Number:
  US13/368,576
• Publication Number:
  US 20130043929A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,357 Days
• Field of Search: 327/535, 307/64, 307/65, 307/66, 307/110, 307/150, 307/70, 307/71, 307/9.1, 320/109, 320/166, 320/116, 320/117, 320/124, 320/132, 320/150, 320/167
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/263 Arrangements for using multiple switchable power supplies, e.g. battery and AC G06F1/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/30 Means for acting in the event of power-supply failure or interruption, e.g. power-supply fluctuations for resetting only G06F1/24
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/345 using capacitors as storage or buffering devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 9/005 using a power saving mode for copiers G03G15/5004

Abstract

A power supply device is provided. The power supply device provides a maintenance voltage at an output terminal to a system chip of a system and includes a first battery, a capacitor, a charging circuit, and a monitoring circuit. The first battery provides a battery voltage. The capacitor stores a capacitor voltage. The charging circuit is coupled to the capacitor. The monitoring circuit detects whether the battery voltage is less than a first threshold and whether the capacitor voltage is larger than a second threshold and generates a control signal according to the determination result. When the monitoring circuit detects that the battery voltage is less than the first threshold and the capacitor voltage is not larger than the second threshold, the monitoring circuit asserts the control signal to control the charging circuit to charge the capacitor.

Claims

1. A power supply device for providing a maintenance voltage at an output terminal to a system chip of a system comprising:

a first battery for providing a battery voltage;

a capacitor for storing a capacitor voltage;

a charging circuit coupled to the capacitor; and

a monitoring circuit for detecting the battery voltage and the capacitor voltage,

wherein the monitoring circuit detects whether the battery voltage is less than a first threshold and whether the capacitor voltage is larger than a second threshold and generates a control signal according to the determination result, and

wherein when the monitoring circuit detects that the battery voltage is less than the first threshold and the capacitor voltage is not larger than the second threshold, the monitoring circuit asserts the control signal to control the charging circuit to charge the capacitor;

wherein when the monitoring circuit detects that the battery voltage is less than the first threshold and the capacitor voltage is larger than the second threshold, the monitoring circuit de-asserts the control signal to control the charging circuit not to charge the capacitor.

2. The power supply device as claimed in claim 1, wherein after the charging circuit charges the capacitor and the capacitor voltage becomes larger than the second threshold, during a time when the first battery is replaced with a second battery at an inaction state of the system, the capacitor voltage which is larger than the second threshold serves as the maintenance voltage.

3. The power supply device as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the monitoring circuit detects that the battery voltage is less than the first threshold and the capacitor voltage is larger than the second threshold, during the time when the first battery is replaced with a second battery at an inaction state of the system, the capacitor voltage stored in the capacitor serves as the maintenance voltage.

4. The power supply device as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the monitoring circuit detects that the battery voltage is not less than the first threshold, the monitoring circuit de-asserts the control signal to control the charging circuit not to charge the capacitor.

5. The power supply device as claimed in claim 4, wherein when the monitoring circuit detects that the battery voltage is not less than the first threshold, the battery voltage of the first battery serves as the maintenance voltage at an inaction state of the system.

6. The power supply device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

a system stand-by voltage source for providing a system stand-by voltage to serve as the maintenance voltage at an operation state of the system.

7. The power supply device as claimed in claim 6 further comprising:

a schottky diode coupled between the system stand-by voltage source and the output terminal.

8. The power supply device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

a first schottky diode coupled between the first battery and the output terminal; and

a second schottky diode coupled between the capacitor and the output terminal.

9. The power supply device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

a first current limiting circuit coupled between the first battery and the output terminal; and

a second current limiting circuit coupled between the capacitor and the output terminal.

10. The power supply device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the monitoring circuit determines the battery voltage and the capacitor voltage at an operation state of the system.

11. The power supply device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the capacitor is implemented by a super capacitor.

12. The power supply device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first battery is implemented by a coin battery.

13. The power supply device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the monitoring circuit comprises:

an adjuster for providing a reference voltage;

an analog-digital converter for receiving the battery voltage, the capacitor voltage, and the reference voltage, wherein the analog-digital converter converts the battery voltage to a first digital voltage signal and converts the capacitor voltage to a second digital voltage signal according to the reference voltage; and

a controller for receiving the first digital voltage signal and the second digital voltage signal and determining whether the battery voltage is less than the first threshold and whether the capacitor voltage is larger than the second threshold according to the first digital voltage signal and the second digital voltage signal respectively,

wherein when the monitoring circuit detects that the battery voltage is less than the first threshold and the capacitor voltage is not larger than the second threshold, the controller asserts the control signal.

14. The power supply device as claimed in claim 13, wherein when the monitoring circuit detects that the battery voltage is less than the first threshold and the capacitor voltage is larger than the second threshold or that the battery voltage is not less than the first threshold, the controller de-asserts the control signal to control the charging circuit not to charge the capacitor.

15. The power supply device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the charging circuit comprises:

a switch unit controlled by the control signal and coupled to the capacitor at a first node, wherein when the monitoring circuit asserts the control signal, the switch unit provides a voltage of a first system stand-by voltage source, so that the first node has a charge voltage; and

an adjuster for stabilizing the charge voltage to be at a predetermined level, wherein the charging circuit charges the capacitor according to the charge voltage with the predetermined level.

16. The power supply device as claimed in claim 15, wherein when the monitoring circuit detects that the battery voltage is less than the first threshold and the capacitor voltage is larger than the second threshold or that the battery voltage is not less than the first threshold, the monitoring circuit de-asserts the control signal, and the switch unit does not provide the voltage of the first system stand-by voltage source according to the de-asserted control signal.

17. The power supply device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the switch unit comprises:

a first transistor having a control terminal receiving the control signal, an input terminal coupled to a second system stand-by voltage source at a second node, and an output terminal coupled to a reference ground; and

a second transistor having a control terminal coupled to the second node, an input terminal coupled to the first system stand-by voltage source, and an output terminal coupled to the first node,

wherein when the control signal is asserted, the first transistor is turned off, and the second transistor is turned on according to a voltage of the second system stand-by voltage source.

18. The power supply device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the charging circuit further comprises:

a schottky diode coupled between coupled between the first node and a third node; and

a current limiting circuit coupled between the third node and the capacitor.

21. The power supply device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a first power path, coupled to the output terminal, having a system voltage source to provide power to the output terminal;

a second power path, coupled to the output terminal, having the first battery to selectively provide the battery voltage to the output terminal; and

a third power path, coupled to the output terminal, having the capacitor to selectively provide the capacitor voltage to the output terminal.

22. The power supply device as claimed in claim 21, wherein

the first path further have a first diode device, coupled between the system voltage source and the output terminal;

the second power path further have a second diode device, coupled between the first battery and the output terminal; and

the third power path further have a third diode device, coupled between the capacitor and the output terminal.

19. A control method for a power supply device, wherein the power supply device provides a maintenance voltage to a system chip of a system and comprises a first battery and a capacitor, the control method comprises:

determining whether a battery voltage of the first battery is less than a first threshold when the system is at an operation state;

when the battery voltage is less than the first threshold, determining whether a capacitor voltage of the capacitor is larger than a second threshold;

when the capacitor voltage is not larger than the second threshold, charging the capacitor, so that the capacitor voltage becomes larger than the second threshold;

when the capacitor voltage is larger than the second threshold, switching the system to be at an inaction state; and

at the inaction state, providing the capacitor voltage which is larger than the second threshold to serve as the maintenance voltage and replacing the first battery with a second battery.

20. The control method as claimed in claim 19 further comprising

when the battery voltage is not less than the first threshold, switching the system to be at the inaction state;

and

providing the battery voltage to serve as the maintenance voltage.