IP Library › Granted Patent US 10,720,769
Granted Patent B2
US 10,720,769 · App. 16/174,847 · Granted Jul 21, 2020

Fault detection based on amount of PFC correction

Inventor: William James Walker (Houston, TX)
Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
H02H7/1255H02M1/4208
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,720,769
App. No.
16/174,847
Granted
Jul 21, 2020
Kind
B2
Abstract

An example power supply for supplying electrical power to an electronic device includes an AC to DC converter, power factor correction (PFC) circuitry, and a controller. The AC to DC converter is configured to convert an input AC power signal into a DC power signal. The PFC circuitry is configured to correct a power factor of the DC power signal. The controller is configured to monitor an amount of correction (φ) being applied to the DC power signal by the PFC circuitry and to shut down supply of power to the electronic device in response to φ being within a first threshold of zero degrees for a second threshold amount of time.

Claims (58)

1. A power supply for supplying electrical power to an electronic device, comprising:

an AC to DC converter that is configured to convert an input AC power signal into a DC power signal;

power factor correction (PFC) circuitry that is configured to correct a power factor of the DC power signal; and

a controller that is configured to monitor an amount of correction (φ) being applied to the DC power signal by the PFC circuitry and to shut down supply of power to the electronic device in response to φ being within a first threshold of zero degrees for a second threshold amount of time.

2. The power supply of claim 1 ,

wherein the controller is configured to

continually determine a moving average of the current drawn by the power supply and compare the moving average to a present current being drawn by the power supply; and

condition the shutting down of the supply of power on whether the present current being supplied to the electronic device exceeds the moving average by a third threshold amount.

3. The power supply of claim 1 ,

wherein the controller is configured to

continually determine a moving average of the current drawn by the power supply and compare the moving average to a present current being drawn by the power supply; and

condition the shutting down of the supply of power on whether the present current being supplied to the electronic device exceeds the moving average by a third threshold amount:

for more than a fourth threshold amount of time, or

more than a fifth threshold number of times within a specified period.

4. The power supply of claim 1 ,

wherein the second threshold is less than or equal to 10 ms.

5. The power supply of claim 1 ,

wherein φ corresponds to an amount that a phase of a current waveform has been shifted by the PFC circuitry.

6. The power supply of claim 5 ,

wherein the first threshold is less than or equal to 2°.

7. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing processor executable instructions for fault detection in a power supply that converts an input AC power signal into a DC power signal for an electronic device and has power factor correction (PFC) circuitry that is configured to correct a power factor of the DC power signal, the instructions being to, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

monitor an amount of correction (φ) being applied to the DC power signal by the PFC circuitry; and

shut down supply of power to the electronic device in response to φ being within a first threshold of zero degrees for a second threshold amount of time.

8. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7 ,

wherein the instructions are to cause the processor to:

continually determine a moving average of the current drawn by the power supply and compare the moving average to a present current being drawn by the power supply; and

condition the shutting down of the supply of power on whether the present current being supplied to the electronic device exceeds the moving average by a third threshold amount.

9. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7 ,

wherein the instructions are to cause the processor to:

continually determine a moving average of the current drawn by the power supply and compare the moving average to a present current being drawn by the power supply;

condition the shutting down of the supply of power on whether the present current being supplied to the electronic device exceeds the moving average by a third threshold amount:

for more than a fourth threshold amount of time, or

more than a fifth threshold number of times within a specified period.

10. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7 ,

wherein the second threshold is less than or equal to 10 ms.

11. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7 ,

wherein φ corresponds to an amount that a phase of a current waveform has been shifted by the PFC circuitry.

12. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 11 ,

wherein the first threshold is less than or equal to 2°.

13. A method for fault detection in a power supply that converts an input AC power signal into a DC power signal for an electronic device and has power factor correction (PFC) circuitry that is configured to correct a power factor of the DC power signal, the method comprising:

causing a controller of the power supply to monitor an amount of correction (φ) being applied to the DC power signal by the PFC circuitry; and

causing the controller to shut down supply of power to the electronic device in response to φ being within a first threshold of zero degrees for a second threshold amount of time.

14. The method claim 13 , comprising:

causing the controller to:

continually determine a moving average of the current drawn by the power supply and compare the moving average to a present current being drawn by the power supply; and

condition the shutting down of the supply of power on whether the present current being supplied to the electronic device exceeds the moving average by a third threshold amount.

15. The method claim 13 ,

causing the controller to:

continually determine a moving average of the current drawn by the power supply and compare the moving average to a present current being drawn by the power supply;

condition the shutting down of the supply of power on whether the present current being supplied to the electronic device exceeds the moving average by a third threshold amount:

for more than a fourth threshold amount of time, or

more than a fifth threshold number of times within a specified period.

16. The method claim 13 ,

wherein the second threshold is less than or equal to 10 ms.

17. The method claim 13 ,

wherein φ corresponds to an amount that a phase of a current waveform has been shifted by the PFC circuitry.

18. The method claim 17 ,

wherein the first threshold is less than or equal to 2°.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 30, 2018
From: WALKER, WILLIAM JAMES
To: HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT LP
Reel/Frame 047363/0831 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20200136372A1 · Apr 30, 2020