JP2005018562A - Information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

A short circuit of a power supply line that supplies power to a large current use circuit that uses a large capacity power supply is detected and power is supplied to the large current use circuit.
A large-capacity power supply having a switching circuit, a large current use circuit fed by a switching circuit through a secondary power supply line, and a current value of the secondary power supply line are measured. Information processing apparatus 1 including a short-circuit monitoring device 40 having a current measurement circuit 402 and a short-circuit monitoring circuit 401 having a short-circuit threshold S, and a control unit 80 connected to the short-circuit monitoring circuit 401 through a communication signal line a. , The short circuit monitoring circuit 401 sends a use circuit stop signal D to the large current use circuit 30 to stop the operation of the large current use circuit 30. After this stop, the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 reads the current value C and the short circuit threshold is reached. The short circuit is detected by comparing with the value S, and when the short circuit is detected, the control unit 80 stops the entire driving of the information processing apparatus 1.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus having a short-circuit detection function.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in a power supply circuit, overcurrent detection has been performed for the purpose of circuit protection. This overcurrent detection method is a method in which a detected current value during operation is compared with a preset set current value, and when the detected current value is larger than the set current value, a short-circuit detection output is performed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-241028 (page 8, FIG. 2)
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, the conventional power supply circuit shown in Patent Document 1 adopts a method of determining a short circuit when a current larger than a preset current value flows during operation.
[0005]
However, in a large current use circuit using a large-capacity power supply, since the original drive current is large, the threshold for determining a short circuit is inevitably large, and as a result, it is difficult to detect the short circuit. .
[0006]
In other words, since the threshold for detecting a short circuit is large, in the case of a short circuit in which only a slight overcurrent occurs, the short circuit current falls below the threshold value, and even if a short circuit occurs, it is overlooked and a short circuit is detected. There was a problem that could not be done.
[0007]
Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and in a circuit using a large-capacity power supply, a short circuit generated due to adhesion of conductive foreign matters or manufacturing defects, etc. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus capable of detecting a short circuit at the time of start-up and operation by providing a short-circuit monitoring device that controls the circuit used in cooperation.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problem, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention has a large-capacity power supply having a switching circuit, a large-current use circuit that is fed from the switching circuit through a power supply line, and flows to the power supply line. A current measuring circuit for measuring a current value; a short-circuit monitoring circuit connected to the large-capacity power supply; the large-current using circuit; and the current measuring circuit and holding a threshold for detecting a short-circuit; and the short-circuit monitoring circuit The short circuit monitoring circuit outputs a use circuit stop signal to stop the operation of the large current use circuit when the power of the device is turned on. After the operation is stopped, the current value of the power supply line measured by the current measurement circuit is read, and the short circuit of the power supply line is detected by comparing the current value with the threshold value. When the serial short circuit is detected, and notifies the short circuit detection to the control unit, said control unit receiving the notification of the short circuit detection is characterized by stopping the operation of the entire device.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a large-capacity power supply 20, a large current use circuit 30, a short-circuit monitoring device 40, and a control unit 80. The large current use circuit 30 is, for example, an ultra-high speed processor that uses a large current.
[0010]
Here, the large-capacity power supply 20 includes a control circuit 201 and a switching circuit 202. In addition, the short circuit monitoring device 40 includes a short circuit monitoring circuit 401 and a current measurement circuit 402. The short circuit monitoring circuit 401 stores a short circuit threshold value S and normal operation information.
[0011]
The connection of each element is as follows. In other words, the commercial power supply is connected to the switching circuit 202 of the large-capacity power supply 20 through the primary power supply line 50. The switching circuit 202 and the large current use circuit 30 are connected by a secondary power supply line 60.
[0012]
The short circuit monitoring circuit 401 is connected to the control unit 80 via the communication signal line a, and is connected to the control circuit 201 of the large capacity power supply 20, the current measurement circuit 402, and the large current use circuit 30. Based on the comparison between the current value of the secondary power supply line 60 measured by the current measuring circuit 402 and the short-circuit threshold value S set inside, the short-circuit is detected and the large-capacity power supply 20 and the large-current power use The circuit 30 is controlled.
[0013]
The configuration of each element will be described below.
First, the large-capacity power supply 20 controls the voltage supplied from the commercial power supply via the primary power supply line 50 and supplies power to the large current use circuit 30 via the secondary power supply line 60. The power supply to the current use circuit 30 is stopped.
[0014]
That is, the large-capacity power supply 20 stops the power supply to the large current use circuit 30 while receiving the power supply stop signal B from the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 of the short circuit monitoring device 40. When the power supply stop signal B from the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 is not received, the control circuit 201 drives the switching circuit 202 to start power supply to the large current use circuit 30 via the secondary power supply line 60. I do.
[0015]
The operation of the large current use circuit 30 is started only when power is supplied from the large capacity power supply 20 and the use circuit stop signal D from the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 is canceled.
[0016]
That is, the large current use circuit 30 does not operate even when power is supplied from the large capacity power supply 20 while the use circuit stop signal D is supplied from the short circuit monitoring circuit 401. Accordingly, the large current use circuit 30 is configured to start operating only when power is supplied from the large capacity power supply 20 and the use circuit stop signal D is not supplied from the short circuit monitoring circuit 401.
[0017]
The short circuit monitoring device 40 controls the large-capacity power supply 20 and the large current use circuit 30 by the control program Y stored in the storage unit provided in the short circuit monitoring circuit 401.
Here, the short-circuit detection by the short-circuit monitoring device 40 is performed as follows. That is, the current measurement circuit 402 connected to the secondary power supply line 60 measures the current value C output from the large capacity power supply 20 to the secondary power supply line 60. This current value C is read into the short circuit monitoring circuit 401, and the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 compares the short circuit threshold value S set in advance with this current value C to determine whether or not there is a short circuit.
[0018]
That is, when a short circuit is detected, the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 sends a power stop signal B to the large capacity power supply 20 to stop the power supply from the large capacity power supply 20 to the large current use circuit 30. Further, the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 transmits the operation state (stop / operation) of the large current use circuit 30 to the control unit 80 via the communication signal line a, or conversely, according to a command from the control unit 80, 20 and the large current use circuit 30 are controlled.
[0019]
Next, an operation method of short circuit detection of the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control method performed by the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 based on the control program Y.
In FIG. 2, the short-circuit monitoring circuit 401 first determines whether or not power feeding has been started (step S0). That is, it is determined whether power supply to the information processing apparatus 1 has been started by inserting a power socket (not shown) into a commercial power outlet. Here, the start of power supply means that the commercial power source is changed from AC to DC via an AC / DC power source unit (not shown) in the device itself, and the short circuit monitoring circuit 401, the large-capacity power source 20, and the control unit 80 are connected. It means that power feeding is started.
[0020]
As a result, if power feeding is not started (No in step S0), this determination is continued until power feeding is started. When the power supply is started (Yes in Step S0), first, the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 sends a power supply stop signal B to the large capacity power supply 20 (Step S1). The large-capacity power supply 20 that has received the power supply stop signal B does not supply power to the large current use circuit 30.
[0021]
Next, the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 deletes (resets) the normal operation information stored before the start of power supply when the large current use circuit 30 operates normally in the internal storage unit (step S2).
[0022]
Next, the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 determines whether or not the operation permission signal A has been received (step S3). Here, the reception of the operation permission signal A means that a power switch is turned on by a so-called user.
[0023]
That is, for example, when the information processing apparatus 1 is provided with a power switch and the user turns on the power switch, the AC / DC power supply unit (not shown) supplies power to the primary power supply lane 50. When the AC / DC power supply unit determines that the power supply to the primary power supply lane 50 has a normal value, the AC / DC power supply unit sends an operation permission signal A to the short-circuit monitoring circuit 401.
[0024]
As a result, when the operation permission signal A is not received, the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 continues to wait until the operation permission signal A is received (No in step S3). When the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 receives the operation permission signal A (Yes in Step S3), it is confirmed whether or not the use circuit stop signal D is transmitted from the own device to the large current use circuit 30 (Step S4). ).
[0025]
That is, when the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 does not send the use circuit stop signal D (No in step S4), the use circuit stop signal D is sent to the large current use circuit 30 (step S5). However, if the use circuit stop signal D has already been transmitted (Yes in step S4), the process proceeds to the next step S6 as it is.
[0026]
After this step S4, even if power supply is started from the secondary power supply line 60, the large current use circuit 30 does not operate until the use circuit stop signal D is canceled.
[0027]
Next, the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 stops (cancels) the power supply stop signal B sent to the large capacity power supply 20 in step S1 (step S6). When the power supply stop signal B is canceled, the control circuit 201 of the large-capacity power supply 20 starts controlling the switching operation of the switching circuit 202. Then, power supply from the switching circuit 202 to the large current use circuit 30 is started via the secondary power supply line 60. However, even at this time, the large current use circuit 30 does not operate because the use circuit stop signal D from the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 is being received.
[0028]
Next, the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 reads the current value C of the secondary power supply line 60 measured by the current measuring circuit 402 (step S7). The short circuit monitoring circuit 401 determines whether a short circuit has occurred based on the read current value C. This determination is made by comparing the current value C read by the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 with the short circuit threshold value S stored in the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 in advance. That is, when the current value C is larger than the short circuit threshold value S, the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 determines that a short circuit has occurred in the secondary power supply line 60, and conversely, the current value C is less than the short circuit threshold value S. If it is smaller, it is determined that no short circuit has occurred in the secondary power supply line 60 (step S8).
[0029]
As a result, when the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 determines that a short circuit has occurred in the secondary power supply line 60 (Yes in step S8), it sends a power stop signal B to the large-capacity power supply 20 (step S22). . The large capacity power supply 20 that has received this power supply stop signal B causes the control circuit 201 to stop the operation of the switching circuit 202. As a result, the power supply from the large-capacity power supply 20 to the large current use circuit 30 is completely stopped. Therefore, it is possible to prevent smoke and fire from the short-circuited portion and to play a role as a safety device.
[0030]
Next, the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 resets the normal operation information indicating that the large current use circuit 30 has normally operated by stopping the output of the large capacity power supply 20, and the reset information is transmitted to the communication signal line a. To the control unit 80, and a series of processes in this case is completed. (Step S23).
[0031]
On the other hand, when the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 determines that no short circuit has occurred in the secondary power supply line 60 (No in step S8), the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 stops the use circuit stop signal D sent to the large current use circuit 30. (Release) (Step S9).
[0032]
Through the above steps, the operation of the large current use circuit 30 is started for the first time here. Then, the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 sets the normal operation information in the internal storage unit by canceling the use circuit stop signal D (step S10), and further indicates that the large current use circuit 30 has started operating normally. The set information is transmitted to the control unit 80 via the communication signal line a (step S11).
[0033]
Next, a control method when a short circuit occurs after the large current use circuit 30 operates will be described below.
When the operation of the large current use circuit 30 starts, the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 uses the current measurement circuit 402 to receive the secondary power supply only when a short circuit monitoring process request is received from the control unit 80 via the communication signal line a. The occurrence of a short circuit in the supply line 60 is detected. That is, when there is a short circuit monitoring process request from the control unit 80 to the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 (Yes in step S12), the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 first sends a use circuit stop signal D to the large current use circuit 30. (Step S13). The large current use circuit 30 that has received the use circuit stop signal D stops the operation of its own device according to a predetermined procedure.
[0034]
Note that the timing of the short circuit monitoring process request depends on the short circuit monitoring program X incorporated in the storage area in the control unit 80. That is, according to the setting of the short-circuit monitoring program X, a short-circuit monitoring process request can be sent to the short-circuit monitoring circuit 401 at a regular time or a random time.
[0035]
If there is no short circuit monitoring process request from the control unit 80 to the short circuit monitoring circuit 401, the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 continues to wait for a short circuit monitoring process request from the control unit 80 (No in step S12).
[0036]
Next, the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 reads the current value C of the secondary power supply line 60 measured by the current measurement circuit 402 in response to the short circuit monitoring process request (step S14). The short circuit monitoring circuit 401 determines whether or not a short circuit has occurred in the secondary power supply line 60 based on the read current value C and short circuit threshold value S (step S15). Since this determination method is the same as step S8 described above, description thereof is omitted.
[0037]
As a result, when the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 determines that a short circuit has occurred in the secondary power supply line 60 (Yes in step S15), the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 performs normal operation stored in the internal storage unit of its own device. Information is erased (reset) (step S18).
[0038]
Then, the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 transmits the fact that the normal operation information has been reset to the control unit 80 via the communication signal line a (step S19). Receiving the notification that the normal operation information has been reset, the control unit 80 executes one of the following three operations.
[0039]
That is, in the first operation, only power supply to the large current use circuit 30 is stopped. In the second operation, power supply to the entire information processing apparatus 1 is stopped. In the third operation, any power feeding is not stopped, and all power feeding of the information processing apparatus 1 is continued. The selection of these three operations is determined by the short circuit monitoring program X stored in the control unit 80.
[0040]
Among these, when executing the first operation, the control unit 80 issues a request to the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 to send the power supply stop signal B to the control circuit 201 of the large-capacity power supply 20.
Therefore, the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 checks whether or not the output of the power stop signal B is requested from the control unit 80 (step S20).
As a result, when there is no output request for the power supply stop signal B from the control unit 80 (No in step S20), the control unit 80 performs the second or third operation. That is, when the second operation is selected by the short circuit monitoring program X, the control unit 80 stops the power supply of the entire information processing apparatus 1. As a result, the operation of the entire information processing apparatus 1 stops, and the series of operations described above ends. Therefore, by selecting this second operation, it is possible to prevent smoke and fire from the short-circuited part and to serve as a safety device.
[0041]
Further, when the third operation is selected by the short circuit monitoring program X, the control unit 80 does not stop any power supply and continues all power supply of the information processing apparatus 1. The third operation has an effect that the information processing apparatus 1 can be used more efficiently than the first operation.
[0042]
That is, in this third operation, the user himself / herself performs the action of stopping the power supply of the large-capacity power supply 20 by detecting a short circuit. Therefore, for example, when a short circuit has occurred but the user has determined that the information processing apparatus 1 is not immediately affected as a result of examining the state of the information processing apparatus 1, the user has already informed the information processing apparatus 1. After waiting for the requested process to end, the power supply to the large-capacity power supply 20 and the power supply to the control unit 80 and the like can be stopped.
[0043]
Therefore, after waiting for a necessary process to finish, the recovery work can be started thereafter, the stagnation of the work using the information processing apparatus 1 can be reduced as much as possible, and the safety aspect is also improved. Can be secured.
[0044]
On the other hand, when determining that the output of the power stop signal B is requested from the control unit 80 (Yes in Step S20), the short circuit monitoring circuit 401 sends the power stop signal B to the large-capacity power supply 20 (Step S21). The large capacity power supply 20 that has received this power supply stop signal B causes the control circuit 201 to stop the operation of the switching circuit 202. As a result, the power supply from the large-capacity power supply 20 to the large current use circuit 30 is completely stopped.
[0045]
This first operation can shorten the recovery time of the information processing apparatus 1 particularly than the second operation (selection to stop power supply to the entire information processing apparatus 1). That is, rather than stopping and restoring the entire power supply of the information processing apparatus 1 as in the first operation, the time until the restart after the restoration is shortened, and as a result, the restoration time can be shortened.
[0046]
The above is the embodiment of the present invention. In the above description, the control unit 80 displays a warning display when the fact that the normal operation information is reset in step S19 or step S23 is transmitted to the control unit 80. You may make it do. This warning display can be realized, for example, by providing a display device in the control unit 80 and displaying a warning on it. Further, the warning is not necessarily limited to visual display, and a speaker or the like may be provided in the control unit 80 and a warning sound may be emitted from the speaker to audibly notify the warning.
[0047]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, it is possible to reliably detect a weak short-circuit current that could not be found because of a large short-circuit detection threshold. As a result, it is possible to detect a short circuit that occurs due to adhesion of conductive foreign matter or manufacturing failure both at the time of start-up and at the time of operation, and it is possible to prevent smoke and fire from the short-circuited portion. Further, even after the information processing apparatus is activated, it is possible to periodically monitor for a short circuit by a command from the control unit, and it is possible to ensure the safety of the entire information processing apparatus.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information processing apparatus 20 Large capacity power supply 201 Control circuit 202 Switching circuit 30 Large current use circuit 40 Short circuit monitoring apparatus 401 Short circuit monitoring circuit 402 Current measurement circuit 50 Primary power supply line 60 Secondary power supply line 80 Control part a Communication signal line A Operation enable signal B Power supply stop signal C Current value D Used circuit stop signal S Short-circuit threshold value X Short-circuit monitoring program Y Control program

Claims (9)

A large-capacity power supply having a switching circuit;
A circuit for using a large current that is fed from a power supply line from the switching circuit;
A current measuring circuit for measuring a current value flowing through the power supply line;
A short-circuit monitoring circuit connected to the large-capacity power supply, the large-current use circuit, and the current measurement circuit and holding a threshold for short-circuit detection;
A control unit connected to the short circuit monitoring circuit;
The short circuit monitoring circuit outputs a use circuit stop signal when the apparatus is turned on to stop the operation of the large current use circuit, and is measured by the current measurement circuit after the operation of the large current use circuit is stopped. The current value of the power supply line is read, the current value is compared with the threshold value to detect a short circuit of the power supply line, and when the short circuit is detected, the control unit detects the short circuit. Notify
The information processing apparatus, wherein the control unit that has received the notification of short circuit detection controls the operation of the entire apparatus. The short-circuit monitoring circuit sends a power stop signal to the large-capacity power supply when the device is turned on or detects the short-circuit, and feeds power from the large-capacity power supply to the large-current using circuit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is stopped. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the short circuit monitoring circuit receives an operation permission signal of the apparatus, the power supply stop signal is transmitted from the short circuit monitoring circuit to the large-capacity power source. The short circuit monitoring circuit sends a power stop signal to the large capacity power supply, then sends the use circuit stop signal to the large current use circuit, and cancels the power stop signal of the large capacity power supply. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the short circuit monitoring circuit cancels the use circuit stop signal to the large current use circuit when the short circuit of the power supply line is not detected. A large-capacity power supply having a switching circuit;
A circuit for using a large current that is fed from a power supply line from the switching circuit;
A current measuring circuit for measuring a current value flowing through the power supply line;
A short-circuit monitoring circuit connected to the large-capacity power supply, the large-current use circuit, and the current measurement circuit and holding a threshold for short-circuit detection;
A control unit connected to the short circuit monitoring circuit;
The short circuit monitoring circuit outputs a use circuit stop signal when receiving a short circuit monitoring request from the control unit while the large current use circuit is supplying power, and stops the operation of the large current use circuit. After the operation of the circuit is stopped, the current value of the power supply line measured by the current measurement circuit is read, and the short circuit of the power supply line is detected by comparing the current value with the threshold value. Notify the short circuit detection to the control unit when detected,
The information processing apparatus, wherein the control unit that has received the notification of short circuit detection controls the operation of the entire apparatus. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the short circuit monitoring circuit cancels the use circuit stop signal to the large current use circuit when the short circuit of the power supply line is not detected. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the short circuit is detected, the short circuit monitoring circuit outputs a warning of the short circuit. A large-capacity power supply having a switching circuit;
A circuit for using a large current that is fed from a power supply line from the switching circuit;
A current measuring circuit for measuring a current value flowing through the power supply line;
A short-circuit monitoring circuit connected to the large-capacity power supply, the large-current use circuit, and the current measurement circuit and holding a threshold for short-circuit detection;
A control unit connected to the short circuit monitoring circuit;
The short circuit monitoring circuit outputs a use circuit stop signal when the apparatus is turned on or receives a short circuit monitoring request from the control unit while the large current use circuit is supplying power. After the operation of the large current use circuit is stopped, the current value of the power supply line measured by the current measurement circuit is read, and the power supply is compared with the current value and the threshold value. Detecting a short circuit in the line, and notifying the short circuit detection to the control unit when the short circuit is detected,
The information processing apparatus, wherein the control unit that has received the notification of short circuit detection outputs a short circuit warning.

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