DC backup power supply system
An information apparatus including a DC backup power supply system for supplying DC power to the information apparatus. The DC backup power supply system includes a battery pack having a plurality of sets of battery cells, each set including a plurality of serially connected battery cells extending in one direction, and the plurality of sets of the battery cells being disposed in a second direction which is transverse to the first direction. The plurality of sets of battery cells are serially connected to one another, and at least adjacent sets of the battery cells have an insulated sheet disposed therebetween.
This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/412,231, filed Apr. 14, 2003, the subject matter of which is incorporated by reference herein, which U.S. application Ser. No. 10/412,231 relates to subject matters described in the co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/083,638 filed on Feb. 27, 2002 and a U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/412,319 filed on Apr. 14, 2003 and based on Japanese patent application No. 2002-113117 filed on Apr. 16, 2002 in Japan.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a DC backup power supply system, and more particularly to a DC backup power supply system having a charge-discharge circuit for charging and discharging power between a battery and a DC line.
An uninterruptible power system (UPS) is externally installed on a so-called information processing apparatus such as a server, a router and a storage to deal with an unexpected power failure of a commercial AC power supply system and avoid damages such as data loss to be caused by the power failure. A rack-mount type UPS is commercially available which can be mounted on a rack having a width of about 480 mm called a 19-inch rack for information processing apparatuses. This rack has such a dimension as described, for example, in a “Smart-UPS” catalog of APC Japan, Ltd. This UPS is an AC backup power supply system which supplies an AC output power from a rechargeable battery to a load via an inverter and a transformer to retain the load operation.
Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication JP-A-2000-197347 discloses a DC backup power supply system to be used for a system in which a DC power is supplied from an AC power supply system to a load via an AC/DC converter and a DC/DC converter. In this Publication, it is proposed to connect the DC backup power supply system to an intermediate DC line between both the converters in order to increase the conversion efficiency and reduce the volume and cost.
Although a seal type lead battery generally used as a rechargeable battery of UPS is relatively inexpensive, it has a large volume and is difficult to be mounted on an information processing apparatus or the like. In addition, in order to retain the reliability of an information processing apparatus or the like, double or triple redundancy of a backup power supply system is required so that the size of UPS becomes larger and the mount issue becomes more serious.
Since a seal type lead battery contains lead, it is associated with the problem of adverse affects upon the environments if it is dumped as lead waste.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is an object of the present invention to provide a compact DC backup power supply system. Specifically, a DC backup power supply system having a capacity of 1 to 1.4 kVA is made as compact as 45 mm height or lower to be able to be mounted in a 19-inch rack having a one unit (1U) size.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a DC backup power supply system is provided which comprises: a battery; a charge-discharge circuit for charging and discharging a power between the battery and a DC line; and a control circuit for controlling the charge-discharge circuit, wherein the battery has a number of battery cells and cylindrical portions of the battery cells are laid on an approximately horizontal plane.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, used as the battery cell is a nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) rechargeable battery cell having a high energy density.
With this constitution, a thin DC backup power supply system is realized having a number of nickel-metal-hydride battery cells of a sub-C size about 43 mm in height and about 22.5 mm in diameter.
In particular, in order to supply a rated output power of 700 W or larger per one DC backup power supply system, 40 or more nickel-metal-hydride battery cells are used, without using seal type lead battery cells which are the bottleneck of thinning the system. Two DC backup power supply systems can be accommodated in a space corresponding to one unit (1U) size of a 19-inch rack. In this case, it is preferable to connect at least two sets of nickel-metal-hydride battery cells in parallel.
If three DC backup power supply systems are accommodated in a space corresponding to 1U size of a 19-inch rack, the rated output power of 400 W or larger per each system can be obtained by using 20 or more sub-C size nickel-metal-hydride battery cells.
According to another aspect of the invention, the voltage at the DC line, i.e., at the connection point to the charge-discharge circuit, is set to 51 to 55 V if the full-charged voltage of the battery is 48 V or higher. A rated output power is ensured for 6 minutes or longer to back up a load during power failure by using nickel-metal-hydride battery cells, under the conditions that a temperature of the battery is 10° C. or higher, an internal impedance of the battery is twice or lower than an initial value and the battery is in a full-charged state.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Heat is generated in the backup power supply systems 1 mainly during discharge. In such a case, the control circuits 7 make the cooling fans 13 rotate to blow air through a path from the front air vents 12 to the charge-discharge circuits 6, battery packs and to the cooling fans 13 to cool the backup power supply system 1.
The control circuit 7 always monitors the state of the battery pack to control a charge current of the charge-discharge circuit. When the battery pack 5 enters a full-charged state, the control circuit 7 controls to stop the operation of the charge-discharge circuit 6. The two backup power supply systems 1 have the same structure and independently monitor the states of the battery packs 5 to perform charge control. By stopping the operation of the charge-discharge circuit 6 in the full-charged state, a so-called trickle charge can be prevented and the life time of each nickel-metal-hydride battery cell can be prolonged.
Consider now the charge of nickel-metal-hydride battery cells 15 of 28 cells×two parallel sets=56 cells. A cell having a nominal voltage of 1.2 V rises to 1.6 V in the full-charged state. A voltage across the battery back 5 having 28 cells is therefore 44.8 V. In this case, if the setting voltage of the intermediate DC line 29, i.e., the setting voltage at the output terminal 21 of the backup power supply system 1, is set around 48 V, it becomes impossible to retain the terminal voltage of 44.8 V of the battery pack 5, because of a variation in the DC output voltage to be caused by the control error of ±10% of the AC/DC converter 34 and by a circuit voltage drop. In the embodiment of the invention, therefore, the center value (design value) of the voltage of the intermediate DC line 29 is set to 54 V with some margin to thereby reliably maintain the charge voltage even under such variation and voltage drop. There is generally no practical problem if the center value is set to 51 to 55 V.
The voltage at the output point may be set to DC 380 V which is an output of a phase factor circuit (PFC) built in a general AC/DC converter. In this case, however, it is to be noted that as compared to the 48 V (or 51 to 55 V as described earlier) series, the insulation of the backup power supply system and DC power/signal cable 24 becomes difficult.
The operation will be described which is made when the commercial AC power source 32 fails. As the commercial AC power source 32 fails, an output voltage of the AC/DC converter 34 lowers. At this time, the power-good signal supplied from the AC/DC converter changes to an abnormal state signal. This change is similarly applied to failure of the AC/DC converter 34. This change in the power-good signal is electrically sent to the control circuit 7 of the backup power supply system 1 via the connector 29, DC power/signal cable 24 and connector 21. Upon reception of this change in the power-good signal, the backup power supply system 1 starts the discharge operation of the charge-discharge circuit 6. The DC power of the battery pack 5 is converted into the predetermined 48 V (or 51 to 55 V as described earlier) by a boost converter of chopper in the charge-discharge circuit 6, the converted voltage being applied to the output point of the AC/DC converter 34. The boost converter of chopper is made of a well-known circuit constituted of the coil 8, a semiconductor device such as a power MOSFET mounted on the heat sink 11 and the electrolytic capacitors 9.
As described with reference to
Similarly, as seen from
In the backup power supply system 1 of the invention, the efficiency of the backup power supply system 1 can be improved more than an AC output type UPS by the amount corresponding to the efficiency of the AC/DC converter because the AC/DC converter does not feed power during the backup. In other words, the backup power supply system having the same capacity as that of an AC output type UPS can prolong the backup time more than AC output type UPS by the amount corresponding to the efficiency of the AC/DC converter. For example, assuming that the efficiency of an AC/DC converter is 90% and the backup time of an AC output type UPS is 6 min, then the backup time of a backup power supply system having the same capacity becomes 6 min/0.9=6.6 min.
In this embodiment, the switching from a power failure to an output of 48 V (or 51 to 55 V as described earlier) can be performed in several hundreds ps. Therefore, an input to the DC/DC converter 35 does not change greatly so that the DC/DC converter 35 operates independently from the power failure. The load 39 can continue its operation stably. If power failure is recovered in relatively short time and the commercial AC power source 32 recovers, the power-good signal of the AC/DC converter 34 changes from the abnormal state to the normal state. This signal change is detected by the control circuit 7 to stop the discharge.
The remaining capacity (SOC) of the battery pack is always monitored by the control circuit 7. SOC can be estimated mainly through cumulative addition of charge current or discharge current to and from the battery pack 5. If SOC of the battery pack 5 lowers because of long power failure, the control circuit 7 outputs a shut-down signal to the control circuit 36 which in turn enters a shutdown operation. This operation is, for example, an operation of saving the contents of the memory 38 into the disk 37.
After the shutdown operation, the control circuit 36 sends an UPS shutdown signal to the control circuit 7 which in turn stops the discharge of the battery pack.
Next, the description will be made on the operation to be executed when the backup power supply system 1 fails. When the backup power supply system 1 fails, the control circuit 7 stops the operation of the charge-discharge circuit 6 and indicates an alarm on LEDs 4. Although not shown, this alarm may be effected by using a buzzer built in the backup power supply system 1. A failure of the backup power supply system 1 may be notified to the control circuit 36 to notify it to the user from the system side. After the user recognizes the failure of the backup power supply system 1 in this manner, the backup power supply system 1 is replaced with a new one. In the replacement process of the backup power supply system 1, the switch 22 on the back side is turned off and the cables are pulled out to draw out the system with the handle 19. Next, the normal backup power supply system 1 is inserted as shown in
As plotted by a black circle (a) in
A DC backup power supply system according to the second embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12.
The operation of the backup power supply system 1 of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment. The capacity per one backup power supply system is different between the first and second embodiments. This point will be described with reference to
As plotted by a black circle (b) in
Each of thirty nickel-metal-hydride battery cells 15 has 1.6 V near the full-charged state. The voltage across the terminals of the battery pack 5 is therefore 30×1.6 V=48 V. In this case, the setting voltage at the intermediate DC line 29, i.e., the setting voltage at the output terminal 21 of the backup power supply system 1, is required to be set to a voltage at least higher than by an amount corresponding to the circuit voltage drop. Also in the second embodiment, the voltage at the intermediate DC line 29 is set to 54 V so that the charge voltage can be retained with some margin even if there are the regulation variation of the AC/DC converter 34 and the circuit voltage drop.
Also in the backup power supply system of this embodiment, each function of charge, discharge and peakcut can operate in the similar manner as that of the first embodiment.
According to the above-described embodiments, by replacing a rack mount AC output type UPS by a backup power supply system of the embodiments, the backup function of the same capacity can be realized by a thinner size, 1U size. It becomes possible to increase the number of load systems such as systems, information processing apparatuses and servers. The capacity of such a load system can be increased so that the packaging density of a rack can be increased.
Also in the above embodiments, when rechargeable battery cells and other components in the backup power supply system are to be maintained and replaced, each backup power supply system can be hot-swapped through connection and disconnection of the connectors and cables on the back side. Replacement works can be performed while the load is maintained to operate and is not turned off.
With the peakcut function of the backup power supply system, it is possible to realize input power equalization and reduce a contract electric power, a rated capacity of the AC/DC converter and a cost.
By using not a seal type lead battery but a nickel-metal-hydride battery, the environment load when lead is otherwise dumped can be mitigated and a safe system can be provided.
According to the invention, a DC backup power supply system can be realized in a thin size and can be mounted easily on a rack having systems, information processing apparatuses, servers and the like.
If a seal type lead battery is not used but a nickel-metal-hydride battery is used, the environment load when lead is otherwise dumped can be mitigated and a safe system can be provided.
It should be further understood by those skilled in the art that although the foregoing description has been made on embodiments of the invention, the invention is not limited thereto and various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. An information apparatus comprising a DC backup power supply system for supplying DC power to the information apparatus, wherein the DC backup power supply system includes a battery pack having a plurality of sets of battery cells, each set including a plurality of serially connected battery cells extending in one direction, and the plurality of sets of the battery cells being disposed in a second direction which is transverse to the first direction, the plurality of sets of battery cells being serially connected to one another, and at least adjacent sets of the battery cells having an insulated sheet disposed therebetween.
2. An information apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the DC backup power supply system supplies DC power to the information apparatus which normally receives DC power through an AC/DC converter supplying the DC power to the information apparatus through a DC/DC converter, and the DC backup power supply system further includes a charge-discharge circuit, and a control circuit, wherein the DC backup power supply system is connected to the information apparatus so as to supply the DC power to the information apparatus through the DC/DC converter.
3. An information apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first direction is a horizontal direction and the second direction is a vertical direction.
4. A DC backup power supply system according to claim 1, wherein cylindrical portions of the battery cells are laid on an approximately horizontal plane, and a height of the battery pack is not greater than 45 mm.
5. An information apparatus according to claim 1, wherein cylindrical portions of the battery cells are laid on an approximately horizontal plane, and the battery pack is accommodated in a space having a height corresponding to one unit (1U) size of a 19-inch rack.
6. An information apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the battery pack includes at least 25 sub-C size nickel-metal-hydride battery cells.
7. An information apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least five battery cells are arranged in each set, and an insulating sheet is arranged at a bottom and a top of a first and a last set of the plurality of sets and between sets of the battery pack arranged between the first and last set.
8. An information apparatus according to claim 1, wherein five sets of the battery cells form the battery pack.
9. An information apparatus according to claim 1, wherein seven cells form one set of battery cells, and four sets of battery cells are provided.
10. An information apparatus according to claim 1, wherein five cells form one set of battery cells, and six sets of battery cells are provided.
11. An information apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the battery cells are arranged such that the positive electrode of one battery cell is adjacent to the negative electrode of a next battery cell and electrically connected.
12. An information apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a height of the charge-discharge circuit and the control circuit are greater than the height of the battery pack.
13. An information apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the height of the charge-discharge circuit and the control circuit are under 44 mm.
14. An information apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information apparatus is a storage apparatus.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 2, 2005
Publication Date: Jul 7, 2005
Inventors: Akihiko Kanouda (Hitachinaka), Minehiro Nemoto (Hitachi), Fumikazu Takahashi (Hitachi), Masahiro Hamaogi (Odawara), Yoshihide Takahashi (Odawara), Takashi Tanabe (Nakai), Takao Gotou (Kawasaki), Masato Isogai (Mito), Toshikatsu Miyata (Suita)
Application Number: 11/068,828