Over-voltage protection method, and over-voltage protection device using the same

Abstract

To provide an over-voltage protection method for protecting an apparatus from a voltage surge only by constituting an over-voltage protection device between a power supply and the apparatus, and to provide an over-voltage protection device.SOLUTION: A method comprises the steps of: electrically connecting an input terminal of a unidirectional path circuit to a first apparatus, and electrically connecting an output terminal of the unidirectional path circuit to a second apparatus; electrically connecting a converter to the output terminal and a super capacitor; detecting a first voltage of first power flow at the output terminal by the converter; and charging the super capacitor by the first power flow in response to the fact that the first voltage is larger than a first threshold value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention is directed to an overvoltage protection method and an overvoltage protection device. [Background technology]

[0002] Logistics automation is a precise process where different motors in a conveyor system can stop or start at different times. When a motor suddenly stops, it can cause a voltage spike on the power line, damaging the power line and the motor controller. Power supplies dedicated to the motors may have built-in protection to prevent voltage surges from being fed back into the equipment, and voltage surges to the motor controller can be avoided by configuring a more gentle stop. However, in some cases, such as when using an existing power supply without built-in protection or when emergency motor braking is required, these arrangements are not practical. Therefore, separate protection against power surges is required. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] The present invention is directed to an overvoltage protection method and an overvoltage protection device, which can protect equipment from voltage surges according to voltage detection results. [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] The present invention is directed to an overvoltage protection device including a one-way path circuit, a supercapacitor, and a converter. The one-way path circuit includes an input terminal electrically connected to a first device and an output terminal electrically connected to a second device. The converter is electrically connected to the output terminal and the supercapacitor. The converter detects a first voltage of a first power flow at the output terminal and charges the supercapacitor with the first power flow in response to the first voltage being greater than a first threshold.

[0005] In one embodiment of the present invention, the converter discharges the supercapacitor in response to a second voltage stored by the supercapacitor being greater than a second threshold.

[0006] In one embodiment of the invention, the converter discharges the supercapacitor in response to a third voltage at the output terminal being less than a third threshold, where the third threshold is less than or equal to the first threshold.

[0007] In one embodiment of the invention, the third threshold is greater than a fourth voltage of the second power flow provided by the first device.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, the converter provides a third power flow to a second device via the output terminals by discharging the supercapacitor.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the converter converts a third power flow discharged by the supercapacitor from a second voltage to a third voltage and provides the converted third power flow to a second device, where the third voltage is greater than the second voltage.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, the converter converts a first power flow from a first voltage to a fifth voltage and charges a supercapacitor with the converted first power flow, where the fifth voltage is less than the first voltage.

[0011] In one embodiment of the invention, the first device includes a power source and the second device includes a motor.

[0012] The present invention is directed to an overvoltage protection method including electrically connecting an input terminal of a unidirectional path circuit to a first device and an output terminal of the unidirectional path circuit to a second device, electrically connecting a converter to the output terminal and a supercapacitor, detecting a first voltage of a first power flow at the output terminal by the converter, and charging the supercapacitor with the first power flow in response to the first voltage being greater than a first threshold. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the above description, the present invention can protect equipment from voltage surges simply by providing an overvoltage protection device between a power source and the equipment.

[0014] In order to make the foregoing more easily understandable, several embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. [Figure 1] 1 shows a schematic diagram of an overvoltage protection device according to one embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 shows a flowchart of an overvoltage protection method according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] In order to facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, several embodiments are described below as examples of the present invention. Furthermore, elements / components / steps having the same reference numerals are used to represent the same or similar parts in the figures and embodiments, where appropriate.

[0017] 1 shows a schematic diagram of an overvoltage protection device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The overvoltage protection device 100 may be configured between an equipment 10 and an equipment 20, where the equipment 10 may include a power source and the equipment 20 may include an electric load such as a motor or a motor control card. The overvoltage protection device 100 can protect the equipment 10 from a voltage surge damage caused by the stop of the equipment 20.

[0018] The overvoltage protection device 100 may include a one-way path circuit 110, a converter 120, and a supercapacitor 130. An input terminal of the one-way path circuit 110 may be electrically connected to the device 10, and an output terminal of the one-way path circuit 110 may be electrically connected to the device 20. The one-way path circuit 110 may restrict the direction of a signal (e.g., power flow, current, or voltage) so that the signal can only be transmitted from the device 10 to the device 20. The signal from the device 20 cannot be transmitted to the device 10 through the one-way path circuit 110. When a voltage surge occurs in the power receiving device 20, the power surge cannot pass through the one-way path circuit 110. In one embodiment, the one-way path circuit 110 may be realized by an ORing diode.

[0019] The converter 120 may include a bidirectional direct current (DC) / DC converter. The converter 120 may be configured between the output terminal of the unidirectional path circuit 110 and the supercapacitor 130 and may be electrically connected to the output terminal of the unidirectional path circuit 110 and the supercapacitor 130.

[0020] The converter 120 can detect the voltage V1 of the power flow at the output terminal of the one-way path circuit 110. For example, when the voltage V1 is greater than a first threshold (e.g., 26V), which is derived from a power surge caused by the shutdown of the device 20, the converter 120 can convert the voltage of the power flow from the voltage V1 to a voltage V5, and the converter 120 can direct the converted power flow to the supercapacitor 130 to charge the supercapacitor 130. Here, the voltage V5 (e.g., 12V) can be less than the voltage V1 (e.g., 26V). On the other hand, when the voltage V1 is equal to or less than the first threshold, the converter 120 may not direct the power flow to the supercapacitor 130 and may not charge the supercapacitor 130.

[0021] In one embodiment, the converter 120 can detect a voltage V2 stored by the supercapacitor 130. If the voltage V2 is greater than a second threshold (e.g., 10V), the converter 120 can discharge the supercapacitor 130 and provide the power flow discharged by the supercapacitor 130 to the device 20 via the output terminal of the unidirectional pass circuit 110. Specifically, the converter 120 can convert the power flow discharged by the supercapacitor 130 from a voltage V2 to a voltage V3 and provide the converted power flow to the device 20. Here, the voltage V3 (e.g., 25V) may be greater than the voltage V2 (e.g., 10V).

[0022] In one embodiment, the converter 120 may detect a voltage V3 at the output terminal of the unidirectional path circuit 110. If the voltage V3 is less than a third threshold (e.g., 26V), the converter 120 may discharge the supercapacitor 130 to provide a power flow to the device 20 via the output terminal of the unidirectional path circuit 110. Here, the third threshold (e.g., 26V) may be less than or equal to the first threshold (e.g., 26V). In one embodiment, the third threshold (e.g., 26V) may be greater than a voltage V4 (e.g., 24V) of the power flow provided by the device 10.

[0023] FIG2 shows a flow chart of an overvoltage protection method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method can be implemented by the overvoltage protection device 100 shown in FIG1. ​​In step S201, an input terminal of the unidirectional path circuit is electrically connected to a first device, and an output terminal of the unidirectional path circuit is electrically connected to a second device; in step S202, a converter is electrically connected to an output terminal and a supercapacitor. In step S203, a first voltage of a first power flow at the output terminal is detected by the converter. In step S204, in response to the first voltage being greater than a first threshold, the supercapacitor is charged by the first power flow.

[0024] In summary, the overvoltage protection device of the present invention can configure a one-way path circuit between the equipment and the power source. The overvoltage protection device can detect the voltage of the output terminal of the one-way path circuit, and when the detected voltage is greater than a voltage threshold, can direct the power flow from the one-way path circuit to the supercapacitor to reduce the voltage of the surge power. The supercapacitor can be charged accordingly. When the supercapacitor is no longer charged and reaches its discharge voltage, power can flow from the supercapacitor to the converter. The converter can increase the discharge voltage to a value higher than the voltage provided by the power source. Thus, when an electrical load is established from the powered equipment, the power discharged from the supercapacitor can flow through the converter to the equipment and provide it to the powered device before the power from the power source flows through the one-way path circuit to the powered device. Thus, the supercapacitor does not need to store power and can perform charge and discharge cycles.

[0025] It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the above, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations provided they come within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents. [Industrial Applicability]

[0026] The overvoltage protection device can be applied to the power supply of equipment such as a motor controller. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 10, 20: Equipment 100: Overvoltage protection device 110: One-way path circuit 120: Converter 130: Supercapacitor S201, S202, S203, S204: Process

Claims

1. a unidirectional path circuit including an input terminal electrically connected to a first device and an output terminal electrically connected to a second device; A supercapacitor; a converter electrically connected to the output terminal and to the supercapacitor, the converter configured to detect a first voltage of a first power flow at the output terminal and to charge the supercapacitor with the first power flow in response to the first voltage being greater than a first threshold; An overvoltage protection device comprising:

2. The converter discharges the supercapacitor in response to a second voltage stored by the supercapacitor being greater than a second threshold.

2. The overvoltage protection device of claim 1.

3. the converter discharges the supercapacitor in response to a third voltage at the output terminal being less than a third threshold, where the third threshold is less than or equal to the first threshold.

3. The overvoltage protection device of claim 2.

4. the third threshold is greater than a fourth voltage of a second power flow provided by the first device; 4. The overvoltage protection device of claim 3.

5. The converter provides a third power flow to the second device via the output terminal by discharging the supercapacitor.

3. The overvoltage protection device of claim 2.

6. the converter converts the third power flow discharged by the supercapacitor from the second voltage to the third voltage and provides the converted third power flow to the second device, where the third voltage is greater than the second voltage; 6. The overvoltage protection device of claim 5.

7. the converter converts the first power flow from the first voltage to a fifth voltage and charges the supercapacitor with the converted first power flow, where the fifth voltage is less than the first voltage; 3. The overvoltage protection device of claim 2.

8. The first device includes a power source and the second device includes a motor.

2. The overvoltage protection device of claim 1.

9. electrically connecting an input terminal of a one-way path circuit to a first device and an output terminal of the one-way path circuit to a second device; electrically connecting a converter to the output terminals and to a supercapacitor; sensing a first voltage of a first power flow at the output terminals by the converter; charging the supercapacitor with the first power flow in response to the first voltage being greater than a first threshold; An overvoltage protection method comprising:

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