Power control unit, processing system, processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide a power control unit capable of imparting redundancy to output power.SOLUTION: A power control unit comprises: a first switch provided in such a manner that an output of a first solar panel and an input of a first power control slice can be connected with each other; a second switch provided in such a manner that an output of a second solar panel and an input of a second power control slice can be connected with each other; a third switch provided in such a manner that an input of the first power control slice and an input of the second power control slice can be connected with each other; and a controller for controlling each of the first power control slice and the second power control slice to an operating state, a standby state or a stopped state by controlling each of the first switch, the second switch, and the third switch in an on state or an off state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a power controller, a processing system, a processing method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Artificial satellites are used for a variety of purposes. Patent Document 1 discloses a related technique, which is a power supply module for a microsatellite system that provides an uninterrupted power supply. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2023-507207 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In space, where artificial satellites orbit, if equipment such as a power controller inside a satellite breaks down, it is not easy to repair it. Therefore, there is a demand for technology that can provide redundancy to the power output by the power controller.

[0005] An object of each aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a power controller, a processing system, a processing method, and a program that can solve the above-mentioned problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the power controller includes a first switch configured to connect the output of a first solar panel and the input of a first power control slice, a second switch configured to connect the output of a second solar panel and the input of a second power control slice, a third switch configured to connect the input of the first power control slice and the input of the second power control slice, and a controller that controls each of the first switch, the second switch, and the third switch to an on or off state, and controls each of the first power control slice and the second power control slice to either an operating state, a standby state, or a stopped state.

[0007] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a processing system includes the above-mentioned power controller, the first solar panel, and the second solar panel.

[0008] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a processing method includes controlling each of a first switch configured to connect an output of a first solar panel and an input of a first power control slice, a second switch configured to connect an output of a second solar panel and an input of a second power control slice, and a third switch configured to connect an input of the first power control slice and an input of the second power control slice to an on or off state, and controlling each of the first power control slice and the second power control slice to either an operating state, a standby state, or a stopped state.

[0009] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the program causes a controller of a power controller to control each of a first switch configured to connect the output of a first solar panel and the input of a first power control slice, a second switch configured to connect the output of a second solar panel and the input of a second power control slice, and a third switch configured to connect the input of the first power control slice and the input of the second power control slice to an on or off state, and to control each of the first power control slice and the second power control slice to either an operating state, a standby state, or a stopped state. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to each aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide redundancy to the power output by the power controller. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a configuration of a processing system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an APR slice according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a first diagram for explaining processing of a processing system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a second diagram for explaining processing of a processing system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] FIG. 3 is a third diagram for explaining processing of a processing system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a fourth diagram for explaining processing of a processing system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 5 is a fifth diagram for explaining processing of a processing system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a power controller according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing flow of a power controller according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of a computer according to at least one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. <Embodiment> (Processing System Configuration) A processing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The processing system 1 is a system in which a power controller that supplies power generated in an artificial satellite or the like to a battery and each device has a redundant function.

[0013] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a processing system 1 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 1, the processing system 1 includes solar panels 10a and 10b and a power controller 20. The solar panels 10a and 10b may be collectively referred to as solar panels 10.

[0014] Each of the solar panels 10 generates power by receiving sunlight. The generated power is supplied to a battery and various devices via a power controller 20.

[0015] The power controller 20 generates power of a voltage suitable for each device from the power generated by the solar panel 10. The power controller 20 then supplies the generated power to each device. The power controller 20 also controls the charging and discharging of the battery power.

[0016] 1, the power controller 20 includes a controller 201, APR (Array Power Regulator) slices 202a and 202b, a power combining circuit 203, and a switch 204. The APR slices 202a and 202b may be collectively referred to as APR slices 202.

[0017] When an APR slice 202 fails, the controller 201 recognizes the failure of the APR slice 202 by receiving a signal notifying the failure from the failed APR slice 202. The signal notifying the failure may be transmitted by communicating a signal of 0 (low level) or 1 (high level) between the controller 201 and each of the APR slices 202 using a general-purpose IO (Input / Output) pin. The controller 201 may recognize that the APR slice 202 has failed when a timeout occurs during communication with the APR slice 202.

[0018] Furthermore, when the controller 201 is to enter the standby mode, it turns off the APR slice 202 to which it is to be put.

[0019] Furthermore, the controller 201 controls the switch 204 to an on or off state in order to provide redundancy to the power controller 20. The control of the switch 204 by the controller 201 will be described in detail later.

[0020] When each of the APR slices 202 is in the on state under the control of the controller 201, it generates power of a voltage suitable for each device from the power supplied from the solar panel 10. Then, the APR slice 202 in the on state supplies the generated power to each device.

[0021] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an APR slice 202 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, each of the APR slices 202 includes a power conversion unit 2021, a voltage / current sensor unit 2022, a control unit 2023, and a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) generation unit 2024.

[0022] The power conversion unit 2021 has a transistor switch, and generates power of a voltage Vout suitable for each device from the input voltage Vin (i.e., the voltage of the power supplied from the solar panel 10) by turning the transistor switch on or off.

[0023] The voltage / current sensor unit 2022 detects the voltage and current at the output of the power conversion unit 2021 .

[0024] The control unit 2023 causes the PWM generating unit 2024 to generate a PWM signal such that the voltage and current at the output of the power conversion unit 2021 become desired voltage and current (i.e., a voltage Vout suitable for each device and a current corresponding thereto) based on the voltage and current detection results by the voltage / current sensor unit 2022. The control unit 2023 communicates with the controller 201 via a communication IF (Interface) using a communication protocol such as CAN (Controller Area Network).

[0025] Under the control of the control unit 2023, the PWM generating unit 2024 generates a PWM signal that sets the voltage and current at the output of the power converting unit 2021 to desired voltage and current.

[0026] The power combining circuit 203 combines the powers output by the APR slices 202. The power combining circuit 203 is, for example, a bus bar that connects the outputs of the APR slices 202 to each other.

[0027] The switch 204 connects the solar panel 10 and the APR slice 202. The switch 204 includes switches 204a, 204b, and 204c as shown in Fig. 1. Each of the switches 204a, 204b, and 204c is, for example, a transistor switch.

[0028] 1, the switch 204a is provided between the solar panel 10a and the APR slice 202a. When the switch 204a is turned on under the control of the controller 201, the switch 204a connects the output of the solar panel 10a to the input of the APR slice 202a. When the switch 204a is turned off under the control of the controller 201, the switch 204a disconnects the output of the solar panel 10a from the input of the APR slice 202a.

[0029] 1, switch 204b is provided between solar panel 10b and APR slice 202b. When switch 204b is turned on under the control of controller 201, it connects the output of solar panel 10b to the input of APR slice 202b. When switch 204b is turned off under the control of controller 201, it disconnects the output of solar panel 10b from the input of APR slice 202b.

[0030] 1, the switch 204c is provided between the APR slice 202a and the APR slice 202b. When the switch 204c is turned on under the control of the controller 201, the switch 204c connects the input of the APR slice 202a to the input of the APR slice 202b. When the switch 204c is turned off under the control of the controller 201, the switch 204c disconnects the input of the APR slice 202a from the input of the APR slice 202b.

[0031] (Processing performed by the processing system) The above-described processing performed by the processing system 1 is merely an example, and the processing performed by the processing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described processing. For example, the processing system 1 may perform the processing described below.

[0032] Next, a process of providing redundancy to the power controller 20 in the processing system 1 will be described with reference to Figs. 3 to 7. Fig. 3 is a first diagram for describing a process of the processing system 1 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig. 4 is a second diagram for describing a process of the processing system 1 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig. 5 is a third diagram for describing a process of the processing system 1 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig. 6 is a fourth diagram for describing a process of the processing system 1 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig. 7 is a fifth diagram for describing a process of the processing system 1 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0033] (regular redundancy) First, the processing performed by the processing system 1 during active redundancy will be described. Active redundancy is a control that constantly operates both APR slices 202a and 202b. In this case, as shown in Fig. 3, the controller 201 controls switches 204a and 204b to be on and switch 204c to be off, and operates each of the APR slices 202. As a result, the output of the power controller 20 is a combination of the power output by APR slice 202a and the power output by APR slice 202b.

[0034] Here, it is assumed that the APR slice 202a fails as shown in FIG. 4. The APR slice 202a transmits a signal notifying the failure to the controller 201. The controller 201 recognizes the failure of the APR slice 202a. The controller 201 may recognize that the APR slice 202a fails when a timeout occurs during communication with the APR slice 202a. In this case, the controller 201 controls the switches 204a and 204b to be in the ON state and the switch 204c to be in the OFF state as shown in FIG. 4, thereby operating the APR slice 202b and stopping the APR slice 202a. As a result, the output of the power controller 20 becomes the power output by the APR slice 202b, and is reduced by the amount of the power output by the APR slice 202a.

[0035] (standby redundancy) Next, a process performed by the processing system 1 during standby redundancy will be described. Standby redundancy is a control in which one of the APR slices 202a and 202b is constantly operating and the other is in standby, and the standby APR slice is operated when the constantly operating APR slice fails. For example, when the APR slice 202a is constantly operating and the APR slice 202b is in standby, the controller 201 controls the switch 204a to be in an on state and the switches 204b and 204c to be in an off state, as shown in FIG. 5, to operate the APR slice 202a and to put the APR slice 202b in standby. As a result, the output of the power controller 20 is the power output by the APR slice 202a. In this case, since the APR slice 202b is in standby, it is possible to suppress failures and performance degradation caused by operation.

[0036] Now, assume that solar panel 10b fails as shown in Fig. 6. Furthermore, if APR slice 202a fails, controller 201 controls switches 204a and 204c to be on and switch 204b to be off, as shown in Fig. 7, to operate APR slice 202b and stop APR slice 202a. As a result, the output of power controller 20 becomes the power output by APR slice 202b, and it can be expected to be equivalent to the power output by APR slice 202a.

[0037] The above-mentioned active redundancy and standby redundancy can be arbitrarily selected depending on whether the controller 201 operates the APR slice 202 or places it in a standby state.

[0038] (advantage) The processing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above. In the processing system 1, the power controller 20 includes a switch 204a (an example of a first switch) that is provided to be able to connect the output of the solar panel 10a (an example of a first solar panel) and the input of the APR slice 202a (an example of a first power control slice), a switch 204b (an example of a second switch) that is provided to be able to connect the output of the solar panel 10b (an example of a second solar panel) and the input of the APR slice 202b (an example of a second power control slice), a switch 204c (an example of a third switch) that is provided to be able to connect the input of the APR slice 202a and the input of the APR slice 202b, and a controller 201 that controls each of the switches 204a, 204b, and 204c to an on state or an off state, and controls each of the APR slices 202a and 202b to an operating state, a standby state, or a stopped state. This power controller can provide redundancy to the power output by the power controller.

[0039] 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a power controller 300 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the power controller 300 includes a first switch 301, a second switch 302, a third switch 303, and a controller 304.

[0040] A first switch 301 is provided to be capable of connecting an output of a first solar panel and an input of a first power control slice. A second switch 302 is provided to be capable of connecting an output of a second solar panel and an input of a second power control slice. A third switch 303 is provided to be capable of connecting an input of the first power control slice and an input of the second power control slice. A controller 304 controls each of the first switch 301, the second switch 302, and the third switch 303 to an on state or an off state, and controls each of the first power control slice and the second power control slice to an operating state, a standby state, or a stopped state.

[0041] The first switch 301 can be realized, for example, by using the function of the switch 204a illustrated in Figures 1, 3 to 7. The second switch 302 can be realized, for example, by using the function of the switch 204b illustrated in Figures 1, 3 to 7. The third switch 303 can be realized, for example, by using the function of the switch 204c illustrated in Figures 1, 3 to 7. The controller 304 can be realized, for example, by using the function of the controller 201 illustrated in Figures 1, 3 to 7.

[0042] 9 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow of the power controller 300 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Next, processing of the power controller 300 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG.

[0043] The controller 304 controls each of a first switch arranged to connect the output of a first solar panel and the input of a first power control slice, a second switch arranged to connect the output of a second solar panel and the input of a second power control slice, and a third switch arranged to connect the input of the first power control slice and the input of the second power control slice to an on or off state, and controls each of the first power control slice and the second power control slice to either an operating state, a standby state, or a stopped state (step S101).

[0044] The power controller 300 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above. This power controller 300 can provide redundancy to the power output by the power controller.

[0045] It should be noted that the order of the processes in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be changed as long as appropriate processes are performed.

[0046] Although the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described, the above-mentioned processing system 1, power controller 20, and other control devices may have a computer system inside. The above-mentioned process steps are stored in a computer-readable recording medium in the form of a program, and the above-mentioned process is performed by the computer reading and executing the program. Specific examples of computers are shown below.

[0047] 10 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a computer according to at least one embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, the computer 5 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 6, a main memory 7, a storage 8, and an interface 9.

[0048] For example, the above-mentioned processing system 1, power controller 20, and other control devices are each implemented in a computer 5. The operations of the above-mentioned processing units are stored in the storage 8 in the form of a program. The CPU 6 reads the program from the storage 8, loads it in the main memory 7, and executes the above-mentioned processes according to the program. The CPU 6 also secures storage areas in the main memory 7 corresponding to the above-mentioned storage units according to the program. The CPU 6 of the present disclosure may be a controller.

[0049] Examples of the storage 8 include a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disc read only memory (DVD-ROM), and a semiconductor memory. The storage 8 may be an internal medium directly connected to the bus of the computer 5, or an external medium connected to the computer 5 via an interface 9 or a communication line. In addition, when the program is distributed to the computer 5 via a communication line, the computer 5 that receives the program may load the program into the main memory 7 and execute the above-mentioned process. In at least one embodiment, the storage 8 is a non-transitory tangible storage medium.

[0050] The program may also realize some of the functions described above. Furthermore, the program may be a file that can realize the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system, that is, a so-called differential file (differential program).

[0051] Although some embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, these embodiments are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure. Various additions, omissions, substitutions, and modifications may be made to these embodiments without departing from the gist of the disclosure.

[0052] Note that some or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes.

[0053] (Appendix 1) a first switch that is provided so as to be connectable between an output of the first solar panel and an input of the first power control slice; a second switch configured to be connectable between an output of the second solar panel and an input of the second power control slice; a third switch configured to be able to connect an input of the first power control slice and an input of the second power control slice; a controller that controls each of the first switch, the second switch, and the third switch to an on state or an off state, and controls each of the first power control slice and the second power control slice to an operating state, a standby state, or a stopped state; A power controller comprising:

[0054] (Appendix 2) The controller: A power controller as described in Appendix 1, which controls the first switch and the second switch to an on state and the third switch to an off state, and controls the first power control slice and the second power control slice to an operating state.

[0055] (Appendix 3) The controller: When the first power control slice fails, the first switch and the second switch are controlled to an on state and the third switch is controlled to an off state, so that the first power control slice is controlled to a stopped state and the second power control slice is controlled to an operating state. 3. A power controller as claimed in claim 2.

[0056] (Appendix 4) The controller: A power controller as described in Appendix 1, which controls the first switch to an on state, the second switch and the third switch to an off state, and controls the first power control slice to an operating state and the second power control slice to a standby state.

[0057] (Appendix 5) The controller: When the first solar panel and the first power control slice fail, the first switch is controlled to an on state, the second switch and the third switch are controlled to an off state, the first power control slice is controlled to a stopped state, and the second power control slice is controlled to an operating state. 5. A power controller as claimed in claim 4.

[0058] (Appendix 6) A power controller according to any one of claims 1 to 5; the first solar panel and the second solar panel; A processing system comprising:

[0059] (Appendix 7) controlling a first switch capable of connecting the output of a first solar panel and the input of a first power control slice, a second switch capable of connecting the output of a second solar panel and the input of a second power control slice, and a third switch capable of connecting the input of the first power control slice and the input of the second power control slice to an on or off state, thereby controlling each of the first power control slice and the second power control slice to an operating state, a standby state, or a stopped state; A processing method comprising:

[0060] (Appendix 8) The controller of the power regulator controlling a first switch capable of connecting the output of a first solar panel and the input of a first power control slice, a second switch capable of connecting the output of a second solar panel and the input of a second power control slice, and a third switch capable of connecting the input of the first power control slice and the input of the second power control slice to an on or off state, thereby controlling each of the first power control slice and the second power control slice to an operating state, a standby state, or a stopped state; A program that executes the following. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 1. Processing system 5. Computers 6. CPU 7. Main memory 8. Storage 9. Interface 10, 10a, 10b...Solar panel 20, 300... Power controller 201, 304...Controller 202, 202a, 202b...APR slices 203...Power combining circuit 204, 204a, 204b, 204c... Switch 301···First switch 302 Second switch 303...Third switch

Claims

1. a first switch configured to be connectable between an output of the first solar panel and an input of the first power control slice; a second switch configured to be connectable between an output of the second solar panel and an input of the second power control slice; a third switch configured to be able to connect an input of the first power control slice to an input of the second power control slice; a controller that controls each of the first switch, the second switch, and the third switch to an on state or an off state, and controls each of the first power control slice and the second power control slice to an operating state, a standby state, or a stopped state; A power controller comprising:

2. The controller:

2. The power controller according to claim 1, wherein the first switch and the second switch are controlled to an on state, the third switch is controlled to an off state, and the first power control slice and the second power control slice are controlled to an active state.

3. The controller: When the first power control slice fails, the first switch and the second switch are controlled to an on state and the third switch is controlled to an off state, so that the first power control slice is controlled to a stopped state and the second power control slice is controlled to an operating state. The power controller of claim 2 .

4. The controller: controlling the first switch to an on state, the second switch and the third switch to an off state, and controlling the first power control slice to an operating state and the second power control slice to a standby state; The power controller of claim 1 .

5. The controller: When the first solar panel and the first power control slice fail, the first switch is controlled to an on state, the second switch and the third switch are controlled to an off state, the first power control slice is controlled to a stopped state, and the second power control slice is controlled to an operating state. The power controller of claim 4.

6. A power controller according to any one of claims 1 to 5; the first solar panel and the second solar panel; A processing system comprising:

7. controlling, to an on or off state, each of a first switch provided so as to be capable of connecting the output of a first solar panel and the input of a first power control slice, a second switch provided so as to be capable of connecting the output of a second solar panel and the input of a second power control slice, and a third switch provided so as to be capable of connecting the input of the first power control slice and the input of the second power control slice, thereby controlling each of the first power control slice and the second power control slice to either an operating state, a standby state, or a stopped state; A processing method comprising:

8. The controller of the power regulator controlling, to an on or off state, each of a first switch provided so as to be capable of connecting the output of a first solar panel and the input of a first power control slice, a second switch provided so as to be capable of connecting the output of a second solar panel and the input of a second power control slice, and a third switch provided so as to be capable of connecting the input of the first power control slice and the input of the second power control slice, thereby controlling each of the first power control slice and the second power control slice to either an operating state, a standby state, or a stopped state; A program that executes the following.

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