Power distribution optimized for power source switching
The power distribution device addresses the challenge of balancing switching time and inrush factor by allowing user-defined parameters, ensuring smooth power transitions and preventing overload in critical loads.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- VERTIV CORP
- Filing Date
- 2025-11-25
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-05
AI Technical Summary
Existing power distribution systems face challenges in balancing switching time and inrush factor during power source transitions, which can lead to overload and disruption in critical electrical loads.
A power distribution device with a changeover switch and control circuit that allows users to input specific switching time and inrush factor parameters, enabling precise control over power source transitions to minimize disruption and manage inrush currents.
The solution effectively balances switching time and inrush factor, ensuring seamless power transitions that avoid overload and minimize disruption in electrical loads.
Smart Images
Figure 2026092700000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] Reference to Related Applications This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 725,152, filed Nov. 26, 2024. The entire disclosure of the application referenced above is incorporated herein by reference.
[0002] Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a power distribution system, and more particularly to a power distribution system in which a load can receive power from one power source selected from a plurality of power sources.
Background Art
[0003] Background Many large electrical loads may need to operate without substantial interruption. For example, a data center including a plurality of servers may operate continuously. To ensure continuous operation, many electrical loads have a backup power source to ensure power supply when the main power source (or primary power source) cannot supply power for some reason. Different power sources may be connected to the load via a switch.
[0004] One type of switch that enables rapid switching between two different power sources is called a static transfer switch (STS). Using an STS, it is possible to select the power source that supplies power to the load from a plurality of power sources at any given time, and to quickly switch the power when one of the plurality of power sources needs to be taken offline or cannot supply power within a specified limit. When designing an STS for switching power sources, various parameters such as the switching time (the time required to transition from the primary power source to the backup power source) and the inrush factor (the amount by which the inrush current generated during switching exceeds the nominal current) need to be considered.
Summary of the Invention
Means for Solving the Problems
[0005] Summary A power distribution device is disclosed for controlling the switching time and inrush factor when switching power sources. The power distribution device includes a first power source and a second power source configured to supply power to a load. A changeover switch is configured to switch the power source to the load between the first power source and the second power source. A control circuit is configured to control the changeover switch to select one of the first power source and the second power source in order to supply power to the load. The control circuit is configured to control the switching between the first power source and the second power source based on a first user input parameter and a second user input parameter. The first user input parameter specifies a maximum specified switching time, and the second user input parameter specifies a maximum specified inrush factor.
[0006] The above and / or other embodiments will become clearer and more readily apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0007] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing an example of a power distribution system connected to a load. [Figure 2] This figure shows the relationship between the inrush factor and switching time of a changeover switch in a power distribution system, in accordance with this disclosure. [Figure 3] This flowchart illustrates one example of a method for switching the power source that supplies electricity to a load. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0008] Detailed explanation The embodiments shown in the attached drawings will be described in detail below. In the attached drawings, similar reference numerals indicate similar elements. The exemplary embodiments may have different forms and should not be construed as being limited to what is described herein.
[0009] It should be understood that the terms “includes,” “contains,” “equip,” and / or “equip” as used herein identify the presence of the described features, integers, steps, actions, elements, and / or components, and do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, actions, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.
[0010] Furthermore, it should be understood that while this specification uses terms such as “First,” “Second,” and “Third” to describe various elements, components, regions, layers, and / or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers, and / or sections may not be limited by these terms. These terms are used solely to distinguish a particular element, component, region, layer, or section from another element, component, region, layer, or section.
[0011] As used herein, the terms "and / or" include any and all combinations of one or more related enumeration items. Expressions such as "at least one" preceding a list of elements qualify all elements of the list, not individual elements of the list.
[0012] Various terms are used to refer to specific components of the system. Different terms may refer to components with different names, and this specification is not intended to distinguish between components that have different names but the same function.
[0013] Matters that are obvious to those skilled in the art to which these exemplary embodiments belong may not be described in detail herein.
[0014] Power loads that can receive power from different power sources are equipped with a changeover switch to allow switching from one power source (e.g., primary power source) to another (e.g., secondary power source or backup power source). Switching may be necessary for various reasons, such as during maintenance or when a power source is operating beyond its specified limits.
[0015] For certain types of electrical loads, rapid power supply switching is crucial. However, inrush currents can occur during power supply switching, and these currents can overload upstream power structures, potentially causing failure or damage. The inrush factor is an indicator of how much (e.g., a multiple) the inrush current exceeds the nominal current during switching.
[0016] The switching time and inrush factor that occur when switching electrical loads are related to each other. Generally, the inrush factor decreases as the switching time increases. Conversely, the inrush factor increases as the switching time decreases. However, for certain electrical loads, a shorter switching time is required to avoid substantially interrupting their operation.
[0017] This disclosure relates to a power distribution system equipped with a changeover switch having selectable user input parameters, which allows for balancing the switching time and the inrush factor. The changeover switch according to this disclosure allows the user to input the switching time and / or the inrush factor via an input mechanism. Since these two values influence each other, inputting one value changes the other. The user input allows for selecting a value that switches power from one source to another within a timeframe that minimizes disruption to the electrical load, while also managing the inrush current to avoid overload conditions. Various embodiments of such power distribution systems are described in further detail below.
[0018] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating a power distribution system connected to a load according to the present disclosure. The illustrated power distribution system 100 is connected to supply power to a load 101. The power distribution system 100 includes a first power source 102A and a second power source 102B. In some embodiments, one of these power sources is designated as a primary power source, and the other as a secondary or backup power source.
[0019] In the drawings, power supplies 102A and 102B are shown as AC power supplies, but this is a non-limiting example. Each of power supplies 102A and 102B is connected to switch 105 via a corresponding relay 109. At any given time, one of power supplies 102A and 102B is supplying power to load 101, while the other power supply is generating power in standby mode. In some embodiments, power supplies 102A and 102B are substantially identical and each can supply power to load 101 at a specified range of voltage and current.
[0020] In the illustrated example, switch 105 is a static changeover switch (STS) that can provide relatively rapid switching of power sources to minimize interruptions to the power supplied to load 101. The illustrated transformer 111 is connected between switch 105 and load 101. This transformer may be a step-down transformer for reducing the voltage received from the currently selected power sources 102A and 102B.
[0021] In addition, the power distribution system 100 includes a control circuit 103. The functions performed by the control circuit 103 include switch control for selecting an operating power source (i.e., the power source currently supplying power to the load 101) and operation monitoring of both power sources. When monitoring the operations of the power sources 102A and 102B, the control circuit 103 can receive measured values of voltage and current and check whether the power sources are operating within the specified ranges of these parameters. In some embodiments, the control circuit 103 can also receive measured values of temperature and check whether the power sources 102A and 102B are operating within the specified temperature ranges.
[0022] The user can specify the switching time, inrush factor, or both via an input mechanism 107 implemented in the control circuit 103 and associated with the switch 105. Since these values are related to each other, selecting a specific value of one of these parameters will cause the other parameter to change as well. However, when a value of one parameter is given, there may be a selectable range for the value of the other parameter. In some embodiments, the input mechanism 107 enables the selection of a specific set value that yields selected values of both the switching time and the inrush factor.
[0023] There is a need to switch the power source for various reasons. For example, it is necessary to switch to the other power source to perform regular maintenance on one of the power sources. In some cases, the operating power source may be operating outside the specified ranges of one or more parameters determined by the control circuit 103.
[0024] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the inrush factor and the switching time of the switching switch of the power distribution system according to the present disclosure. The illustrated example is a graph in which the vertical axis corresponds to the inrush factor and the horizontal axis corresponds to the switching time. In some embodiments of the illustrated power distribution system, the user can select set values from 1 to 10. Each set value corresponds to values of the inrush factor and the switching time.
[0025] In this example, setting value 10 corresponds to the maximum specified value for the entry factor and also to the minimum specified value for the transition time. Conversely, in this example, setting value 1 corresponds to the minimum value for the entry factor and also to the maximum value for the transition time. Setting values less than 10 and greater than 1 correspond to an entry factor greater than the minimum value and less than the maximum value, and similarly, to a transition time greater than the minimum value and less than the maximum value.
[0026] In some embodiments, as further shown in Figure 2, range values for the entry factor along the vertical axis and range values for the switching time along the horizontal axis may be set for various setting values. Therefore, in some embodiments, user input for these parameters is entered independently within these ranges to more precisely adjust the switching operation. For example, the user can input a specific value for the entry factor and then select a specific value for the switching time within a predetermined range.
[0027] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for switching the power source supplying power to a load. In some embodiments, Method 300 may be implemented by a power distribution system capable of supplying power to an electrical load from one of at least two power sources in accordance with the present disclosure. This power distribution system may include, but is not limited to, the power distribution system shown in Figure 1.
[0028] Method 300 includes supplying power from a first power source to an electrical load (block 305). The first power source may be the primary power source of a system with redundant power sources providing backup. Method 300 further includes generating power using a second power source (block 310). The second power source may be a backup or secondary power source that provides redundancy when it is necessary to take over the role of the first power source when supplying power to the load.
[0029] In various scenarios, the power supply to an electrical load may be switched from a first power supply to a second power supply. Therefore, Method 300 includes using a changeover switch to switch the power supply to the load from a first power supply to a second power supply according to user parameters relating to the inrush factor and switching time (block 315). The selection of these parameters can be made according to the above description and the desired operating specifications of the electrical load. Some electrical loads may have the ability to tolerate a larger inrush factor, and therefore the switching may be performed with a shorter switching time. Other electrical loads may have a more limited tolerance for inrush factors, and therefore the switching may be performed with a longer switching time.
[0030] It should be understood that the exemplary embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be limiting. Descriptions of features or aspects in each exemplary embodiment may be considered applicable to other similar features or aspects in other exemplary embodiments.
[0031] While embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications can be made to the form and details without departing from the idea and scope set forth in the claims.
Claims
1. A power distribution device, A first power supply configured to supply power to a load, A second power supply configured to supply power to the load, A changeover switch configured to switch the power supply to the load between the first power supply and the second power supply, The system includes a control circuit configured to control the changeover switch to select one of the first power supply and the second power supply in order to supply power to the load, The control circuit is configured to control the switching between the first power supply and the second power supply based on a first user input parameter and a second user input parameter. The first user input parameter specifies the switching time, The second user input parameter specifies the inrush factor for the power distribution device.
2. The power distribution device according to claim 1, wherein the first power source and the second power source are AC power sources.
3. The power distribution device according to claim 1, wherein, in response to switching between the first power supply and the second power supply, the inrush factor increases when the switching time is shortened, and decreases when the switching time is lengthened.
4. The power distribution device according to claim 1, further comprising a transformer connected to receive power from one power source selected from the first power source and the second power source.
5. The first power supply is a primary power supply, The power distribution device according to claim 1, wherein the second power source is a secondary power source.
6. A primary relay connected between the first power supply and the load, The power distribution device according to claim 5, further comprising at least one secondary relay connected between the second power supply and the load.
7. The control circuit includes a user input mechanism having multiple set values, The power distribution device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of setting values specifies the switching time and the inrush factor.
8. The power distribution device according to claim 7, wherein when a first setting value among the plurality of setting values is selected, the switching between the first power supply and the second power supply is performed with the maximum specified value of the switching time and the minimum specified value of the inrush factor.
9. The power distribution device according to claim 8, wherein when a second setting value is selected from the plurality of setting values, the switching between the first power supply and the second power supply is performed with the maximum specified value of the inrush factor and the minimum specified value of the switching time.
10. The power distribution device according to claim 9, wherein when a third setting value among the plurality of setting values is selected, the switching between the first power supply and the second power supply is performed with a switching time less than the maximum specified value of the switching time and greater than the minimum specified value of the switching time, and an inrush factor less than the maximum specified value of the inrush factor and greater than the minimum specified value of the inrush factor.
11. It is a method, A step of supplying power to a load using a first power source, A step of generating power using a second power source, The process includes the step of using a changeover switch to switch from supplying power to the load using the first power supply to supplying power to the load using the second power supply, The aforementioned switching is performed under the control of the control circuit, based on a first user input parameter and a second user input parameter. The first user input parameter specifies the maximum specified switching time. The second user input parameter is a method for specifying the maximum specified intrusion factor.
12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of adjusting the switching time and the inrush factor in response to switching between the first power supply and the second power supply, such that the inrush factor increases when the switching time is shortened and decreases when the switching time is lengthened.
13. The first power supply is a primary power supply, The second power supply is a secondary power supply, The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of operating at least one primary relay connected between the first power supply and the load, and at least one secondary relay connected between the second power supply and the load.
14. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of supplying power to a transformer from one power source selected from the first power source and the second power source.
15. The process further includes receiving the first user input parameter and the second user input parameter via a user input mechanism having multiple setting values, The method according to claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of setting values specifies the switching time and the intrusion factor.
16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising the step of selecting a specific setting value from among the plurality of setting values and performing the switching between the first power supply and the second power supply with the maximum specified value of the switching time and the minimum specified value of the inrush factor.
17. The method according to claim 15, further comprising the step of selecting a specific setting value from the plurality of setting values and performing the switching between the first power supply and the second power supply with the maximum specified value of the inrush factor and the minimum specified value of the switching time.
18. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of selecting a specific setting value from the plurality of setting values and performing the switching between the first power supply and the second power supply with a switching time less than the maximum specified value of the switching time and greater than the minimum specified value of the switching time, and an inrush factor less than the maximum specified value of the inrush factor and greater than the minimum specified value of the inrush factor.
19. It is a system, The system comprises a first AC power source configured to supply power to a load, the first AC power source being the primary power source for the load, The system includes a second AC power source configured to supply power to the load, the second AC power source being a secondary power source for the load, A changeover switch configured to switch the power supply to the load between the first power supply and the second power supply, The system includes a control circuit configured to control the changeover switch to select one of the first power supply and the second power supply in order to supply power to the load, The control circuit is configured to control the switching between the first power supply and the second power supply based on a first user input parameter and a second user input parameter. The first user input parameter specifies the switching time, The second user input parameter specifies the entry factor, The control circuit includes a user input mechanism having multiple set values, Each of the aforementioned multiple setting values specifies the switching time and the intrusion factor in the system.
20. The aforementioned multiple setting values are, The system includes a first setting value among the plurality of setting values, and when the first setting value is selected, when switching between the first power supply and the second power supply is performed, the switching is performed with the maximum specified value of the switching time and the minimum specified value of the inrush factor. The system includes a second setting value among the plurality of setting values, and when the second setting value is selected, the switching between the first power supply and the second power supply is performed using the maximum specified value of the inrush factor and the minimum specified value of the switching time. The system according to claim 19, which includes a third setting value among the plurality of setting values, and when the third setting value is selected, when switching between the first power supply and the second power supply is performed, the switching is performed with a switching time that is less than the maximum specified value of the switching time and greater than the minimum specified value of the switching time, and an inrush factor that is less than the maximum specified value of the inrush factor and greater than the minimum specified value of the inrush factor.