Power Supply Ambient Temperature Estimation from Thermal Rise Slope
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing power supply devices require a significant amount of time for internal temperature stabilization, making it inefficient to estimate surrounding temperatures promptly.
Innovation Solution
A power supply device that includes a measurement unit to measure internal temperature, a calculation unit to predict end-point temperature and estimate surrounding temperature based on the slope of internal temperature rise and load status, and an output unit to display the estimated surrounding temperature, allowing for rapid estimation without waiting for internal temperature stabilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the internal temperature of the power supply unit is used to estimate the surrounding temperature, then the estimation is based on available internal data, but it requires waiting for the internal temperature to stabilize which takes a relatively long time
Solution Approach 1:
The calculation unit performs preliminary calculations by predicting the end-point temperature based on the current internal temperature and its rate of change. This allows the system to estimate the surrounding temperature before the internal temperature fully stabilizes, effectively performing the estimation action in advance of what would traditionally be required
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes from using only the stable end-state internal temperature parameter to using dynamic parameters including the current internal temperature, the slope of temperature rise (rate of change), and load status. This parameter transformation enables estimation during the transient heating phase rather than waiting for thermal equilibrium
2Measurement precision
If the internal temperature is monitored continuously to ensure accurate surrounding temperature estimation, then the estimation accuracy is improved, but the device complexity and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The power supply unit's existing temperature monitoring system, originally designed for its own thermal management, is repurposed to also provide data for surrounding temperature estimation. The same temperature sensor and control unit serve dual functions: monitoring the power supply's own temperature for stability and providing the data needed to estimate the surrounding environment temperature
Solution Approach 2:
The internal temperature measurement system is designed to perform multiple functions: it monitors the power supply unit's thermal state for its own operation and simultaneously provides the data foundation for estimating the surrounding temperature. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated temperature sensors or monitoring systems
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables quick estimation of surrounding temperature, predicting potential malfunctions, and generating alarms to prevent operational issues, thus improving operational efficiency and reliability.
Implementation Method 1
a measurement unit which measures an internal temperature of the power supply unit
Implementation Method 2
predicts an end-point temperature from the internal temperature of the power supply unit measured by the measurement unit and a slope of an internal temperature rise
Data Source
AI summary
This power supply device (100) is provided with a power supply unit (10), a temperature sensor (28) for measuring the internal temperature of the power supply unit (10), a calculation circuit (22) for predicting an end-point temperature from the internal temperature of the power supply unit (10) measured by the temperature sensor (28) and the slope of the internal temperature rise and estimating a surrounding temperature on the basis of the end-point temperature and the load status of the power supply unit (10); and a display circuit (23) for displaying the surrounding temperature estimated by the calculation circuit (22).