Power Supply Configuration Management for Efficiency Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional methods for determining the optimal configuration of power supplies for information handling systems are inefficient, requiring excessive computation and leading to increased complexity and potential harm from switching configurations, due to the large number of possible configurations and the need for enabling or disabling multiple power supplies.
Innovation Solution
A system with a management controller that calculates approximate power requirements, determines possible configurations with adequate capacity and minimal switching needs, and communicates control signals to enable or disable power supplies to achieve the highest expected aggregate power efficiency, thereby reducing computational burden and minimizing electrical impulses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If traditional methods are used to determine optimal power supply configurations, then power efficiency can be improved, but computational complexity and processing requirements increase excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the power supply configuration problem by considering only single-power-supply changes at a time rather than evaluating all possible configurations simultaneously. The management controller iteratively adjusts one power supply at a time, calculating efficiency impacts locally and accumulating results, thereby reducing computational complexity while maintaining effectiveness in optimizing power efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by evaluating only the most promising configuration changes rather than exhaustively analyzing all possible power supply configurations. The system identifies and evaluates a subset of likely optimal configurations based on power requirements and efficiency characteristics, avoiding the need to process the entire configuration space while still achieving near-optimal power efficiency.
2Loss of energy
If multiple power supplies are enabled or disabled to optimize configuration, then power efficiency improves, but electrical impulses and voltage surges increase causing harmful effects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the configuration change process into individual power supply adjustments rather than simultaneous multiple changes. By evaluating and implementing single power supply enable/disable operations sequentially, the system minimizes electrical impulses and voltage surges that would occur with simultaneous multi-power-supply switching, while still achieving optimal power efficiency through iterative improvements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by calculating and evaluating the impact of individual power supply configuration changes before actually implementing them. The management controller predicts efficiency improvements and potential electrical disturbances in advance, allowing for planned, controlled transitions that minimize harmful electrical impulses while achieving the desired power efficiency optimization.
3Loss of energy
If all possible power supply configurations are evaluated to find the optimal one, then power efficiency maximizes, but system resources and processing time are excessively taxed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent evaluates only a partial subset of power supply configurations rather than exhaustively analyzing all possible arrangements. By focusing on configurations that involve single power supply changes and evaluating them iteratively, the system achieves sufficient power efficiency optimization without the excessive processing time required to examine every possible configuration combination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs periodic action through iterative evaluation cycles where the management controller repeatedly assesses power supply configurations in successive steps. Each iteration evaluates the impact of individual changes and accumulates results, progressively improving power efficiency through periodic reassessments rather than attempting a single comprehensive analysis of all configurations.
Data Source
AI summary
A method may include: calculating approximate power requirements of components, the components supplied with electrical energy from a plurality of power supplies, each of one or more of the plurality of power supplies capable of being enabled and disabled from supplying electrical energy to the components; determining a set of possible configurations of the plurality of power supplies such that for each possible configuration, enabled power supplies of the possible configuration have adequate aggregate capacity to deliver the approximate power requirements and switching to the possible configuration from a then-present configuration would require no more than one of then-disabled power supplies be enabled and no more than one of then-enabled power supplies be disabled; and determining which of the set of possible configurations has the highest expected power efficiency.