Power Supply Output Protection with Pre-Protection Threshold
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional power supplies face challenges in accurately setting over-current protection points, leading to potential damage from either under or over-protection, necessitating expensive high-performance supplies to manage booting currents, which are costly and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A power supply system that compares output current with multiple protection values, including a pre-protection value lower than the over-current protection value, and incorporates temperature monitoring to differentiate between normal and abnormal conditions, allowing for controlled voltage shutdown and rebooting, thus avoiding unnecessary protection actions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the over-current protection point is set high to allow high booting current, then the power supply can boot normally, but the power supply and load may be damaged due to over-current condition
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a pre-protection value that is lower than the over-current protection point. When the output current reaches this pre-protection value, the system performs preliminary actions (setting a flag, preparing protection logic) before the actual over-current protection point is reached. This preliminary action allows the system to prepare for high booting currents while maintaining safety margins, resolving the contradiction between allowing high boot current and preventing over-current damage.
2Reliability
If the over-current protection point is set low to protect the power supply and load, then over-current protection is improved, but the power supply cannot handle high booting current
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the protection threshold dynamic by introducing time-based and temperature-based adjustments. The pre-protection value serves as a dynamic threshold that adapts to different operating conditions (booting state vs. steady state, temperature conditions). This dynamic approach allows the system to tolerate high currents during booting while maintaining strict protection during normal operation, resolving the contradiction between protection level and booting capability.
3Reliability
If a high-performance power supply is used to prevent high booting current from triggering protection action, then booting reliability is improved, but the system cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of protection threshold by introducing a pre-protection value that is lower than the over-current protection point. This parameter change allows standard power supplies to differentiate between normal booting currents and dangerous over-current conditions. By adjusting the protection parameters dynamically based on operating state and temperature, the system achieves reliable booting without requiring expensive high-performance power supplies.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a power supply with output protection and a control method of the power supply. The invention mainly provides a pre-protection value lower than a default over-current protection value. When a present output current of the power supply is higher than or equal to the pre-protection value and is lower than the over-current protection value, the method firstly determines whether the power supply has abnormal conditions. When the power supply has abnormal conditions, the method can automatically provide or stop providing a working voltage to a load. When the present output current is further higher than or equal to the over-current protection value, the method takes an over-current protection action. By multi-level monitoring of the current values, the invention properly provides an over-current protection.