Segmented Power Supply for Liquid Chromatograph Units
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In unit type liquid chromatographs, maintaining power supply to each analysis unit during analysis standby is necessary, leading to increased power consumption due to the inability to shut down the unit controller when the main body's power is turned off.
Innovation Solution
The analysis device includes one or more analysis units with a unit main body, a first power supply for the main body, a unit controller that can switch between connected and disconnected states with the power supply, and a second power supply for the controller. A central controller sends control signals to manage the power state of the analysis units, allowing for a shutdown state with reduced power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the power supply of the analysis unit is turned off to reduce power consumption, then power consumption during standby is reduced, but the unit controller becomes inoperable and cannot respond to restart commands
Solution Approach 1:
The power supply system is segmented into two independent power supplies: a first power supply for the unit main body and a second power supply for the unit controller. This segmentation allows the main body to be powered down while the controller remains operational, resolving the contradiction between reducing power consumption and maintaining controller operability.
Solution Approach 2:
Different power supply configurations are applied to different parts of the system: the unit main body uses the first power supply that can be turned off during standby, while the unit controller uses the second power supply that remains on to maintain operability. This local differentiation allows each component to have optimal power management characteristics.
2Loss of energy
If the first power supply is turned off during standby, then power consumption is reduced, but the ability to quickly resume operations is compromised due to controller inoperability
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the power supply into two independent systems, the controller can remain powered on while the main body is powered down during standby. This eliminates the need to restart the controller when resuming operations, thereby maintaining quick resume capability while reducing power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The unit controller is kept in a ready state by maintaining its power supply during standby, performing a preliminary action that ensures immediate responsiveness when the analysis unit needs to resume operations, thus avoiding delays associated with controller initialization.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided an analysis device including one or a plurality of analysis units each including a unit main body that is a primary subject of an analysis operation, a first power supply configured to supply power to the unit main body, a unit controller configured to operate the unit main body according to a control signal input from an outside, and switch a connected state/disconnected state between the first power supply and the unit main body, and a second power supply configured to supply lower-voltage power to the unit controller than the first power supply (63); and a central controller configured to send a control signal to the unit controller of each of the one or plurality of analysis units.