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EP-4742477-A1 - A POWER SUPPLY AND A METHOD FOR SUPPLYING DIRECT CURRENT TO A LOAD

EP4742477A1EP 4742477 A1EP4742477 A1EP 4742477A1EP-4742477-A1

Abstract

A power supply (100) for feeding direct current (I DC ) to a load (109) comprises an input voltage terminal (101) for receiving input voltage (V AC ), a direct voltage terminal (102) for supplying the direct current (I DC ) to the load, an input voltage converter (103) configured to convert the input voltage (V AC ) to direct voltage (V DC ) of the direct voltage terminal, and a capacitor (104) connected to the direct voltage terminal to respond to beginnings of peak current needs of the load. To respond to continuation sections of the peak current needs of the load, the power supply comprises a super-capacitor (105) and a direct voltage converter (106) between the super-capacitor and the direct voltage terminal and configured to carry out voltage conversion between direct voltage (V DC_S ) of the super-capacitor and the direct voltage (V DC ) of the direct voltage terminal.

Inventors

  • Järveläinen, Tero
  • MADIBERK, Taavi

Assignees

  • Skeleton Technologies GmbH

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20241111

Claims (14)

  1. A power supply (100, 200) comprising: - an input voltage terminal (101, 201) for receiving input voltage (V AC , V DC_in ), - a direct voltage terminal (102) for supplying direct current (I DC ) to a load of the power supply, - an input voltage converter (103, 203) between the input voltage terminal and the direct voltage terminal, and configured to convert the input voltage (V AC , V DC_in ) to direct voltage (V DC ) of the direct voltage terminal, and - a first capacitor (104, 204) connected between positive and negative poles of the direct voltage terminal, the first capacitor comprising at least one of: an electrolytic capacitor and a foil capacitor, characterized in that the power supply comprises a second capacitor (105) being a super-capacitor, and a direct voltage converter (106) between the second capacitor and the direct voltage terminal and configured to carry out voltage conversion between direct voltage (V DC_S ) of the second capacitor and the direct voltage (V DC ) of the direct voltage terminal.
  2. A power supply according to claim 1, wherein the power supply comprises a controller (107) configured to control the direct voltage converter to charge the second capacitor in response to a situation in which the direct current (I DC ) is below a first predetermined current limit and the direct voltage (V DC_S ) of the second capacitor is below a predetermined upper limit, and to discharge the second capacitor in response to a situation in which the direct current (I DC ) is above a second predetermined current limit and the direct voltage (V DC_S ) of the second capacitor is above a predetermined lower limit.
  3. A power supply according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second capacitor (105) comprises one or more carbon capacitor cells.
  4. A power supply according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the second capacitor (105) comprises one or more electric double layer capacitor cells.
  5. A power supply according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the direct voltage converter (106) is a bi-directional buck-boost converter.
  6. A power supply according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the first capacitor (204) comprises a parallel connection of the electrolytic capacitor (204a) and the foil capacitor (204b).
  7. A power supply according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein the input voltage converter (103) is an alternating voltage - direct voltage converter.
  8. A power supply according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein the input voltage converter (203) is a direct voltage converter.
  9. A method for supplying direct current to a load, the method comprising: - receiving (301) input voltage (V AC , V DC_in ) at an input voltage terminal (101), - converting (302), with an input voltage converter (103), the input voltage (V AC , V DC_in ) to direct voltage (V DC ) of a direct voltage terminal (102) supplying the direct current (I DC ) to the load, and - responding (303) to beginnings of peak current needs of the load with a first capacitor (104, 204) connected between positive and negative poles of the direct voltage terminal, the first capacitor comprising at least one of: an electrolytic capacitor and a foil capacitor, characterized in that the method comprises responding (304) to continuation sections of the peak current needs of the load by supplying energy from a second capacitor (105) being a super-capacitor to the direct voltage terminal with a direct voltage converter (106) carrying out voltage conversion between direct voltage (V DC_S ) of the second capacitor and the direct voltage (V DC ) of the direct voltage terminal.
  10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the method comprises controlling the direct voltage converter to charge the second capacitor in response to a situation in which the direct current (I DC ) is below a first predetermined current limit and the direct voltage (V DC_S ) of the second capacitor is below a predetermined upper limit, and to discharge the second capacitor to supply the energy from the second capacitor to the direct voltage terminal in response to a situation in which the direct current (I DC ) is above a second predetermined current limit and the direct voltage (V DC_S ) of the second capacitor is above a predetermined lower limit.
  11. A method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the second capacitor comprises one or more carbon capacitor cells.
  12. A method according to any one of claims 9-11, wherein the second capacitor comprises one or more electric double layer capacitor cells.
  13. A method according to any one of claims 9-12, wherein the direct voltage converter (106) is a bi-directional buck-boost converter.
  14. A method according to any one of claims 9-13, wherein the first capacitor (204) comprises a parallel connection of the electrolytic capacitor (204a) and the foil capacitor (204b).

Description

Field The invention relates to a power supply for feeding direct current "DC" to a load such as a data processing system, e.g. a graphics processing unit "GPU". Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for supplying direct current to a load, e.g. a data processing system. Background In many applications, a power demand of a direct current "DC" load can vary significantly over time so that peak power demands can be significantly higher than an average power demand. For example, in a data center, a power demand of a data processing system, e.g. a graphics processing unit "GPU", supplied by an alternating voltage - direct voltage "AC-DC" converter or a direct voltage "DC-DC" converter can vary strongly over time and thus it can be challenging to satisfy high peak power demands as well as to react fast enough to changes in the power demand. Inability to respond to the peak power demands as well as delays in responding to abrupt increases in the power demand reduce the performance of the data processing system. Furthermore, delays in responding to abrupt decreases in the power demand may lead to additional power losses and heat generation. Publication US20050184706 describes a hybrid capacitor module for responding to peak power demands of an amplifier of an audio system. The hybrid capacitor module comprises an electronic foil capacitor having a relatively low equivalent series resistance "ESP" and a relatively short charge/discharge time. Furthermore, the hybrid capacitor module comprises a plurality of super-capacitors each having a relatively high capacitance and being connected to each other in series and then being connected to the electronic foil capacitor in parallel. Each super-capacitor can be for example a carbon capacitor cell or an electric double layer capacitor "EDLC". The electronic foil capacitor and the super-capacitors connected in parallel provide electric energy to the amplifier to produce a required output power during a peak power demand of the amplifier, e.g. when the audio system needs to deliver an instantaneous bass peak. An inherent inconvenience related to a capacitor system connected to an output of a DC voltage source and thereby to an input of a DC load is that DC voltage needs to change in order that the capacitor system would release or receive energy because, if DC voltage U of a capacitor system having capacitance C were constant, the energy ½CU2 stored in the capacitor system would be constant, too. This limits the suitability of a capacitor system of the kind mentioned above for applications in which DC voltage should be kept substantially constant. Summary The following presents a simplified summary to provide basic understanding of some aspects of various embodiments. The summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is neither intended to identify key or critical elements of the invention nor to delineate the scope of the invention. The following summary merely presents some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description of exemplifying and non-limiting embodiments. In accordance with the invention, there is provided a new power supply for feeding direct current "DC" to a load such as a data processing system, e.g. a graphics processing unit "GPU". The power supply according to the invention comprises: an input voltage terminal for receiving input voltage,a direct "DC" voltage terminal for supplying DC current to the load of the power supply,an input voltage converter between the input voltage terminal and the DC voltage terminal, and configured to convert the input voltage to the DC voltage of the DC voltage terminal,a first capacitor connected between positive and negative poles of the DC voltage terminal, the first capacitor comprising at least one of: an electrolytic capacitor and a foil capacitor,a second capacitor being a super-capacitor, anda direct voltage "DC-DC" converter between the second capacitor and the DC voltage terminal and configured to carry out voltage conversion between DC voltage of the second capacitor and the DC voltage of the DC voltage terminal. As the second capacitor is connected to the DC voltage terminal via the DC-DC converter, the second capacitor can be discharged to respond to peak power situations and charged during low load situations so that the DC voltage of the DC voltage terminal does not need to vary. Thus, the energy storage capacity of the second capacitor, i.e. the super-capacitor, can be effectively utilized. The first capacitor is used for responding to beginnings of peak current needs of the load to compensate for any delays in the operation of the DC-DC converter and/or in discharging the second capacitor. The above-mentioned input voltage can be for example single-phase AC voltage, multi-phase, e.g. three-phase, AC voltage, or DC voltage. Thus, the above-mentioned input voltage converter can be an AC-DC converter for single-phase AC voltage, an AC-DC converter for multi-phase, e