CN110277686B

CN110277686B - Power distributor

Info

Publication number: CN110277686B
Application number: CN201810212057.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郭昱辰; 彭勇皓; 赖文彬
Original assignee: Shuotian Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Shuotian Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2018-03-15
Filing date: 2018-03-15
Publication date: 2021-08-03
Anticipated expiration: 2038-03-15
Also published as: CN110277686A; TWI663798B; TW201939831A

Abstract

The invention provides a power supply distributor, which comprises at least two conductors, a plurality of sockets, a plurality of indicator lamps, an alternating current-direct current conversion circuit and a control circuit. Each socket is electrically coupled to two of the conductors. Each indicator light corresponds to one of the sockets. The input of the AC-DC conversion circuit is electrically coupled to two of the conductors. The control circuit is electrically coupled with the indicator light and the output of the alternating current-direct current conversion circuit. The control circuit is used for driving the indicating lamps in sequence and controlling a corresponding indicating lamp to display the corresponding color of the group to which the socket belongs according to the grouping information of each grouped socket.

Description

Power distributor

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of power supply, in particular to a power supply distributor.

Background

Currently, power distribution units (power distribution units) are widely used in various computer rooms (e.g., data centers) to distribute power required by various devices. However, as the equipments in the equipment room become more complicated, a plurality of power distributors may be used in one equipment room, and the same power distributor is often electrically coupled to different equipments, so that the circuit configuration of the whole equipment room is more complicated, and thus, the personnel in the equipment room often need a lot of time to perform troubleshooting.

Disclosure of Invention

One objective of the present invention is to provide a power distributor, which allows a machine room person to quickly identify the type of equipment electrically coupled to each socket of the power distributor, so as to improve the efficiency of performing troubleshooting by the machine room person.

To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides a power distributor, which comprises at least two conductors, a plurality of sockets, a plurality of indicator lights, an ac-dc converting circuit and a control circuit. Each socket is electrically coupled to two of the conductors. Each indicator light corresponds to one of the sockets. The input of the AC-DC conversion circuit is electrically coupled to two of the conductors. The control circuit is electrically coupled with the indicator lights and the output of the AC-DC conversion circuit. The control circuit is used for driving the indicating lamps in sequence and controlling a corresponding indicating lamp to display the corresponding color of the group to which the socket belongs according to the grouping information of each grouped socket.

In order to make the aforementioned objects, technical features, and gains obvious and understandable after practical implementation, preferred embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the invention without limiting the invention. In the drawings:

fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a power distributor according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 shows an electrical coupling between the control circuit and each indicator light.

FIG. 3 shows one timing of the output signals of the control circuit.

Fig. 4 shows another electrical coupling manner between the control circuit and each indicator light.

FIG. 5 shows another timing of the output signals of the control circuit.

FIG. 6 shows the results of one of the groups.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a power distributor according to another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a power distributor according to yet another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a power distributor according to still another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a power distributor according to yet another embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

For a better understanding of the features, content, and advantages of the invention, as well as the advantages achieved thereby, reference should be made to the following detailed description of the invention, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings and which is provided for illustrative purposes and to assist in describing, by way of example, the true scale and precise configuration of the invention, and therefore, the scope of the invention should not be read as limited by the scale and arrangement of the accompanying drawings.

The advantages, features, and technical solutions of the present invention will be more readily understood and appreciated by referring to the exemplary embodiments and accompanying drawings that may be embodied in different forms, and thus, should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein, but rather should be provided for enabling those of ordinary skill in the art to more fully and completely convey the scope of the present invention and that the present invention is defined solely by the appended claims.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a power distributor according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 1, the power distributor 100 includes two conductors 110, an ac-dc conversion circuit 120, a control circuit 130, a plurality of sockets 140, and a plurality of indicator lights 150. One conductor 110 is electrically coupled to the ac power L, and the other conductor 110 is electrically coupled to the neutral line N. Each socket 140 is electrically coupled to the two conductors 110. Each indicator light 150 corresponds to one of the sockets 140. For example, each indicator light 150 may be disposed adjacent to one of the sockets 140, but the invention is not limited thereto. The input of the ac-dc conversion circuit 120 is electrically coupled to the two conductors 110. The control circuit 130 is electrically coupled to the indicator lights 150 and the output of the ac-dc conversion circuit 120. The control circuit 130 is used to sequentially drive the indicator lights 150, and control a corresponding indicator light 150 to display the corresponding color of the group to which the socket 140 belongs according to the grouping information of each grouped socket 140. The grouping information includes, but is not limited to, information on whether each outlet 140 has been grouped, and information on which group each grouped outlet 140 belongs. In this case, the control circuit 130 is also used to record the grouping information of each socket 140.

Accordingly, the sockets 140 of different groups can display different colors through the respective indicator lights 150, so that the machine room personnel can quickly identify the type of the equipment electrically coupled to each socket 140. For example, an indicator light 150 may display blue to indicate its corresponding socket 140 for powering lighting equipment, or may display green to indicate its corresponding socket 140 for powering communication equipment, or may display red to indicate its corresponding socket 140 for powering air conditioning equipment. Of course, different colors may be used to indicate different segments where the devices are located, or to indicate different models of devices, which is not limited by the invention.

Referring to fig. 1, each of the indicator lights 150 has at least two light sources with different colors, and each light source is implemented by, for example, a light emitting diode. For clarity, the following description will assume that each indicator light 150 has a red led, a green led and a blue led, but the invention is not limited thereto.

Fig. 2 shows one of the electrical couplings between the control circuit 130 and the indicator lights 150. Referring to fig. 2, the control circuit 130 has a plurality of first output pins (respectively labeled output _1 to output _ N, where N is a natural number) and a plurality of second output pins (respectively labeled LED _ R, LED _ G and LED _ B). As shown in fig. 2, each first output pin is electrically coupled to one end of each led in one of the indicator lights 150, and each second output pin is electrically coupled to the other end of each led with the same color in the indicator lights 150.

Fig. 3 shows one timing of the output signals of the control circuit 130. In fig. 3, S _1 to S _ N respectively represent the output signals of the first output pins output _1 to output _ N, and S _ R, S _ G and S _ B respectively represent the output signals of the second output pins LED _ R, LED _ G and LED _ B. Referring to fig. 3 and fig. 2, the control circuit 130 sequentially pulls up the first output pins output _1 to output _ N to the high level (H) for a default time T, and determines whether to pull down at least one second output pin to the low level (L) according to the grouping information of the corresponding socket 140 at the default time T in each default time T. If only a second output pin is pulled down to the low level during the same default time T, the corresponding indicator light 150 will display the corresponding color of the second output pin. In addition, if more than two second output pins are pulled down to the low level in the same default time T, the corresponding indicator light 150 will display the mixed color. In addition, if any of the second output pins is not pulled down to the low level in the same default time T, the corresponding indicator light 150 is in the off state, which indicates that the corresponding socket 140 is not grouped yet.

Fig. 4 shows another electrical coupling manner of the control circuit 130 and each indicator light 150. Referring to fig. 4, the control circuit 130 has first output pins output _1 to output _ N and second output pins LED _ R, LED _ G and LED _ B. As shown in fig. 4, each first output pin is electrically coupled to one end of each led in one of the indicator lights 150, and each second output pin is electrically coupled to the other end of each led with the same color in the indicator lights 150.

FIG. 5 shows another timing of the output signals of the control circuit 130. In fig. 5, S _1 to S _ N respectively represent the output signals of the first output pins output _1 to output _ N, and S _ R, S _ G and S _ B respectively represent the output signals of the second output pins LED _ R, LED _ G and LED _ B. Referring to fig. 5 and 4, the control circuit 130 sequentially pulls down the first output pins output _1 to output _ N to the low level (L) for a default time T, and determines whether to pull up at least one second output pin to the high level (H) according to the grouping information of the corresponding socket 140 at the default time T in each default time T. If only a second output pin is pulled up to a high level in the same default time T, the corresponding indicator light 150 will display the corresponding color of the second output pin. In addition, if more than two second output pins are pulled up to a high level in the same default time T, the corresponding indicator light 150 will display the mixed color. In addition, if any of the second output pins is not pulled up to the high level in the same default time T, the corresponding indicator light 150 is in the off state, which means that the corresponding socket 140 is not grouped yet.

As can be seen from the descriptions of fig. 2 to fig. 5, the number of pins of the control circuit 130 can be reduced because the control circuit 130 sequentially drives the indicator lights 150 and the indicator lights 150 share the second output pins LED _ R, LED _ G and LED _ B of the control circuit 130. In addition, the driving sequence of the indicator lights 150 can also be changed. It should be noted that if the flickering of the indicator light 150 is not to be detected by human eyes, the on frequency of the indicator light 150 should be at least 30 Hz.

FIG. 6 shows the results of one of the groups. In fig. 6, there are four power distributors 100, and the outlets 140 framed by the virtual frame 510 are divided into a first group, the outlets 140 framed by the virtual frame 520 are divided into a second group, and the outlets 140 framed by the virtual frame 530 are divided into a third group. The sockets 140 in the first group are for example powered to lighting equipment, the sockets 140 in the second group are for example powered to communication equipment, and the sockets 140 in the third group are for example powered to air conditioning equipment. The indicator lights 150 corresponding to the first group can be displayed in blue, the indicator lights 150 corresponding to the second group can be displayed in green, and the indicator lights 150 corresponding to the third group can be displayed in red.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a power distributor according to another embodiment of the invention. Referring to fig. 7 and fig. 1, compared to the power distributor 100 shown in fig. 1, the power distributor 200 shown in fig. 7 further includes a memory unit 240, a communication interface 250 and a user interface 260. The memory unit 240, the communication interface 250 and the user interface 260 are electrically coupled to the control circuit 230. In this case, the memory unit 240 is used to record the grouping information of each socket 140. Thus, the control circuit 230 need not record the information, but only access the information to the memory unit 240. In addition, the control circuit 230 may receive a packet configuration of any of the sockets 140 through the communication interface 250. Additionally, the user interface 260 may include at least one of an input interface and a display interface. If the user interface 260 has an input interface, the control circuit 230 can also receive the grouping setting of any socket 140 through the input interface. Of course, the memory unit 240, the communication interface 250 and the user interface 260 can be determined according to actual design requirements.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a power distributor according to yet another embodiment of the invention. Referring to fig. 8 and fig. 7, compared to the power distributor 200 shown in fig. 7, the power distributor 300 shown in fig. 8 further includes a plurality of sensing units 270. Each socket 140 is electrically coupled to one of the conductors 110 through one of the sensing units 270. Each of the sensing units 270 is used for measuring a current and providing a sensing result (shown as D1-DN, respectively, where N is a natural number). In this case, the control circuit 330 further calculates the magnitude of a corresponding load according to each sensing result, and controls the color displayed by a corresponding indicator light 150 accordingly. For example, when the control circuit 330 calculates that one of the devices of the equipment electrically coupled to the corresponding socket 140 is overloaded (over load) according to the sensing result D2, the control circuit 330 controls the corresponding indicator light 150 to display a specific color (e.g., orange) to represent the overload state.

Further, the control circuit 330 may further calculate the magnitude of a corresponding load according to each sensing result, and add the values of the corresponding loads of the same group of sockets 140 to obtain an addition result, so as to control the color displayed by the indicator lights 150 corresponding to the group of sockets 140. For example, when the control circuit 330 determines that the corresponding device electrically coupled to the set of sockets 140 is overloaded according to an summation result, the control circuit 330 controls the corresponding indicator lights 150 to display a specific color (e.g., yellow) to show the overload status.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a power distributor according to still another embodiment of the invention. Referring to fig. 9 and 7, compared to the power divider 200 shown in fig. 7, the power divider 400 shown in fig. 9 includes four conductors 110. In this example, the four conductors 110 are electrically coupled to ac power sources L1, L2, L3 and the neutral line N, respectively. The phase difference between any two of the ac power sources L1, L2, and L3 is 120 degrees, but the invention is not limited thereto. In this example, the outlets 140 electrically coupling the ac power source L1 and the neutral line N are divided into a group, the outlets 140 electrically coupling the ac power source L2 and the neutral line N are divided into a group, and the outlets 140 electrically coupling the ac power source L3 and the neutral line N are divided into a group. In addition, the control circuit 230 controls the corresponding three sets of indicator lights 150 to display three different colors, respectively.

Although in the embodiment shown in fig. 9, the input of the ac-dc conversion circuit 120 and each socket 140 are electrically coupled to the neutral line N and one of the ac power sources L1, L2 and L3, this is not intended to limit the present invention. For example, the input of the ac-dc conversion circuit 120 and each socket 140 may also be electrically coupled to two of the ac power sources L1, L2, and L3. Therefore, the sockets 140 electrically coupled to the ac power sources L1 and L2 are divided into a group, the sockets 140 electrically coupled to the ac power sources L2 and L3 are divided into a group, and the sockets 140 electrically coupled to the ac power sources L3 and L1 are divided into a group. In addition, the control circuit 230 controls the corresponding three sets of indicator lights 150 to display three different colors, respectively. In such an embodiment, however, the power distributor 200 need only have three conductors 110.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a power distributor according to yet another embodiment of the invention. Referring to fig. 10 and fig. 9, compared to the power distributor 400 shown in fig. 9, the power distributor 500 shown in fig. 10 further includes a plurality of sensing units 270. Each socket 140 is electrically coupled to one of the conductors 110 through one of the sensing units 270, and each sensing unit 270 is used for measuring a current and providing a sensing result (shown as D1-DN, respectively). In this case, the control circuit 330 further calculates the magnitude of a corresponding load according to each sensing result, and controls the color displayed by a corresponding indicator light 150 accordingly. For example, when the control circuit 330 calculates that one of the devices of the equipment electrically coupled to the corresponding socket 140 is overloaded according to the sensing result D2, the control circuit 330 controls the corresponding indicator light 150 to display a specific color (e.g., orange) to show the overload status.

Further, the control circuit 330 may further calculate the magnitude of a corresponding load according to each sensing result, and add the values of the corresponding loads of the same group of sockets 140 to obtain an addition result, so as to control the color displayed by the indicator lights 150 corresponding to the group of sockets 140. For example, when the control circuit 330 determines that the corresponding device electrically coupled to the set of sockets 140 is overloaded according to an summation result, the control circuit 330 controls the corresponding indicator lights 150 to display a specific color (e.g., yellow) to show the overload status. Of course, the input of the ac-dc conversion circuit 120 and each socket 140 may also be electrically coupled to two of the ac power sources L1, L2, and L3. Therefore, the sockets 140 electrically coupled to the ac power sources L1 and L2 are divided into a group, the sockets 140 electrically coupled to the ac power sources L2 and L3 are divided into a group, and the sockets 140 electrically coupled to the ac power sources L3 and L1 are divided into a group. In addition, the control circuit 230 controls the corresponding three sets of indicator lights 150 to display three different colors, respectively. In such an embodiment, however, the power distributor 500 need only have three conductors 110.

In summary, since the sockets 140 of different groups can display different colors through the respective indicator lights 150, the power distributor of the present invention can allow the personnel in the equipment room to quickly identify the type of the device electrically coupled to each socket 140, thereby improving the efficiency of the personnel in the equipment room to perform troubleshooting. In addition, the design mode also provides the elasticity of equipment change in the future. In addition, the power distributor of the present invention can even display different load states through the indicator light 150, and can display a specific color through the indicator light 150 to warn an emergency (e.g., an overload state), which will further improve the efficiency of performing troubleshooting by the machine room personnel.

The above-mentioned embodiments are merely illustrative of the technical spirit and features of the present invention, and the object of the present invention is to enable those skilled in the art to understand the content of the present invention and to implement the same, and the scope of the present invention should not be limited by the above-mentioned embodiments, i.e. all equivalent changes or modifications made in the spirit of the present invention should be covered in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A power distributor, comprising:

at least two conductors;

a plurality of sockets, each socket electrically coupled to two of the conductors;

the plurality of indicator lights are respectively corresponding to one socket;

an AC-DC conversion circuit, the input of which is electrically coupled to two of the conductors; and

the control circuit is used for receiving different grouping settings of at least a plurality of sockets in the sockets through a communication interface or a user interface, and is further used for sequentially driving the indicator lamps and controlling a corresponding indicator lamp to display a corresponding color of a group to which the socket belongs according to grouping information of each grouped socket so that the sockets in different groups display different colors through the respective indicator lamps.

2. The power dispenser of claim 1, wherein each indicator light has at least two differently colored light sources.

3. The power distributor as claimed in claim 2, wherein the control circuit has a plurality of first output pins and a plurality of second output pins, each first output pin is electrically coupled to one end of each light source of one of the indicator lights, and each second output pin is electrically coupled to the other end of each light source of the indicator lights having the same color.

4. The power distributor of claim 3, wherein each light source comprises a light emitting diode.

5. The power distributor as claimed in claim 4, wherein the control circuit sequentially pulls up the first output pins to a first level for a default time, and determines whether to pull down at least one second output pin to a second level according to grouping information of a corresponding socket at the default time during each default time, wherein the second level is smaller than the first level.

6. The power distributor as claimed in claim 4, wherein the control circuit sequentially pulls down the first output pins to a first level for a default time, and determines whether to pull up at least one second output pin to a second level according to grouping information of a corresponding socket at the default time during each default time, wherein the second level is greater than the first level.

7. The power distributor of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is further configured to record grouping information for each outlet.

8. The power distributor of claim 1, further comprising a memory unit electrically coupled to the control circuit and configured to record grouping information of each socket.

9. The power distributor of claim 1, further comprising aTheThe communication interface is electrically coupled with the control circuit so that the control circuit can receive the grouping setting of any socket through the communication interface.

10. The power distributor of claim 1, further comprising aTheThe user interface is electrically coupled with the control circuit, so that the control circuit receives the grouping setting of any socket through the user interface.

11. The power distributor of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of sensing units, wherein each socket is electrically coupled to one of the conductors through one of the sensing units, and each sensing unit is configured to measure current and provide a sensing result accordingly.

12. The power distributor of claim 11, wherein the control circuit further calculates a magnitude of a corresponding load according to each sensing result and controls a color displayed by a corresponding indicator light accordingly.

13. The power distributor of claim 11, wherein the control circuit further calculates a magnitude of a corresponding load according to each sensing result, and sums the values of the corresponding loads of the same set of sockets to obtain a sum result, thereby controlling the color displayed by the indicator lights corresponding to the set of sockets.

14. The power distributor of claim 1, wherein the turn-on frequency of each indicator light is at least 30 Hz.