CN116126118A - Computer system and power supply method - Google Patents

Abstract

A computer system and a power supply method adopt a mixed power supply working mode and a control strategy, and can flexibly configure the number of power supplies and spare battery units. In a computer system, a core module is driven to operate by direct current. The power supply is connected with the core module and can receive and convert alternating current so as to supply the direct current. The spare battery unit is connected with the core module and the power supply and can determine an operation mode according to the state. When the power supply detects that the direct current is higher than a current threshold, the power supply outputs constant direct current and notifies the standby battery unit to output battery current, so that the constant direct current and the battery current supply power the core module together.

Description

Computer system and power supply method

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of power supplies for computer systems, and more particularly, to a method for hybrid power supply with a power supply and a backup battery unit.

Background

In conventional computer systems, a power supply (Power Supply Unit; power supply) is basically provided. The power supply is a device capable of transforming alternating current into direct current, so that the core module and peripheral accessories in the computer system can be driven by the direct current. The output current of this power supply will typically be configured to be slightly higher than the upper power consumption limit of the computer system itself.

In practical applications, it is found that the computer system is not always operated in the highest load state. In contrast, most of the time, computer systems are often in standby or low load operation. Therefore, a high output current power supply configured for few contingencies becomes an additional cost waste. Particularly, the time proportion of the server which is on line for a long time in a standby state is more remarkable. These servers are focused on maintaining on-line stability, so a backup battery unit (Battery Backup Unit; backup battery unit) is deployed in the computer system. The backup battery unit is similar to the uninterruptible power supply system (Uninterrupted Power System) except that the backup battery unit is configured inside the computer system to directly supply direct current to a core module or peripheral accessories in the computer system. In other words, the installed cost of the server is extremely high. In addition to the power supply that is too high in specification, a spare battery cell is also provided.

In view of the above, a computer system and an improved power supply method capable of reducing the installed cost of a server are to be developed.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a computer system and a power supply method, which are suitable for the computer system comprising a standby battery unit and a power supply system. The embodiment of the application adopts a hybrid power supply working mode and a control strategy, and can flexibly configure the number of the power supply and the spare battery units. The total output current of the power supply and the spare battery unit is only required to be larger than the maximum load requirement of the computer system, which is helpful to greatly reduce the output current of the power supply and the spare battery unit of the total assembly machine, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the system.

One embodiment of the present application provides a computer system. In the computer system, a core module is driven by direct current to operate. A power supply is connected with the core module and can receive and convert alternating current so as to supply the direct current. A backup battery unit is connected with the core module and the power supply, and can determine an operation mode according to the states of the power supply, the core module and the backup battery unit. For example, when the power supply detects that the dc current is higher than a current threshold, the power supply outputs a constant dc current and notifies the backup battery unit to output a battery current, so that the constant dc current and the battery current supply the core module together.

In a further embodiment, an upper limit of an output current of the power supply is less than an upper limit of a load current of the core module, and an upper limit of a total output current of the power supply and the backup battery unit is not less than the upper limit of the load current of the core module.

In a further embodiment, the backup battery unit may transmit a low battery notification to the core module when the remaining battery level of the backup battery unit is less than a battery level threshold.

In further embodiments, the core module may monitor a remaining charge of the backup battery unit.

In a further embodiment, when the power supply detects that the dc current is not higher than a current threshold and the remaining power of the backup battery unit is smaller than a charging threshold, the backup battery unit receives a portion of the dc current output by the power supply for charging.

In a further embodiment, when the power supply detects that the dc current is not higher than a current threshold and the remaining power of the backup battery unit is greater than a charging threshold, the power supply supplies power to the core module, and the backup battery unit enters a standby state. More specifically, when the charging of the spare battery cell ends, the capacity gradually decreases due to the self-discharge effect. In this embodiment, as long as the remaining power of the spare battery cell is higher than the charging threshold, the spare battery cell is put into a standby state, and the state of charging at any time is not required to be maintained.

In a further embodiment, when the power supply cannot supply the dc current, the core module determines whether to reduce the operating load according to the remaining power of the backup battery unit.

Another embodiment of the present application is a power supply method applied to the computer system. First, the power supply receives an alternating current and converts the alternating current into a direct current to supply power to the core module, so that the core module is driven to operate by the direct current. When the power supply detects that the direct current is higher than a current threshold, the power supply outputs constant direct current and notifies the standby battery unit to output battery current, so that the constant direct current and the battery current supply power the core module together.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the application and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the application and together with the description serve to explain the application and do not constitute an undue limitation to the application. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a computer system architecture according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 is a diagram of a backup battery cell architecture according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 to 5 are flowcharts of a power supply method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart 600 of monitoring the remaining battery power of the battery module according to the embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The following description of the embodiments of the present application will be made clearly and fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which it is evident that the embodiments described are some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments, which can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments herein without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the present application.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system 100 according to an embodiment of the present application. The computer system 100 includes a core module 130 that is driven to operate by current. Core module 130 is referred to herein as a general term for various electronic components in computer system 100, including at least a motherboard, a processor, a south bridge die, a north bridge die, a memory, a flash memory, a display card, a memory, and/or any control modules and peripheral components attached thereto. Since various elements that may be present in the core module 130 are well known in the art, they are not illustrated in detail herein. The power consumed by the core module 130, also referred to as load, is generally proportional to the amount of operations performed by the code to perform data processing. It is to be understood that the load may generally be described by the power (wattage) consumed. When the voltage source is a fixed value, the load size is proportional to the current, and thus can also be described by the magnitude of the operating current. The operation capability of the core module 130 is limited, so the operating current will have an upper limit.

In the embodiment of the computer system 100, a backup battery unit 120 is provided in addition to a power supply 110. The power supply 110 is connected to the core module 130 and is capable of receiving and converting an alternating current #ac to supply a direct current #dc to the core module 130. The core module 130 continuously changes the consumed direct current #dc according to the change of the operand. Therefore, for the power supply 110, the load state of the core module 130 can be detected according to the consumed state of the direct current #dc.

The backup battery unit 120 provided in the present embodiment is connected to the core module 130 and the power supply 110, and can determine an operation mode according to the states of the power supply 110, the core module 130, and the backup battery unit 120. The operation modes of the spare battery cell 120 may include at least a charging mode, a discharging mode, a standby mode, and a hybrid mode as set forth in the present application.

The purpose of the backup battery unit 120 is to serve as a backup power source, and is usually in standby mode (standby mode). In standby mode, the spare battery cell 120 is not charged nor discharged, and the core module 130 is powered only by the power supply 110. When the power supply 110 cannot receive the alternating current #ac or cannot supply the direct current #dc for various reasons, the backup battery unit 120 may enter a discharge mode (discharge mode) to ensure that the core module 130 is continuously and stably powered for a certain period of time. In conventional computer systems, the installed capacity of the backup battery unit 120 and the maximum output of the power supply 110 are required to be greater than the upper load limit of the core module 130. This conventional design requirement greatly increases the cost of the computer system, and it has been statistically demonstrated that most of the time, the remaining capacity has no opportunity to be fully utilized, resulting in a cost-effective drop.

To solve the cost-effective problem, the present application proposes a hybrid mode, so that the installed specifications of the power supply 110 and the backup battery unit 120 do not need to meet the conventional high-capacity requirements, and the power supply can be completed. For example, in the case that the direct current/alternating current #ac is normally supplied and the remaining capacity of the backup battery unit 120 is sufficient, when the power supply 110 detects that the direct current #dc is higher than a current threshold, the load representing the core module 130 approaches the limit of the load that the power supply 110 can load. At this time, the power supply 110 enters a constant current mode to make the output direct current #dc be a fixed value. At the same time, the power supply 110 notifies the backup battery unit 120 to join power together. The power supply 110 then enters a discharge mode to begin outputting the battery discharge current #ib. In other words, the hybrid mode proposed in the present application is to supply the power supply 110 and the backup battery unit 120 simultaneously, and supply the direct current #dc and the battery discharge current #ib with fixed values to the core module 130 together. In addition to commonly powering the core module 130, the backup battery unit 120 also ensures that the voltage of the direct current #dc maintains a stable range by controlling the magnitude of the battery discharge current #ib. The power supply 110 and the spare battery cell 120 may be connected via a bus to transmit a command #s for notifying the spare battery cell 120 of charging, discharging or standby. In addition to the bus between the power supply 110 and the backup battery unit 120 for transmitting the command #s, the backup battery unit 120 may also use the bus to monitor the voltage drop of the node through which the direct current #dc passes to control the discharge of the backup battery unit 120.

It should be appreciated that while one power supply 110 and one backup battery unit 120 are shown in the computer system 100 of fig. 1, the physical design is not limited thereto. The power supply 110 of the computer system 100 may be connected in parallel by using a plurality of same or different power supplies. The backup battery unit 120 of the computer system 100 may also be connected in parallel by using a plurality of same or different backup batteries.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a backup battery unit 120 according to an embodiment of the present application. In the backup battery unit 120, one or more battery modules 210 may be included. Each battery module 210 includes at least one or more battery cells 214 therein. The battery cells 214 may be, but are not limited to, lithium ion batteries, lithium iron batteries, or other chemically reactive batteries. The battery module 210 also includes a battery management system (Battery Management System; BMS) 212 for monitoring the temperature and voltage of the battery cells 214 to provide various protection measures, such as overcharge protection, overdischarge protection, high temperature protection, etc. The battery module 210 is externally connected through an interface module 280. Taking the example of fig. 1, the spare battery cell 120 is connected to the core module 130 by the interface module 280. In further embodiments, the interface module 280 may provide a simple battery identification code for anti-counterfeit or record charge and discharge accumulation. Since the charge and discharge of the battery module 210 are transmitted through the same circuit, a multiplexer 270 is required for simple current direction control. The multiplexer 270 in this embodiment also provides a Fuse function to prevent excessive current from causing high temperature ignition. The multiplexer 270 may also assist in circuit redirection in special situations, such as Hot Swap (Hot Swap) situations for one of the plurality of battery modules 210.

A microcontroller 240 is included in the backup battery unit 120 and can be programmed to operate the backup battery unit 120 in a variety of modes. For example, during a discharge mode, the microcontroller 240 activates the discharge module 220 and turns off the charge module 230, causing the battery module 210 to output the battery discharge current #ib to the interface module 280 through the discharge module 220. In contrast, in the charging mode, the microcontroller 240 activates the charging module 230 and turns off the discharging module 220, so that the battery module 210 receives the battery charging current #ic input from the interface module 280 through the charging module 230. The microcontroller 240 may further control a heat sink module 250. For example, the heat dissipating module 250 may be a heat dissipating blade set including a fan. When the temperature rises, the microcontroller 240 may command the fan to increase the speed to enhance heat dissipation. The spare battery cell 120 further includes an auxiliary power module 260 for converting the electric energy of the battery module 210 into the electric power source of each module in the spare battery cell 120. The auxiliary power module 260 may also receive an externally input battery charging current #ic via the multiplexer 270 and the interface module 280 to drive the modules in the backup battery unit 120. The above-described embodiments of the spare battery cell 120 are presented for simplicity in terms of illustration only, and are not intended to limit the possible architectural designs for the actual manufacturing of the spare battery cell 120.

The battery cells 214 in the backup battery unit 120 illustrated in fig. 2 may be rechargeable batteries, such as the aforementioned lithium ion batteries, lithium iron batteries, various types of chemical reaction batteries, or Super capacitors (Super capacitors). The battery cells 214 may also be other types of energy storage that are not rechargeable, such as fuel cells, flywheel energy storage, superconducting energy storage, and the like. In the case of a rechargeable battery, the power supply 110 of fig. 2 may provide the charging current #ic to supplement the power for the backup battery unit 120. In the case of a non-rechargeable battery, when the power of the spare battery cell 120 is insufficient, the spare battery cell 120 may be replenished with power by replenishing fuel or replacing the battery cell 214.

In the embodiment of fig. 2, while the discharging module 220 and the charging module 230 are described as two separate functional modules, the design of the physical circuit is not limited in nature. It is understood that the discharging module 220 and the charging module 230 may be implemented as a bidirectional converter module. In a bi-directional inverter module, energy may flow bi-directionally, both charging and discharging. Thus, when the bi-directional converter module is operating in the charging mode, the function is equivalent to the charging module 230. In contrast, when the bi-directional converter module is operating in the discharge mode, the bi-directional converter module functions equivalently to the discharge module 220.

Fig. 3 to 5 are flowcharts of a power supply method according to an embodiment of the present application. The power supply method provided by the application is suitable for a computer system comprising a standby battery unit 120 and a power supply 110. The embodiment adopts a hybrid power supply working mode and a control strategy, and can flexibly configure the power supply 110 and the spare battery unit 120 with different power supply specifications. Under the premise of ensuring that the total power supply capacity (total output current) of the power supply 110 and the spare battery cell 120 can meet the maximum load requirement of the computer system 100, the present embodiment can avoid configuring the power supply 110 and the spare battery cell 120 with excessive specifications, thereby reducing the system cost.

Considering that the load current of the core module 130 is less than the upper load current limit most of the time in actual operation, the installed output current of the power supply 110 no longer needs to be forced to meet the maximum demand of the core module 130 for the computer system 100 having the spare battery cell 120. The present application adds a hybrid discharge mode (Hybrid discharge mode) that allows the computer system 100 to install a power supply with a lower specification (i.e., lower output current) to save installation costs. When the computer system 100 occasionally generates a high-load operation demand, the standby battery unit 120 and the power supply 110 are mixed to supply power to the core module 130, so that the load demand can be solved at low cost.

Since the amount of stored power of the backup battery unit 120 is limited, the duration that the computer system 100 is continuously operating at maximum load is also limited. In the process of manufacturing computer system 100 for a particular customer, the application records of the particular customer may be analyzed in advance with big data, such as statistics of the occurrence and duration of maximum loads, to determine the best cost power supply 110 hardware specifications, and/or the backup battery unit 120 capacity configuration ratio.

In other words, in a further embodiment of the computer system 100, although the upper limit of the output current of the power supply 110 is configured to be smaller than the upper limit of the load current of the core module, the upper limit of the total output current is ensured to be sufficient to load the upper limit of the load current of the core module through the configuration arrangement of the power supply 110 and the backup battery unit 120.

The present implementation further provides a mechanism for capacity reduction operation. When the maximum load current required by the core module 130 exceeds the total output capacity of the power supply 110 and the backup battery unit 120, the core module 130 can immediately perform capacity reduction operation according to a specific monitoring signal or instruction.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a power supply method according to an embodiment of the present application. The power supply method is applicable to the foregoing embodiments of the computer system 100. In step 301, the computer system 100 is started and the service starts to run. A general precondition for normal start-up is that the ac power must be able to normally power the power supply 110. In this case, the power supply 110 receives an ac current and converts the ac current into a dc current to supply power to the core module, so that the core module operates by driving the dc current. If in a power outage state, even though the computer system 100 is forced to be started up by the backup battery unit 120, some basic backup tasks can only be performed on the premise of shutdown.

In step 303, the computer system 100 can determine whether the power supply 110 normally receives the alternating current #ac and supplies the direct current #dc, and whether the stock of the spare battery cells 120 is maintained above a certain water level. When the power supply 110 and the backup battery unit 120 in step 303 are both in compliance, step 400 is performed to determine the power supply mode according to the status of the computer system 100. In contrast, when either the power supply 110 or the backup battery unit 120 in step 303 does not meet the condition, step 500 is performed to determine the power supply mode according to the conditions of the power supply 110 and the backup battery unit 120.

Fig. 4 is a further flowchart of step 400 of an embodiment of the present application. When determining the power supply mode according to the state of the computer system 100, first, in step 401, the system load of the computer system 100 is determined. For example, the power supply 110 may determine the system load of the core module 130 according to the value of the direct current #dc during the process of providing the direct current #dc to the core module 130.

In step 403, when the system load of the core module 130 is greater than the total output threshold, the computer system 100 executes step 405 to enter the hybrid power mode. For example, the total output threshold may be 80% of the upper limit of the total output capacity of the power supply 110 and the backup battery unit 120.

In the hybrid power mode of step 405, the core module 130 in the computer system 100 is powered by both the power supply 110 and the backup battery unit 120. More specifically, when the power supply 110 detects that the output DC current #dc is higher than a current threshold, the core module 130 is operating in a high load state, which may exceed the capability of the power supply 110 to supply power alone. At this point, the backup battery unit 120 needs to be started to supply power together. The power supply 110 may change the output DC current #dc to a fixed value, and inform the backup battery unit 120 to output a battery discharge current #ib, so that the fixed DC current #dc and the battery discharge current #ib supply power to the core module 130 together.

Generally, when the charge of the spare battery cell approaches saturation, the charge efficiency gradually decreases due to an increase in the self-discharge effect. Therefore, as long as the remaining power of the spare battery cell 120 is above a charge threshold, the state of charge at any time need not be maintained. Therefore, if step 403 determines that the load is not large, step 407 is performed, only the power supply 110 supplies power to the core module 130, and the standby battery unit 120 enters the standby state. In other words, when the power supply 110 detects that the direct current #dc is not higher than the current threshold, the output capability of the core module 130 is sufficient to solely bear the load of the core module 130. If the remaining power of the spare battery cell 120 is greater than the charging threshold at this time, it indicates that the power is sufficient and no charging is required. The core module is then individually powered by the power supply 110, and the backup battery unit 120 enters a standby state.

More specifically, when the power supply 110 detects that the direct current #dc reaches the preset upper threshold, the power supply 110 enters the constant current operation mode, and the power supply 110 sends a signal to activate the backup battery unit 120, so that the backup battery unit 120 is separated from the standby mode to start discharging. At this time, the power supply 110 and the spare battery cell 120 supply power to the core module 130 together, and maintain the voltage of the core module 130 stable. As long as the sum of the power supply capacities of the power supply 110 and the backup battery unit 120 is greater than or equal to the maximum load requirement of the system, the core module 130 can be ensured to maintain the full load operation.

As the spare battery cells 120 are consumed, the time that the core module 130 remains in full operation is limited. In one extreme case, the core module 130 may be overloaded, consuming more current than the total output capacity of the power supply 110 and the backup battery unit 120. At this time, the computer system 100 of the present embodiment issues an immediate capacity reduction operation request to the core module 130. For example, when the power supply 110 fails to supply the direct current #dc due to a fault, and the remaining capacity or output capacity of the backup battery unit 120 cannot independently cope with the demand of the core module 130, the core module 130 is required to be immediately required to perform capacity reduction operation.

The core module 130 of the present embodiment provides a mechanism for monitoring the backup battery unit 120. A bus connection may be provided between core module 130 and backup battery unit 120. When the battery discharge current #ib output by the backup battery unit 120 is lower than a power threshold, the backup battery unit 120 may transmit a power notification #l to the core module 130. The core module 130 may thereby determine that the spare battery cell 120 is about to reach the discharge limit. This allows the core module 130 to monitor the remaining power of the backup battery unit 120 to determine when to prepare to reduce the load of operation.

Fig. 5 is a further flowchart of step 500 of an embodiment of the present application. When one of the power supply 110 or the backup battery unit 120 fails to supply power normally, the computer system 100 of the present application also supports conventional operation mode switching. In step 501, the output status of the power supply 110 and the battery storage are determined. The power supply 110 is provided to stably receive the alternating current #ac and output the direct current #dc if the output state is normal. If the ac current is disconnected or the power supply 110 fails, the power supply 110 cannot output normally.

In step 503, if it is determined that the power supply 110 can normally output, step 505 is performed to supply power to the core module 130 using the power supply 110. In other words, when the power supply 110 detects that the direct current #dc is not higher than the current threshold, it indicates that the core module 130 is not operating in the full load state. If the remaining power of the spare battery cell 120 is less than the power threshold, the power supply 110 may still have the remaining power to charge the spare battery cell 120. For example, in step 505, it may be determined whether the stock of spare battery cells 120 is below a charge threshold. The charge threshold may be 80% of the maximum charge. If the stock of the spare battery cell 120 is below the charge threshold, the power supply 110 further provides an excess current, such as a battery charge current #IC, for the capability to charge the spare battery cell 120. The standby battery unit 120 may switch to a charging mode, and receive the split direct current #dc output by the power supply 110, i.e., the battery charging current #ic, for charging.

In step 507, if it is determined that the power supply 110 has a problem, such as a power outage or failure, and the stock of the spare battery cells 120 is still sufficient, step 509 is executed, in which the spare battery cells 120 are switched to a discharging mode to individually supply power to the core module 130. At this time, the power supply 110 cannot supply the direct current #dc, and the core module 130 may further determine whether to reduce the operating load according to the remaining power of the spare battery cell 120. For example, since the battery discharge current #ib output by the backup battery unit 120 does not necessarily enable the core module 130 to operate sufficiently, the backup battery unit 120 may notify the core module 130 to prepare to reduce the load of operation through the bus. In this case, the present embodiment may set the low battery threshold of the spare battery cell 120. When the discharge current falls below the low battery threshold, the backup battery unit 120 gives a battery notification #l to the core module 130, so that the core module 130 determines whether to prepare for the load reduction operation. In another case, if the backup battery unit 120 output current is greater than or equal to the maximum load demand of the core module 130, entering the discharge mode is sufficient to solely assume the full required load current of the core module 130, then the core module 130 need not run under load.

In a further case, when the determinations in both steps 503 and 507 are not coincident, it indicates that the ac power source has been turned off and that the spare battery cell 120 is about to be exhausted. At this point, power to the core module 130 cannot be continued, and only step 511 can be performed to notify the computer system 100 that it is ready to enter a shutdown or sleep state, so as to reduce data loss caused by power failure.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart 600 of monitoring the remaining battery power of the battery module according to the embodiment of the present application. In step 601, monitoring of the remaining power in the backup battery unit 120 is started. The monitoring mechanism may be implemented in the microcontroller 240 of fig. 2, or in the battery management system 212. In the embodiment of fig. 1-5, the remaining power in the backup battery unit 120 may be continuously monitored. The computer system 100 can provide different processing methods according to the remaining power. In step 603, it is determined whether the remaining power of the spare battery cell 120 is less than a charging threshold. Generally, when the stored power of the spare battery cell 120 approaches saturation, the self-discharge effect increases, and the charging efficiency gradually decreases. In this embodiment, as long as the remaining power of the spare battery cell 120 is higher than a charging threshold, step 605 is executed to put the spare battery cell 605 into a standby state without maintaining the state of charging at any time. For example, the charge threshold may be, but is not limited to, 95% of maximum charge. In contrast, if step 603 determines that the remaining power of the spare battery cell 120 is less than the charging threshold, in step 607, it is determined whether the remaining power of the spare battery cell 120 is less than a low power threshold. The low battery threshold is an indicator that the spare battery cell 120 is approaching a depleted battery, and a specific value may be, but is not limited to, 10% or 20% of the maximum battery. In other words, the low battery threshold is less than the charge threshold described above.

If the remaining power of the spare battery cell 120 is between the low power threshold and the charge threshold, step 609 is performed, and the computer system 100 controls the power supply 110 to charge the spare battery cell 120. In a further embodiment, even if the spare battery cell 120 meets the charging condition in step 607, the load condition of the computer system can be further considered to determine whether to execute step 609. The embodiments of fig. 3-5 have been listed for various situations and are not described in detail herein.

If the remaining power of the backup battery unit 120 is below the low power threshold, indicating that the backup battery unit 120 is about to be depleted, then in step 611, a power transfer notification is sent to the core module 130. In this case, it is generally indicated that there is little time left for the core module 130 to be able to maintain high load operation. The best response to the core module 130 is to begin preparing to reduce the operational load. Therefore, the backup battery unit 120 in fig. 1 can send a power notification #l to the core module 130, so that the core module 130 determines whether to immediately perform the capacity reduction operation.

Although it is illustrated in fig. 6 that whether the remaining power of the spare battery cell 120 is less than the charge threshold is checked first, and then whether the remaining power of the spare battery cell 120 is less than the low voltage threshold is checked. It will be appreciated that the order of execution of the steps is not limited to the present embodiment. Steps 603 and 607 may be performed individually in the physical design. In addition, the various thresholds mentioned in the foregoing embodiments may be determined through experimentation or experience within a reasonable range. The present embodiment is not limited to specific numerical values. Although the operation modes of the power supply 110 and the spare battery cell 120 refer to the charge mode, the discharge mode, the standby mode, and the hybrid power mode, other combinations of practical applications may exist as desired. Any embodiment in which a combination of a power supply 110 with a lower output capability and a backup battery unit 120 is provided falls within the spirit of the present invention.

It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

The embodiments of the present application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-described embodiments, which are merely illustrative and not restrictive, and many forms may be made by those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit of the present application and the scope of the claims, which are also within the protection of the present application.

Claims (14)

1. A computer system, comprising:

the core module is driven by direct current;

the power supply is connected with the core module and is used for receiving and converting alternating current so as to supply the direct current; and

the standby battery unit is connected with the core module and the power supply, and determines an operation mode according to the states of the power supply, the core module and the standby battery unit; wherein:

when the power supply detects that the direct current is higher than a current threshold, the power supply outputs constant direct current and notifies the standby battery unit to output battery current, so that the constant direct current and the battery current supply power the core module together.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein:

the upper limit of the output current of the power supply is smaller than the upper limit of the load current of the core module; and

The upper limit of the total output current of the power supply and the spare battery cell is not less than the upper limit of the load current of the core module.

3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein:

the backup battery unit is a non-rechargeable battery; and

And when the residual electric quantity of the spare battery unit is smaller than an electric quantity threshold value, the spare battery unit transmits a low electric quantity notice to the core module, so that the core module prompts a user to replace a battery.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein:

the backup battery unit is a rechargeable battery;

the core module monitors the residual electric quantity of the spare battery cell; and

And when the residual electric quantity of the spare battery unit is smaller than a low electric quantity threshold value, the spare battery unit transmits a low electric quantity notice to the core module.

5. The computer system of claim 4, wherein: when the power supply detects that the direct current is not higher than a current threshold value and the residual electric quantity of the standby battery unit is smaller than a charging threshold value, the standby battery unit receives a part of the direct current output by the power supply to charge; wherein the charge threshold is greater than the low battery threshold.

6. The computer system of claim 4, wherein: when the power supply detects that the direct current is not higher than a current threshold value and the residual electric quantity of the standby battery unit is larger than a charging threshold value, the power supply supplies power to the core module, and the standby battery unit enters a standby state.

7. The computer system of claim 5, wherein: when the power supply cannot supply the direct current and the total output current of the power supply and the standby battery unit cannot cope with the requirement of the core module, the core module operates in a capacity-reducing mode.

8. A power supply method is used for a computer system, and the computer system comprises a power supply, a standby battery unit and a core module; the core module is connected with the power supply; the standby battery unit is connected with the core module and the power supply; characterized by comprising:

the power supply receives alternating current and converts the alternating current into direct current to supply power to the core module;

the core module is driven by the direct current to operate; and

When the power supply detects that the direct current is higher than a current threshold, the power supply outputs constant direct current and notifies the standby battery unit to output battery current, so that the constant direct current and the battery current supply power the core module together.

9. The power supply method according to claim 8, wherein:

the upper limit of the output current of the power supply is smaller than the upper limit of the load current of the core module; and

The upper limit of the total output current of the power supply and the spare battery cell is not less than the upper limit of the load current of the core module.

10. The power supply method of claim 8, wherein the backup battery unit is a non-rechargeable battery, the power supply method further comprising: and when the residual electric quantity of the spare battery unit is smaller than an electric quantity threshold value, the spare battery unit transmits a low electric quantity notice to the core module, so that the core module prompts a user to replace a battery.

11. The power supply method of claim 8, wherein the backup battery unit is a rechargeable battery, the power supply method further comprising:

the core module monitors the residual electric quantity of the spare battery cell;

and when the residual electric quantity of the spare battery unit is smaller than a low electric quantity threshold value, the spare battery unit transmits a low electric quantity notice to the core module.

12. The power supply method of claim 11, further comprising: when the power supply detects that the direct current is not higher than a current threshold value and the residual electric quantity of the standby battery unit is smaller than a charging threshold value, the standby battery unit receives a part of the direct current output by the power supply to charge; wherein the charge threshold is greater than the low battery threshold.

13. The power supply method of claim 12, further comprising: when the power supply detects that the direct current is not higher than a current threshold value and the residual electric quantity of the standby battery unit is larger than the charging threshold value, the power supply supplies power to the core module and the standby battery unit enters a standby state.

14. The power supply method of claim 13, further comprising: when the power supply cannot supply the direct current and the total output current of the power supply and the standby battery unit cannot cope with the requirement of the core module, the core module operates in a capacity-reducing mode.

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