Power managers and methods for operating power managers

Inventors

Robinson, Philip T. • Dziengeleski, Seth M. • Kazmierczak, James D. • Holigan, David J.

Assignees

Galvion Solider Power LLC • Galvion Soldier Power LLC

Abstract

A power manager including a power bus operable at a DC bus voltage. A plurality of device ports operably connect to the power bus. A first data processing device and a first memory device are associated with the first data processing device. A data communication channel extends between the first data processing device and each of the plurality of device ports. An energy management schema operates on the first data processing device. For each of the plurality of device ports, the energy management schema establishes a communication link with an external power device connected to the device port over the data communication channel and determines if an external power device is connected to the device port and if so, determines an external power device type.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to a portable power manager that includes a power bus operable at a DC bus voltage and a plurality of device ports connectable to the power bus. A first data processing device and a first memory device are associated with the first data processing device, and a data communication channel extends between the first data processing device and each device port. An energy management schema operating on the first data processing device establishes a communication link with an external power device connected to each device port over the data communication channel to determine whether an external power device is connected and, if so, determine an external power device type.

Each device port further includes a first power channel disposed between the device port and the power bus, and a first controllable switching element operable by the data processing device disposed along the first power channel between the device port and the power bus. Connected external power devices may provide power characteristic data, and the communication link supports determining supported communication protocols and external power device types. The energy management schema classifies external power devices as power loads versus power or energy sources, including rechargeable energy storage devices, and operates with allocation interfaces for loads and sources.

For the networked power-management aspect described, the schema calculates a total power available from the source allocation interface, allocates the total power available to the power allocation interface, and connects as many power loads to the power bus as can be powered by the total power available. The schema disconnects power loads from the power bus that cannot be powered by the total power available and connects the power or energy sources associated with the source allocation interface to the power bus. The disclosed hardware architecture includes configurable port connection using selectable power channels per port, shared bidirectional DC-DC converters, and a hot-change-over low-voltage-sensor circuit enabling fast backup source connection to prevent power interruption.

Claims Coverage

The independent claims are directed to a power manager with per-port communication-based external power device identification and controllable per-port switching, and a power manager that further performs load/source characterization and power allocation using allocation interfaces, including calculating total available power, connecting and disconnecting power loads based on the available power, and connecting power or energy sources accordingly. Across the independent claims, the key inventive features center on energy-management schema-driven communication and switching integrated with a DC power bus and multiple device ports, plus allocation logic for power loads versus sources.

Across the independent claims, the energy management schema forms a communication link per device port to detect and type external power devices, and uses controllable switching integrated on the power channel between device ports and the DC power bus. The further independent-claim logic characterizes devices as loads versus sources, computes total available source power, allocates it to a power allocation interface, and then connects and disconnects power loads based on whether they can be powered while connecting appropriate sources to the power bus.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications

No documented applications found