Assistant power supply unit, power supplier having assistant power supply unit, electronic device having power supply unit, and method of operating electronic device using power supplier in power-saving mode
AssigneeSamsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
InventorsJae-uk HAN, Kwang-youn SEO, Kyung-rah AHN
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Provided are, a power supplier including an assistant power supply unit, an electronic device including the power supplier, and a method of operating the electronic device using the power supplier in a power-saving mode. The assistant power supply unit includes: a heat source to generate heat during operation of the electronic device; a cooler to dissipate the heat generated by the heat source; a thermoelectric generator interposed between the heat source and the cooler; and a secondary battery to store power generated by the thermoelectric generator.
Claims24
An assistant power supply unit comprising:
- a waste heat recycler comprising:
- a thermoelectric generator to generate power using waste heat;
- a heat source that generates the waste heat during the operation of an electronic device, to heat a first side of the thermoelectric generator;
- and
- a cooler to cool a second side of the thermoelectric generator;
- and
- a secondary battery to store the power generated by the thermoelectric generator.
A power supplier comprising:
- a main power supply unit to supply an operating power to a function unit of an electronic device;
- an assistant power supply unit to supply a standby power to the function unit, the assistant power supply comprising:
- a waste heat recycler comprising:
- a thermoelectric generator to generate the standby power using waste heat;
- a heat source that generates the waste heat during operations of the electronic device, to heat a first side of the thermoelectric generator;
- and
- a cooler to cool a second side of the thermoelectric generator;
- and
- a secondary battery to store the standby power generated by the thermoelectric generator;
- and
- a switching unit to connect the main power supply unit to the function unit, when the function unit is performing operations of the electronic device, and to connect the assistant power supply unit to the function unit, when the function unit is not performing the operation.
An electronic device comprising:
- a function unit to perform an operation of the electronic device;
- a main power supply unit to supply an operating power to the function unit;
- an assistant power supply unit to supply a standby power to the function unit, the assistant power supply comprising:
- a waste heat recycler comprising:
- a thermoelectric generator to generate the standby power using waste heat;
- a heat source that generates the waste heat during operations of the electronic device, to heat a first side of the thermoelectric generator;
- and
- a cooler to cool a second side of the thermoelectric generator;
- and
- a secondary battery to store the standby power generated by the thermoelectric generator;
- and
- a switching unit to connect the main power supply unit to the function unit, when the function unit performs the operation, and to connect the assistant power supply unit to the function unit, when the function unit is not performing the operation.
A method of operating an electronic device comprising a function unit to perform an operation of the electronic device, a main power supply unit to supply an operating power to the function unit, and an assistant power supply unit to supply a standby power to the function unit, the method comprising:
- supplying the operating power to the function unit, when the function unit performs the operation;
- generating the standby power using a waste heat recycler comprising a thermoelectric generator that generates the standby power using waste heat, a heat source of the electronic device, which generates the waste heat during the operation of the electronic device and supplies the waste heat to the thermoelectric generator, and a cooler to dissipate the waste heat from the thermoelectric generator;
- storing the generated standby power in a secondary battery;
- and
- supplying the stored standby power from the secondary battery to the function unit, when the function unit enters a stand-by mode.
An assistant power supply comprising:
- an electronic component that generates waste heat;
- a cooler to dissipate the waste heat;
- a thermoelectric generator disposed between the cooler and the electronic component, to generate power using the waste heat from the electronic component, due to the Seebeck effect;
- and
- a secondary battery to store the power generated by the thermoelectric generator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.