Tandem Computers Incorporated

Compaq Computer Corporation, Inc.

Larry D Reeves

Robert L Jardine

Murali Basavaiah

Kan-Chiu Seto

Richard M Collins

Garry Easop

Dung A Tran

An apparatus and method for tolerating failure of the AC power source in a power supply switchable between the AC power source and a battery, in a processor system having a set of one or more components subject to being powered down. When the failure of the AC power source is recognized, the power supply is switched from the AC power source to the battery. For a first period of time, the battery powers the processor system with all components powered on. The battery then powers the processor system with the specific set of components powered off for a second period of time. In one embodiment, a determination is made that the battery can power the processor system with the set of components powered down for a predetermined period of time. A determination of the first period of time is then made as the capacity of the battery exceeding the predetermined period of time, if the excess capacity is used to power the processor system with the set of components powered on. In effect, a processor system incorporating one embodiment of the invention rides through a first period of a power outage, operating as normal and masking the loss of AC power. For a second, predetermined period, the processor system shuts down optional hardware and maintains the state of memory using the battery power.

Method and apparatus for tolerating power outages of variable duration in a multi-processor system

A technique for detecting failed batteries while the battery is attached to one or more electronic devices and is receiving a float charge is disclosed. The float voltage minimizes the normal voltage differences between battery cells. The technique employs a ratio comparative analysis of cell voltages of a battery provided across the terminals of the battery. Application of the ratio comparative analysis in assessing the condition of a battery assumes an equal voltage drop across each battery cell such that the cells are modeled as a series of resisters with respect to the float voltage. Such equal voltage drop enables a comparative ratio analysis of the voltage across each of the two portions of the battery's cell stack to the voltage across the entire battery. The comparative ratio analysis determines a voltage threshold that identifies whether a battery has a shorted or open cell.

Method and apparatus for detecting failed batteries

Multiple processors are connected to form a multiprocessor system having interprocessor communicating capability. In the face of a power-fail signal, indicating that possible power loss is imminent, a processor will proceed through a shut-down procedure to save the present operating state so that when power is re-applied the processor can continue from the operating state it left when power was lost. The shut-down procedure concludes with the processor broadcasting messages to all other processors that it is undergoing a power-fail shut-down which is noted by the other processors to later cause them to enter a cautious mode of operation so as to not exclude the processor in any system configuration involving agreement of all processors by reason of the processor's loss of power.

Method and apparatus for fault-tolerant multiprocessing system recovery

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Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Larry D Reeves