Patent ID: 7409304
Filing Date: 2008-08-05
Classification: G01R

Abstract:
1. A calculation apparatus for calculating effective power relating to a capacitor, the capacitor being one of a lead-terminal type capacitor and a chip lamination type capacitor, comprising a calculator programmed to: store data on a plurality of capacitors of different types and having different characteristics, each of the plurality of capacitors being one of a lead-terminal type capacitor and a chip lamination type capacitor, including capacitances and dielectric tangents thereof which are determined based on a voltage characteristic, a frequency characteristic, and a temperature characteristic of the capacitors, and data on a first effective power for each of a plurality of equilibrium temperatures of the plurality of capacitors; when a predetermined capacitance required for an electric circuit using one of the capacitors and a waveform of a periodic voltage applied to both ends of said one of the capacitors are input, calculate a second effective power at each of a plurality of provisional temperatures from the input waveform of the periodic voltage; determine as a target equilibrium temperature of the capacitor a temperature at which the first effective power is approximately equal to the second effective power; determine as a target effective power corresponding to the periodic voltage the first effective power and the second effective power corresponding to the target equilibrium temperature; and compare a stored allowable power of said one of the capacitors with the target effective power corresponding to the periodic voltage in order to determine whether or not said one of the capacitors is suitable for use in the electric circuit.