Abstract:
Apparatus, methods, and systems are disclosed for a power supply adapted to receive power from an outlet, the power input having a property, such as amperage, frequency or voltage. An indicator is provided on the connector to the power cord to indicate a value for the property to the power supply, wherein the power supply adapts to the value for the property. By providing an indication of the property the system is capable of reducing functionality to meet the capabilities of the power supply. A power cord may be provided with a male plug at one end capable of being inserted into a socket with a minimum value for a property, and the other end of the power cord may have a connector with an indicator to identify the minimum value for the power cord.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Power supplies for computer systems are often designed and developed for the power requirements of the computer system. In addition the local power capabilities are also taken into consideration. For example, for a larger system the computer may need to operate at 115 volts at 60 hertz and have a supply of 20 amperes (amps). However, most power outlets in homes in the United States and Canada provide 115 volts at 15 amps. If the system were to try to draw 20 amps, a fuse may blow or a circuit breaker may trip. 
         [0002]    In addition European countries, Asian countries and others have varying power capabilities. For example, in Europe it is common to have an outlet supply  220  voltage power at 50 Hertz. It is common for power supplies to be developed so they are capable of sensing the voltage and frequency of the power supplied by the outlet and adjust accordingly. It is not a simple matter to sense the available current for a system for the power supply based on the provided power. If the amperage available to the power supply is not known, the power requirements must be developed for a worst case scenario. For example, if the amperage available is not known, the power supply may be limited to 15 amps. As an alternative the power requirements for the power supply may need to be specified, potentially limiting the application of the system. For example a power supply that requires 20 amps, may not be used in locations that only have 15 amp power outlets without the danger of fire, blown fuses or tripped circuit breakers. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0003]      FIG. 1  illustrates prior art electrical outlets available in the United States of America. 
           [0004]      FIG. 2A  is a power input for a system according to an example embodiment. 
           [0005]      FIG. 2B  is a top view of a power cord for a system according to an example embodiment. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2C  is a top view of a power cord for a system according to an example embodiment. 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a representation of a system according to an example embodiment. 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a method for configuring a computer and power supply. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0009]      FIG. 1  illustrates electrical outlets available in the United States of America (U.S.). The outlets provide differing properties for the power supplied, including differing voltages, amperage and frequency. Outlets in the U.S. are configured based on the parameter for the value of amperage available to allow for manufactures to use different male connectors for different amperage requirements. For example, a 20 amp male connector will not fit into a 15 amp outlet or female receptacle. Male Plug  110  is for use with a device that requires 115 volts and 15 amps or less to operate. The blade  115  is longer than blade  117 . A ground plug  113  is attached for most configurations; however for 15 amp outlets it may be optional. Blade  115  is positioned vertically or parallel to blade  117 . An outlet receptacle  120  is designed to receive male plug  110  and mirrors the blades  113 ,  115 , and  117 . Male plug  130  is for use with a device that requires 115 volts and a 20 amp outlet. The blades  137  and  133  are similar to those of male plug  110  and may be inserted into receiver  147  and  143  respectively. The main difference is that blade  135  is horizontal or perpendicular to blade  137 . Because blade  135  is perpendicular, it is not possible to plug male plug  130  into receptacle  120 . Receptacle  140  is similar to receptacle  120 , except that receiver  145  is T-shaped and adapted to receive both blades  115  and  135 . These configurations allow receptacle  140  to provide receive both male plug  110  and male plug  130 . While male plug  130  would not be received by receptacle  120 . In this manner it is possible to have a device designed to draw greater than 15 amps of current be limited to outlets that may provide 20 amps by having a plug designed to only be plugged into a 20 amp receptacle. By modifying the plug design other countries in a similar manner regulate the parameters of power drawn by a device. 
         [0010]      FIG. 2A  is a power input for a system  200  according to an example embodiment. System  200  incorporates a power receptacle  210  to receive a power input. The power receptacle may have blades  220 ,  225  and  227  to receive power from a power cord that may be connected to a power outlet in a wall. Receptacle blade  220  and  225  may receive the alternating current input and blade  227  may be a ground. To identify the type and amperage of the input power, two female sockets  230  and  235  are provided. When a bridge from socket  230  to  235  is provided, the bridging may indicate to the power supply (not shown) in system  200  that a power cord or line cord is adapted to be connected only to a 20 amp receptacle. 
         [0011]    Connector  240  may be adapted to couple with power receptacle  210 . Sockets  250  and  255  may be adapted to couple with blades  220  and  225  respectively of power receptacle  210 . Socket  253  may be adapted to couple with blade  227 . 
         [0012]      FIG. 2B  is top view of a power cord for a system according to an example embodiment. Power cord  270  is adapted to provide 20 amp power to power receptacle  210 . Connector  277  may be attached to a power cord  273  which may be attached to a male plug  275 , which is similar to male plug  130  of  FIG. 1 . Blade  279  is horizontal or perpendicular to blade  278 . As stated earlier, male plug  275  may only be connected to a 20 amp receptacle such as receptacle  140  of  FIG. 1 . Male plug  275  is connected to connector  277  via line  273  capable of transmitting 20 amps of current. Connector  277  includes indicator  267  which is a bridge to bridge sockets  230  and  235  with blades  260  and  265 , due to the view only one blade  260  of the bridge is shown. In this manner indicator  267 , indicates that a 20 amp power cord is being utilized and 20 amps of current is available. While in this embodiment the bridge  267  indicates 20 amps of current are available, the alternative embodiment may also be available where a bridge of sockets  230  and  235  would indicate that only 15 amps of current was available. 
         [0013]      FIG. 2C  is a top view of a power cord for a system according to an example embodiment. Power cord  280  may be utilized with a 15 amp receptacle such as receptacle  120  of  FIG. 1 . Power cord  280  is adapted to receive up to 15 amps of current. Power cord  280  has a male plug  285  similar to that of male plug  110  of  FIG. 1 . Male plug  285  comprises blade  289  which is parallel to blade  288 . Male plug  285  is connected to connector  287  with indicator  295 . Indicator  295  does not include a bridge similar to indicator  290  and therefore sockets  230  and  235  will not be bridged. This will indicate to the power supply that only 15 amps of current are available. 
         [0014]    The indicator is an active indicator to indicate the value of a parameter of the power supplied to the system. In addition to sensing a bridging or shorting of sockets  230  and  235 , the indicator may be any of a number of systems to indicate the value of parameters of the supplied voltage. For example, a transponder or RFID tag may be used as the indicator and have encoded in the signal the value of multiple parameters of the supplied voltage. In addition a magnet in the connector may be used to indicate the value of a parameter is above or below a threshold. In one example, the plug at one end of a power cord may be adapted to be inserted into a receptacle for a power outlet. As shown in  FIG. 1  the configuration of the receptacle may be indicative of the voltage, frequency and rated amperage of the outlet. The plug and connector may be paired on a power cord such that the connector incorporates an indicator that indicates the values for the parameters of power from an outlet that the plug is adapted to couple with. 
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a representation of a system incorporating an example embodiment. System  300  may include a computer  310  having a mother board  320 , an input/output  330 , a clock  340 , a graphics card  345 , an internal hard drive  325 , a system memory  350 , a modem and/or Ethernet connection  355 , a power supply  360  and a print driver  365 . The computer may be connected to an external memory device  313 , a sensor network  315 , a keyboard  317 , a mouse  319 , a printer  323 , a camera  324  and a monitor  327 . The computer may receive power from a power receptacle  370 , incorporating an indicator  375 , such as the system  200  illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0016]    The power supply  360  may be capable of operating at various levels based on the parameters of the power supplied. Those parameters may include amperage, voltage or frequency. When the value of the parameter is above a threshold the power supply may operate at fall capacity, when the value is below a threshold, the power supply may operate at a reduced capacity. For example, for power supply  360  the parameter may be amperage and the threshold may be approximately 20 amps. Therefore, when the power input may operate at 20 amps the power supply will operate at full capacity or at a reduced performance level with a supply of 15 amps. Indicator  375  may indicate whether the power supplied is from a 15 amp supply or a 20 amp supply based on the indicator from the connector such as connector  240  of  FIG. 2 . 
         [0017]    When a 20 amp supply is provided, the power supply will operate at a performance level that permits increased functionality over operation when a 15 amp supply is provided. When indicator  375 , indicates a 15 amp supply is being provided, the power supply, or the power management system  373  may indicate to the computer  310  or mother board  360 , the limitation of power capabilities. When the limitations are present, functionality of the computer  310  may be restricted or external peripherals such as sensor  315  or camera  324  may be restricted or eliminated. In one example, the graphics card  345  may be disabled, the clock  340  may run at a reduced speed, the speed of the I/O  330  may also be reduced, or the bandwidth of the modem/Ethernet connection  355  may be reduced. 
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is a method for configuring a computer and power supply. The method  400  may include activity  410  to receive a request for a computer having certain characteristics or desires. For example a customer may request a computer through a sales outlet, online or by other means. Activity  420  may be to configure the computer. The configuration may be set by the customer or by the supplier. The configuration may be a simple computer system with limited power usage requirements. In some instances the configuration may be for a computer that requires significant resources to operate. For example, a system that requires a high end graphics card, significant memory, or a high clock speed, may require more power than the simple computer system. Activity  430  may be to determine the power requirements for the computer. When a high power system is configured, it may be that the power supply needs to run at a high capacity. In this case the power supply may not meet the power requirements for the computer when limited to a 15 amp power source. Once the power requirements have been determined activity  440  may be to assemble the computer. In some cases it may be advantageous to utilize a power supply that is capable of running with either a 15 amp supply or a 20 amp supply. In this case it is important to be able to indicate the amount of amperage available. Activity  450  may be to provide a power cord with an indicator of the level of amperage it is rated for. For example, if the system had a specification requiring 15 amps of power, a plug, similar to male plug  110  of  FIG. 1  may be supplied at one end of a power cord and a connector without a bridge may be connected to the other end of the power cord. Since the sockets  230  and  235  would not be bridged, this may indicate that a 15 amp outlet is being utilized. If a 20 amp power cord was requested for a high power computer system, a male plug, such as male plug  130  of  FIG. 1  may be attached to one end of a power cord, and a connector with pins  260  and  265  forming bridge  267  may be utilized to indicate that a 20 amp outlet is being utilized. In addition to supplying the 20 amp power cord, it may be possible to supply the 15 amp power cord. In this manner if only 15 amp outlets were available, a 15 amp power cord may be supplied and the system would be aware of the amperage the power supply may draw and reduce functionality of the computer. 
         [0019]    The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. § 1.72(b) requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. The above description and figures illustrate embodiments of the invention to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments of the invention. Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.