Apple Files Patent to Make a Zero-Power PSU

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Sounds like another lock and key to keep their platform closed while marketing their push for "green" electronics. Only THEIR psu's work with THEIR hardware and vice versa.
 
my PSU, as well as most decent PSUs have power switches... why would I want some fancy circuitry when I've got a switch that will do the same thing.
 
If you build your own computers then you know that one of the more important aspects of choosing a PSU is getting a proven and reliable brand. There's no way I buy an Apple PSU when they come out.
 
[citation][nom]zak_mckraken[/nom]The article reads : The control circuitry is powered by a battery, which is charged during regular power flow.So, instead of a regular PSU that draws about 0.5 watts when the computer is off, you'll have a self-charging battery that will draw 0 watt, but will need to be replaced after one year of usage. Green power?[/citation]

It cost more energy to make the battery and components. Not to mention replacement battery.
 
So now instead of wasting energy when the computer is off we will waste energy when it's on. Also I wonder if the computer if off for a long time and the battery completely discharges what will happen.

This also means another thing. I can charge in my computer an MP3 player when the computer is off-line, if this kind of PSU is used I will need to turn on my computer to charge something.

Also other things need power in order to function even when the computer is offline. A USB keyboard with a power on key can't start the computer with this kind of PSU not can I wake up on LAN.
 
Lets say you go on a trip for 6 months and your computer is powered off. when this battery dies when your gone. when you get back how do you turn on your computer? Only way is to replace this battery and with experience with apple the battery will be hard wired in like the Iphone, lol. Can you say new power supply?
 
Correct me if I am wrong but the extra power required to charge the battery would just be consumed during operation. Charging batteries is less efficient than a very small current draw to keep the efficient circuit alive to see when the appliance is switched back on. This is NOT an environmental benefit as we also require extra resources to create!
There is no NET benefit here and overall it sounds like more of a marketing stunt than a practical solution.
 
[citation][nom]pokeydukes[/nom]Correct me if I am wrong but the extra power required to charge the battery would just be consumed during operation. Charging batteries is less efficient than a very small current draw to keep the efficient circuit alive to see when the appliance is switched back on. This is NOT an environmental benefit as we also require extra resources to create!There is no NET benefit here and overall it sounds like more of a marketing stunt than a practical solution.[/citation]

I dont like apple or this product concept. Have to say that first because I dont want to appear to be arguing with you in Apple's favor, lol... too many kids and thumbs.

Anyway, from what I gather, it probably isn't constantly charging battery. It probably stops that operation after its fully charged. I think the battery doesn't come into play until the system is off. So while the system is on and charging the battery, its consuming more power than a same-spec power supply that has no battery.

Apple folks don't want to get anywhere near the dusty floor and dust bunnies to turn off the power strip. They'll likely have to pack up and go get a whole new manicure after such a thing.
 
"However, there is an environmental benefit, especially if all those millions of devices that Apple sells every quarter use less power."

How about not building them at all? That'll be greener. How much "less power" are we talking about as compared to the raw materials, energy consumed, overhead, Foxconn suicides, etc. it'll take to manufacture these magical PSUs?
 
Apple is just a greedy blood sucker, i think every psu maker all have the idea and want to make efficient power supply, the problem is they need work out how to do it. Now this apple just file a patent so when some one finally do can make it, apple will just collect money from others work.

 
Just thinking out loud here-- but I imagiend it as current PSUs using, lets say, 1 watt continuously when the system is off, and they are proposing a system that instead sends periodic short bursts.

If it is still using 1 watt per hour, but, in 1 millsecond bursts once a second, then you are effectively using 0.001 watts per hour.

Granted, if an average computer was turned off 16 hours a day, that is 5.8 KW/h per computer per year. Times one computer per US household is more than half a million megawatt hours or about 15% of the annual output of the Hoover Dam. That isn't quite nothing.

 
it's not a zero psu, it has a battery, and as stupid as apple users are when that battery dies, much like when a cmos battery dies, these stupid apple users will think their computer is broken and throw it in the garbage to go to a landfill and buy a new one rather then replace the battery in the psu like PC users would do.
i need to go into marketing and advertising i could so hose apple over those 'i'm a mac/pc' bigot ads.
 
Holy crap! The amount of hate with no real understanding of the technology or innovation is just mind boggling!

The real innovation here is that the "sense" circuitry is powered by a much more efficient power source - the battery. In a conventional power supply the sense circuitry is powered through the primary and secondary circuits of the unit. Even the most efficient power supply is only "efficient" in it's normal operating range - usually at 30% load or more. At very low loads (like when the computer is powered off) they are horribly inefficient.

The advantage of Apple's design is that it allows the battery to be charged while the power supply is operating the computer - when it's operating in a significantly more efficient state. When the computer is powered off, the battery takes over to power the sense circuitry and the power supply is shut off. So basically you're trading a very inefficient standby for an efficiently charged battery.

So yes haters, this is an innovation that has not been implemented before in conventional PC power supplies and thus worthy of a patent. Whether the power savings justifies the benefit of the added complexity and related cost is yet to be seen. These economics will determine if the technology makes it into a viable product - but have no bearing on the validity of a patentable invention.
 
The inefficiencies of the charger circuit and battery make the whole system a net loss. So they use 0 watts instead of 1 watt during the "off" state. No battery charger is 100% efficient, plus no battery is 100% efficient during the charge / discharge cycle. This isn't about being truly green. This is pure marketing. While an interesting concept, the laws of physics still win in the end.
 
[citation][nom]get-a-life-and-open-your-mind[/nom]... The real innovation here is that the "sense" circuitry is powered by a much more efficient power source - the battery. In a conventional power supply the sense circuitry is powered through the primary and secondary circuits of the unit. Even the most efficient power supply is only "efficient" in it's normal operating range - usually at 30% load or more. At very low loads (like when the computer is powered off) they are horribly inefficient. ...[/citation]

Holy crap! Person who never open modern PSU is lecturing us. Modern power supplies actually have two power supplies inside. One is the main power supply that provide power when computer is on. And second stand-by power supply that is design to provide only stand-by power. This stand-by power supply is about 99% efficient on modern PSU. Average rechargeable battery has less then 90% efficiency. What a innovation. FYI my old OpenMoko phone has Power Controller chip that is power by battery when the phone is off. Most modern phones don't use those type of power controllers any more. Do you know why?! They don't work as advertised. But it comes from Apple it must be innovation. Right.
 
[citation][nom]NullDev42[/nom]The inefficiencies of the charger circuit and battery make the whole system a net loss. So they use 0 watts instead of 1 watt during the "off" state. No battery charger is 100% efficient, plus no battery is 100% efficient during the charge / discharge cycle. This isn't about being truly green. This is pure marketing. While an interesting concept, the laws of physics still win in the end.[/citation]

Your forgetting about the efficiency curve of the power supply.

The power source for the charger circuit is still the power supply. So charging the battery while the power supply is under load and at high efficiency (80%+ for a good supply) is a net win vs. the same standby power consumed from a horribly inefficient power supply operating under very low load.
 
[citation][nom]back_by_demand[/nom]Unplug from the wall socket and stop being lazy[/citation]

I wonder if Apple would start suing people for doing that?
 
[citation][nom]enterthesloth1[/nom]During charged during regular power flow does not mean it uses zero watts. It means it leaches off the current running during opweration of the computer. Unless Apple has found a way around the laws of conservation of energy(i.e. energy cannot be created or destroyed). Just because apple can manipulate people and the patent law it does not follow that it can break the laws of physics as well[/citation]

I was actually thinking about that. Not like breaking the laws of physics would be nice lol! But I can't also see the major benefit of this unless they are trying to simply create a patent that allows a vagueness that enables them to file patent lawsuits against anyone making highly energy efficient psu's on the laptop, desktop and psu supply chain. Other wise I can't see either the value in creating this technically in contrast to increasing funding to either their R&D, legal, design or trolling departments.
 
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