Unity-Power-Factor Interfaces for Data-Processing Equipment

Circuits for conditioning AC power supplied to computers are under development. A power conditioner of this type would be an interface between a conventional AC power line and a computer power supply (that is, an AC-to- DC converter) that contains one or more rectifier(s) and inductor(s). Typically, such a power converter is characterized by a power factor <1, and, because it presents a nonlinear load to the power line, it injects currents at harmonics of the power-line frequency back into the power line. These harmonic currents can cause interference with the operations of other electronic equipment as well as overheating of power-line transformers.