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US 12,604,435 B2Granted
Heat harvesting in data storage devices
AssigneeSanDisk Technologies LLC
InventorsUthayarajan AL Rasalingam, Niladri Dey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A data storage device includes TE elements thermally connected between IC chips thereof and a lid assembly. An electronic controller of the data storage device is configured to receive voltages generated by the TE elements in response to the heat generated in the IC chips and is further configured to use the voltages to provide electrical power to an electrical fan of the lid assembly. The fan generates an airflow for keeping the lid assembly at approximately ambient temperature, thereby facilitating heat removal from the IC chips by way of the TE elements.
Claims20
A device, comprising:
- a first plate having a first main surface and an opposite second main surface;
- a second plate disposed at a nonzero offset distance from the first plate along the first main surface;
- an electrical fan having a set of blades arranged within a gap between the first plate and the second plate, the electrical fan being operable to rotate the set of blades about a rotation axis that is approximately orthogonal to the first main surface;
- a plurality of thermoelectric (TE) elements disposed along the opposite second main surface in thermal contact with the first plate;
- and
- a heat-management (HM) controller connected to receive a plurality of voltages generated by the plurality of TE elements in response to respective temperature differences across individual ones of the plurality of TE elements, the HM controller being configured to use the plurality of voltages to provide electrical power to the electrical fan.
3 more elements
A heat-management method, comprising:
- sensing one or more temperatures in one or more locations within a device assembly;
- and
- electrically connecting a plurality of thermoelectric (TE) elements to provide electrical power to an electrical fan when a temperature metric is greater than a first threshold value, the temperature metric being based on the one or more temperatures,
- wherein the device assembly comprises:
- a printed-circuit-board (PCB) assembly including a printed circuit board and a plurality of integrated-circuit (IC) chips attached and electrically connected to the printed circuit board;
- the plurality of TE elements having individual ones of the TE elements thermally connected between corresponding ones of the IC chips and an adjacent part of a device case of the device assembly;
- and
- a heat-management (HM) controller connected to receive a plurality of voltages generated by the plurality of TE elements in response to heat generated in the corresponding ones of the IC chips, the HM controller being configured to use the plurality of voltages to provide the electrical power to the electrical fan;
- and
- wherein the electrical fan is configured to generate an airflow that removes heat from the device case.
7 more elements
A data storage device, comprising:
- a device case including a bottom casing and a lid assembly attached to each other, the lid assembly including an electrical fan;
- a printed-circuit-board assembly disposed in the device case and including a printed circuit board and a plurality of integrated-circuit (IC) chips attached and electrically connected to the printed circuit board, the plurality of IC chips including a plurality of storage dies and an electronic controller;
- and
- a plurality of thermoelectric (TE) elements having individual ones of the TE elements thermally connected between corresponding ones of the IC chips and the lid assembly,
- wherein the electronic controller is configured to receive a plurality of voltages generated by the plurality of TE elements in response to heat generated in the corresponding ones of the IC chips and further configured to use the plurality of voltages to provide electrical power to the electrical fan;
- and
- wherein the electrical fan is configured to generate an airflow that removes heat from the device case.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.