# US 2023/0057741 A1 · Computer cooling device activity indication > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2023/0057741 A1 - Document ID: US20230057741A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 17/445,689 - Filed: 2021-08-23 - Published: 2023-02-23 - Earliest claimed: 2021-08-23 - Assignees: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC - Applicants: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC - Inventors: Sandeep PRABHAKAR; Tristan Anthony BROWN; Rajagopal K. VENKATACHALAM; Thomas Arthur SEWELL; Cho Yu CHONG; Brendan W. FLYNN; Mark Allan BELLON; Gregory Allen NIELSEN - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20230057741A1 ## CPC - G06F 1/1677: {for detecting open or closed state or particular intermediate positions assumed by movable parts of the enclosure, e.g. detection of display lid position with respect to main body in a laptop, detection of opening of the cover of battery compartment} - H05K 7/20209: {Thermal management, e.g. fan control} - G05D 23/1931: {to control the temperature of one space} - G06F 1/203: {for portable computers, e.g. for laptops} - G06F 1/206: {comprising thermal management} - G06F 1/3209: Monitoring remote activity, e.g. over telephone lines or network connections - G06F 1/3212: Monitoring battery levels, e.g. power saving mode being initiated when battery voltage goes below a certain level - G06F 1/3215: Monitoring of peripheral devices - G06F 1/324: by lowering clock frequency - G06F 1/3287: by switching off individual functional units in the computer system - G06F 1/3293: by switching to a less power-consuming processor, e.g. sub-CPU - G06F 1/3296: by lowering the supply or operating voltage - H05K 7/20136: {Forced ventilation, e.g. by fans (H05K7/202 takes precedence)} - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - H05K: PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS - G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES ## Abstract A computing device includes a cooling device and a cooling activity monitor configured to assess a cooling activity of the cooling device. A cooling activity reporter is configured to, based at least in part on the cooling activity of the cooling device crossing a predefined cooling activity threshold, communicate a cooling activity indication to a resource manager of the computing device. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A computing device, comprising: a cooling device; a cooling activity monitor configured to assess a cooling activity of the cooling device; and a cooling activity reporter configured to, based at least in part on the cooling activity of the cooling device crossing a predefined cooling activity threshold, communicate a cooling activity indication to a resource manager of the computing device. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The computing device of claim 1, wherein the cooling device is a cooling fan, and wherein the cooling activity of the cooling fan is a rotational fan speed of the cooling fan. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The computing device of claim 1, wherein the predefined cooling activity threshold is specified by an activity-to-noise map correlating different cooling activity values of the cooling device with a plurality of different cooling device noise levels. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The computing device of claim 3, wherein the predefined cooling activity threshold corresponds to a noise threshold between two different cooling device noise levels of the plurality of different cooling device noise levels. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The computing device of claim 3, wherein the cooling activity indication specifies a cooling device noise level of the plurality of different cooling device noise levels to which the cooling activity of the cooling device corresponds, according to the activity-to-noise map. ### Claim 6 (depends on 3) The computing device of claim 3, wherein the activity-to-noise map is a first activity-to-noise map corresponding to a first configuration of the computing device having first acoustic properties, and wherein a second activity-to-noise map corresponds to a second configuration of the computing device having second acoustic properties. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The computing device of claim 6, wherein the predefined cooling activity threshold is one of a first set of predefined cooling activity thresholds specified by the first activity-to-noise map, and wherein the second activity-to-noise map specifies a second set of predefined cooling activity thresholds, different from the first set of predefined cooling activity thresholds. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The computing device of claim 1, wherein the predefined cooling activity threshold is specified by the resource manager of the computing device. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The computing device of claim 1, wherein the predefined cooling activity threshold is one of two or more different predefined cooling activity thresholds, and the cooling activity indication specifies which of the two or more different predefined cooling activity thresholds is crossed. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The computing device of claim 1, wherein the resource manager of the computing device is configured to, based at least in part on the cooling activity indication, control behavior of one or more hardware components of the computing device to reduce the cooling activity of the cooling device. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The computing device of claim 1, wherein the resource manager of the computing device is configured to, based at least in part on the cooling activity indication, control behavior of one or more software applications of the computing device to reduce the cooling activity of the cooling device. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The computing device of claim 1, wherein the resource manager of the computing device is configured to make the cooling activity indication available to one or more software applications of the computing device. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The computing device of claim 1, further comprising: a second cooling device; a second cooling activity monitor configured to assess a cooling activity of the second cooling device; and a second cooling activity reporter configured to, based at least in part on the cooling activity of the second cooling device crossing a second predefined cooling activity threshold, communicate a second cooling activity indication to the resource manager of the computing device. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The computing device of claim 1, wherein the cooling activity monitor and the cooling activity reporter are implemented in firmware installed on a hardware cooling device controller of the cooling device. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The computing device of claim 1, wherein the cooling activity reporter is further configured to report the cooling activity of the cooling device to the resource manager of the computing device at a predetermined time interval regardless of whether the cooling activity of the cooling device crosses the predefined cooling activity threshold. ### Claim 16 A method for computing device cooling, comprising: at a hardware cooling device controller configured to control a cooling device of a computing device, assessing a cooling activity of the cooling device; and based at least in part on the cooling activity of the cooling device crossing a predefined cooling activity threshold, communicating a cooling activity indication to a resource manager of the computing device. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, wherein the predefined cooling activity threshold is specified by an activity-to-noise map maintained by the hardware cooling device controller, the activity-to-noise map correlating different cooling activity values of the cooling device with a plurality of different cooling device noise levels. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17, wherein the predefined cooling activity threshold corresponds to a noise threshold between two different cooling device noise levels of the plurality of different cooling device noise levels. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17, wherein the cooling activity indication specifies a cooling device noise level of the plurality of different cooling device noise levels that the cooling activity of the cooling device corresponds to, according to the activity-to-noise map. ### Claim 20 A computing device, comprising: a cooling fan; a cooling activity monitor configured to assess a rotational fan speed of the cooling fan; and a cooling activity reporter configured to, based at least in part on the rotational fan speed of the cooling fan crossing a predefined cooling activity threshold, communicate a cooling activity indication to a resource manager of the computing device, the resource manager of the computing device configured to, based at least in part on the cooling activity indication, control one or both of one or more hardware components of the computing device and one or more software applications of the computing device to reduce the rotational fan speed of the cooling fan.