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US 6,856,139 B2Granted
Apparatus for autonomous activation of system/chassis cooling fan
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsChristopher N. Rijken, Mark D. Tupa
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electronic system has at least two fans such as a first fan and a second fan. The first fan is controlled (e.g., on/off, speed) in response a system parameter (e.g., temperature, system operational state). Preferably, the second fan is controlled dependent on the operation of the first fan. The electronic system may be a computer system. In this case, the first fan preferably is a CPU fan and the second fan is a chassis fan.
Claims14
An electronic system, comprising:
- a first fan;
- a second fan;
- a drive circuit coupled to said first and second fans, said drive circuit producing a fan speed voltage which controls the speed of said first and second fans;
- monitor logic which monitors a system parameter and causes said drive circuit to produce a fan speed voltage at a level to operate the first fan at a desired speed based on said system parameter;
- a fan dependent control unit coupled to said drive circuit and said second fan and which controls said second fan based on the operation of the first fan;
- and
- a CPU coupled to said monitor logic and said first fan functions to help cool said CPU;
- wherein said CPU includes a temperature sensor and provides a temperature reading to said monitor logic, wherein said system parameter includes said temperature reading of said CPU.
5 more elements
An electronic system, comprising:
- a first fan;
- a second fan;
- a drive circuit coupled to said first and second fans, said drive circuit producing a fan speed voltage which controls the speed of said first and second fans;
- monitor logic which monitors a system parameter and causes said drive circuit to produce a fan speed voltage at a level to operate the first fan at a desired speed based on said system parameter;
- a fan dependent control unit coupled to said drive circuit and said second fan and which controls said second fan based on the operation of the first fan;
- and
- a CPU coupled to said monitor logic and said first fan functions to help cool said CPU;
- wherein said second fan is a chassis fan mounted on a chassis in which said first fan, drive circuit, monitor logic and fan dependent control unit reside.
5 more elements
An electronic system, comprising:
- a first fan;
- a second fan;
- a drive circuit coupled to said first and second fans, said drive circuit producing a fan speed voltage which controls the speed of said first and second fans;
- monitor logic which monitors a system parameter and causes said drive circuit to produce a fan speed voltage at a level to operate the first fan at a desired speed based on said system parameter;
- a fan dependent control unit coupled to said drive circuit and said second fan and which controls said second fan based on the operation of the first fan;
- wherein said fan dependent control unit includes a comparator which compares the fan speed voltage to a threshold and causes said second fan to spin when said fan speed voltage exceeds said threshold and said fan dependent control unit further includes a normally open electronic switch coupled to said comparator, a voltage source and said second fan, wherein said comparator asserts a switch control signal when said fan speed voltage exceeds said threshold which causes said switch to close to permit said voltage source to be provided to said second fan thereby causing said second fan to spin.
3 more elements
A computer system housed in a chassis, comprising:
- a CPU;
- a CPU fan configured to help cool the CPU;
- a chassis fan configured to help cool an interior volume of the chassis;
- a fan drive coupled to said CPU and chassis fans, said fan drive produces a fan speed voltage which controls the speed of said CPU and chassis fans;
- monitor logic coupled to said fan drive and which monitors a system parameter and causes said fan drive to produce a fan speed voltage at a level to operate said CPU fan at a desired speed based on said system parameter;
- and
- a fan dependent control unit coupled to said fan drive and said chassis fan and which controls said chassis fan based on how fast said CPU fan is spinning and said fan dependent control unit turns on said chassis fan when the speed of said CPU fan reaches a threshold.
4 more elements
A computer system housed in a chassis, comprising:
- a CPU;
- a CPU fan configured to help cool the CPU;
- a chassis fan configured to help cool an interior volume of the chassis;
- a fan drive coupled to said CPU end chassis fans, said fan drive produces a fan speed voltage which controls the speed of said CPU and chassis fans;
- monitor logic coupled to said fan drive and which monitors a system parameter and causes said fan drive to produce a fan speed voltage at a level to operate said CPU fan at a desired speed based on said system parameter;
- and
- a fan dependent control unit coupled to said fan drive and said chassis fan and which controls said chassis fan based on how fast said CPU fan is spinning and said fan dependent control unit includes a comparator which compares a signal indicative of the speed of the CPU fan to a threshold and causes said chassis fan to spin when said fan speed voltage exceeds said threshold.
4 more elements
A computer system housed in a chassis, comprising:
- a CPU;
- a CPU fan configured to help cool the CPU;
- a chassis fan configured to help cool an interior volume of the chassis;
- a fan drive coupled to said CPU and chassis fans, said fan drive produces a fan speed voltage which controls the speed of said CPU and chassis fans;
- monitor logic coupled to said fan drive and which monitors a system parameter and causes said fan drive to produce a fan speed voltage at a level to operate said CPU fan at a desired speed based on said system parameter;
- a fan dependent control unit coupled to said fan drive and said chassis fan and which controls said chassis fan based on how fast said CPU fan is spinning;
- and
- memory coupled to said CPU and storing software which, when executed by said CPU, causes an override signal to be asserted to said fan dependent control unit to cause said chassis fan to operate as dictated by said software.
5 more elements
A computer system housed in a chassis, comprising:
- a CPU;
- a CPU fan configured to help cool the CPU;
- a chassis fan configured to help cool an interior volume of the chassis;
- a fan drive coupled to said CPU and chassis fans, said fan drive produces a fan speed voltage which controls the speed of said CPU and chassis fans;
- monitor logic coupled to said fan drive and which monitors a system parameter and causes said fan drive to produce a fan speed voltage at a level to operate said CPU fan at a desired speed based on said system parameter;
- and
- means for controlling said chassis fan based on how fast said CPU fan is spinning and means for selectively providing a voltage source to the chassis fan.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.