DE29617642U1 - Safety cooling system with fan for microprocessors in the housing of a personal computer - Google Patents

Description

Frank Roettger

Description

Safety cooling system with fan for microprocessors in the housing of a personal computer

&iacgr;&ogr; State of the art

Heat sinks with and without fans are used in personal computers to cool the microprocessor. The temperature of the heat sink is between 40° - 50° Celsius when the cooling system is working. The fan is usually located directly on the heat sink. Newer developments in computer construction use the air flow of the power supply to cool the

Heat sink. However, it happens again and again that the failure or loss of performance of the fan in the case of a personal computer causes temperatures of almost 100° Celsius to occur on the processor. These high temperatures destroy the processor and the mainboard.

Problem:

The invention specified in claim 1 is based on the problem of preventing thermal overload of the processor due to failure or loss of performance of the fan and of interrupting the primary circuit of the computer's power supply when a critical temperature is exceeded, thus shutting down the system. By interrupting the power supply to the processor, further heating of the processor is prevented and the component can cool down. The critical temperature for the microprocessor is currently around 85° Celsius for the Intel Pentium processor. According to the manufacturer's information, this temperature should not be exceeded under any circumstances. The safety cooling system I invented interrupts the primary circuit of the personal computer when a temperature of 70° Celsius (± 5°) is exceeded, thus preventing the microprocessor from burning out.

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Frank Roettger

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Description

Solution:

The problem is solved using a commercially available temperature monitor with electrical self-holding, which is attached to the heat sink of the microprocessor. If a temperature of 70° Celsius (± 5° C) is exceeded, the power supply in the primary circuit of the computer is interrupted by opening the switching contacts. This ensures that if the fan (3) fails or loses power, a

is thermal overload of the microprocessor and the mainboard

is prevented.

The switching temperature of the temperature monitor depends on the requirements of the processor manufacturer and can in principle be between 40° and 150° Celsius. After the switching contacts of the temperature switch are opened, the primary circuit of the personal computer remains interrupted until the computer is disconnected from the power supply by switching it off or pulling the power plug. The temperature monitor with electrical self-holding only closes its contacts and thus the circuit when the voltage applied to the switch is briefly interrupted.

The temperature switch used is designed for a maximum nominal voltage of 250 volts and a nominal current for induction-free load of 2.5 amperes.

Frank Roettger

Description Benefits achieved:

The invention ensures that the average lifespan &iacgr;&ogr; of the microprocessor, which depends strongly on the average operating temperature

and a functioning cooling system of the processor. As the system is switched off automatically, over which the user of the computer has no influence, this additional safety aspect can have a positive effect, especially when the computer manufacturer grants a guarantee period and can lead to an extension of the

This means warranty claims for end users. The electrical self-holding of the temperature monitor ensures that the system does not switch itself back on again after the heat sink has cooled down. The computer operator can therefore check the fan and replace it if necessary.

Example:

Figure 1 shows a side view of a heat sink (1) with a fan (3) to which a temperature monitor with electrical self-holding (2) is attached by screwing it into the cooling fins of the heat sink. The bimetal switch interrupts the circuit when a temperature of 70° Celsius is reached with an accuracy of + 5° Celsius on the on/off switch of the computer. After the computer is switched off or the power plug is pulled out, the switch closes the circuit automatically.

The temperature switch used is designed for a maximum nominal voltage of 250 volts and a nominal current for induction-free load of 2.5 amperes. The holding resistance is 30 kiloohms.

Claims (2)

Frank Röttger -i- Protection claims 1. Safety cooling system with fan for microprocessors in the housing of a personal computer, characterized, that a temperature limiter with electrical self-holding (2) is installed on the heat sink of the microprocessor (1), which monitors the temperature of the heat sink (1) and, if a temperature of 70° Celsius, the power supply in the primary circuit of the computer is interrupted at the on/off switch and the circuit is only closed again after the power supply of the primary circuit of the personal computer has been disconnected from the mains by switching off or pulling out the power plug. 2. Heat sink with temperature limiter according to claim 1, characterized in that that the temperature limiter with electrical self-holding (2) can, depending on the processor type and protection requirement, basically be equipped with all switching temperatures between 40° - 150° Celsius to interrupt the power supply of the primary circuit.