JPH11119865A - Card type cooling fan - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to improve the cooling capability of a cooling fan at need without increasing the size of an information processor, by having such a constitution that the cooling fan has the same shape as that of a card type option device and also can be attached to and detached from the main body of the information processor. SOLUTION: The card type cooling fan 1 has the same shape as that of a card type cooling option device and contains a cooling fan 2 inside. The fan 1 has the inlet ports 3 on its outer surface to absorb the outside air via the revolution of the fan 2 and exhausts the air to the outside through the air outlets 4 prepared on its side face. The fan 1 also has a connector 5 and is connected to an information processor main body. In such cases, the processor main body is notified of the fact that a card is mounted on the processor main body via the connector 5 from an identification circuit. The power is also supplied from the processor main body via the connector 5 to revolve the fan 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technology for cooling an information processing device represented by a personal computer, and more particularly to a technology for improving the cooling performance of an information processing device on which a card-type optional device can be mounted. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional information processing apparatus, a fan for cooling the information processing apparatus has been fixed to the apparatus from the beginning of manufacture. For this reason, it has been difficult for the user to arbitrarily attach / detach, replace, or expand.

[0003] It has also been difficult to newly mount the device on a device without a cooling fan.

[0004] Furthermore, devices that can mount card-type optional devices have become widespread, but some options are not always mounted, and if no options are mounted, the space is limited to that of the device. It is a wasted space that hardly contributes to performance.

[0005]

The first problem is that, in recent years, an information processing apparatus represented by a personal computer has been required to perform various arithmetic processing at a higher speed. It is becoming a difficult task.

Further, at the same time, the size and weight of the device are also required to be reduced, and the space for mounting members required for cooling is becoming increasingly limited. For this reason, there have been problems such as a decrease in the service life of components due to a rise in the temperature of the apparatus and a feeling of discomfort to the user.

[0007] The reason is that the size and weight of the device cannot be increased with respect to the improvement of the performance and the power consumption of the device, and all functions must be contained within a limited range.

[0008] For example, if a newly developed device becomes larger than a conventional device, it cannot be accommodated in a place where the conventional device is installed, which may cause a great loss to a user. Therefore, it is not permissible to increase the maximum outer shape of the device.

A second problem is that although many devices can be equipped with optional equipment, options are not always necessary.
If you don't implement the option, you are wasting that space.

[0010] The reason is that cooling means such as a cooling fan that can be replaced with optional equipment is not provided.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, the cooling fan has the same shape as that of a card-type optional device, and is removable from the main body of the information processing apparatus.

Then, the information processing apparatus is structured such that it can be mounted at the option mounting position of the information processing apparatus main body in exchange for another option, and is rotated by being supplied with power from the apparatus main body.

Further, a circuit for generating a signal notifying that the cooling fan has been mounted is provided to the information processing apparatus main body.

The card-type cooling fan according to the present invention comprises:
The fan is mounted on an information processing apparatus main body on which a card-type optional device can be mounted.

[0015] Thus, a flow of air is generated inside the apparatus to perform cooling.

In the inside of the card type fan, there is provided a circuit for outputting an identification signal for notifying that the card type fan has been mounted to the information processing apparatus main body to be mounted, and the information obtained from the circuit is used for information. The processing apparatus body knows that the cooling capacity has been increased, and performs processing such as increasing the operating frequency of the circuit.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a cutaway part of the exterior of a card type fan according to the present invention.

The card type cooling fan 1 has the same outer shape as other card type optional devices, and has a cooling fan 2 provided therein. An intake port 3 is provided on the exterior surface of the card-type cooling fan 1, which sucks outside air by the rotation of the cooling fan 2 and discharges air to the outside through an exhaust port 4 provided on an end face.

The card-type cooling fan 1 has a connector 5 and is connected to an information processing apparatus main body (not shown) via the connector 5. The identification circuit 6 notifies the main body through the connector 5 that the card is mounted on the main body.

Power for rotating the cooling fan 2 is also supplied from the main body via the connector 5.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a card-type cooling fan according to the present invention.

The card body 7 is an exterior member which is the basis of the card-type cooling fan, in which the cooling fan 2, the connector 5, and the identification circuit 6 are mounted. Inside the card body 7, there is formed a flow path 8 for guiding the air sucked and collected by the rotation of the cooling fan 2. The air flowing through the flow path 8 is discharged to the outside from the exhaust port 4 provided on the end face of the card body 7.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a card-type optional device and a card-type cooling fan according to the present invention are selected and mounted on the information processing apparatus main body.

An I / F card 10 and a memory card 11 are provided as optional devices with respect to the information processing apparatus main body 9. When these cards 10 and 11 are not used, the card-type cooling fan 1 is used. It can be implemented instead of.

That is, when the user does not use other options, the card type cooling fan 1 can be mounted on the main body to increase the cooling capacity.

When a plurality of card-type optional devices can be mounted on the information processing apparatus main body 9, the card-type cooling fan 1 can be mounted simultaneously with other card-type optional devices.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the card type cooling fan according to the present invention.

While the air inlet 3 is provided on the front side of the card in the previous embodiment, the air inlet 3 is provided on the back side in this example, so that the suction is performed from the back side.

Depending on the mounting position of the object to be cooled in the information processing apparatus main body or the mounting position when the card-type cooling fan 1 is mounted simultaneously with other card-type optional devices, it is better to provide the air inlet 3 on the back surface. When the cooling effect is high, the configuration shown in this drawing is adopted.

[0031]

According to the present invention, the external shape of the cooling fan is made the same as that of the other card-type optional equipment, so that the cooling fan can be easily attached or detached. By utilizing the space, the cooling capacity can be flexibly adjusted according to the needs of the user.

Further, according to the present invention, when a failure occurs in the fan, it is possible to easily replace the fan with a substitute fan, and it is possible to prevent the operation of the information processing apparatus main body from stopping.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the exterior of a card-type cooling fan according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a card-type cooling fan according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a usage form of a card-type cooling fan according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another configuration of the card-type cooling fan according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Card-type cooling fan 2 Cooling fan 3 Intake port 4 Exhaust port 5 Connector 6 Identification circuit 7 Card body 8 Flow path 9 Information processing apparatus body 10 I / F card 11 Memory card

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cooling fan to which power is supplied via a cooling fan side connector is provided inside a card type case having a cooling fan side connector detachably connected to a main body side connector of the apparatus main body at one end. It is a card type cooling fan, and an air inlet is provided on the side of this card type case,
A card-type cooling fan having an exhaust port provided on a side of the card-type case opposite to the connector. 2. When the cooling fan side connector is mounted on the main body side connector, power is supplied via these connectors, and a signal indicating the mounting of these connectors is transmitted to the apparatus main body via these connectors. The card-type cooling fan according to claim 1, further comprising an output identification circuit. 3. The apparatus main body is an information processing apparatus,
3. The card-type cooling fan according to claim 1, wherein an outer shape of the card-type case has the same shape as an outer shape of a card inserted into and removed from the information processing apparatus.