Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-03
2001-05-29
Picard, Leo P. (Department: 2835)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
C361S690000, C361S692000, C361S694000, C361S697000, C361S704000, C174S015100, C174S016100, C174S016300, C165S080300, C165S185000, C454S184000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06239970
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cooling assisting device, a cooling assisting method, an electronic apparatus, and an information processor, and particularly to a cooling assisting device capable of assisting the cooling of an information processor, a cooling assisting method therefor, and an electronic apparatus and an information processor using the cooling assisting device.
FIG. 14
shows a related art personal computer
1
including a main body
2
and a display unit
3
. The main body
2
contains devices mounted on a board, such as a CPU and a video chip, which generate heat during operation thereof. To suppress the temperature rise of the whole main body
2
, the main body
2
generally has an air outlet
4
disposed typically in the back surface of the main body
2
, and also contains a cooling unit
11
as shown in FIG.
15
. Air in the main body
2
, warmed by heat generated from the devices, is discharged to outside through the air outlet
4
by the cooling unit
11
.
The cooling unit
11
shown in
FIG. 15
has a housing
12
in which a fan
13
is contained. An air inlet
14
through which outside air is sucked by rotation of the fan
13
is provided in the upper surface of the housing
12
, and an air outlet
15
through which the air having been sucked from the air inlet
14
is discharged is provided in one side surface of the housing
12
.
FIG. 16
is a sectional view taken on line X
1
-X
2
of the personal computer
1
shown in FIG.
14
. Referring to
FIG. 16
, the housing
12
of the cooling unit
11
is connected, via a thermal conductor
22
such as a heat pipe, to the board
21
on which the devices such as a CPU and a video chip are mounted. The cooling unit
11
is mounted in such a manner that the air outlet
15
is aligned to the air outlet
4
of the main body
2
.
The cooling function of the cooling unit
11
will be described below. Heat generated from the devices is transferred to the housing
12
of the cooling unit
11
via the board
21
and the thermal conductor
22
, to warm air in the housing
12
. Since the fan
13
of the cooling unit
11
is rotated to suck outside air (in the main body
2
) from the air inlet
14
and discharge it from the air outlet
15
, the warmed air in the housing
12
is discharged to outside via the air outlet
15
of the cooling unit
11
and the air outlet
4
of the main body
2
. In this way, the devices as a heat source and the board
21
on which the devices are mounted are cooled by discharging the air in the housing
12
, which has been warmed by heat having been transferred via the board
21
and the thermal conductor
22
.
The heat from the devices or the board
21
also warms air in spaces F and G, to increase the temperature of the air in the spaces F and G. The warmed air in the spaces F and G is sucked in the cooling unit
11
from the air inlet
14
and is discharged to outside via the air outlet
15
of the cooling unit
11
and the air outlet
4
of the main body
2
by rotation of the fan
13
of the cooling unit
11
. In this way, the spaces F and G are cooled by discharging the warmed air in the spaces F and G to outside.
The temperature rise of the whole main body
2
is suppressed by cooling respective portions in the main body
2
as described above.
However, in recent years, along with the miniaturization of the personal computer
1
, the main body
2
has come to be thinned, and more concretely the height of the main body
2
has come to be lowered. Accordingly, a gap between the air inlet
14
of the cooling unit
11
and the inner wall of the main body
2
has come to be made narrow. This presents a problem that air does not smoothly flow in the gap, with a result that the sucking of air in the cooling unit
11
from the air inlet
14
is insufficient, so that the temperature rise of the main body
2
cannot be sufficiently suppressed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a cooling assisting device capable of allowing air in a main body to smoothly flow, a cooling method therefor, and an electronic apparatus and an information processor using the cooling assisting device.
To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a cooling assisting device which is connected to an information processor for assisting the cooling of the inside of said information processor, said cooling assisting device including: an executing means for executing communication with said information processor; a sucking means for sucking a specific gas; and a supplying means for supplying said gas sucked by said sucking means to said information processor.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a cooling assisting method using a cooling assisting device which is connected to an information processor for assisting the cooling of the inside of said information processor, said cooling assisting method including the steps of: executing communication with said information processor; sucking a specific gas; and supplying said gas sucked at said sucking step to said information processor.
With the configuration of the above cooling apparatus and cooling method, since a specific gas is sucked and is supplied to the information processor, it is possible to assist the cooling of the information processor.
According to the present invention, there is also provided an electron apparatus which is connected to an information processor and is communicated with said information processor for executing a specific processing operation, said electronic apparatus including: an executing means for executing communication with said information processor; a sucking means for sucking a specific gas; and a supplying means for supplying said gas sucked by said sucking means to said information processor.
With the configuration of the above electron apparatus, since a specific gas is sucked and is supplied to the information processor, it is possible to assist the cooling of the information processor.
According to the present invention, there is also provided an information processor to be connected to a specific apparatus, including: an executing means for executing communication with said specific apparatus; a sucking means for sucking a specific gas supplied by said specific apparatus; and a cooling means for cooling the inside of said information processor with the aid of said gas sucked by said sucking means.
With the configuration of the above information processor, since a specific gas is supplied to the information processor, it is possible to sufficiently cool the inside of the information processor.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5704212 (1998-01-01), Eriler et al.
patent: 5768101 (1998-06-01), Cheng
patent: 5793609 (1998-08-01), Donahoe et al.
patent: 5862037 (1999-01-01), Behl
patent: 5898569 (1999-04-01), Bhatia
patent: 5959836 (1999-09-01), Bhatia
patent: 5974556 (1999-10-01), Jackson et al.
patent: 6043980 (2000-03-01), Katsui
patent: 411039063A (1999-02-01), None
patent: 411163567A (1999-06-01), None
Gomibuchi Osamu
Hokao Shigeyuki
Nakai Yasuhiro
Ozaki Yuzo
Chervinsky Boris L.
Frommer William S.
Frommer & Lawrence & Haug LLP
Picard Leo P.
Ryan Matthew K.
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