Electrical transmission or interconnection systems – Switching systems – Condition responsive
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-15
2001-07-10
Ballato, Josie (Department: 2836)
Electrical transmission or interconnection systems
Switching systems
Condition responsive
C307S116000, C307S130000, C361S695000, C700S070000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06259172
ABSTRACT:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY
This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. § 119 and § 120 from an application entitled Cooling Fan Controlling Apparatus For Computer earlier filed in the Korean Industrial Property Office on the Jul. 15, 1998, and there duly assigned Ser. No. 98-28653, a copy of which is annexed hereto.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a computer, and more particularly to an apparatus controlling a cooling fan for a power supply system and a central processing unit in accordance with a power save mode of a power management system.
2. Related Art
As a computer system becomes smaller and more portable, a power save function by which the computer system can be used for a longer time by a battery with a limited capacity has become important. Accordingly, the power save function of a computer is classified into a normal mode, a standby mode, and a suspend mode according to the use of the system and a predetermined time. During the standby mode, a spindle motor of a hard disk driver is interrupted and a monitor screen is turned off, thereby achieving a power saving effect.
Background information regarding computer systems is as follows. Computer systems are information handling systems that are utilized by many individuals and businesses today. A computer system can be defined as a microcomputer that includes a central processing unit (CPU), a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory such as read only memory (ROM), a display monitor, a keyboard, a mouse or other input device such as a trackball, a floppy diskette drive, a compact disc-read only memory (CD-ROM) drive, a modem, a hard disk storage device, and a printer. A computer system's main board, which is a printed circuit board known as a motherboard, is used to electrically connect these components together. A computer system can be a desktop computer, a personal computer, a portable computer such as a notebook computer or palm-sized computer, or other type of computer.
Computer systems include a basic input output system (BIOS) which is an especially important program stored in read only memory. The basic input output system tests a computer every time the computer is powered on. The basic input output system can allocate a computer system's resources automatically, making adjustments needed to accommodate new hardware. Also, the basic input output system governs how system board components interact. When the computer system is powered on, the basic input output system immediately takes control of the computer system and its components. The first duty of the basic input output system is to perform a series of diagnostic routines called the power on self test (POST) routine, which ensures that every part of the computer system's hardware is functioning properly.
I have found that cooling fans in computers use energy and produce noise. This use of energy can be wasteful and production of noise can be unnecessary when a cooling fan is operated even though a central processing unit of a computer system is not in use. Efforts have been made to control a fan in a computer.
Exemplars of recent efforts in the art include U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,282 for Computer System With a Control Function of Rotation Speed of a Cooling Fan For a Microprocessor Chip Therein And a Method of Controlling The Cooling Fan issued to Kang, U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,298 for Portable Computer with Selectively Operable Cooling Unit issued to Cathey, U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,361 for Method and Apparatus for Reducing Power Consumption of a Fan in a Computer System issued to Young, U.S. Pat. No. 5,764,506 for Method and Apparatus for Reducing the Sound Level of a Microcomputer issued to Eynaud, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,079 for Method and Apparatus for Improved Control of Computer Cooling Fan Speed issued to Bauer et al.
While these recent efforts provide advantages, I note that they fail to adequately provide an efficient and convenient cooling fan controlling apparatus for a computer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To solve the above problems, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a cooling fan controlling apparatus which controls cooling fans of a computer in accordance with different power management system modes such as a normal operating mode, a standby mode, a suspend mode, a power-off mode, and additional power modes, in order to conserve energy.
To solve the above problems, it is a further objective of the present invention to provide a cooling fan controlling apparatus which controls cooling fans of a computer in accordance with different power management system modes such as a normal operating mode, a standby mode, a suspend mode, a power-off mode, and additional power modes, in order to reduce noise.
To solve the above problems, it is still a further objective of the present invention to provide a cooling fan controlling apparatus of a computer according to power management system (PMS) modes, by which unnecessary noise can be reduced by appropriately controlling the revolutions per minute (RPMs) of at least two fans, wherein a first fan corresponds to a switching mode power supply (SMPS) cooling fan and a second fan corresponds to a central processing unit cooling fan.
To solve the above problems, it is an additional objective of the present invention to provide a cooling fan controlling apparatus of a computer according to power management system (PMS) modes, by which the life time of at least two cooling fans can be prolonged, and a power saving effect can be maximized, wherein a first fan corresponds to a switching mode power supply (SMPS) cooling fan and a second fan corresponds to a central processing unit cooling fan.
Accordingly, to achieve the above objectives and other objectives, there is provided a cooling fan controlling apparatus for a computer including a power management portion for managing a power management system mode of the computer, and a switching portion having n parallel-connected resistors and n switches serially connected to the resistors and turned on/off according to the power management system mode managed by the power management portion, and serially connected to a power source for driving a cooling fan, for controlling a voltage supplied to the cooling fan, where n is an integer greater than or equal to 2.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a personal computer having a memory in which application programs and a plurality of programs including an operating system program and a basic input/output system (BIOS) program are stored, a microprocessor for executing the plurality of programs, and a power supply system for receiving external alternating current (AC) power and converting the same into various kinds of direct current (DC) power, wherein the personal computer further comprises a cooling fan controlling apparatus including a power management portion for managing a power management system mode of the computer, and a power supply cooling fan driving voltage switching portion having n parallel-connected resistors and n switches serially connected to the resistors and turned on/off according to the power management system mode managed by the power management portion, and serially connected to a power source for driving a cooling fan provided in the power supply system, for controlling a voltage supplied to the cooling fan, where n is an integer greater than or equal to 2.
To achieve these and other objects in accordance with the principles of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, the present invention provides an apparatus, comprising: a fan unit being positioned to cool a computer system; a power management unit controlling a power mode of said computer system; a switching unit being coupled to said power management unit, said switching unit receiving power for driving said fan unit, said switching unit controlling a voltage supplied to said fan unit according to said power mode controlled by said power management unit; a plurality o
Ballato Josie
Bushnell , Esq. Robert E.
DeBeradinis Robert L.
Samsung Electronics Co,. Ltd.
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