EP4627427A1

EP4627427A1 - Portable electronic device stand, system and method for controlling cooling provided by the portable electronic device stand

Info

Publication number: EP4627427A1
Application number: EP23825123.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Wooi Liang Chin; Chengyu Cheng; FuMei WANG; Eng Wah Teo
Original assignee: Razer Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
Current assignee: Razer Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
Priority date: 2022-11-30
Filing date: 2023-11-30
Publication date: 2025-10-08
Also published as: AU2023400911A1; TW202531827A; WO2024117977A1; CN120380437A

Abstract

A portable electronic device stand with controllable cooling. The stand including a main body having a device-resting side; a cooling arrangement disposed at the main body, the cooling arrangement having a cooling interface exposed through the device-resting side of the main body, wherein the cooling interface is capable of providing cooling to the device when the device is disposed at the device-resting side; a controller connected to the cooling arrangement to control the cooling arrangement for providing the cooling via the cooling interface across a range of cooling levels; and a communication interface connectable to the device to communicatively interconnect the controller and the device in a manner so as to communicate data between the controller and the device, wherein the data is associated with the cooling provided via the cooling interface of the cooling arrangement.

Description

PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE STAND, SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING COOLING PROVIDED BY THE PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE STAND

Technical Field

[0001] Various embodiments generally relate to a portable electronic device stand. In particular, various embodiments generally relate to a portable electronic device stand with controllable cooling. Various embodiments also relate to a system and method for controlling cooling provided by the portable electronic device stand.

Background

[0002] Heat dissipation is one of the main issues for portable electronic devices, such as laptop, notebook, tablet, or smartphone. The amount of heat generated by chips inside the portable electronic device can be quite large under certain condition of usage. Accordingly, it may be beneficial to dissipate the heat generated within a limited space of the portable electronic device. For example, a laptop or a notebook may be able to draw in room temperature air and expel heated air from within the laptop or the notebook. Further, the portable electronic device may also be used together with portable electronic device stand that has been developed to help cool down the portable electronic device. Some portable electronic device stand merely props up the portable electronic device. Some portable electronic device stand includes one or more fan units drawing ambient air to indiscriminately blow towards the portable electronic device.

[0003] Accordingly, there is a need for an improved portable electronic device stand capable of providing more efficient cooling.

Summary

[0004] According to various embodiments, there is provided a portable electronic device stand with controllable cooling. The stand including a main body having a device-resting side; a cooling arrangement disposed at the main body, the cooling arrangement having a cooling interface exposed through the device-resting side of the main body, wherein the cooling interface is capable of providing cooling to the device when the device is disposed at the device- resting side; a controller connected to the cooling arrangement to control the cooling arrangement for providing the cooling via the cooling interface across a range of cooling levels; and a communication interface connectable to the device to communicatively interconnect the controller and the device in a manner so as to communicate data between the controller and the device, wherein the data is associated with the cooling provided via the cooling interface of the cooling arrangement.

[0005] According to various embodiments, there is provided a system for controlling cooling provided by a portable electronic device stand to a portable electronic device disposed thereto. The system including the portable electronic device stand. The stand including a main body having a device-resting side; a cooling arrangement disposed at the main body, the cooling arrangement having a cooling interface exposed through the device-resting side of the main body, wherein the cooling interface is capable of providing cooling to the device when the device is disposed at the device-resting side; a controller connected to the cooling arrangement to control the cooling arrangement for providing the cooling via the cooling interface across a range of cooling levels; and a communication interface connected to the controller. The system further including the portable electronic device, wherein the communication interface of the portable electronic device stand is connected to the portable electronic device to communicatively interconnect the controller of the portable electronic device stand and the portable electronic device in a manner so as to communicate data between the controller and the portable electronic device, wherein the data is associated with the cooling provided via the cooling interface of the cooling arrangement.

[0006] According to various embodiments, there is provided a method of controlling cooling provided by a portable electronic device stand to a portable electronic device displaced thereto, wherein the portable electronic device stand includes a main body having a device-resting side; a cooling arrangement disposed at the main body, the cooling arrangement having a cooling interface exposed through the device-resting side of the main body, wherein the cooling interface is capable of providing cooling to the portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is displaced at the device-resting side; a controller connected to the cooling arrangement to control the cooling arrangement for providing the cooling via the cooling interface across a range of cooling levels; and a communication interface connectable to the portable electronic device to communicatively interconnect the controller and the portable electronic device. The method including communicating data, via the communication interface, between the controller of the portable electronic device stand and the portable electronic device, wherein the data is associated with the cooling provided via the cooling interface of the cooling arrangement, wherein the data includes a cooling level information of the cooling provided via the cooling interface by the cooling arrangement, the cooling level information being communicated from the controller to the device, wherein the data includes a control signal to control the cooling arrangement to provide cooling via the cooling interface at a cooling level corresponding to the control signal, the cooling level being selected from the range of cooling levels, the control signal being communicated from the device to the controller.

[0007] According to various embodiments, there is provided a computer program including instructions which, when the program is executed by a portable electronic device disposed to a portable electronic device stand and communicatively connected thereto, cause the portable electronic device to carry out the method of controlling cooling provided by the portable electronic device stand to the portable electronic device according to the method as described herein.

Brief description of the drawings

[0008] In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the following description, various embodiments are described with reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a portable electronic device stand according to various embodiments;

FIG. 2A shows a disassembled view of a portable electronic device stand according to various embodiments;

FIG. 2B another disassembled view of the portable electronic device stand according to various embodiments;

FIG. 3 shows a portable electronic device stand according to various embodiments;

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of an example of a method of controlling cooling in a system whereby a portable electronic device is disposed to the portable electronic device stand of the various embodiments with the portable electronic device connected to the portable electronic device stand according to various embodiments;

FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of another example of a method of controlling cooling in a system whereby a portable electronic device is disposed to the portable electronic device stand of the various embodiments with the portable electronic device connected to the portable electronic device stand according to various embodiments;

FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of a further example of a method of controlling cooling in a system whereby a portable electronic device is disposed to the portable electronic device stand of the various embodiments with the portable electronic device connected to the portable electronic device stand according to various embodiments; and

FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram of yet another example of a method of controlling cooling in a system whereby a portable electronic device is disposed to the portable electronic device stand of the various embodiments with the portable electronic device connected to the portable electronic device stand according to various embodiments.

Detailed description

[0009] Embodiments described below in the context of the apparatus are analogously valid for the respective methods, and vice versa. Furthermore, it will be understood that the embodiments described below may be combined, for example, a part of one embodiment may be combined with a part of another embodiment.

[00010] It should be understood that the terms “on”, “over”, “top”, “bottom”, “down”, “side”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “front”, “lateral”, “side”, “up”, “down” etc., when used in the following description are used for convenience and to aid understanding of relative positions or directions, and not intended to limit the orientation of any device, or structure or any part of any device or structure. In addition, the singular terms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural references unless context clearly indicates otherwise. Similarly, the word “or” is intended to include “and” unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[00011] Various embodiments generally relate to a portable electronic device stand (PED- stand) for supporting a portable electronic device (PED) thereon. In particular, various embodiments generally relate to a PED-stand with controllable cooling that may facilitate dissipation of heat from the PED. Various embodiments also relate to a system for controlling cooling provided by the PED-stand and a method of controlling cooling provided by the PED- stand. Various embodiments also relate to a computer program for running on the PED to control cooling of the PED. According to various embodiments, the PED may include a laptop, a notebook, a tablet, or a smartphone. According to various embodiments, the PED-stand may include a riser-type PED-stand, a vertical-holder-type PED-stand, or an angled-type PED-stand. [00012] According to various embodiments, the PED-stand may provide cooling to the PED received by the PED-stand. The type of cooling may be based on providing airflow for cooling and/or based on direct contact cooling. According to various embodiments, the PED-stand and the PED may, together, form an ecosystem for controlling the cooling of the PED. For example, the PED and PED-stand may be communicatively interconnected and a software control algorithm may be implemented. Accordingly, the software may be executed by the PED such that the software may allow control, via the PED, over the cooling provided by the PED-stand. According to various embodiments, the ecosystem formed by the PED-stand and the PED may provide users with various options to control cooling according to the users’ preference. Hence, the ecosystem may allow flexibility in how cooling may be controlled. For example, an option for controlling the cooling may be to cool down the PED through a cooling arrangement (e.g. a cooling hub, or a cooling engine, or a cooling mechanism) of the PED-stand. Hence, the cooling arrangement may be actively controlled to vary or adjust or change the cooling depending on the needs. Another option for controlling the cooling may be to vary the operation settings and/or loadings of the PED so as to adjust the PED to operate at a suitable level while maintaining the cooling provided by the PED-stand in order to enhance the performance of the PED.

[00013] According to various embodiments, the PED-stand may include a communication interface for connecting the PED-stand to the PED. The communication interface may allow data communication between the PED-stand and the PED. For example, the data may be associated with the cooling function of the PED-stand. Accordingly, data communication between the PED-stand and the PED via the communication interface may allow feedback and/or control of the cooling of the PED, e.g. by the PED-stand.

[00014] According to various embodiments, the PED-stand may be configured to be modular such that one or more parts/portions of the PED-stand may be removably coupled so as to be interchangeable or swappable with others like it in order to vary or adapt the PED-stand for providing cooling to different type and/or brand and/or model of PED. For example, the cooling arrangement of the PED-stand may be a modular unit that may be removable so as to be interchangeable or swappable between different types of cooling arrangement, such as a cooling arrangement providing air flow for cooling or a cooling arrangement providing direct contact cooling. Accordingly, when the PED has air-holes in the casing of the PED, the modular unit with the cooling arrangement providing air flow for cooling may be fitted to the PED-stand so as to provide air flow into the air-holes of the PED for cooling. On the other hand, when the PED does not have any air-holes in the casing of the PED, the modular unit with the cooling arrangement providing direct contact cooling may be fitted to the PED-stand so as to cool the casing of the PED for cooling. Hence, depending on whether the PED has airholes or is without air-holes in the casing of the PED, the PED-stand may be configured accordingly by interchanging or swapping between the modular unit with the cooling arrangement providing air flow for cooling or the modular unit with the cooling arrangement providing direct contact cooling. As another example, a size of an opening in a support frame of the PED-stand through which a cooling interface of the cooling arrangement is exposed for providing cooling to the PED may be varied by interchanging or swapping with different support frames respectively having the different sized openings. Accordingly, the PED-stand may be configured to optimize cooling for differently sized PED.

[00015] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a PED-stand 100 according to various embodiments. According to various embodiments, the PED-stand 100 may provide cooling to a PED received by the PED-stand 100 to facilitate dissipation of heat from the PED. For example, the PED may be a laptop, a notebook, a tablet, or a smartphone. For example, the PED-stand may be a riser-type PED-stand, a vertical-holder- type PED-stand, or an angled-type PED-stand. Further, the PED-stand may be of a fixed structure, a rigid structure, a flexible structure, a foldable structure, or a collapsible structure.

[00016] According to various embodiments, the PED-stand 100 may include a main body 110. The main body 110 of the PED-stand 100 may provide a base structure or framework to which the PED may be received by the PED-stand 100 or supported by the PED-stand 100. According to various embodiments, the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100 may include a device-resting side 112. The device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100 may be a side of the main body 110 for receiving the PED. Accordingly, the PED may be held up or bore by the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100 such that the PED may be supported by the PED-stand 100. According to some embodiments, the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100 may be configured such that the PED may be placed or rested or laid on the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100. According to some embodiments, the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 110 may be configured such that the PED may be held or clamped or retained by the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100. [00017] According to various embodiments, the PED-stand 100 may include a cooling arrangement 120. The cooling arrangement 120 may be disposed at the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100. For example, the main body 110 may include an enclosing structure, e.g. a housing or a casing, such that the cooling arrangement 120 may be inside the enclosing structure of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100. As another example, the main body 110 may include a framework structure, e.g. network of bar-like members interconnected, such that the cooling arrangement 120 may be within the framework structure of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100.

[00018] According to various embodiments, the cooling arrangement 120 may include a cooling interface 122. The cooling interface 122 may be exposed through the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 (for example, via the opening 215 as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B). Accordingly, the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120 may be accessible through the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110, whereby the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 may include a discontinuity to reveal or bare or make visible the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120. According to various embodiments, the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120 may be capable of providing cooling to the PED when the PED is disposed at the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED- stand 100. The PED may be disposed at the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100 in a manner so as to cover over the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120 that is exposed through the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100. Accordingly, cooling of the PED may be via the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120 to the PED across the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100.

[00019] According to various embodiments, the cooling arrangement 120 may be an airflow based cooling arrangement or a direct contact cooling arrangement. When the cooling arrangement 120 is the airflow based cooling arrangement, the cooling interface 122 may be an airflow outlet (e.g. see 256 in FIG. 2A). Further, the airflow outlet may be exposed through the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100 for directing airflow generated by the airflow based cooling arrangement towards the PED disposed at the deviceresting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100. Accordingly, the airflow directed at the PED, via the airflow outlet of the airflow based cooling arrangement, may provide cooling to the PED. When the cooling arrangement 120 is the direct contact cooling arrangement, the cooling interface 122 may be a thermal conductive surface, e.g. a surface of a cooling plate (e.g. see 257 in FIG. 2B), to contact the PED. Further, the thermal conductive surface may be exposed through the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED- stand 110 such that the thermal conductive surface may provide a cool surface to thermally contact the PED so as to cool the PED. The thermal conductive surface in contact with the PED may provide cooling to the PED. [00020] According to various embodiments, the cooling arrangement 120 may include a suitable cooling mechanism. The suitable cooling mechanism may include, but not limited to, a fan, an airflow generator, or a thermal exchanger. For example, when the cooling arrangement 120 is the airflow based cooling arrangement, the cooling arrangement 120 may include the fan or the airflow generator (e.g. see 254 in FIG. 2A), serving as the cooling mechanism, operable to generate the airflow. The cooling arrangement 120 may further include an airflow duct with the airflow outlet for directing the airflow in a desired direction. Accordingly, the fan or the airflow generator may be disposed in the PED-stand 100 and the airflow duct may channel the airflow to the airflow outlet such that the airflow may exit from the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100 so as to be directed towards the PED disposed at the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100. As another example, when the cooling arrangement 120 is the direct contact cooling arrangement, the cooling arrangement 120 may include a thermal exchanger (e.g. see 255 in FIG. 2B) and a cooling plate having the thermal conductive surface, whereby the thermal exchanger may be operable to remove heat from the cooling plate so as to keep the cooling plate cool. Accordingly, the thermal exchanger may be disposed in the PED-stand 100 and the cooling plate may be disposed in a manner such that the thermal conductive surface may be exposed through the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100 so as to contact the PED disposed at the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100 for cooling the PED.

[00021] According to various embodiments, the PED-stand 100 may include a controller 130. The controller 130 may be connected to the cooling arrangement 120. The controller 130 may control the cooling arrangement 120 for providing cooling via the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120 to the PED disposed at the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 100 for cooling the PED. Accordingly, the controller 130 may govern the operation and functions of the cooling arrangement 120 for providing cooling. For example, when the cooling arrangement 120 is the airflow based cooling arrangement, the controller 130 may control the operation and functions of the fan or the airflow generator for generating airflow. As another example, when the cooling arrangement 120 is the direct contact cooling arrangement, the controller 130 may control the operation and functions of the thermal exchanger for regulating the temperature of the cooling plate. According to various embodiments, the controller 130 may be operable to control the cooling arrangement 120 to provide cooling across a range of cooling levels. The different cooling levels of the range of cooling levels may correlate with different amount of cooling provided. Accordingly, the cooling arrangement 120 may be controlled by the controller 130 to provide different amount of cooling according to the range of cooling levels. According to various embodiments, the cooling arrangement 120 may be the hardware for generating the cooling and the controller 130 may direct or regulate the operation and functions of the cooling arrangement 120.

[00022] In various embodiments, the "controller" may be understood as any kind of a logic implementing entity, which may be special purpose circuitry or a processor executing software stored in a memory, firmware, or any combination thereof. Thus, in an embodiment, the "controller" may be a hard-wired logic circuit or a programmable logic circuit such as a programmable processor, e.g. a microprocessor (e.g. a Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) processor or a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) processor). The "controller" may also be a processor executing software, e.g. any kind of computer program, e.g. a computer program using a virtual machine code such as e.g. Java. Any other kind of implementation of the respective functions which are described in more detail throughout may also be understood as the "controller" in accordance with various embodiments. In various embodiments, the “controller” may be part of a computing system or a controller or a microcontroller or any other system providing a processing capability. According to various embodiments, such systems may include a memory which is for example used in the processing carried out by the device or system. A memory used in the embodiments may be a volatile memory, for example a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or a non-volatile memory, for example a PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable PROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable PROM), or a flash memory, e.g., a floating gate memory, a charge trapping memory, an MRAM (Magneto-resistive Random Access Memory) or a PCRAM (Phase Change Random Access Memory).

[00023] According to various embodiments, the PED-stand 100 may include a communication interface 140. The communication interface 140 may be connectable to the PED for connecting the PED-stand 100 to the PED. According to various embodiments, the communication interface 140 may be for wired communication or wireless communication. For example, when the communication interface 140 is for wired communication, the communication interface 140 may include, but not limited to, serial communication interface, parallel communication interface, universal serial bus communication interface, ethemet communication interface, coaxial communication interface, optical fiber communication interface, or lightning communication interface. As another example, when the communication interface 140 is for wireless communication, the communication interface 140 may include, but not limited to, Wi-Fi communication interface, Bluetooth communication interface, infrared communication interface, or radio frequency communication interface.

[00024] According to various embodiments, within the PED-stand 100, the communication interface 140 may be connected to the controller 130 of the PED-stand 100. Thus, when the communication interface 140 of the PED-stand 100 is connected to the PED, the communication interface 140 may serve to interconnect the controller 130 of the PED-stand 100 and the PED. With the communication interface 140 interconnecting the controller 130 of the PED-stand 100 and the PED, the communication interface 140 may communicate data between the controller 130 of the PED-stand 100 and the PED. According to various embodiments, the data may be associated with the cooling provided via the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120. For example, the data may include information from the cooling arrangement 120 and/or the controller 130 relating to the cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120, or information that may be transmitted to the cooling arrangement 120 and/or the controller 130 for controlling the cooling arrangement 120 to provide cooling. According to various embodiments, the data may include a cooling level information of the cooling provided via the cooling interface 122 by the cooling arrangement 120, wherein the cooling level information may be communicated from the controller 130 to the PED. Accordingly, the data may be related to operating setting/information of the cooling arrangement 120 as an indication of the amount of cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120 via the cooling interface 122. According to various embodiments, the data may include a control signal to control the cooling arrangement 120 to provide cooling via the cooling interface 122 at a cooling level corresponding to the control signal, wherein the cooling level may be selected from the range of cooling levels, and wherein the control signal may be communicated from the PED to the controller 130. Accordingly, the data may be related to instructions for controlling the cooling arrangement 120 to provide a desired amount of cooling. The controller 130 may then control the cooling arrangement 120 based on the control signal received.

[00025] FIG. 2A shows a disassembled view of a PED-stand 200 according to various embodiments. FIG. 2B another disassembled view of the PED-stand 200 according to various embodiments. According to various embodiments, the PED-stand 200 of FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B includes all the features of the PED-stand 100 of FIG. 1. Accordingly, all features, changes, modifications, and variations that are applicable to the PED-stand 100 of FIG. 1 may also be applicable to the PED-stand 200 of FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B. Further, elements which are the same as those described earlier are assigned the same reference numerals, and repetition of their corresponding descriptions is omitted for brevity. The following descriptions focusing on the various possible additional features and details.

[00026] According to various embodiments, the PED-stand 200 may include the main body 110 having the device-resting side 112, the cooling arrangement 120 with the cooling interface 122, the controller 130 and the communication interface 140. Referring to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, according to various embodiments, the cooling arrangement 120 may be provided in a modular unit 250. Accordingly, the PED-stand 200 may include the modular unit 250 containing the cooling arrangement 120. According to various embodiments, the modular unit 250 may be removably fitted into a cavity 214 in the main body 110. Accordingly, the modular unit may be fitted in a manner so as to be removable from the cavity 214 of the main body 110. According to various embodiments, with the modular unit 250 containing the cooling arrangement 120, the PED-stand 200 may be configurable or interchangeable or swappable with different types of cooling arrangement 120 by interchanging or swapping between modular units 250 containing different types of cooling arrangement 120. Accordingly, the modular unit 250 may be removably fitted into the cavity 214 of the main body 110 in a manner so as to be interchangeable or swappable between modular units 250 having different types of cooling arrangement 120. For example, the PED-stand 200 may be interchangeable or swappable with a modular unit 250a having the airflow based cooling arrangement (as shown in FIG. 2A) and a modular unit 250b having the direct contact cooling arrangement (as shown in FIG. 2B). Referring to FIG. 2A, the modular unit 250a having the airflow based cooling arrangement may include an airflow generator 254 and the airflow outlet 256. Referring to FIG. 2B, the modular unit 250b having the direct contact cooling arrangement may include a thermal exchanger 255 and a cooling plate 257.

[00027] According to various embodiments an electrical terminal 252 may be provided at the modular unit 250 and a complementary electrical terminal 216 may be provided in the cavity 214 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 200. When the modular unit 250 is removably fitted into the cavity 214 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 200, the electrical terminal 252 of the modular unit 250 and the complementary electrical terminal 216 of the main body 110 may be in engagement with each other. Accordingly, data communication with the cooling arrangement 120 contained in the modular unit 250 via the main body 110 of the PED-stand 200 through the modular unit 250 may be established. According to various embodiments, the communication interface 140 of the PED-stand 200 may be connected to the complementary electrical terminal 216 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 200. Accordingly, with the electrical terminal 252 of the modular unit 250 and the complementary electrical terminal 216 of the main body 110 in engagement, the communication interface 140 of the PED-stand 200 may be connected to the cooling arrangement 120 contained in the modular unit 250. Hence, communication between the cooling arrangement 120 contained in the modular unit 250 and the PED may be enabled when the communication interface 140 of the PED-stand 200 is connected to the PED.

[00028] According to some embodiments, the controller 130 may be contained in the modular unit 250 together with the cooling arrangement 120. Accordingly, the controller 130 and the cooling arrangement 120 may be directly connected to each other within the modular unit 250. Further, with the electrical terminal 252 of the modular unit 250 and the complementary electrical terminal 216 of the main body 110 in engagement, communication between the controller 130 contained in the modular unit 250 and the PED may be enabled when the communication interface 140 of the PED-stand 200 is connected to the PED. According to some embodiments, the controller 130 may be disposed at the main body 110 of the PED-stand 200 instead of being contained in the modular unit 250. Accordingly, communication between the controller 130 and the cooling arrangement 120 may be established when the electrical terminal 252 of the modular unit 250 and the complementary electrical terminal 216 of the main body 110 are in engagement with each other. While the controller 130 and the PED may be in communication when the communication interface 140 of the PED-stand 200 is connected to the PED, the controller 130 may control the cooling arrangement 120 only when the modular unit 250 is removably fitted into the cavity 214 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 200 with the electrical terminal 252 of the modular unit 250 and the complementary electrical terminal 216 of the main body 110 in engagement with each other.

[00029] Referring to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, according to various embodiments, the main body 110 of the PED-stand 200 may include a base frame 211 and a support frame 213. The support frame 213 may include an opening 215. According to various embodiments, the support frame 213 may be removably coupled to the base frame 211. Accordingly, the support frame 213 may be coupled to the base frame 211 in a manner so as to be removable. According to various embodiments, the base frame 211 may include a receptacle portion defining the cavity 214. Further, the support frame 213 may be coupled to the base frame 211 so as to be placed over the cavity 214. According to various embodiments, the PED-stand 200 may be assembled by fitting the modular unit 250 in the cavity 214 defined by the base frame 211 of the main body 110 of the PED- stand 200 to the base frame 211 such that support frame 213 is placed over the modular unit 250 fitted in the cavity 214 of the base frame 211.

[00030] According to various embodiments, the support frame 213 of the main body 110 may be at the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 200. According to various embodiments, the support frame 213 of the main body 110 may serve to support the PED when the PED is disposed at the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED- stand 200. Accordingly, the support frame 213 of the main body 110 may bear the weight of the PED so as to carry the PED. According to various embodiments, the support frame 213 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 200 may be of a panel-like structure providing a broad surface area for supporting the PED. According to various embodiments, the opening 215 in the support frame 213 of the PED-stand 200 may serve to expose the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120 of the PED-stand 200 to the PED supported on the support frame 213. Accordingly, the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120 of the PED-stand 200 may provide cooling to the PED through the opening 215 in the support frame 213 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 200.

[00031] According to various embodiments, the PED-stand 200 may include a sealing strip 260 lined along a rim of the opening 215 of the support frame 213 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 200. When the PED is disposed to the support frame 213 at the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 200, the sealing strip 260 may form a seal with the PED. Accordingly, with the sealing strip 260 forming the seal between the opening 215 of the support frame 213 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 200 and the PED, cooling provided through the opening 215 in the support frame 213 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 200 may minimize loss. Hence, more effective and efficient cooling may be provided.

[00032] According to various embodiments, with the support frame 213 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 200 being removably coupled to the base frame 211 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 200, the support frame 213 may be interchangeable or swappable with different support frames having differently sized openings 215. Accordingly, for different type and/or brand and/or model of PED, a size of an area for cooling may differ. Some may require a larger area to be cooled, while some may require a smaller area to be cooled. Accordingly, by interchanging or swapping between different support frames having differently sized openings 215 for the PED-stand 200, the PED-stand 200 may be configured to cool the PED in a more effective and efficient manner.

[00033] FIG. 3 shows a PED-stand 300 according to various embodiments. According to various embodiments, the PED-stand 300 of FIG. 3 includes all the features of the PED-stand 100 of FIG. 1. According to various embodiments, the PED-stand 300 of FIG. 3 also includes the features of the PED-stand 200 of FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, except that the PED-stand 300 does not include the modular unit 250. Accordingly, all features, changes, modifications, and variations that are applicable to the PED-stand 100 of FIG. 1, as well as relevant features, changes, modifications, and variations that are applicable to the PED-stand 200 of FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B may also be applicable to the PED-stand 300 of FIG. 3. Further, elements which are the same as those described earlier are assigned the same reference numerals, and repetition of their corresponding descriptions is omitted for brevity. The following descriptions focusing on the various possible additional features and details.

[00034] According to various embodiments, the PED-stand 300 may include the main body 110 having the device-resting side 112, the cooling arrangement 120 with the cooling interface 122, the controller 130 and the communication interface 140. According to various embodiments, the PED-stand 300 may be without the modular unit 250. Accordingly, the cooling arrangement 120 of the PED-stand 300 may be disposed directly to the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300. According to various embodiments, the main body 110 of the PED- stand 300 may include the cavity 214. Accordingly, the cooling arrangement 120 may be disposed in the cavity 214 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300.

[00035] According to various embodiments, the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300 may include the base frame 211 and the support frame 213. The support frame 213 may include the opening 215. The base frame 211 may include a receptacle portion defining the cavity 214. Further, the support frame 213 may be removably coupled to the base frame 211 in a manner so as to be placed over the cavity 214. According to various embodiments, the cooling arrangement 120 may be disposed in the cavity 214 defined by the base frame 211. For example, the cooling arrangement 120 may be mounted in the receptacle of the base frame 211 within the cavity 214. Further, the support frame 213 may be assembled to the base frame 211 in a manner so as to be placed over the cavity 214 and the cooling arrangement 120. With the support frame 213 being over the cooling arrangement 120, the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120 may be exposed through the opening 215 of the support frame 213 of the PED-stand 300.

[00036] Referring to FIG. 3, the support frame 213 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300 may be removably coupled to the base frame 211 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300. As shown, the support frame 213 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300 may include at least one engagement element 317 and the base frame 211 of the main body 110 of the PED- stand 300 may include at least one complementary engagement element 319. According to various embodiments, the at least one engagement element 317 of the support frame 213 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300 and the at least one complementary engagement element 319 of the base frame 211 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300 may form a detachable engagement when the support frame 213 is coupled to the base frame 211. Accordingly, the at least one engagement element 317 of the support frame 213 of the main body 110 of the PED- stand 300 and the at least one complementary engagement element 319 of the base frame 211 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300 may be engaged to each other when the support frame 213 and the base frame 211 are coupled together. Further, the at least one engagement element 317 of the support frame 213 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300 and the at least one complementary engagement element 319 of the base frame 211 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300 may be detached from each other when the support frame 213 and the base frame 211 are separated and detached. Referring to FIG. 3, according to an implementation, the at least one engagement element 317 of the support frame 213 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300 may be an insertion tab and the at least one complementary engagement element 319 of the base frame 211 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300 may be a corresponding hole for receiving the insertion tab. It is understood that according to various embodiments, the insertion tab and the corresponding hole may be reversed. Also referring to FIG. 3, according to various embodiments, the support frame 213 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300 may include one or two or more engagement elements 317 and the base frame 211 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300 may include a corresponding number of complementary engagement element 319. Further, the (e.g. two or more) engagement elements 317 of the support frame 213 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300 may be along a same edge of the support frame 213 and the (e.g. two or more) complementary engagement elements 319 of the base frame 211 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300 may be along a same corresponding side of the base frame 211 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300.

[00037] According to various embodiments, the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300 may include a stopper 370. The stopper 370 may be at the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300. According to some embodiments, the stopper 370 may be at a portion of the base frame 211, whereby the portion of the base frame 211 is at the deviceresting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300. According to some embodiments, the stopper 370 may be at the support frame 213 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300 instead of the base frame 211. According to various embodiments, the stopper 370 may serve to support an edge of the PED when the PED is disposed at the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300. According to various embodiments, the stopper 370 may be a ridge or a rib or a raised tab or a raised ledge. Further, the stopper 370 may provide a flat abutting surface for supporting the edge of the PED.

[00038] According to various embodiments, the stopper 370 of the PED-stand 300 may be moveable relative to the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120 along the deviceresting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300. Accordingly, the stopper 370 of the PED-stand 300 may be moved along a plane corresponding to the device-resting side 112 of the main body 110 of the PED-stand 300 so as to move closer or further from the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120. According to various embodiments, the stopper 370 may be moveable along a movement axis perpendicular to the flat abutting surface that supports the edge of the PED. Accordingly, depending on the size of the PED, the stopper 370 may be adjusted accordingly so as to position the PED relative to the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120 optimally for cooling the PED.

[00039] According to various embodiments, the stopper 370 of the PED-stand 300 may be lockable at a range of pre-determined positions from the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120. Accordingly, upon moving the stopper 370 to the desired position, the stopper 370 may be locked in place so as to be capable of supporting the edge of the PED.

[00040] According to various embodiments, the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 may provide controllable cooling for the PED. Further, when the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 is connected to the PED via the communication interface 140, the PED and the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 may together form a system for controlling cooling of the PED (for example, cooling provided by the PED-stand 100, 200, 300). Accordingly, a method of controlling cooling provided by the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 may be implemented by the system having the interconnected PED and PED-stand 100, 200, 300. According to various embodiments, a computer program associated with controlling the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 may be executed by the PED to control cooling of the PED. According to various embodiments, the system and/or method for controlling cooling of the PED may include controlling the cooling arrangement 120 of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 based on the system information and/or operation status for cooling down the PED. According to various embodiments, the system and/or method for controlling cooling of the PED may include varying the operation settings and/or loadings of the PED so as to adjust the PED to operate at a suitable level while maintaining the cooling level of the cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120 of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 in order to maintain or enhance the performance of the PED. [00041] FIG. 4 shows flow diagram of an example of a method 401 of controlling cooling in a system whereby the PED is disposed to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 with the PED connected to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300. In the method 401 as shown in FIG. 4, cooling of the PED may be based on receiving the cooling level information from the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 so as to adjust the performance settings of the PED. As shown in FIG. 4, according to various embodiments, the method 401 may include the PED receiving cooling level information of the cooling provided by the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120 so as to determine whether the cooling arrangement 120 is working (see 403). The cooling level information may include the cooling settings of the cooling arrangement 120 and/or thermal sensing information from sensors disposed to measure the cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120. If no cooling level information is received or if the cooling level information received indicates that the cooling arrangement 120 is not working, the PED may maintain its current performance setting so as not to increase the temperature of the PED (see 405). If the cooling level information indicates that the cooling arrangement 120 is working, the PED may determine the current cooling level provided by the cooling arrangement 120 (see 407) to determine whether the current cooling level is at a maximum level (see 409). The cooling arrangement 120 may be capable of providing cooling across a range of cooling levels. The current cooling level may be one of the cooling levels from the range of cooling levels, and may be based on the current cooling settings of the cooling arrangement 120 and/or the current thermal sensing information from the sensors disposed to measure the cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120. If the cooling level information indicates that the cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120 is not at the maximum cooling level, the PED may maintain its current performance setting so as not to cause an increase in the temperature of the PED (see 411). If the cooling level information indicates that the cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120 is operating at the maximum cooling level, the PED may prompt the user and provide the user with an option to change the operating mode of the PED (see 413). The PED may receive the input from the user and determine whether the user selected to change the operating mode (see 415). If the user did not select to change the operating mode, the PED may maintain its current performance setting so as not to cause an increase in the temperature of the PED (see 417). However, if the user selects to change the operating mode, the PED may change to operate at a higher performance setting (see 419). While the temperature of the PED may increase due to the change to the higher performance setting, the higher performance setting may be a pre-defined setting in which the PED may be sufficiently cool by the cooling arrangement 120 of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 providing cooling at the maximum cooling level to prevent overheating or degradation in performance of the PED due to heat.

[00042] FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of another example of a method 501 of controlling cooling in a system whereby the PED is disposed to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 with the PED connected to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300. In the method 501 as shown in FIG. 5, cooling of the PED may be based on receiving the cooling level information from the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 so as to adjust the performance settings of the PED. As shown in FIG. 5, according to various embodiments, the method 501 may include the PED receiving the cooling level information of cooling provided by the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120 so as to determine whether the cooling arrangement 120 is working (see 503). The cooling level information may include the cooling settings of the cooling arrangement 120 and/or thermal sensing information from sensors disposed to measure the cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120. If no cooling level information is received or if the cooling level information received indicates that the cooling arrangement 120 is not working, the PED may maintain its current performance setting so as not to cause an increase in the temperature of the PED (see 505). If the cooling level information indicates that the cooling arrangement 120 is working, the PED may determine the current cooling level provided by the cooling arrangement 120 (see 507). The cooling arrangement 120 may be capable of providing cooling across a range of cooling levels. The current cooling level may be one of the cooling levels from the range of cooling levels, and may be based on the current cooling settings of the cooling arrangement 120 and/or the current thermal sensing information from the sensors disposed to measure the cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120. According to various embodiments, the cooling arrangement 120 may be operable to provide cooling across a range of cooling levels. Therefore, the cooling level information received by the PED may indicate whether the cooling arrangement 120 is operating at cooling level 1, or cooling level 2, or cooling level 3, or cooling level 4, or cooling level 5. While five cooling levels are shown in FIG. 5, it is understood that there may be different number of cooling levels. FIG. 5 is provided for illustrations only.

[00043] Referring to FIG. 5 as an example, if the cooling level information indicates that the cooling arrangement 120 is providing cooling at cooling level 1 (see 509), the PED may maintain its current performance setting so as not to increase the temperature of the PED (see 511). If the cooling level information indicates that the cooling arrangement 120 is providing cooling at cooling level 2 (see 513), the PED may maintain its current performance setting so as not to increase the temperature of the PED (see 515). If the cooling level information indicates that the cooling arrangement 120 is providing cooling at cooling level 3 (see 517), the PED may increase its performance setting to a first intermediate level (see 519). While the temperature of the PED may increase due to the increase in its performance setting, the performance setting at the first intermediate level may be a pre-defined setting in which the PED may be sufficiently cool by the cooling arrangement 120 of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 providing cooling at cooling level 3 to prevent overheating or degradation in performance of the PED due to heat. If the cooling level information indicates that the cooling arrangement 120 is providing cooling at cooling level 4 (see 521), the PED may increase its performance setting to a second intermediate level (see 523). While the temperature of the PED may increase due to the increase in its performance setting, the performance setting at the second intermediate level may be a pre-defined setting in which the PED may be sufficiently cool by the cooling arrangement 120 of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 providing cooling at cooling level 4 to prevent overheating or degradation in performance of the PED due to heat. If the cooling level information indicates that the cooling arrangement 120 is providing cooling at cooling level 5 (see 525), the PED may increase its performance setting to a maximum performance setting (see 527). While the temperature of the PED may increase due to the increase in its performance setting, the performance setting at the maximum performance settings may be a pre-defined setting in which the PED may be sufficiently cool by the cooling arrangement 120 of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 providing cooling at cooling level 5 to prevent overheating or degradation in performance of the PED due to heat.

[00044] FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of a further example of a method 601 of controlling cooling in a system whereby the PED is disposed to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 with the PED connected to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300. In the method 601 as shown in FIG. 6, cooling of the PED may include controlling the cooling arrangement 120 of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 based on the system information and/or the operation status of the PED for cooling down the PED. As shown in FIG. 6, according to various embodiments, the method may include the PED checking and retrieving information relating to the current load of the PED (see 603). The current load of the PED may include, but not limited to, the current processor computing load, or the current processor utilization, or the current processor power consumption. The current load of the PED may be part of the system information and/or operating status of the PED. Further, the method may also include the PED obtaining cooling level information of the cooling provided by the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120 so as to determine the current cooling level of the cooling arrangement 120 (see 603). The cooling level information may include the cooling settings of the cooling arrangement 120 and/or thermal sensing information from sensors disposed to measure the cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120. The cooling arrangement 120 may be controllable to provide cooling across a range of cooling levels. The current cooling level may be one of the cooling levels from the range of cooling levels, and may be based on the current cooling settings of the cooling arrangement 120 and/or the current thermal sensing information from the sensors disposed to measure the cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120.

[00045] Subsequently, the method may include comparing the current load of the PED against a previous load of the PED (see 605). If the current load of the PED is equal or substantially the same as the previous load of the PED, the PED may continue to monitor the load of the PED and the cooling provided by the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 without changing or adjusting or varying the level of cooling provided by the PED-stand 100, 200, 300. If the current load of the PED differs from the previous load of the PED, the PED may proceed to compare the current load of the PED against a corresponding threshold load range for the current cooling level provided by the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 (see 607, 609). Each cooling level of the range of cooling levels for the cooling arrangement 120 may be assigned or associated with a threshold load range. The threshold load range may be a range of load of the PED which may be sufficiently cool by the cooling arrangement 120 of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 providing cooling at said cooling level to prevent overheating or degradation in performance of the PED due to heat. The threshold load range may include a ceiling value defining the upper limit of the threshold load range and a floor value defining the lower limit of the threshold load range.

[00046] As an example, when the current load of the PED is determined to be greater than the previous load of the PED, the PED may compare the current load of the PED against the ceiling value of the corresponding threshold load range for the current cooling level of cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120 (see 607). If the current load of the PED is equal or less than the ceiling value of the corresponding threshold load range for the current cooling level of cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120, the PED may continue to monitor the load of the PED and the cooling provided by the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 without changing or adjusting or varying the level of cooling provided by the PED-stand 100, 200, 300. If the current load of the PED is greater than the ceiling value of the corresponding threshold load range for the current cooling level of cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120, the PED may send a control signal from the PED to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 (e.g. to the controller 130 of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300) so as to control the cooling arrangement 120 to adjust or change or vary the cooling provided (e.g. via the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120) to a higher cooling level (i.e. to increase the cooling level, see 611). The change in the cooling level of the cooling may be achieved by adjusting or changing or varying the settings of the cooling arrangement 120 based on the control signal.

[00047] As another example, when the current load of the PED is determined to be less than the previous load of the PED, the PED may compare the current load of the PED against the floor value of the corresponding threshold load range for the current cooling level of cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120 (see 609). If the current load of the PED is equal or greater than the floor value of the corresponding threshold load range for the current cooling level of cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120, the PED may continue to monitor the load of the PED and the cooling provided by the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 without changing or adjusting or varying the level of cooling provided by the PED-stand 100, 200, 300. If the current load of the PED is less than the floor value of the corresponding threshold load range for the current cooling level of cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120, the PED may send a control signal from the PED to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 (e.g. to the controller 130 of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300) so as to control the cooling arrangement 120 to adjust or change or vary the cooling provided (e.g. via the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120) to a lower cooling level (i.e. to decrease the cooling level, see 613). The change in the cooling level of the cooling may be achieved by adjusting or changing or varying the settings of the cooling arrangement 120 based on the control signal.

[00048] As exemplified by the method of 601, according to various embodiments, the PED may generate control signal based on the cooling level information received from the PED- stand 100, 200, 300 together with the load of the PED (as an example of the system information and/or operating status of the PED) for controlling the cooling arrangement 120 to provide appropriate cooling to the PED depending on the system information and/or operating status of the PED. Hence, the system formed by the PED and the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 may allow dynamic control of the cooling provided by the PED-stand 100, 200, 300.

[00049] FIG. 7 shows yet another example of a method 701 of controlling cooling in a system whereby the PED is disposed to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 with the PED connected to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300. In the method 701 as shown in FIG. 7, cooling of the PED may include controlling the cooling arrangement 120 of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 based on the system information and/or the operation status of the PED for cooling down the PED.

[00050] According to various embodiments, the method 701 may include a setup sequence. In the setup sequence, the method 701 may include the PED obtaining cooling level information of the cooling provided by the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120 so as to determine the current cooling level of the cooling arrangement 120. The cooling level information may include the cooling settings of the cooling arrangement 120 and/or thermal sensing information from sensors disposed to measure the cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120.

[00051] The method 701 may then include setting parameters for monitoring the operating status of the PED based on the current cooling level (see 703). The operating status of the PED may include, but not limited to, temperature, power consumption, internal fan speed, or load. The parameters being set may correspond to the operating status being monitored.

[00052] Subsequently, the method 701 may include obtaining the system information of the PED (see 705). The system information may include, but not limited to, a type, a brand, a model, an operating system, a processor, a memory, storage devices, device drivers, installed software, a network configuration, or a system configuration of the PED.

[00053] With the system information of the PED, the method 701 may include retrieving a cooling database for the PED (see 707). The cooling database may include the range of cooling levels and the parameters of the operating status of the PED associated with or assigned to respective cooling levels. Depending on the system information of the PED, the cooling database may be different along with different range of cooling levels. For example, different types of PEDs may have different cooling database with different range of cooling levels. Different brands of PEDs may have different fan vents on the back surface of the PEDs. Different models of PEDs from a same brand may also have different cooling database with different range of cooling levels. Further, PEDs having different processor/system configuration etc. from the same brand may also have different cooling database with different range of cooling levels. The different cooling databases with the different ranges of cooling levels for the different PED may be stored in a memory of the PED.

[00054] With the system information of the PED, the method may include prompting the user to optimise the configuration of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 for cooling the PED (see 709). For example, the user may be prompted to fit a suitable modular unit 250, a suitable support frame 213 with suitable opening 215 and sealing strip 260, and/or adjust the stopper 370 to a suitable position.

[00055] Upon completing the setup sequence, the method 701 may then proceed to the cooling loop sequence. In the cooling loop sequence, the method 701 may include detecting or determining a current operating status of the PED (see 711). Depending on the PED, the current operating status of the PED may include one or a combination of a current temperature, a current power consumption, a current internal fan speed, or a current load of a processing unit of the PED. The processing unit of the PED may include, but not limited to, a central processing unit (CPU) or a graphic processing unit (GPU).

[00056] Subsequently, the method 701 may include comparing the current operating status of the PED with the set parameters for the current cooling level (see 713). According to various embodiments, each cooling level of the range of cooling levels for the PED may be associated or assigned with a threshold temperature range of the processing unit, and/or a threshold power range of the processing unit, and/or a threshold fan speed range of the processing unit, and/or a threshold load range of the processing unit. The threshold temperature range of the processing unit, and/or the threshold power range of the processing unit, and/or the threshold fan speed range of the processing unit, and/or the threshold load range of the processing unit for the current cooling level may serve as the set parameters. Each of the threshold temperature range of the processing unit, and/or the threshold power range of the processing unit, and/or the threshold fan speed range of the processing unit, and/or the threshold load range of the processing unit may include a ceiling value defining the upper limit and a floor value defining the lower limit.

[00057] Based on the results of the comparison between the current operating status of the PED and the set parameters for the current cooling level, the method 701 may then determine whether the cooling level of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 is required to be adjusted or changed or varied (see 715). When the current operating status of the PED are within the set parameters for the current cooling level, the method 701 may include the PED continuing to monitor the operating status of the PED without changing or adjusting or varying the level of cooling provided by the PED-stand 100, 200, 300. However, when the current operating status of the PED are outside the set parameters for the current cooling level, the method 701 may include the PED sending a control signal (see 717) from the PED to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 (e.g. to the controller 130 of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300) so as to control the cooling arrangement 120 to adjust or change or vary the cooling provided (e.g. via the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120) to another cooling level (i.e. to increase/decrease the cooling level). The change in the cooling level of the cooling may be achieved by adjusting or changing or varying the settings of the cooling arrangement 120 based on the control signal. With the control signal sent, the method 701 may include setting new parameters for monitoring the operating status of the PED based on the new cooling level (see 719).

[00058] As an example, when the threshold temperature range is set as the parameter for monitoring, the PED may determine a current temperature of the processing unit of the PED and compare against the threshold temperature range for the current cooling level. If the current temperature of the processing unit of the PED is equal or less than the ceiling value of the corresponding threshold temperature range for the current cooling level of cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120 and/or the current temperature of the processing unit of the PED is equal or greater than the floor value of the corresponding threshold temperature range for the current cooling level of cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120, the PED may continue to monitor the operating status of the PED without changing or adjusting or varying the level of cooling provided by the PED-stand 100, 200, 300. If the current temperature of the processing unit of the PED is greater than the ceiling value of the corresponding threshold temperature range for the current cooling level of cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120, the PED may send a control signal from the PED to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 (e.g. to the controller 130 of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300) so as to control the cooling arrangement 120 to adjust or change or vary the cooling provided (e.g. via the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120) to a higher cooling level (i.e. to increase the cooling level). On the other hand, if the current temperature of the processing unit of the PED is less than the floor value of the corresponding threshold temperature range for the current cooling level of cooling provided by the cooling arrangement 120, the PED may send a control signal from the PED to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 (e.g. to the controller 130 of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300) so as to control the cooling arrangement 120 to adjust or change or vary the cooling provided (e.g. via the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120) to a lower cooling level (i.e. to decrease the cooling level).

[00059] As another example, when the threshold temperature range and/or the threshold power range are set as the parameters for monitoring, the PED may determine a current temperature and/or a current power of the processing unit of the PED and respectively compare against the threshold temperature range and/or the threshold power range. If the current temperature of the processing unit of the PED is greater than the ceiling value of the corresponding threshold temperature range and/or the current power of the processing unit of the PED is greater than the ceiling value of the corresponding threshold power range, the PED may send a control signal from the PED to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 (e.g. to the controller 130 of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300) so as to control the cooling arrangement 120 to adjust or change or vary the cooling provided (e.g. via the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120) to a higher cooling level (i.e. to increase the cooling level). On the other hand, if the current temperature of the processing unit of the PED is less than the floor value of the corresponding threshold temperature range and/or the current power of the processing unit of the PED is less than the floor value of the corresponding threshold power range, the PED may send a control signal from the PED to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 (e.g. to the controller 130 of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300) so as to control the cooling arrangement 120 to adjust or change or vary the cooling provided (e.g. via the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120) to a lower cooling level (i.e. to decrease the cooling level).

[00060] As yet another example, when the threshold temperature range of the processing unit, and/or the threshold power range of the processing unit, and/or the fan speed of a fan unit of the PED are set as the parameters for monitoring, the PED may determine a current temperature of the processing unit, and/or a current power of the processing unit, and/or a current fan speed of the fan unit, and respectively compare against the threshold temperature range, and/or the threshold power range, and/or the threshold fan speed range. If the current temperature of the processing unit of the PED is greater than the ceiling value of the corresponding threshold temperature range and/or the current power of the processing unit of the PED is greater than the ceiling value of the corresponding threshold power range and/or the current fan speed of the fan unit of the PED is greater than the ceiling value of the corresponding threshold fan speed range, the PED may send a control signal from the PED to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 (e.g. to the controller 130 of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300) so as to control the cooling arrangement 120 to adjust or change or vary the cooling provided (e.g. via the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120) to a higher cooling level (i.e. to increase the cooling level). On the other hand, if the current temperature of the processing unit of the PED is less than the floor value of the corresponding threshold temperature range and/or the current power of the processing unit of the PED is less than the floor value of the corresponding threshold power range and/or the current fan speed of the fan unit of the PED is less than the floor value of the corresponding threshold fan speed range, the PED may send a control signal from the PED to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 (e.g. to the controller 130 of the PED-stand 100, 200, 300) so as to control the cooling arrangement 120 to adjust or change or vary the cooling provided (e.g. via the cooling interface 122 of the cooling arrangement 120) to a lower cooling level (i.e. to decrease the cooling level).

[00061] As also exemplified by the method of 701, according to various embodiments, the PED may generate control signal based on the cooling level information received from the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 together with the system information and/or operating status of the PED for controlling the cooling arrangement 120 to provide appropriate cooling to the PED depending on the system information and/or operating status of the PED. Hence, the system formed by the PED and the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 may allow dynamic control of the cooling provided by the PED-stand 100, 200, 300. [00062] According to various embodiments, a method of controlling cooling in a system whereby the PED is disposed to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 with the PED connected to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 may include feeding an input dataset including the cooling level information received from the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 and the system information and/or operating status of the PED into a machine -learning model, and producing an output dataset including control signals for sending from the PED to the PED-stand 100, 200, 300 so as to control the cooling arrangement 120 to adjust or change or vary the cooling provided to achieve dynamic control of the cooling provided by the PED-stand 100, 200, 300. The machinelearning model may include, but not limited to, classification type machine-learning model, regression type machine-learning model, forecasting-type machine-learning model, or clustering-type machine-learning model.

[00063] Various embodiments have provided a PED-stand with controllable cooling that may be capable of being connected to a PED to cooperatively control cooling of the PED. Various embodiments have provided a system including a PED-stand connected to a PED whereby the PED-stand and the PED work cooperatively to control cooling of the PED. Various embodiments have also provided a method of controlling cooling of a PED whereby the PED- stand and the PED are connected to cooperatively control cooling of the PED.

[00064] While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to specific embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modification, variation in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The scope of the invention is thus indicated by the appended claims and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced.

Claims

1. A portable electronic device stand with controllable cooling, the stand comprising: a main body having a device-resting side; a cooling arrangement disposed at the main body, the cooling arrangement having a cooling interface exposed through the device-resting side of the main body, wherein the cooling interface is capable of providing cooling to a portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is disposed at the device-resting side; a controller connected to the cooling arrangement to control the cooling arrangement for providing the cooling via the cooling interface across a range of cooling levels; and a communication interface connectable to the portable electronic device to communicatively interconnect the controller and the portable electronic device in a manner so as to communicate data between the controller and the portable electronic device, wherein the data is associated with the cooling provided via the cooling interface of the cooling arrangement.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the data comprises a cooling level information of the cooling provided via the cooling interface by the cooling arrangement, the cooling level information being communicated from the controller to the portable electronic device.

3. The device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the data comprises a control signal to control the cooling arrangement to provide cooling via the cooling interface at a cooling level corresponding to the control signal, the cooling level being selected from the range of cooling levels, the control signal being communicated from the portable electronic device to the controller.

4. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cooling arrangement comprises an airflow based cooling arrangement or a direct contact cooling arrangement.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein the cooling arrangement is in a modular unit removably fitted into a cavity in the main body, wherein an electrical terminal is provided at the modular unit and a complementary electrical terminal is provided at the cavity of the main body such that the electrical terminal of the modular unit and the complementary electrical terminal are in engagement when the modular unit is removably fitted into the cavity of the main body.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the modular unit is removably fitted into the cavity of the main body in a manner so as to be interchangeable between a modular unit having the airflow based cooling arrangement and a modular unit having the direct contact cooling arrangement.

7. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the main body comprises a base frame and a support frame having an opening, wherein the support frame is removably coupled to the base frame, wherein the support frame of the main body is at the deviceresting side of the main body.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein a sealing strip is lined along a rim of the opening of the support frame.

9. The device according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the support frame comprises at least one engagement element and the base frame comprises at least one complementary engagement element, wherein the at least one engagement element of the support frame and the at least one complementary engagement element of the base frame forms a detachable engagement when the support frame is coupled to the base frame.

10. The device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the support frame is removably coupled to the base frame in a manner so as to be interchangeable between different support frames respectively having differently sized openings.

11. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the main body comprises a stopper at the device-resting side, wherein the stopper serves to support an edge of the portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is disposed at the deviceresting side.

12. The device according to claim 11, wherein the stopper is movable relative to the cooling interface along the device-resting side of the main body and lockable at a range of pre-determined positions from the cooling interface, wherein a suitable position of the stopper is determined by the portable electronic device.

13. A system for controlling cooling provided by a portable electronic device stand to a portable electronic device disposed thereto, the system comprising the portable electronic device stand comprising a main body having a device-resting side; a cooling arrangement disposed at the main body, the cooling arrangement having a cooling interface exposed through the device-resting side of the main body, wherein the cooling interface is capable of providing cooling to the portable electronic device disposed at the device-resting side; a controller connected to the cooling arrangement to control the cooling arrangement for providing the cooling via the cooling interface across a range of cooling levels; and a communication interface connected to the controller; and the portable electronic device, wherein the communication interface of the portable electronic device stand is connected to the portable electronic device to communicatively interconnect the controller of the portable electronic device stand and the portable electronic device in a manner so as to communicate data between the controller and the portable electronic device, wherein the data is associated with the cooling provided via the cooling interface of the cooling arrangement.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the data comprises a cooling level information of the cooling provided via the cooling interface by the cooling arrangement, and/or the data comprises a control signal to control the cooling arrangement to provide cooling via the cooling interface at a cooling level corresponding to the control signal.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the portable electronic device receives the cooling level information from the controller of the portable electronic device stand, wherein the portable electronic device generates the control signal based on the cooling level information received and one or more or a combination of a system information and/or an operating status of the portable electronic device.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the system information of the portable electronic device includes one or more of type, brand, model, operating system, processor, memory, storage devices, device drivers, installed software, network configuration, or system configuration, wherein the operating status of the portable electronic device includes one or more of temperature, power consumption, internal fan speed, or load.

17. The system according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the cooling level information comprises a current cooling level of the cooling being provided via the cooling interface by the cooling arrangement.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein each cooling level of the range of cooling levels is assigned with a threshold load range, wherein the portable electronic device determines a current load of the portable electronic device and compares the current load of the portable electronic device against a corresponding threshold load range for the current cooling level.

19. The system according to claim 18, wherein when the current load is greater than a ceiling value of the corresponding threshold load range, the portable electronic device sends the control signal from the portable electronic device to the controller of the portable electronic device stand so as to control the cooling arrangement to adjust the cooling provided via the cooling interface to a higher cooling level.

20. The system according to claim 18, wherein when the current load is less than a floor value of the corresponding threshold load range, the portable electronic device sends the control signal from the portable electronic device to the controller of the portable electronic device stand so as to control the cooling arrangement to adjust the cooling provided via the cooling interface to a lower cooling level.

21. The system according to any one of claims 18 to 20, wherein the portable electronic device compares the current load of the portable electronic device against a previous load of the portable electronic device, wherein, when the current load differs from the previous load, the portable electronic device proceeds to compare the current load of the portable electronic device against the corresponding threshold load range for the current cooling level.

22. The system according to claim 17, wherein the range of cooling levels is based on the system information of the portable electronic device.

23. The system according to claim 22, wherein each cooling level of the range of cooling levels is associated with a threshold temperature range of a processing unit of the portable electronic device, wherein the portable electronic device determines a current temperature of the processing unit of the portable electronic device and compares the current temperature of the processing unit of the portable electronic device against a corresponding threshold temperature range for the current cooling level.

24. The system according to claim 23, wherein each cooling level of the range of cooling levels is further associated with a threshold power range of the processing unit of the portable electronic device, wherein the portable electronic device further determines a current power of the processing unit of the portable electronic device and compares the current power of the processing unit of the portable electronic device against a corresponding threshold power range for the current cooling level.

25. The system according to claim 23 or 24, wherein each cooling level of the range of cooling levels is further associated with a threshold fan speed range of a fan unit of the portable electronic device, wherein the portable electronic device further determines a current fan speed of the fan unit of the portable electronic device and compares the current fan speed of the fan unit of the portable electronic device against a corresponding threshold fan speed range for the current cooling level.

26. The system according to claim 23, wherein when the current temperature of the processing unit of the portable electronic device is greater than a ceiling value of the corresponding threshold temperature range, the portable electronic device sends the control signal from the portable electronic device to the controller of the portable electronic device stand so as to control the cooling arrangement to adjust the cooling provided via the cooling interface to a higher cooling level.

27. The system according to claim 23, wherein when the current temperature of the processing unit of the portable electronic device is less than a floor value of the corresponding threshold temperature range, the portable electronic device sends the control signal from the portable electronic device to the controller of the portable electronic device stand so as to control the cooling arrangement to adjust the cooling provided via the cooling interface to a lower cooling level.

28. The system according to claim 24, wherein when the current temperature of the processing unit of the portable electronic device is greater than a ceiling value of the corresponding threshold temperature range and/or when the current power of the processing unit of the portable electronic device is greater than a ceiling value of the corresponding threshold power range, the portable electronic device sends the control signal from the portable electronic device to the controller of the portable electronic device stand so as to control the cooling arrangement to adjust the cooling provided via the cooling interface to a higher cooling level.

29. The system according to claim 24, wherein when the current temperature of the processing unit of the portable electronic device is less than a floor value of the corresponding threshold temperature range and/or when the current power of the processing unit of the portable electronic device is less than a floor value of the corresponding threshold power range, the portable electronic device sends the control signal from the portable electronic device to the controller of the portable electronic device stand so as to control the cooling arrangement to adjust the cooling provided via the cooling interface to a lower cooling level.

30. The system according to claim 25, wherein when the current temperature of the processing unit of the portable electronic device is greater than a ceiling value of the corresponding threshold temperature range and/or when the current power of the processing unit of the portable electronic device is greater than a ceiling value of the corresponding threshold power range and/or when the current fan speed of the fan unit of the portable electronic device is greater than a ceiling value of the corresponding fan speed range, the portable electronic device sends the control signal from the portable electronic device to the controller of the portable electronic device stand so as to control the cooling arrangement to adjust the cooling provided via the cooling interface to a higher cooling level.

31. The system according to claim 25, wherein when the current temperature of the processing unit of the portable electronic device is less than a floor value of the corresponding threshold temperature range and/or when the current power of the processing unit of the portable electronic device is less than a floor value of the corresponding threshold power range and/or when the current fan speed of the fan unit of the portable electronic device is less than a ceiling value of the corresponding fan speed range, the portable electronic device sends the control signal from the portable electronic device to the controller of the portable electronic device stand so as to control the cooling arrangement to adjust the cooling provided via the cooling interface to a lower cooling level.

32. The system according to any one of claims 22 to 31, wherein ranges of cooling levels for different portable electronic devices are stored in a memory of the portable electronic device.

33. A method of controlling cooling provided by a portable electronic device stand to a portable electronic device displaced thereto, wherein the portable electronic device stand comprises a main body having a device-resting side; a cooling arrangement disposed at the main body, the cooling arrangement having a cooling interface exposed through the deviceresting side of the main body, wherein the cooling interface is capable of providing cooling to the portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is displaced at the deviceresting side; a controller connected to the cooling arrangement to control the cooling arrangement for providing the cooling via the cooling interface across a range of cooling levels; and a communication interface connectable to the portable electronic device to communicatively interconnect the controller and the portable electronic device, the method comprising communicating data, via the communication interface, between the controller of the portable electronic device stand and the portable electronic device, wherein the data is associated with the cooling provided via the cooling interface of the cooling arrangement, wherein the data comprises a cooling level information of the cooling provided via the cooling interface by the cooling arrangement, the cooling level information being communicated from the controller to the device, wherein the data comprises a control signal to control the cooling arrangement to provide cooling via the cooling interface at a cooling level corresponding to the control signal, the cooling level being selected from the range of cooling levels, the control signal being communicated from the portable electronic device to the controller.