JP2000099209A - Pc card cooling device and portable personal computer with cooling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the cooling device which can cool the inside of a thin type portable personal computer like a notebook personal computer which does not have a spatial room for fitting a dedicated cooling fan inside. SOLUTION: A cooling device for the personal computer is realized by effectively using the space of one or two PC(PCMCIA) card slots 2 and 2' that the portable personal computer is normally equipped with. The cooling device is therefore in the shape of a PC card, which is provided with an intake and an outlet for air and equipped inside with a fan 9 producing a flow of air and a motor driving the fan between the intake and outlet.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a PCMCIA card (hereinafter abbreviated as PC card) type cooling device useful for a thin portable personal computer such as a notebook personal computer, and a portable device provided with such a cooling device. About personal computers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the spread of notebook personal computers has been remarkable, and due to the development of mobile computing and the like, the speed of high functionality and high performance has been remarkable. In addition, LS centered on the CPU
The degree of integration and the operating frequency of I-elements have been increasing dramatically year by year, while the amount of heat generated by notebook computers has tended to increase despite efforts to reduce power consumption by lowering the voltage. It is in.

[0003] By the way, in a notebook personal computer, due to strict demands for thinning, it is not possible to provide a sufficient space for installing a dedicated fan for cooling the entire inside of the personal computer, such as a desktop type or a tower type personal computer. At present, only the CPU is cooled by providing a cooling device such as a heat sink with a heat pipe or a heat sink with a built-in fan.

However, in a notebook personal computer, PCMCIA
Units such as hard disks and flash memories, for which the upper limit of the ambient temperature is specified in, are used.If the temperature inside the personal computer rises excessively, malfunctions may occur. In some cases it could not be used.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, the inside of a personal computer can be effectively cooled in a thin portable personal computer such as a notebook personal computer which does not have a sufficient space for mounting a dedicated cooling fan therein. It is intended to provide a cooling device.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a cooling device is realized by effectively utilizing the space of one or two PC card slots normally provided in a portable personal computer.

[0007] The cooling device realized by the present invention is a PC.
It has a card form, and a PC card is provided with an air inlet and an outlet, and inside the PC card, a fan for generating air flow between the inlet and the outlet and the fan is driven. It is characterized by providing a motor.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a PC card type cooling device according to the present invention. Note that the specific configuration shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and FIG.
The C card slot insertion opening is shown, and (b) and (c) show the upper surface and the lower surface of the PC card type cooling device, respectively.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a personal computer housing, and a part of a side surface thereof is shown.

Reference numerals 2 and 2 'denote PC card slots provided on the side surface of the personal computer housing 1, respectively. In the drawing, only the insertion openings of the PC card slots arranged in two stages are shown.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a PC card type cooling device.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a socket of the PC card type cooling device 3 which is hidden and cannot be seen in the drawing.

Reference numerals 5 and 5 'denote guide grooves, which engage with protruding pieces (not shown) provided at corresponding portions in the PC card slot so that the PC card type cooling device 3 can be properly inserted into the slot. To be inserted into

Reference numeral 6 denotes a top cover of the PC card type cooling device 3.

Numeral 6a is a fan fitting window for fitting the upper part of the fan.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a first opening provided on the rear side face of the PC card type cooling device 3 facing the socket 4;
When the PC card type personal computer cooling device is installed in the PC card slots 2 and 2 ', it faces the outside of the personal computer housing and is used as an air inlet or outlet.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a second opening provided in the top cover 6, which faces the inside of the personal computer housing when the cooling device is installed in the PC card slot, and opposes the first opening 7. And is used as an air outlet or inlet.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a fan, which allows air to flow in one direction between the first opening 7 and the second opening 8 using a duct inside the PC card case. The figure shows the upper portion of the fan, that is, the back of the surface on which the blades are provided, and the motor is arranged inside the upper portion. Although not shown, the motor may be of a structure that is separate from the fan, or may be of a structure that is integral with the fan. Although the power of the motor is taken in from the personal computer through the socket, it is also possible to take in the power from an external power supply using a cable.

The PC card type cooling device 3 shown in FIG.
Is used by being attached to an empty PC card slot 2 or 2 '. When mounted, the fan 9 is driven by a motor and rotates. For example, external air is sucked in from the first opening 7 and blown into the personal computer housing 1 through the second opening 8 to be mounted in another slot. The inside of the personal computer housing is cooled around the PC card. However, the air inside the personal computer may be sucked through the second opening 8 and discharged out of the first opening 7.

[0020]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The specifications of a PC card
MCIA (Persosal Computer Memory CardInternatio)
nal Assosiation).
85.6mm x 54.0m, almost same as credit card
m, but the thickness is from TYPEI to TYPEIV
In general, those from TYPEI to TYPEIII are often used. The thickness of TYPEI is 3.3
mm, the thickness of TYPE II is 5.0 mm, and the thickness of TYPE III is 10.5 mm. FIG. 2 shows the specifications of each type. The PC card type cooling device according to the present invention can be applied to any type of thickness. The thicker the thickness is, the more advantageous the motor and the fan can be. TYPE is determined by the thickness of the PC card slot provided in the portable personal computer.

FIG. 3 shows a PC according to an embodiment of the present invention.
1 shows the appearance of a card type cooling device.

In FIG. 3, the first opening 7 of the PC card type cooling device 3 is an air outlet, and has a shape in which a number of small windows are arranged in order to prevent intrusion of dust and the like. On the other hand, the top cover 6 is provided with a second opening 8 formed by a number of small holes used as air inlets. A fan and a motor (not shown) are arranged at a position on the back side of the second opening 8. In use, the PC card type cooling device 3 is inserted into the PC card slot 2, and at that time, 64 pin holes provided in the socket 4 engage with the same number of opposing connector pins 11 to provide electrical connection. Connection is obtained.

FIG. 4 shows the internal structure of the PC card type cooling device shown in FIG.

In FIG. 4, the socket 4 has a frame 12
, And the entire lower surface is covered with the base plate 13. Frame 12 opposite socket 4
In the upper part, a number of grooves are formed to form small windows of the first opening 7. Shaft of fan 9 and motor 10
Are connected directly to each other, and the power terminal of the motor 10 is connected to the power terminal of the socket 4 by a power supply line 14.
In order to form a duct for intake and a duct for exhaust for the fan 9, an intermediate plate 6 b partitioning the internal space up and down in the upper frame of the fan 9 is provided in parallel with the base plate 13.

FIG. 5 shows a partial cross section of the PC card type cooling device shown in FIGS.

In FIG. 5, the motor 10 is
a, a motor control board 10b, and a motor mounting arm 10c. The motor main body 10 a is connected to the fan 9 so as to be fitted inside the fan 9. The motor mounting arm 10c is fixed to posts 15, 15 'provided on the base plate 13.

When the motor 10 is driven to rotate the fan 9, a negative pressure is generated at the upper portion of the fan 9, so that air is sucked from a number of small holes of the second opening 8 provided on the upper surface cover 6. The fan 9 passes through the upper duct of the intermediate plate 6b and enters the fan 9, and the first duct is inserted from the lower duct of the intermediate plate 6b.
Is discharged from the opening 7. In the illustrated example, the entire space inside the frame of the PC card type cooling device acts as a duct.

If the total thickness of the fan 9 and the motor 10 is too thick for the PC card and causes a problem, the motor control board 10b may be removed from the motor and held separately (except for the hole). The hole 16 may be formed in the base plate 13 as shown in FIG. 6, and the fan 9 may be held in a state fitted in the hole 16.

Although the second opening 8 is provided in the upper cover 6 in the above-described embodiment, it may be provided on the base plate 13 on the lower surface. Although the first opening 7 is provided on the side facing the socket of the frame, that is, on the rear side surface, the length of the long side of the PC card is extended beyond the standard value of 85.6 mm, and the so-called PC card is extended. As an extended specification, as shown in FIG. 7, both the first opening 7 and the second opening 8 may be provided on the upper surface cover 6 or the base plate 13, or one may be provided on the upper surface cover 6 and the other may be provided on the base plate. 13 may be provided.

The shape of the first opening 7 and the second opening 8 may be any number of small holes, slits, meshes, or a single large hole.

FIG. 8 shows a sectional structure of a PC card type cooling device according to another embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment conforms to the specification of a TYPE II PC card having a thickness of 5 mm, and various measures have been taken to make it thinner.

In FIG. 8, a fan 21 of a motor 20 with a fan is integrated with a motor driving mechanism by a shaft 24 rotatably held by bearings of a bearing house 25 formed integrally with a lower surface cover 30. I have. Blades 22 are provided on the lower surface of the peripheral portion of the fan 21, and a magnet 23 is attached to the inner peripheral portion thereof, and interaction with a magnetic field generated by a coil 26 attached to the outside of the bearing house 25 causes Rotate the motor. At this time, the Hall element 27 detects the rotational position of the motor, controls the motor drive circuit, and switches the drive current flowing through the coil 26. The motor drive circuit is a flexible PCB 3 mounted on the lower cover 30.
It is composed of two circuit components 33. Power for driving the motor is supplied via the socket 31.

The upper part of the fan 21 is partially fitted into a hole formed in the upper cover 28 so as to suppress an increase in thickness.

The lower surface cover 30 of the PC card is provided with an air inlet 35 composed of a number of small holes around the bearing house 25, and an air outlet on the side opposite to the PC card socket 31. 36 are provided. Inside the PC card, an intermediate plate 29 is provided in parallel with the upper cover 28 and the lower cover 30, and the inside of the PC card is divided into upper and lower layers, and the duct on the suction side and the duct on the discharge side for the fan 21 are separated. Form. Thus, when the fan 21 is driven to rotate, the suction port 3
The high-temperature air inside the personal computer taken into the lower duct from 5 is, as indicated by the arrow of AIR FLOW,
The air is sent to the upper duct through the fan 21 and is discharged to the outside through the discharge port 36. In this manner, cooling is performed by directly discharging the air inside the personal computer to the outside, but the radiant heat from the heating element 34 such as an HDD in the personal computer is received by the surface of the lower cover 30, and the temperature of the lower cover 30 increases. The effect of cooling by the flow of air is also used. In this case, the color of the surface of the lower surface cover 30 is black or the like, which easily receives radiant heat. Further, since the air flow becomes weaker as the suction port 35 is farther from the fan 21, the opening amount is increased at a farther place, and
The surface temperature distribution of 0 is made as uniform as possible.
In order to increase the opening amount, the distribution density of the small holes or slits constituting the suction port 35 may be increased at a long distance, or each small hole or slit may be increased.

FIG. 9 shows a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, in which the motor with fan 20 is turned upside down, and the suction port 35 and the discharge port 36 in FIG. The air flow is reversed from that in FIG.

In each of the above embodiments, one fan is used.
Although a single PC card is used, two or three fans can be provided in one PC card to further increase the cooling capacity.

FIG. 10A shows an example of the arrangement (A) of the fan accommodating portion in the case where the number of fans described above is one, and FIG. 10B shows the case where the number of fans is two. 2 shows an example of the arrangement (A, B) of the two fan storage sections. Since the total length of the PC card is 85.6 mm, it is large enough to accommodate two small fans of 25 mm square or 30 mm square, but A and B are shifted in a zigzag pattern as shown in FIG. So that one fan does not block the airflow of the other fan.

In the above-described embodiment, only the fan, the motor, and the motor drive circuit are mounted inside the PC card.
The original PC functional parts such as DEM can be incorporated, and by forcibly cooling the functional parts with large heat dissipation, the temperature rise can be suppressed, and long-term operation with high reliability can be performed. To

[0039]

According to the present invention, by providing a cooling function to the PC card itself, if the portable personal computer has a PC card slot, the conventional PC card type cooling device can be simply installed in an empty slot. It is possible to cool a PC card of a predetermined function which is not installed in a personal computer or in an adjacent slot.
By incorporating a predetermined functional component having a large calorific value into the C-card type cooling device, a functional card having good heat dissipation can be realized, and the continuous use time of the personal computer can be extended, and the reliability can be improved. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a PC card type cooling device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of specifications of a PC card according to a standard.

FIG. 3 is an external view of a PC card type cooling device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the PC card type cooling device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a partial cross-sectional structure of a PC card type cooling device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a modified example of a mounting structure of a fan and a motor of the PC card type cooling device.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a PC card extended specification.

FIG. 8 is a sectional structural view of a PC card type cooling device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a modified structural view of a PC card type cooling device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a fan arrangement of an embodiment in which one and two fans are mounted.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: PC case 2, 2 ': PC card slot 3: PC card type cooling device 4: Socket 5, 5': Guide groove 6: Top cover 7: First opening 8: Second opening 9: Fan 10: Motor

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] September 21, 1998 (1998.9.2)
1)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG.

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 4

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 4

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 5

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 5

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 6

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 6

Claims (13)

[Claims] An air inlet, an air outlet, a fan for generating a flow of air between the air inlet and the air outlet, and a motor for driving the fan. A PC card type cooling device. 2. The PC card type cooling device according to claim 1, wherein one of the air inlet and the air outlet is provided on an upper surface or a lower surface of the PC card, and the other is provided on a side surface of the PC card. apparatus. 3. The PC card according to claim 1, wherein the PC card has a form of a PC card extended, and both an air inlet and an air outlet are provided on an upper surface or a lower surface of the PC card. Mold cooling device. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein one or both of the air inlet and the air outlet are
A PC card type cooling device comprising a number of small holes or slits. 5. The PC card type cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the power of the motor is supplied from a socket. 6. The PC card type cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the power of the motor is supplied from outside by a cable. 7. A PC card type cooling device having a form of a PC card and having a motor with a fan inside the PC card, wherein a motor with a fan is provided on a lower surface cover or an upper surface cover of the PC card. Wherein the bearing house is integrally formed. 8. The PC card according to claim 7, wherein the lower surface cover or the upper surface cover of the PC card is formed with an opening formed of a number of small holes or slits, and the opening formed of the small holes or slits is a fan of a motor with a fan. A PC card type cooling device characterized in that the opening amount at a position far from the PC card is increased. 9. The PC card type cooling device according to claim 7, wherein a thin metal layer having high thermal conductivity is provided on an inner surface of the lower cover. 10. The PC card type cooling device according to claim 7, wherein a substrate such as a motor drive circuit is mounted on the lower cover or the upper cover in which the bearing house is integrally formed. 11. The fan according to claim 7, wherein an upper portion of the fan of the motor with the fan is fitted into a window slightly larger than a diameter of the fan provided on a cover on a side facing the fan. A PC card type cooling device characterized by the above-mentioned. 12. The PC card type cooling device according to claim 7, wherein a personal computer functional component is mounted in a space inside the PC card. 13. A portable personal computer with a cooling device, wherein the PC card slot is provided with a PC card type cooling device having a built-in fan.