JP2001014068A - Cooling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make sufficiently coolable a heating body such as a CPU in a small-sized information processing equipment by incorporating a motor-driven fan which has such an external size that can be put in a card slot provided to the information processing equipment and cools the heating body such as the CPU in the information processing equipment. SOLUTION: The card type cooling device 20 internally has the motor-driven fan 25 for cooling by blowing air to a cooling part, 24. As the motor-driven fan 25, a thin turbo fan is used which is driven directly by a motor 26 and the air is blown to the cooling part 24 through the rotation of the motor-driven fan 25. Namely, an air intake 26 and an air outlet 27 are provided on the rear end surface side 21b of a housing 21 which is exposed to the outside while the card type cooling device 20 is inserted into the card slot of a personal computer main body and when the motor-driven fan 25 is rotated, air is sucked in the air intake 26 to strike on the wall surface 24a of the cooling part 24 and then discharged from the air outlet 27 to cool the heating body.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooling device for cooling a heating element such as a CPU disposed inside an information processing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer) which is an information processing device, a CPU (central processing unit) as a main component disposed inside the device is an exothermic electronic component which generates heat when driven. is there. Since the performance of this CPU decreases as the temperature rises, it is necessary to provide a cooling device in the personal computer for effectively cooling the CPU.

Conventionally, as this cooling device, a device in which a heat sink is attached to a CPU and a device in which a cooling fan is mounted on a CPU have been widely practiced.

[0004]

By the way, personal computers have been miniaturized year by year, and in particular, portable notebook personal computers have been made smaller and thinner. Accompanying this miniaturization, the space for accommodating the cooling device in the personal computer is also limited, so that it has become difficult to sufficiently cool the CPU.

In addition, since the heat value of recent CPUs has increased with the increase in processing speed, CPs have been used in small information processing apparatuses such as notebook computers.
There is a limit to sufficient cooling of U.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and has as its object to provide a cooling device that can sufficiently cool a heating element such as a CPU even in a small-sized information processing apparatus.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has an external dimension which can be accommodated in a card slot provided in an information processing device, and cools a heating element such as a CPU in the information processing device. To provide a cooling device having a built-in electric fan. By inserting this cooling device into a card slot of an information processing device, a heating element such as a CPU in the information processing device can be effectively cooled by an electric fan.

The present invention further provides an electric fan having a terminal connected to an external device connection terminal provided on the information processing device, and cooling a heating element such as a CPU in the information processing device via the terminal. It is intended to provide a built-in cooling device. By connecting the terminal of the cooling device to an external device connection terminal of the information processing device, a heating element such as a CPU in the information processing device thermally connected to the terminal is effectively cooled by an electric fan. Can be.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a portable notebook personal computer as an example of a small information processing device. In the figure, 1 is a notebook personal computer as a whole, 2 is a personal computer main body, and 3 is a display unit.

A keyboard 4 for inputting characters, symbols, and the like is provided on the upper surface side of the personal computer body 2, while an LCD (liquid crystal display panel) 5 for displaying images is provided on the display unit 3. The display unit 3 is configured to be foldable with respect to the personal computer body 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the personal computer 2 has a CPU
6, a hard disk device 7, a memory (RAM) 8, a keyboard controller 9, an LCD controller 10 and the like are incorporated therein.

As shown in FIG. 1, the notebook type personal computer 1 is provided with a card slot 11 which is opened on one side of the personal computer main body 2. Various types of PC cards (optional) are externally provided in the card slot 11 as optional devices. A memory card, a modem card, or the like according to the PCMCIA standard) 12 is inserted.

In this embodiment, the card slot 11
, A card-type cooling device according to the present invention is inserted thereinto, and the card-type cooling device allows the heating element C
PU6 is cooled.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of the card type cooling device.

The card type cooling device 20 has a housing 2
1 has an external size according to the PCMCIA standard, that is, is formed in a card shape that can be stored in the card slot 11 of the personal computer body 2 like a general PC card.

The card type cooling device 20 is formed with a connector portion 22 facing the front end side 21a of the housing 21. A connector portion 22 is provided in the connector portion 22 in a line. Card type cooling device 20
Is inserted, the terminal 23 of the connector section 22 is connected to the terminal 14 of the PC card connector 13 provided inside the personal computer 2.

A cooling unit 24 is provided in the housing 21 directly connected to the terminals 23. The cooling section 24 is formed by filling a sealed package with a fluid having excellent heat conductivity, and each terminal 23 penetrates the sealed package and is in contact with the internal fluid. Note that the hermetically sealed package and the fluid of the cooling section 24 are both non-conductive, and
Are electrically insulated.

The card-type cooling device 20 has a built-in electric fan 25 for applying air to the cooling unit 24 for cooling.

As the electric fan 25, a thin turbo fan directly driven by a motor 26 is used, and the rotation of the electric fan 25 causes air to be applied to the cooling unit 24. That is, the card type cooling device 2
0 is inserted into the card slot 11 of the PC main body 2, and an intake port 26 and an exhaust port 27 are provided on the rear end surface 21b of the housing 21 that is exposed to the outside. Air is sucked in from the air inlet 26 and hits the wall surface 24a of the cooling unit 24, and then discharged from the air outlet 27 to be cooled.

In the card-type cooling device 20, the electric power for driving the electric fan 25 is supplied from the personal computer 2 side. That is, the terminal 23 connected to the terminal 14 of the PC card connector 13 on the personal computer body 2 side.
Are used as power supply terminals, and power is supplied to the motor 26 from the personal computer main body 2 via the power supply terminal, and the electric fan 25 is rotated.

The card type cooling device 2 configured as described above
0 is inserted into the card slot 11 of the personal computer body 2, the terminal 23 of the connector section 22 is connected to the terminal 14 of the PC card connector 13 on the personal computer body 2 side, so that the CPU 6 in the personal computer body 2 Cooled by the electric fan 25.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the CPU 6 and the PC card connector 13 are mounted on a single board (mother board) 15 and electrically connected to each other in the personal computer body 2, so that both are thermally connected. This means that they are also connected. Therefore, the PC card connector 13
When the terminal 23 of the card type cooling device 20 is connected to the terminal 14 of the card type cooling device 20 via the terminal 23,
Is also thermally connected to the CPU 6, so that the heat of the CPU 6 is transmitted to the cooling unit 24 of the card type cooling device 20 via this terminal. Then, in the card type cooling device 20, the cooling unit 24 is cooled by blowing air to the cooling unit 24 by the electric fan 25, so that the CPU 6 in the personal computer main body 2 is cooled via the terminal 23.

As described above, by using the card-type cooling device 20 of this embodiment, even in a small information processing device such as the notebook computer 1, the CPU 6 serving as a heating element inside the device can be used.
Can be effectively cooled by the electric fan 25.

The card-type cooling device 20 has a simple configuration because power for driving the electric fan 25 is supplied from the personal computer main body 2 side, so that there is no need to incorporate a power supply into the housing 21. You can do it.

Since the card-type cooling device 20 is formed so as to fit in the PC card slot 11 of the personal computer main body 2, it does not protrude from the personal computer main body 2, so that the notebook personal computer 1 can be used. It does not get in the way.

Further, the card type cooling device 20 is a PCM
Since the external dimensions are in accordance with the CIA standard, it can be used in most currently used notebook personal computers.

In the above example, the case where the CPU of the personal computer is cooled has been described. However, the cooling device according to the present invention is not limited to the CPU but may include other heating elements (IC, LSI, etc.).
It can be suitably used also for cooling.

[0029]

As is clear from the above description, by using the cooling device of the present invention, even in a small information processing device such as a notebook computer, a heating element such as a CPU inside the device can be sufficiently cooled. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a notebook computer.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the inside of the personal computer main body.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the internal structure of the cooling device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which the cooling device according to the present invention is connected to a terminal of a connector on a personal computer main body side.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 notebook PC (information processing equipment), 2 PC main body, 6 CPU (heating element), 7 card slot, 14 terminal (terminal for external device connection), 20 terminal
Card type cooling device, 23 ° terminal, 24 ° cooling unit, 2
5 ‥‥ electric fan

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cooling device having an external dimension that fits in a card slot provided in an information processing device and having a built-in electric fan for cooling a heating element inside the information processing device. 2. An information processing device having a terminal connected to an external device connection terminal provided on the information processing device, and a built-in electric fan for cooling a heating element inside the information processing device via the terminal. A cooling device characterized by the above-mentioned. 3. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the electric power for driving the electric fan is supplied from the information processing device.