JP2006127283A - Information processor and its cooling performance detection method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processor capable of being stably operated by accurately detecting a cooling performance inside the information processor and executing appropriate and effective periodical inspections by recognizing the accurate conditions inside the information processor, and its cooling performance detection method. <P>SOLUTION: In providing a dust-proof film (4) on the intake port (2) of the information processor (1), when the temperature of a CPU (6) to the outdoor air temperature at the intake port (2) or a discharge port (3) is higher than a preset temperature and cooling fans (8 and 9) are normally operated, it is determined that the cooling performance of the cooling fans (8 and 9) is lowered due to the clogging of the dust-proof film. Meanwhile, when the cooling fans (8 and 9) are not normally operated, it is determined that the cooling performance is lowered due to the fault of the cooling fans (8 and 9). Thus, the accurate conditions inside the information processor are recognized and the appropriate and effective periodical inspections are executed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus that detects a cooling state and a cooling performance detection method thereof.

Conventionally, in an information processing apparatus of a server or a computer, devices such as a CPU, an HDD, and a power source have a considerable amount of heat when used. For cooling, install a fan or the like inside the device, inhale air from outside air through the intake port, and exhaust it from the exhaust port, forcibly send air into the device and cool it to the specified temperature of the device is doing. On the other hand, by using such a cooling device such as a fan, airborne dust that has been sent into the device enters the information processing device and adheres to electronic components such as the devices described above, causing the failure. Or cause malfunctions. In order to solve this problem, a structure has been proposed in which a dust-proof filter is provided at the air inlet and is introduced into the apparatus after removing floating dust in the air.

However, if airborne dust adheres to this dustproof filter and clogs it, the amount of air introduced will decrease, and if it is used for a long time, the inside of the device will eventually be unable to be cooled sufficiently, and the temperature of the above-mentioned device will be specified. There has been a problem that the temperature may rise above the temperature and the device may become inoperable.

In order to solve this problem, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-252513, air from which dust has been removed by a dustproof filter is taken into a device such as an information processing device by a cooling fan, the inside of the device is cooled, and the air is discharged from an exhaust port. Exhaled. The pressure sensor attached to the inside and outside of the exhaust port detects the pressure at a predetermined timing, and calculates the difference between the values output from the two pressure sensors by the processing unit based on the detected pressure value. If this difference is smaller than a predetermined value, it is determined that the dust filter is clogged. Further, for example, there is proposed a dust detection device that notifies when clogging occurs by turning on a light emitting diode or the like.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent temperature rise in the device due to clogging of the dust filter, prevent adverse effects on HDDs that are weak to high temperature in the device, and realize stable operation of the device Is obtained.
JP 2001-252513 A

In a conventional dust detection device or a device to which the dust detection device is attached, for example, an information processing device, it is possible to prevent an increase in temperature in the device by detecting the clogging of the dustproof filter. For example, the temperature inside the device may rise due to a failure of a cooling fan or a load on a device such as a CPU. In such a case, only the clogging of the dustproof filter is detected. However, it is difficult to accurately determine the cooling performance in the apparatus, and in some cases, the CPU, HDD, etc. may be adversely affected.

In addition, when conducting periodic inspections of information processing devices, etc., it is not known what caused the temperature inside the device, so in order to discover the cause of the increased inspection time or the temperature inside the device, It is necessary to conduct periodic inspections frequently. Therefore, there has been a problem that the user is inconvenienced such that the user cannot temporarily use the information processing apparatus or the like for a long time or the inspection cost is increased.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and can accurately detect the cooling performance in the information processing apparatus, enable stable operation of the apparatus, and accurately grasp the situation in the information processing apparatus. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus capable of performing appropriate and effective periodic inspection and a cooling performance detection method thereof.

In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a housing, a heating element including a CPU or an HDD installed in the housing, and an intake means for sucking outside air into the housing. , An exhaust means for exhausting air inside the casing to the outside of the casing, a cooling means for cooling the heating element,
A first temperature detection means that is installed in or near the intake means or the exhaust means and detects the temperature of the outside air of the housing, and is installed in or near the heating element to detect the temperature of the heating element Second temperature detecting means, and the temperature detected by the first temperature detecting means and the second temperature detecting means
And a control means for judging the cooling performance of the cooling means from the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means.

An information processing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object includes a housing, a heating element including a CPU or an HDD installed in the housing, and an intake air for sucking outside air into the housing. Means, exhaust means for exhausting air inside the housing to the outside of the housing, cooling means for rotating the heating element at a predetermined rotational speed and cooling by sucking outside air, and suction means or exhaust means, or those A first temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the outside air of the housing, a second temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the heating element, installed in or near the heating element, and cooling. A rotation speed detection means for detecting the rotation speed of the means, and a temperature detected by the first temperature detection means,
Control means for judging the cooling performance of the cooling means from the temperature detected by the second temperature detecting means and the rotational speed of the cooling means detected from the rotational speed detecting means is provided.

Furthermore, the cooling performance detection method of the information processing apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object comprises a step of detecting the temperature of the outside air of the casing and the heat generation of a CPU or HDD installed in the casing. A step of detecting the body temperature, a step of determining whether the temperature of the heating element with respect to the outside air temperature is higher than a preset temperature, and being installed inside the casing and rotating at a predetermined number of revolutions, Detecting the number of rotations of the cooling means for cooling the heating element by sucking in, the result of determining whether the temperature of the heating element relative to the outside air temperature is higher than a preset temperature, and the result of detecting the number of rotations of the cooling means The step of judging the cooling performance of the cooling means is provided.

A cooling performance detection method for an information processing apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object includes a step of detecting the temperature of the outside air of the housing, a step of adsorbing dust contained in the outside air with a dust-proof film, A step of detecting the temperature of a heating element comprising a CPU or HDD installed in the housing, a step of determining whether the temperature of the heating element relative to the outside temperature is higher than a preset temperature, and a heating element for the outside temperature A step of detecting the number of revolutions of a cooling unit that is installed inside the casing, rotates at a predetermined number of revolutions, and cools the heating element by sucking outside air of the casing when the temperature of the heater is higher than a preset temperature And a step of notifying a user or the like that the dustproof film is clogged when the number of rotations of the cooling means is the predetermined number of rotations.

According to the present invention, stable operation of the information processing apparatus can be obtained.
In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform periodic inspection of an appropriate and effective information processing apparatus.

Hereinafter, an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a server having an HDD and a CPU.

First, the outline of the configuration of the information processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, FIG. 1 shows a structure in the case where the dustproof filter 4 is provided inside the information processing apparatus 1 in the air inlet 2.

The information processing apparatus 1 is normally a rectangular parallelepiped, and an intake port 2 through which external air is taken in on one side thereof.
Is provided, and an exhaust port 3 for exhausting air in the apparatus is provided on a surface opposite to the surface. A dustproof filter 4 is installed on the inside side of the air inlet 2 and a heating element with a large amount of heat generated by the HDD 5 and the CPU 6 is installed inside the dustproof filter 4. HDD 5 on the inlet 2 side of CPU 6
Between them, a cooling fan 7 is installed, and a cooling fan 8 is installed on the exhaust port 3 side of the CPU 6. Further, temperature detection elements 11, 12, and 13 for detecting respective temperatures are installed in the dust filter 4 or the intake port 2, the CPU 6, and the exhaust port 3.

A microcomputer 9 is provided for controlling the rotational speed of the cooling fans 7 and 8. Microcomputer 9
Is input with a temperature detection signal 20 from each temperature detection element 11, 12, 13, and the microcomputer 9 controls the clock frequency of the CPU 6 based on the detection result of the temperature detection signal 20.
The clock control signal 21 is output to 0, and the fan rotation speed control signal 22 is output to the cooling fans 8 and 9. Furthermore, the microcomputer 9 is provided with a memory for recording a log of the temperature detected from each temperature detection element, the rotation speed of the fan, and the like.

In addition, the light emitting indicator 14 for notifying the user of an abnormality in the apparatus is provided at a position that is conspicuous from the user, for example, on the same surface as the surface on which the air inlet 2 is provided. If there is an abnormality in the apparatus, the microcomputer 9 sends a signal to the light emitting indicator 14 or a buzzer (not shown) to alert the user. Further, the contents of abnormality in the apparatus or information recorded in the memory can be displayed on a liquid crystal display screen (not shown).

Here, the cooling performance detection method of the server of a present Example is demonstrated using FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a cooling performance detection method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Further, the cooling performance in this embodiment is a performance in which the cooling fans 8 and 9 cool the heating element such as the CPU 6 and is determined by the relationship between the temperature of the heating element and the outside air temperature.

First, in the microcomputer 9, the temperature on the intake side and the exhaust gas are detected by the temperature detection element 11 provided with the intake port 2 or the dustproof filter 4 every certain set period or when the user desires to detect the cooling capacity. The temperature on the exhaust port side is obtained by the temperature detection signal 20 by the temperature detection element 13 installed in the port 3 (STEP 1). Further, the temperature of the CPU is obtained from the temperature detection element 12 installed in the CPU 6 by the temperature detection signal 20 (STEP 2). Next, it is determined whether or not the temperature of the CPU relative to the temperature of the intake port 2 or the dustproof filter 4 is higher than a preset temperature (STEP 3).

If it is larger than the set temperature difference, it is determined whether or not the cooling fan 7 and 8 rotation speed are the set rotation speed (STEP 4). If the number of rotations of the cooling fans 7 and 8 is not the set number of rotations, the cooling fan 8 due to the failure of the cooling fans 8 and 9.
9 and 9 that the cooling performance has been lowered by the light emitting indicator 14 and the liquid crystal display screen, and the situation is recorded in the memory inside the CPU (STEP 5).
.

On the other hand, when the rotation speed of the cooling fans 7 and 8 is the set rotation speed, the dustproof filter 4
Is notified to the user through the issue indicator 14 and the liquid crystal display screen, and the status is recorded in the memory inside the CPU. (STEP 6). Further, if the temperature is not higher than the temperature set in STEP 3, the process returns to STEP 1. Here, the usage rate of the CPU is constant.

According to the present embodiment, the CPU temperature is directly detected with respect to the temperature on the intake port side and / or the exhaust port side, and when the temperature is higher than the preset CPU temperature (when the cooling performance is lowered), By detecting whether or not the rotation speed of the fans 7 and 8 is the set rotation speed, the reason that the cooling performance is reduced is due to the failure of the cooling fans 7 and 8 or the dust filter 4
Is it caused by clogging of the water? Appropriate measures can be taken by notifying the user, etc., exactly what causes the cooling performance of the cooling fans 7 and 8 to be deteriorated. Furthermore, when the inspection is performed, the situation where the cooling performance is reduced by the memory is recorded, so that information enables only the necessary inspection at that time, and the inspection time can be greatly reduced.
As a result, it is possible to minimize the influence on the usage status of the user.

Next, another cooling performance detection method for the server of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing another cooling performance detection method according to an embodiment of the present invention. This cooling performance detection method is a case where the usage rate of the CPU is constant, and shows a method for preventing the use of the user as much as possible before the inspection.

First, the microcomputer 9 is installed in the temperature detection element 11 and the exhaust port 3 in which the intake port 2 or the dustproof filter 4 is installed every certain set period or when the user desires to detect the cooling capacity. The temperature outside the apparatus is obtained from the temperature detection element 13 by the temperature detection signal 20 (STEP 11). Furthermore, from the temperature detection element 12 installed in the CPU 6, CP
The temperature of U is obtained from the temperature detection signal 22 (STEP 12). Next, it is determined whether or not the temperature of the CPU relative to the temperature of the intake port 2 or the dustproof filter 4 is higher than a preset temperature (
(STEP 13).

If it is higher than the set temperature, it is determined whether the rotation speeds of the cooling fans 7 and 8 are the set rotation speed (STEP 14). If the number of rotations of the cooling fans 7 and 8 is not the set number of rotations, a light emitting indicator that the cooling performance of the cooling fans 7 and 8 has deteriorated due to the failure of the cooling fans 7 and 8 14 and the liquid crystal display screen, the user is notified and the situation is recorded in the memory inside the CPU 6 (STE
P15).

On the other hand, when the rotational speeds of the cooling fans 7 and 8 are the set rotational speeds, the rotational speeds of the cooling fans 7 and 8 are increased (STEP 16). It is determined whether or not the rotational speed is a limited rotational speed (STEP 17). In STEP 17, if the rotational speed is smaller than the limit rotational speed, the process returns to STEP 11. If the rotational speed is greater than the limit rotational speed, the user is notified by the issue indicator 14 and the liquid crystal display screen that the cooling performance of the cooling fans 7 and 8 has deteriorated due to clogging of the dustproof filter 4. At the same time, the situation is recorded in the memory inside the CPU 6 (STEP 18). On the other hand, if the temperature is not higher than the temperature set in STEP 13, the process returns to (STEP 11).

According to the present embodiment, the CPU temperature is directly detected with respect to the temperature on the intake port side and / or the exhaust port side, and when the temperature is higher than the preset CPU temperature (when the cooling performance is lowered), It is detected whether or not the rotation speed of the fans 7 and 8 is the set rotation speed, and the cooling fan 7 is further detected.
, 8 is the set number of rotations, the number of rotations of the cooling fans 7 and 8 is increased to within the limit number of rotations, so that the usage status of the user can be maintained for a certain period of time, for example, before inspection. It is possible to have as little influence as possible.

In addition, by properly informing the user, etc., whether the reason why the cooling performance has deteriorated is due to the failure of the cooling fans 7, 8, or due to clogging of the dustproof filter 4, appropriate measures can be taken. Possible. Furthermore, since the situation in which the cooling performance has declined due to the memory is recorded during the inspection, it is possible to perform only the inspections required at that time by that information, and the inspection time can be greatly reduced. It is possible to minimize the influence on the usage status of the device.

Next, another cooling performance detection method for the server of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing another cooling performance detection method according to an embodiment of the present invention. This cooling performance detection method is a case where the usage rate of the CPU is constant, and shows a method for preventing the use of the user as much as possible before the inspection.

First, in the microcomputer 9, the temperature outside the apparatus is obtained by the temperature detection signal 20 from the temperature detection element 11 installed in the intake port 2 or the dustproof filter 4 and the temperature detection element 13 installed in the exhaust port 3 (STEP 21). ). Further, the temperature of the CPU is obtained from the temperature detection element 12 installed in the CPU 6 by the temperature detection signal 22 (STEP 22). Next, it is determined whether or not the temperature of the CPU relative to the temperature of the intake port 2 or the dustproof filter 4 is higher than a preset temperature (STEP 23).

If it is higher than the set temperature, it is determined whether the rotation speeds of the cooling fans 8 and 9 are the set rotation speed (STEP 24). If the rotation speed of the cooling fans 8 and 9 is not the set rotation speed, the light-emitting indicator 14 and the fact that the cooling performance of the cooling fans 7 and 8 has deteriorated due to the failure of the cooling fans 8 and 9 and The user is notified through the liquid crystal display screen, and the situation is recorded in the memory inside the CPU (STEP 2).
5).

On the other hand, when the rotational speeds of the cooling fans 8 and 9 are the set rotational speeds, the clock 10 is controlled by the CPU 6 by the clock control signal 21 from the CPU 6 to lower the clock frequency of the CPU 6 (STEP 26). It is determined whether the lowered clock frequency is lower than the limit frequency (STEP 27). In STEP27, if the lowered frequency is not smaller than the limit frequency, the process returns to STEP21.

If the lowered frequency is the limit frequency or small, the user is notified by the issue indicator 14 and the liquid crystal display screen that the cooling performance of the cooling fans 7 and 8 has deteriorated due to the dust filter 4 being clogged. At the same time, the situation is recorded in the memory inside the CPU (STEP 28). If the temperature is not higher than the temperature set in STEP 23, the process returns to STEP 21.

According to the present embodiment, the CPU temperature is directly detected with respect to the temperature on the intake port side and / or the exhaust port side, and when the temperature is higher than the preset CPU temperature (when the cooling performance is lowered), By detecting whether or not the rotation speed of the fans 7 and 8 is the set rotation speed, and further reducing the CPU clock frequency to the limit frequency, the usage situation of the user is affected as much as possible for a certain period of time, for example, before checking. It is possible not to give.

In addition, by properly informing the user, etc., whether the reason why the cooling performance has deteriorated is due to the failure of the cooling fans 7, 8, or due to clogging of the dustproof filter 4, appropriate measures can be taken. Possible. Furthermore, since the situation in which the cooling performance has declined due to the memory is recorded during the inspection, it is possible to perform only the inspections required at that time by that information, and the inspection time can be greatly reduced. It is possible to minimize the influence on the usage status of the device.

Here, the step of determining whether or not the temperature of the CPU relative to the temperature on the intake port side or the exhaust port side in STEP 3 or the like is higher than a preset temperature will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a graph showing C versus the inlet side temperature in the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
It is a graph which shows the relationship with the temperature of PU. FIG. 5 shows a case where the usage rate of the CPU 6 is 10% and the rotation speed of the fan is constant at 1000 rpm.

Normally, the use permission range of the temperature on the inlet side is set in the information processing apparatus, and in this embodiment, when the temperature is set from 10 ° C. to 35 ° C., the use permission range of the CPU temperature corresponding thereto is When the temperature is set from 50 ° C. to 100 ° C., there is a relationship as shown in FIG. 5 between the inlet side temperature and the CPU temperature. For example, when the temperature on the inlet side is 25 ° C., the temperature of the CPU is 7
If it is 5 degrees C or less, it will be judged that cooling performance is enough, for example, in FIG.
However, if it is higher than 75 ° C., it is determined that the cooling performance has decreased, and in FIG.
Proceed to TEP4.

In this way, the relationship between the temperature on the inlet side under a certain condition and the temperature of the CPU set in advance is recorded in a storage unit such as a memory in the microcomputer 9 by some experimental data and the like. Whether or not the cooling capacity of the cooling fans 7 and 8 has decreased is detected at regular intervals.

In the above-described embodiment, both the intake-side temperature and the exhaust-side temperature are detected in STEP1, STEP11, or STEP21, but at least the intake-side temperature may be detected. Further, in STEP2, STEP12 or STEP22, the temperature of the CPU is detected, but the temperature detection of the heating element is not limited to the CPU, and by detecting the temperature of the device whose temperature rises most in the information processing apparatus, More effective cooling performance can be detected.

Furthermore, STEP5, STEP6, STEP15, STEP18, STEP25 or ST
In EP28, the user is notified by the light emitting indicator 14 and the liquid crystal display screen provided in the server, but the status of the server is notified to the user by e-mail by a wireless communication circuit provided in the memory or the like inside the CPU of the server. You may make it notify the state of a server to the company etc. which contact or maintain and inspect the server directly. By performing such notification, it is not necessary for the user to constantly monitor the server, and a server that is easier for the user to manage can be provided.

In addition, by directly informing the company that is maintaining and inspecting the server status of the server, it becomes possible to respond immediately and the status of the server is notified in advance, so it was in the status of the server. Since maintenance and inspection are possible, it is possible to shorten the maximum possible limitation of the user's range of use such as stopping the server for a long time due to maintenance and inspection. Therefore, maintenance inspection costs can be reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, a server is taken as an example of the information processing apparatus, and whether or not the temperature of the CPU with respect to the temperature on the intake port side or the exhaust port side is higher than a preset temperature as a method for detecting a decrease in cooling performance Although what has been determined has been described as an example, the information processing apparatus may be anything as long as it has a cooling means for cooling a heating element such as a CPU and the cooling performance can be directly detected.

Further, the above-described embodiments include inventions at various stages, and inventions at various stages can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements or a plurality of processes. For example, even if some constituent requirements or some steps are deleted from all constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, the problem described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and the effect of the invention In the case where the effect described in the column is obtained, a configuration in which this configuration requirement or process is deleted can be extracted as an invention.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart which showed the cooling performance detection method by the form of one Example of this invention The flowchart which showed the other cooling performance detection method by the form of one Example of this invention The flowchart which showed the other cooling performance detection method by the form of one Example of this invention The graph which shows the relationship with the temperature of CPU with respect to the temperature of the inlet port in the information processing apparatus in the form of one Example of this invention

Explanation of symbols

1 Information processing equipment
2 Intake port 3 Exhaust port 4 Dust-proof film 5 HDD
6 CPU
7 Cooling fan 8 Cooling fan 9 Microcomputer 10 Clock 11, 12, 13 Temperature detection element 14 Light emission indicator

Claims (13)

A housing,
A heating element composed of a CPU or HDD installed in the housing;
An intake means for taking outside air into the housing;
Exhaust means for exhausting air inside the housing to the outside of the housing;
Cooling means for cooling the heating element;
A first temperature detecting means installed at or near the intake means or the exhaust means for detecting the temperature of the outside air of the housing;
A second temperature detection means installed on or near the heating element for detecting the temperature of the heating element;
An information processing apparatus comprising: control means for judging the cooling performance of the cooling means from the temperature detected by the first temperature detecting means and the temperature detected by the second temperature detecting means. The control means determines that the cooling performance of the cooling means has deteriorated when the temperature detected by the second temperature detecting means relative to the temperature detected by the first temperature detecting means is higher than a preset temperature. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising notification means for notifying a user or the like of the status of the information processing apparatus when the control means determines that the cooling performance of the cooling means has deteriorated.
The information processing apparatus described in 1. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a dust prevention unit that adsorbs dust floating in the air sucked into the casing inside the intake unit. 5. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a recording unit configured to record a status of the information processing apparatus when the control unit determines that the cooling performance of the cooling unit has deteriorated. A housing,
A heating element composed of a CPU or HDD installed in the housing;
An intake means for taking outside air into the housing;
Exhaust means for exhausting air inside the housing to the outside of the housing;
A cooling means that rotates at a predetermined rotational speed and cools the heating element by sucking in outside air;
A first temperature detecting means installed at or near the intake means or the exhaust means for detecting the temperature of the outside air of the housing;
A second temperature detection means installed on or near the heating element for detecting the temperature of the heating element;
A rotational speed detection means for detecting the rotational speed of the cooling means;
The cooling performance of the cooling means is determined from the temperature detected by the first temperature detecting means, the temperature detected by the second temperature detecting means, and the rotational speed of the cooling means detected from the rotational speed detecting means. Control means to
An information processing apparatus comprising: notification means for notifying a user or the like of the status of the information processing apparatus when the control means determines that the cooling performance of the cooling means has deteriorated The control means determines that the cooling performance of the cooling means has deteriorated when the temperature detected by the second temperature detecting means relative to the temperature detected by the first temperature detecting means is higher than a preset temperature. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6. Detecting the temperature of the outside air of the housing;
Detecting the temperature of a heating element such as a CPU or HDD installed in the housing;
Determining whether the temperature of the heating element relative to the outside air temperature is higher than a preset temperature;
A step of detecting the number of rotations of a cooling unit that is installed inside the case, rotates at a predetermined number of rotations, and cools the heating element by sucking outside air of the case;
Determining the cooling performance of the cooling means based on the result of determining whether the temperature of the heating element relative to the outside air temperature is higher than a preset temperature and the result of detecting the number of revolutions of the cooling means. A method for detecting cooling performance of an information processing apparatus. The method according to claim 8, further comprising a step of notifying a user or the like of a result of determining the cooling performance of the cooling means. 10. The method for detecting a cooling performance of an information processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a step of recording a result of judging the cooling performance of the cooling means in a recording means provided in the housing. . When it is determined that the cooling performance of the cooling means has deteriorated and the cooling means is rotating at a predetermined rotational speed, the method further includes a step of increasing the rotational speed of the cooling means above the predetermined rotational speed. The method for detecting a cooling performance of an information processing apparatus according to claim 8. When the heating element is a CPU, when it is determined that the cooling performance of the cooling means has decreased, and when the clock frequency of the CPU is a predetermined frequency, the CPU clock frequency is lowered below the predetermined frequency. The method for detecting a cooling performance of an information processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a step. Detecting the temperature of the outside air of the housing;
Adsorbing the dust contained in the outside air with a dustproof filter;
Detecting the temperature of a heating element comprising a CPU or HDD installed in the housing;
Determining whether the temperature of the heating element relative to the outside air temperature is higher than a preset temperature;
When the temperature of the heating element with respect to the outside air temperature is higher than a preset temperature, the heating element is installed inside the casing, rotates at a predetermined rotation speed, and cools the heating element by sucking in the outside air of the casing Detecting the number of rotations of the cooling means,
And a step of notifying the user or the like that the dust-proof film is clogged when the number of rotations of the cooling means is the predetermined number of rotations. Method for detecting the cooling performance of the apparatus.

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