JP2007058994A - Picture recorder and cooling method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a picture recorder capable of controlling a cooling fan capable of cooling according to a use environmental temperature in wide range, and minimizing fan rotation and fan noise, in such a view that over-cooling of a hard disk drive, life deterioration of fan and noise of fan cause problems when the cooling fan is always rotated, although the appropriate cooling by the cooling fan is necessary because reliability of a hard disk drive mounted on the picture recorder is remarkably affected by the use environmental temperature of the hard disk drive. <P>SOLUTION: A temperature sensor prepared in the picture recorder is used as a reference temperature and compared with an inside temperature preliminarily obtained from the SMART information of the hard disk drive, then the number of rotation of the cooling fan is adequately controlled by a temperature Tf obtained by adding the above temperature difference Tm to the inside temperature Th of hard disk drive at the operation. After the power supply of the picture recorder is interrupted and components of the device are adapted to the environmental temperature, the difference Tm between a SMART temperature Ts acquired immediately after the start of hard disk drive and the reference temperature Ts is calculated, then the above corrected temperature is stored in a flash ROM. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus cooling method, and more particularly to an image recording apparatus equipped with a hard disk device.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration of a cooling device for an electronic device having a hard disk device (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the figure, the electronic device 50 includes a hard disk device 51, an electronic circuit unit 52, a display unit 53, a cooling fan control unit 54, and a power supply circuit unit 55. The electronic circuit unit 52 can control the hard disk device 51, the display unit 53, and the cooling fan control unit 54. The display unit 53 such as an LED is turned on in response to the display control signal 61 when the electronic circuit unit 52 accesses the hard disk device 51. The power supply circuit unit 55 supplies power to the electronic circuit unit 52 and the like. In addition, the electronic device 50 has a built-in cooling fan for cooling the inside of the power supply and the inside of the device, and has a cooling fan control unit 54 that switches the rotation speed of the fan. A fan drive motor control signal (ON / OFF information) 63 for switching the number of rotations of the cooling fan is obtained from the electronic circuit unit 52 that controls the hard disk device. The hard disk device 51 generates heat when the drive motor of the hard disk device 51 is turned on according to the ON information of the drive motor control signal 62 of the hard disk device 51. Therefore, the hard disk device 51 is cooled when the drive motor of the hard disk device 51 is turned on. Increase the fan speed. Even at the time of reading / writing data to / from the hard disk device 51 where the temperature of the hard disk device 51 rises most, it is necessary to set the rotation speed at which the hard disk device 51 becomes less than the operating environment temperature. On the other hand, when the drive motor of the hard disk device 51 is OFF, the fan rotational speed is set so that the internal temperature of the device falls within the device standard value. In this way, the fan rotation speed switching circuit can be easily configured, and the temperature rise of the hard disk device 51 and the temperature inside the electronic device 50 can be suppressed.
JP 10-31668 A

  However, in the cooling method of the electronic device and the hard disk device, since the number of rotations of the cooling fan is switched when the drive motor of the hard disk device is turned on and off, the cooling fan always operates at a high speed when the hard disk device is activated. Since the fan rotates even when the environmental temperature is low and cooling is not required, excessive cooling affects the read / write data of the hard disk device, leading to a reduction in the life of the hard disk device. Furthermore, problems such as a reduction in the life of the fan and a large noise also occur. In addition, since the internal temperature rise at the time of driving varies depending on the device producer and the recording capacity, the hard disk device needs to control the cooling fan corresponding to each hard disk device in order to perform appropriate cooling.

  An object of the present invention is to control a cooling fan that can perform cooling in accordance with a wide range of operating environment temperatures even when the hard disk drive is replaced or with different recording capacities, thereby minimizing fan rotation and fan noise. An object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus that can do this.

  In order to achieve the above object, the image recording apparatus and the cooling method of the hard disk apparatus of the present invention are obtained from SMART (SMART: Self Monitoring Analysis & Reporting Technology: ATA standard, hereinafter abbreviated as SMART) information of the hard disk apparatus. The internal temperature detection means for detecting the internal temperature of the hard disk device, the means for detecting the reference temperature provided in the image recording apparatus that is sufficiently familiar with the environmental temperature in advance by the temperature sensor, and the internal temperature obtained from the SMART information immediately after the start of the hard disk device ( A means for detecting the SMART temperature), a means for calculating a difference between the reference temperature and the SMART temperature of the hard disk device immediately after the start-up to obtain a correction temperature, a means for storing the correction temperature, and a SLAR during operation of the hard disk device. Comprising a means for calculating a cooling fan control temperature by adding a correction temperature to the T temperature, and a fan control circuit for controlling the number of rotations of the cooling fan by the cooling fan control temperature. This makes it possible to control the cooling fan appropriately and accurately.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, even when the hard disk device of the image recording apparatus is replaced or the hard disk device of a different producer is replaced, appropriate and highly accurate cooling is possible. In addition, the fan can be controlled according to the environmental temperature even in a wide range of operating environmental temperatures, and the fan noise can be minimized.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since a temperature sensor for detecting the reference temperature is provided in the optical disc apparatus, it is not necessary to install a new temperature sensor, and the cost of the image recording apparatus is reduced. I can do things.

  The invention according to claim 3 of the present invention is characterized in that the detection of the internal temperature Th of the hard disk device is obtained from SMART (Self Monitoring Analysis & Reporting Technology) information of the hard disk device, and the internal temperature of the hard disk device is the same as the image data. Since it is obtained by a signal system, it is not necessary to provide a new temperature sensor or an A / D conversion circuit.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention maintains the cooling accuracy and improves the accuracy even when the hard disk device of the image recording apparatus is replaced. However, the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a cooling configuration of an image recording apparatus 1 equipped with a hard disk device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention device. A hard disk device 2, a microprocessor (hereinafter abbreviated as CPU) 3 that controls the entire image recording apparatus including the hard disk device, calculates a detected temperature, a flash memory 4 that stores control data, a fan control circuit 5, and a cooling fan 6, a temperature sensor 7 for measuring a reference temperature in the image recording apparatus, an A / D conversion circuit 8 for digitally converting an analog temperature value of the temperature sensor, and the like.

  There may be a difference in the SMART temperature indicating the temperature inside the hard disk device due to the temperature sensor mounting position inside the hard disk device and its variation. For this reason, the image recording apparatus is not properly cooled, and appropriate fan control cannot be performed. Therefore, according to the flow shown in FIG. 3, the temperature variation due to the individual hard disk devices can be eliminated by calibrating the SMART temperature of the hard disk devices in advance with the reference temperature of the image recording device. In addition, an accurate correction temperature can be obtained when the hard disk device is sufficiently adapted to the ambient temperature during the calibration. The corrected temperature value obtained by calibration is valid until the hard disk device is replaced. Next, when the image recording apparatus operates, the SMART temperature of the hard disk device is controlled by the corrected correction temperature according to the flow shown in FIG. 4, so that appropriate and accurate fan control is possible.

  Specifically, the SMART temperature correction obtained from the hard disk device and the cooling fan control method will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, reference temperature measurement and correction operations will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This operation is performed at the time of replacing the hard disk device in the process of producing the image recording apparatus or in maintenance, and the environmental temperature at that time is preferably a stable constant temperature state, and in the embodiment, the state is sufficiently familiar with the environmental temperature of 25 ° C. The correction operation was performed. A reference temperature Tr is detected by a temperature sensor installed at an arbitrary location in the image recording apparatus. The temperature at this time was 25 ° C. This temperature value is input to the CPU through the A / D conversion circuit. Next, the image recording apparatus is turned on, and the SMART temperature Ts immediately after the hard disk apparatus is activated is detected. The temperature at this time is 27 ° C. and is input to the CPU. The difference between the two temperatures is the correction temperature Tm, which is calculated by the CPU as shown in Equation 1, and the correction temperature is −2 ° C. Next, the corrected temperature is stored in a rewritable flash memory, and the operation is terminated.

  Next, a state in which the image recording apparatus normally operates and a cooling operation is performed will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. When the power of the image recording apparatus is turned on and the hard disk device is activated, the CPU instructs the hard disk device to read the SMART temperature Th. In the embodiment, it is performed at intervals of 1 minute. The temperature at that time was 31 ° C. The CPU reads the SMART temperature and the correction temperature Tm stored in the flash memory, and calculates the control temperature Tf of the cooling fan by the sum of the two temperatures as shown in Equation 2. The control temperature at this time is 29 ° C. Next, the control temperature data is input to the fan control circuit, and the fan control circuit determines the number of fan rotations according to a preset table of temperature and fan rotation voltage. In the embodiment, the control temperature 29 ° C. becomes the fan rotation voltage 5V according to the comparison table of Table 1, and the cooling fan is rotated at 5V. Next, the SMART temperature of the hard disk device is sequentially read at intervals of 1 minute, and the fan voltage is changed according to the temperature change to control the cooling fan.

  By controlling the cooling fan in this way, the environmental temperature changes, the SMART temperature of the hard disk device changes accordingly, and the fan control voltage changes, so that appropriate and accurate cooling can be performed. I can do it. Further, by setting the fan voltage to the minimum voltage necessary for cooling, noise caused by the rotation of the fan is reduced, and the discomfort of the user of the image recording apparatus is reduced. Furthermore, since the SMART temperature, which varies depending on the producer of the hard disk device, is calibrated with the reference temperature, the hard disk device to be used can be appropriately cooled, and the design time of the image recording device can be shortened and the maintenance workability can be reduced. There is an effect of improving.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the image recording apparatus 11 according to the second embodiment of the present invention apparatus. The present embodiment is an image recording apparatus equipped with a hard disk device and an optical disk device, and in the embodiment, a writable DVD drive 19. The DVD drive uses a laser device for reading and writing data. Since the laser device becomes high temperature, a temperature sensor is incorporated to control the temperature. In this embodiment, the temperature detected by the thermistor 17 is used as the reference temperature Tr. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the hard disk device 12, a microprocessor (hereinafter abbreviated as CPU) 13 for controlling the entire image recording apparatus including the hard disk device and calculating the detected temperature, control data, and the like. The flash memory 14 to be stored, the fan control circuit 15, the cooling fan 16, an A / D conversion circuit 18 for digitally converting the analog temperature value of the thermistor, and the like.

  By using the thermistor incorporated in the DVD drive as a temperature sensor for detecting the reference temperature in this way, it is not necessary to newly install a temperature sensor. Therefore, if the number of parts and the cost of the image recording apparatus can be reduced, there is an effect.

  The image recording apparatus according to the present invention can also be applied to a personal computer equipped with a hard disk device and a music recording / playback device equipped with a hard disk device.

Explanatory drawing which showed the structure of the image recording device in Embodiment 1 of this invention Explanatory drawing which showed the structure of the image recording device in Embodiment 2 of this invention. The flowchart which shows the detection operation of the correction temperature of Embodiment 1 of this invention. 7 is a flowchart showing a fan control operation of the image recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Explanatory drawing which showed the structure of the electronic device by the conventional cooling fan control method

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 11 Image recording device 2, 12 Hard disk device 3, 13 Microprocessor 4, 14 Flash memory 5, 15 Fan control circuit 6, 16 Cooling fan 7 Temperature sensor 8, 18 A / D conversion circuit 17 Thermistor 19 DVD drive 50 Conventional Electronic device 51 hard disk device 52 electronic circuit unit 53 display unit 54 cooling fan control unit 55 power supply circuit unit 61 display control signal 62 drive motor control signal for hard disk device 63 fan drive motor control signal

Claims (4)

A first detection step for detecting an internal temperature Th of the hard disk device; a second detection step for detecting a reference temperature Tr provided in the image recording device; the reference temperature Tr; A calculation step for calculating a difference Tm = Tr−Ts from the internal temperature Ts detected in the first detection step, a temperature Tf = Th + Tm during operation of the image recording apparatus, and a storage step for storing the temperature difference Tm. And a control step of controlling the number of rotations of the cooling fan according to the temperature Tf during the image recording operation. 2. The method of cooling an image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the step of detecting the reference temperature Tr is detected by a temperature sensor provided in an optical disk device mounted on the image recording apparatus. The method of claim 1, wherein the internal temperature Th is obtained from SMART (Self Monitoring Analysis & Reporting Technology) information of a hard disk device. An image recording apparatus that cools a hard disk device by the cooling method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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